Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies

West began working in the White House on March 1, 1941, under the supervision of the chief usher, Howell G. Crim. Explaining that the ushers run the White House, Crim assigned West the jobs of handling Eleanor Roosevelt’s travel arrangements and mail as well as assisting in the operations of the White House. Crim was “horrified at anything he considered a breach of the highest standards in manners and morals” (11). West was initially overwhelmed with the activity around him as people ran in and out of the usher’s office, and the phone rang constantly. One of the jobs of the ushers was to announce guests to the president and first lady.

On West’s first day, he met Eleanor and was struck by her pace. She ran from place to place and talked quickly. Later that month, she was to have an awkward meeting with the Japanese ambassador. Crim was advised to interrupt and terminate the meeting after 15 minutes. On West’s second day, he saw the president, and he was surprised at the president’s paralysis. The White House staff took extraordinary steps to hide the president’s paralysis from the public. Always, West noted, the Roosevelt White House was filled with people, two kinds of people: the president’s and Eleanor’s (14).