Join us for a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Lady Bird Johnson! Audio recordings of the Lady Bird Johnson Oral History Project will be played, and a panel will discuss her achievements and contributions. Mark Updegrove, director of the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library, moderates a panel including the Johnsons’ daughter Lynda Johnson Robb; political analyst Cokie Roberts; former White House Social Secretary Bess Abell; and Michael L. Gillette, author of “Lady Bird Johnson, An Oral History.” Join us on Thursday, December 6, at 7 p.m. at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. Details here. Presented in partnership with the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and the National Archives Presidential Materials Division. A book signing will follow the program.
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Join us for a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Lady Bird Johnson! Audio recordings of the Lady Bird Johnson Oral History Project will be played, and a panel will discuss her achievements and contributions.

Mark Updegrove, director of the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library, moderates a panel including the Johnsons’ daughter Lynda Johnson Robb; political analyst Cokie Roberts; former White House Social Secretary Bess Abell; and Michael L. Gillette, author of “Lady Bird Johnson, An Oral History.”

Join us on Thursday, December 6, at 7 p.m. at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. Details here.

Presented in partnership with the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and the National Archives Presidential Materials Division. A book signing will follow the program.

In 1958, Elvis fans sent pleas directly to the First Lady, hoping she would be sympathetic to their cause and recall Elvis Presley from service in the Army. But this letter to Mamie Eisenhower was forwarded to the Army, with the notation “Respectfully referred for appropriate handling.” Dear Mamie, Will you please please be so sweet and kind as to ask Ike to please bring Elvis Presley back to us from the Army. We need him in our entertainment world to make us all laugh. The theatres need him to help fill their many empty seats… . Also did you know Elvis has been paying $500,000 in income taxes. We feel the huge taxes he has been paying could help our defense effort far more than his stay in the Army. Please ask Ike to bring Elvis back to us soon. To read more about fan letters protesting Elvis’s service, read our Facial Hair Friday post “Presley, Presley is our cry.”
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In 1958, Elvis fans sent pleas directly to the First Lady, hoping she would be sympathetic to their cause and recall Elvis Presley from service in the Army. But this letter to Mamie Eisenhower was forwarded to the Army, with the notation “Respectfully referred for appropriate handling.”

Dear Mamie,
Will you please please be so sweet and kind as to ask Ike to please bring Elvis Presley back to us from the Army. We need him in our entertainment world to make us all laugh. The theatres need him to help fill their many empty seats… . Also did you know Elvis has been paying $500,000 in income taxes. We feel the huge taxes he has been paying could help our defense effort far more than his stay in the Army. Please ask Ike to bring Elvis back to us soon.

To read more about fan letters protesting Elvis’s service, read our Facial Hair Friday post “Presley, Presley is our cry.”

“Bess always had more stylish hats than the rest of us did, or she wore them with more style.” That was how Mary Paxton Keely (right) described her childhood friend and future First Lady Bess Wallace Truman (left). The Harry S. Truman Library & Museum has 55 of Bess Truman’s hats, along with hundreds of photographs of Bess wearing hats. Archivist Tammy Kelly was inspired to figure out a way to share them on Flickr. What do you think—are women’s hats poised to make a fashion comeback?
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“Bess always had more stylish hats than the rest of us did, or she wore them with more style.” That was how Mary Paxton Keely (right) described her childhood friend and future First Lady Bess Wallace Truman (left).

The Harry S. Truman Library & Museum has 55 of Bess Truman’s hats, along with hundreds of photographs of Bess wearing hats. Archivist Tammy Kelly was inspired to figure out a way to share them on Flickr.

What do you think—are women’s hats poised to make a fashion comeback?


Girl Scouts and First Ladies: they just go together like Thin Mints and a glass of milk! Here a sampling of some First Ladies with troops from around the world from the holdings of our Presidential Libraries.

Wearing your Girl Scout uniform might get you into the White House someday, but it will definitely get you into the National Archives this weekend!

The National Archives Experience will provide a special entry for Girl Scouts (wearing uniforms or official Girl Scout items) and their families on June 8, 9, and 10 from 8:30 a.m.–9:30 a.m. Enter at the Special Events entrance on the corner of Constitution Ave. and 7th Street.

See more Girl Scout 100th Anniversary events.

Just 25 days until the release of the 1940 Census!

In 1850 and 1860, John Tyler gave his occupation as farmer. The value of his real estate increased by $35,000 in 10 years.

John Tyler was the first Vice President to become President when his predecessor died. His wife Letitia Christian Tyler was also the first First Lady to die while her husband was still in office. He later remarried, becoming the first President to marry in the White House.

This census shows his second wife, Julia Gardiner Tyler, and their children.

Source: archives.gov

The “Little House” was an actual house set up in the early 1920s in Washington, DC to serve as the headquarters for demonstrating the home-making activities of the Girl Scouts.

In 1930, Mrs. Hoover commissioned (at her own expense) a New York craftsman to make an exact reproduction dollhouse of the original “Little House,” including dolls dressed in Scout uniforms and even the paper on the walls! The dollhouse is on view at the Hoover Presidential Library through March 25, 2012.

Happy 100th anniversary to the Girl Scouts!

Source: facebook.com