White House History Quarterly Celebrates Milestone 75th Issue
Journal examines presidential inauguration traditions and departures from history.
There is one presidential inauguration that is frozen in Mark Ramsdell’s memory—the one he and his peers marched in as Lebanon, New Hampshire, high school band members for newly elected President John F. Kennedy.
The day before the 1961 inauguration was marked by a wicked snowstorm that brought 8 inches of snow and Washington, D.C. to a standstill, weather reports showed. But, for the awe-struck Ramsdell, a clarinetist, it presented a life-changing experience that would eventually set him on a path back to the White House.
But it was the frigid temperatures that remain etched in his mind as he recounted that epic day in an essay penned for the White House History Quarterly in their milestone 75th issue entitled “Inaugural Traditions.”
“It was very, very cold,” Ramsdell writes. “Brass players had to figure out how to keep their lips from freezing to their instruments. One trumpet player admitted that her lips stuck to her mouthpiece, so she had to pull it out of the instrument. It fell to the ground, and she faked playing for the rest of the march.”
It’s behind-the-scenes experiences like this that capture the essence of the issue that includes Ramsdell’s feature “A High School Clarinetist Remembers” and “Inauguration Day Begins” by former White House Correspondent Ann Compton and “Organized Chaos: A White House Chief Usher Remembers Moving Days at the White House” by Former Chief Usher Gary Walters.
Other features share inaugural traditions and breaks with traditions including “A Break with Tradition: Franklin D. Roosevelt’s ‘Backyard’ Inauguration” by Mary Jo Binker, “The Evolution of the Where and When of Presidential Inaugurations” by Jonathan L. Stolz, “Brooks Brothers Traditions and the Presidential Wardrobe” by Rebecca Durgin Kerr, “‘So Help Me God’: The Beginnings of an Inaugural Tradition” by Richard Gardiner, “From the Archives: Ronald Reagan’s First Inaugural Address, January 20, 1981, by Alison Isko and a Presidential Sites Feature “Pennsylvania Avenue: The Road to the White House” by Jennifer Wojeck.
“It’s really a look at inaugural traditions and how we have formed and evolved since the very beginning with George Washington,” Marcia Anderson, editor of White House History Quarterly, tells East Wing Magazine in a recent phone interview.
The cover features the 1977 image of newly-elected President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter who broke a very longstanding tradition by walking down Pennsylvania Avenue. The cover also coincides with Jimmy Carter turning 100 years old in October.
Anderson goes on to describe how the first-person accounts of Ramsdell and Walters give readers an opportunity to look at history through the lens of those who had unique experiences with the White House. Ramsdell, for instance, went on to become a pastry chef at the White House as a result of his marching band experience.
And, Walters shares his story of the complicated and carefully orchestrated moving in and moving out of the presidencies.
“He tells his story really well–how every moment counts and how important it is to get it right with the limited number of hands they have available to make it happen,” Anderson said. She was particularly struck by Walters’ “Five Rules of Inauguration Day” for White House staff:
Don’t panic.
Be a professional.
It’s okay to be emotional.
We will adapt to the new family’s routine, not the other way around.
Be prepared for anything!
“It’s such a great reflection on the pride the staff takes in their work and the importance of getting it right with their limited resources [and] a limited amount of time,” Anderson said.
White House History Quarterly is published by the White House Historical Association, and its aim is to fulfill the wish of the association’s founder, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, that the house that belongs to the American people be known to them so it can be cherished by them.
Anderson believes the work of the journal provides an insight into the White House that might otherwise be unseen while also providing the documentation of accounts for future historians.
The Association takes as its mission “to enhance understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of the historic White House,” and its quarterly magazine advances that mission by publishing articles on the history and architecture of the White House and life as lived there through the years. Since its first issue in 1983, the periodical has aimed to be, wrote its founding editor the historian William Seale, a magazine for everyone “with scholarly articles that would not be scholarly in the exclusive sense” but “personal” in their appeal to all Americans. Each issue concludes with a column of “Reflections” by Stewart D. McLaurin, president of the White House Historical Association.
At first the magazine was occasional, then twice yearly, and today it is published four times each year. The White House History Quarterly created a new field of scholarly endeavor—the investigation of the White House with all its connections to national history, the history of the presidency, of architecture, of horticulture, of fine and decorative arts, of fashion, of dining and entertainment, of social roles, and of families.
Early articles examined specific presidencies—two issues on the Kennedy White House, two on the Lincoln White House, one each on the presidencies of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Buchanan, and Dwight D. Eisenhower. As time went on, the journal expanded to include the President’s Neighborhood and presidential journeys, retreats, and time away from the White House. Issues were shaped around themes, telling stories from a particular angle. They focused on music, theater, fashion, art, entertainment, flowers and gardens, kitchens and cooking, and White House weddings.
The journal also took pride in publishing documents long out of print or not otherwise available: the memoirs of Paul Jennings, enslaved in the James Madison White House, and of Isabella Hagner, social secretary to Edith Roosevelt; an annotated transcription of the Washington journal of Elizabeth L. C. Dixon, wife of a Connecticut congressman during the James K. Polk administration; and photographs of Washington at night, taken in the 1930s, by Volkmar Kurt Wentzel. Some topics are idiosyncratic and just plain fun: Sarah Polk’s dresses, Tad Lincoln’s tutor, Pat Oliphant's cartoons, Mamie Eisenhower’s bangs, and squirrels on the White House grounds.
Over the years, the publication has evolved from using exclusively black and white photographs to color; and much of the research, before archives began transitioning into digital libraries, was done in person.
“Technically, this is a big change in how print is produced and how research is done,” Anderson said.
And in that time, the topics White House History Quarterly have covered have also expanded. There was a time, Anderson said, when they wondered if they’d have enough topics to generate content. That problem has yet to materialize.
“We’ve got a lot of good ideas to come,” Anderson said.
This 116-page issue of White House History Quarterly retails for $12.95. To purchase a single issue, visit shop.whitehousehistory.org.
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