New Podcast Drops: “U.S. First Ladies: Making History and Leaving Legacies”
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New Podcast Drops: “U.S. First Ladies: Making History and Leaving Legacies”
Plus, advanced screening of “The Lady Bird Diaries” at LBJ Presidential Library
The White House 1600 Sessions features White House Historical Association president and host Stewart McLaurin sitting down with Anita McBride, former chief of staff to First Lady Laura Bush, and current director of American University’s First Ladies Initiative, at the Dolley Madison House in Washington, DC for an insightful interview about her co-authored new book “U.S. First Ladies: Making History and Leaving Legacies.” The discussion reveals the history of how first ladies have influenced American society, public policy, diplomacy, and life in the White House. View here
Oct. 3, 2023
The Lady Bird Diaries: Screening and Conversation
Friends members are invited to join the LBJ Presidential Library for an advance screening of the new Hulu film The Lady Bird Diaries, largely based on the incredible audio diaries the First Lady kept beginning in 1963, shortly after the Kennedy assassination, through the end of the presidency in 1969. After the screening, the film’s director Dawn Porter and executive producer Kim Reynolds will join for a discussion. Read more Watch the trailer of the documentary as reported by Deadline here.
Oct. 4, 2023
Virtual Legacy Lecture: Your Own Personal Jackie! with Oline Eaton
The National First Ladies Library features an online event: When Jacqueline Kennedy married Aristotle Onassis in October 1968, newspaper headlines asked: “JACKIE, HOW COULD YOU?” There had long been a sense that the American public owned the former first lady, but her remarriage cast this dynamic in high relief. Oline Eaton will explore the relationship that developed between Jackie and the American people after John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Read more
Oct. 15, 2023
World Premiere of "East Wing Songs II"
The National First Ladies’ Library will host the world premiere of a new set of musical compositions inspired by America’s first ladies on Sunday, October 15, at 2 p.m. with its partners at the Christ Presbyterian Church, 530 Tuscarawas Street in Canton, Ohio. Read more
Oct. 28, 2023
Trick-or-Treating at Mount Vernon
Tickets are now on sale for the Halloween celebration “Trick-or-Treating at Mount Vernon” with 18th-century entertainment and activities. During this event, children can collect candy, join in a costume parade, meet General Washington, and enjoy musical entertainment. Tickets are limited and can be purchased here.
Nov. 4, 2023
Sisters Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush Celebrate New Children’s Book
“Love Comes First,” a new children’s book authored by Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush, will be discussed in a special event at the George W. Bush Presidential Center. This event is currently sold out, but those interested can be placed on a waitlist if more tickets are released. Signed books are still available. Read more
Nov. 16, 2023
Historian to Give Talking Tour of the Kennedy Restoration of the White House
Historian James Archer Abbott will present an illustrated discussion of The White House as “reimagined and reinterpretted” for President John F. Kennedy and wife Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy on Nov. 16 at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri. The event is free. Abbott is the lead author of “Designing Camelot: The Kennedy White House Restoration and Its Legacy.” Read more
Nov. 16, 2023
Virtual Legacy Lecture: Jackie and the Books She Loved, Penning a Picture Book
The National First Ladies Library will feature author Ronni Diamondstein who will read her debut children’s book “Jackie and the Books She Loved.” Diamondstein will discuss how this book came to be and the remarkable literary life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the “First Lady of Literature.” Read more
Nov. 28, 2023
Virtual Forum: Carl Sferrazza Anthony Discusses New Jackie Kennedy Book
The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum welcomes historian and author Carl Sferrazza Anthony to discusses his new book “Camera Girl: The Coming of Age of Jackie Bouvier Kennedy,” a new biography exploring Mrs. Kennedy’s early adulthood. Eileen McNamara, Pulitzer Prize-winning former Boston Globe columnist and Brandeis professor emerita of the practice of journalism, moderates. Time: 6 to 7:30 pm EST. Register here
Dec. 5, 2023
White House History Live: The Washingtons, the Custises, and the Making of America
Learn more about the history of the nation’s “first family” during a White House Historical Association Facebook and YouTube Live event. The program will trace George Washington’s step grandchildren, the Custises, from childhood celebrities to carriers of the Washington legacy in nineteenth century America. Author Cassandra Good will discuss her book, “First Family,” sharing insights on writing the story of this historic family.
The program is part of the White House Live series and explores the stories that make up the history of the executive mansion and can be live streamed on the White House Historical Association's Facebook and YouTube pages starting at 5:30 pm EST on December 5. Read more
On exhibit through April 27, 2024
Beyond Camelot: The Life and Legacy of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Visitors to the National First Ladies Library in Canton, Ohio, can explore a replica of former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s wedding gown designed by Anne Lowe and other never-before-seen artifacts donated by Monte Durham of “Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta.” The free exhibition runs through April 27, 2024 and is open to the public. Read more
Podcasts
What Spooky Novels Did Martha Washington Enjoy Reading?
The latest episode of the podcast and video series Secrets of Washington's Archives digs into Martha Washington's copy of the gothic novel The Children of the Abbey, written by Regina Maria Roche in 1796. Listen here or watch the video
Faith and Freedom
This full-length podcast episode presented by George Washington’s Mount Vernon explores a set of prayer books belonging to Martha Washington and her granddaughters. Listeners can learn from resource specialist Jennifer Seiter what the Washington family heirloom reveals about the sweeping religious changes happening in the United States during the early Republic and George Washington’s own commitment to religious freedom. Listen here
Learn About Jacqueline Kennedy’s Friend and Rose Garden Designer “Bunny” Mellon
Last month, The White House Historical Association released a new podcast from The White House 1600 Sessions series featuring a conversation with Thomas Lloyd, author and member of the Association’s National Council, about his book “Garden Secrets of Bunny Mellon.”
In the episode, Stewart McLaurin, president of the association, travels to the home of Rachel Lambert “Bunny” Mellon, philanthropist, stylemaker and renowned gardener, to meet with Lloyd, Mrs. Mellon’s grandson, to talk about her most famous design— refurbishing the White House Rose Garden. Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, a close friend of Mellon, handcrafted a memory book for her, which also is discussed in the podcast. Listen here
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