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Grizzly Bears in the White House?

If the White House walls could talk, they would remind us that while George Washington was our first President, he didn't live in the Executive Mansion. John and Abigail Adams were the mansion's first tenants. When they moved into the White House in 1800, only six of the mansion’s rooms were habitable. The walls might share stories of how Mrs. Adams hung her wash to dry in the unfinished East Room, and that, in spite of the inconvenience of living in the partially completed presidential residence, the Adamses managed to create a real home for their family.

The walls would also recall that they were all that remained standing during the War of 1812, when the British invaded Washington and set fire to the President's home. When the building was rebuilt, it was painted white to hide the burn damage.

They would have relished the story about John Quincy Adams, son of John Adams, who was accustomed to taking a daily swim in the Potomac River. In a manner not unlike that of today's media, it is said that a woman newspaper reporter sat on the President's clothes, which were laying on the riverbank, until he agreed to give her an exclusive interview!

Cheese Please
Have you heard about the story about a 1,400-pound cheese that the dairymen of New York gave to President Jackson? The President invited the general public to partake of the gift, and within two hours, the two-foot-thick, four-foot-wide cheese was demolished!

Mrs. Lucy Hayes earned the title of 'Lemonade Lucy" when she banned all wine and liquor from the Presidential Mansion, Years later during prohibition, spirits were once again banned from the White House. However, when President Harding held his small, private stag parties, the walls undoubtedly observed Mrs. Harding mixing drinks for the card players.

They're Human Too!
It's no secret that children have a way of enlivening any home, and the children who occupied the White House were no exception. Theodore Roosevelt's daughter, Alice, was among the liveliest. The President ruefully said of her, "I can be President of the United States or I can control Alice. I cannot possibly do both." Somehow he managed, although Alice was prone to sliding down the White House banisters rather than taking the stairs, and on one occasion was found to be carrying a snake in her purse. Nonetheless, the press dubbed her, "Princess Alice," and the song, Alice's Blue Gown was written about her.

Grizzly Bears in the White House?
As with most families, White House families had their share of household pets; however, the grizzly bears that Lewis and Clark presented to President Thomas Jefferson, which were kept in a cage on the White House premises, could hardly qualify as pets. Nor could the two Jersey cows which Andrew Johnson's daughter bought to ensure a fresh supply of milk for the First Family.

A Walk Down the Aisle
Grover Cleveland's wedding was the only presidential one to take place in the White House, and the Nixon Eisenhower wedding was a first-and-only marital union between presidential children. However, five other presidents were married during their terms of office.

More than one eyebrow was raised when, at fifty-four, President Tyler took twenty-four-year-old Julia Gardiner as his bride. John Quincy Adams denounced it as a "January-May wedding." Be that as it may, the marriage lasted eighteen years and the Tylers raised seven children.

If the Walls Could Talk...
Every president since John Adams has lived in the White House. Its walls will never divulge all of the actions— both trite and profound-which they have witnessed. Those that have emerged reveal something of the personality and character of the individuals involved. For example, when President Tyler invited to a state dinner a senator who was unfamiliar with formal dining etiquette, the gentleman picked up his finger bowl and drank from it. The President immediately followed suit.