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From 1970 to 2007, I was honored to serve seven presidents and their families, witnessing life as lived in the White House from a vantage point few have experienced, behind the scenes.
I began my White House career as a uniformed officer of the Executive Protective Service, White House Division, a part of the U.S. Secret Service, where I served during the last years of the Presidency of Richard Nixon and the early years of the Gerald Ford Presidency. I joined the Usher’s Office in 1976 and was promoted to Chief Usher in 1986 serving in that role until my retirement in 2007.
In my nearly 40 years of service, I witnessed some of the best and worst days in American History. I was present when President Nixon resigned, when America celebrated its Bicentennial, when the Iranian hostage crisis weighed heavily on President Jimmy Carter, when a would-be assassin nearly took the life of President Ronald Reagan, when the Gulf War began and ended, and when the events of 9/11 changed all of our lives. I met Popes and Queens and world leaders, I played ping pong with President Carter and caught a football from “the Gipper” (a.k.a. Ronald Reagan). I rescued first cats from trees and held newborn puppies, and I assisted in facilitating the renovations of historic rooms throughout the Executive Residence and the unveiling of official presidential portraits. I helped find the right jar for President Reagan’s jelly beans. I witnessed First Lady Barbara Bush’s hair accidentally turn green.
In late July 1999, I retrieved a golf ball from a water pipe in the South Fountain. It was found lodged in the pipework during a renovation of the fountain. I said I would ask President Bill Clinton if he had been hitting balls toward the fountain.
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