Letitia Baldrige’s White House Memories

In 1961, Baldrige moved from public relations director of Tiffany & Co. in New York to the job as Mrs. Kennedy’s chief of staff. Baldrige remembered how that First Lady turned the White House into a warm, festive place— abandoning a large U-shaped table used for state dinners and substituting round tables of eight so guests found it easier to converse.

The Late-Letitia Baldrige Shared a Houseful of Memories

Letitia Baldrige, who was Jackie Kennedy’s chief of staff at the White House, shared her memories of the First Ladies.

Baldrige spoke at the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace in Yorba Linda on “The Evolving Role of the First Lady” as part of the library’s seven-part Distinguished Speaker series, “The Lady of the House: Great Wives of Great Presidents.” About 300 guests, most of them women, paid $8.50 each for the talk and tea.

White House Days

Wearing a gold blazer and Barbara Bush-style pearls, Baldrige began her talk by praising the “magnificent library” that “brings back so many memories.”

Baldrige’s association with the White House dates back to her childhood. As the daughter of Malcolm Baldrige, once a Nebraska congressman, she was invited to the White House Easter egg hunt at age 4 during the last year of the Hoover Administration. “I’ve had a charmed life,” she said.

In 1961, Baldrige moved from public relations director of Tiffany & Co. in New York to the job as Mrs. Kennedy’s chief of staff. Baldrige remembered how that First Lady turned the White House into a warm, festive place— abandoning a large U-shaped table used for state dinners and substituting round tables of eight so guests found it easier to converse.

“Young America started to copy, copy, copy. We received countless letters from women saying, ‘Everyone tells me I look exactly like Mrs. Kennedy,’ ” Baldrige said. Many wanted to know how the First Lady did her hair.

First Ladies’ Clout

“The First Lady has a lot of power,” Baldrige said. “I hope Hillary Clinton realizes that.”

A Republican who switched parties during the Kennedy years and later switched back again, Baldrige has not yet been called on by Clinton for advice, as she has for four previous First Ladies.

“I’m all for Hillary Clinton. I want her to avoid the barbs of women who hate women who work,” she says. “But I’m known as a Republican in Washington. I’m probably the last person she’d call.”

The author of 12 books including “The Complete Guide to New Manners for the ‘90s,” Baldrige held to one of the golden rules of etiquette and never spoke ill of anyone.

On Rosalynn Carter: “She had beautiful manners and wrote wonderful notes.”

On Nancy Reagan: “She had a tremendous flair . . . and was given a bad rap by the press.”

On Pat Nixon: “She did a tremendous amount for the White House.”

“All of the First Ladies were good, creative and strong,” she said. “I’ve always said they should be paid.”

Tea Time

After the talk, guests sampled tea and scones in the library’s lobby and stood in line to meet Baldrige. Clara Jane Nixon, sister-in-law to Richard Nixon, had never met Baldrige until the tea but said her talk brought back memories of her own visits to the White House. “The talk let me relive a few experiences,” she said. “We used to visit the White House, and we even stayed in the queen’s bedroom.”

Guests also visited the library’s exhibit, “White House Style: Formal Gowns of the First Ladies,” which featured 22 inaugural and other gowns reproduced from the Smithsonian’s collection of originals.

— By Kathryn Bold, Jan. 1993

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