Gary Walters worked in the White House for 37 years. Here’s what the chief usher saw

WASHINGTON AP Gary Walters saw a lot of history in the years he spent working at the White House where he started as an officer assigned to protect the president and ended as the longest-serving chief usher in history The position of chief usher is the top job in the residence comparable to a general manager overseeing maintenance construction and renovation projects and food utility along with administrative financial and personnel functions A staff of about to butlers housekeepers cooks florists electricians engineers plumbers and others review to the chief usher It was Walter s job to run the White House on behalf of presidents and first ladies because as he says They ve got enough on their plate to deal with He served under Democratic and Republican presidents and it had nothing to do with politics Walters reported Monday as he discussed his new book out Dec called White House Memories - Recollections of the Longest-Serving Chief Usher We served the presidency he explained Walters began his career as an officer in the Executive Protective Provision with an assignment to help protect presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford He joined the Usher s Office as an assistant in and a decade later was promoted to chief usher serving Ronald Reagan George H W Bush Bill Clinton and George W Bush Walters retired in Here are a sparse of the stories Walters shared at Monday s event Making room for Marine One to land on The White House had been getting ready for the annual Congressional Picnic the day of the Sept attacks Staff were ordered to leave for their safety but Walters and a half dozen others stayed behind The South Lawn was set up with more than tables for the event Walters reported he knew President George W Bush who had been at an event in Sarasota Florida would want to return to the White House but the tables blocked the usual landing pad for Marine One the presidential helicopter So Walters and his remaining staff began to clear the lawn by hand carrying specific of the heavy tables to the perimeter to make room for Marine One to touch down I just knew in my heart the president was going to talk to the American people after the attack Walters explained Bush later delivered a prime-time televised address to the nation from the Oval Office As he and the staff worked Walters noted he heard the erroneous reports of an explosion at the State Department Hearing a loud boom at another point he looked toward the southwest and saw a plume of smoke and fire from the plane that hit the Pentagon They were advised yet another plane was in the air Walters reported he thought it was bound for the White House but it instead crashed into a Pennsylvania field after the passengers fought the hijackers To this day I believe those brave Americans that caused that plane to go down in a field in Shanksville saved my life Walters explained describing the greater part frightening day obviously that I d ever spent at the White House Teddy bears for the elder Bush s grandchildren Maureen Reagan one of President Reagan s daughters gave out stuffed teddy bears at children s hospitals when she traveled abroad When a shipment of bears didn t make it in time for one of her trips Walters put it into storage Fast forward to Inauguration Day for President George H W Bush The new president had his entire family with him at the White House that night including his children and chosen very bored grandchildren Walters remembered the stuffed animals He went to the warehouse where he had stored the late shipment got selected of the bears and put one on each grandchild s bed Burning logs tossed over the Truman Balcony As Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan prepared to welcome guests to a dinner in the private upstairs quarters of the residence Walters was horrified to see smoke coming from beneath the doors of the Yellow Oval Room The fireplace there usually was lit to add to the ambience for the post-dinner entertainment But on this particular night as Walters returned from checking on other rooms on the floor he determined the Yellow Oval engulfed in smoke and a butler using a newspaper to fan it Inquired if the flue had been opened the butler notified Walters I thought it was open Walters grabbed fire utensils to separate the burning logs and reached in and opened the flue He also opened the door to the Truman Balcony and particular windows to air out the room He yelled down for the police officer stationed at the South Portico to move away as he threw the burning logs over the railing Damp towels were put at the foot of the Yellow Oval Room doors to keep in the smoke while fans were brought in along with air fresheners and scented candles Walters then informed the Reagans of the mishap while the staff worked for hours during cocktails and dinner to clear the smoke The evening went along as if nothing had happened Walters stated Source