J.B. West was Chief Usher at the White House, where he was employed for nearly 30 years. This memoir, published in 1973, covers the Roosevelts through the early days of the Nixon administration. It is not gossipy or salacious, but it does drop names and give great stories and insights about the First Ladies. Each woman put her own stamp on the furnishings and artwork, as well as the entertaining, of the “President’s House.” This was a thoroughly enjoyable book, despite rather poor quality black-and-white photographs. I wish only that West had stayed longer and written about successive First Ladies.
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What I’m ReadingI began working in libraries as a seventh grader, courtesy of scoliosis. My orthopedic surgeon wrote me a pass to miss gym class, so I began working in the school library to feed my love of reading. Even after my surgery to correct the curvature, I kept getting out of gym to work in my high school library and then in my college library (for pay, at last!).
So began my eventual career as a college reference librarian—after a detour into teaching high school English. Later I worked for an educational publisher before going back to libraries.
I have a reading and writing life now. I devour both fiction and nonfiction, and will tell you about some of my favorite reads, both old friends and new discoveries.
Here's some library-themed music to get you in the mood.
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