Any resemblance to a boring history class is purely coincidental!
Lady Bird’s official White House portrait by Elizabeth Shoumatoff Library of Congress
While researching Zephyr Wright, we both learned quite a bit about her employer, Lady Bird Johnson. Since we knew a lot about her (and our libraries were still closed) we thought we would share the story of this intelligent woman who had her own interests and accomplishments outside the work she did with her husband, President Lyndon B. Johnson. (more…)
When we last left Jackie, she was about to set off for a political appearance with her husband to Texas in 1963. This episode covers what happened on that trip, and how she handled her grief and lived her life until her death on May 19, 1994. We really saw three different versions of Jackie in this episode: The Widow, The Mrs. Onassis, The Happy Jackie… and we cover all of them.
The most tragically iconic suit. Dallas, Texas November 22, 1963
Only the most iconic of women can simply go by one name, and Jackie is one of them. Her life was a complicated collage of privilege, challenge, balance and reinvention. In this episode, we talk about the first half of that life from baby of affluence born exactly when the wealth of the US crashed, to just before she headed off on a trip with her husband to Texas in 1963.
In our last episode we talked about Mary’s childhood, education and life as the wife of Abraham Lincoln. She was described as, “amiable, accomplished, gracious and a sparkling talker,” by members of the Republican Party before she got to Washington…so what happened afterward that left her without this glowing impression?
Frida Kahlo may have approved of the fluffy dresses and floral head bling.
Mary Todd Lincoln’s life can’t be defined by who she married and her husband’s legacy–she was a lot more than simply a southern born wife of a president. Actually, she wasn’t simple at all.
Mary circa 1847 (wikicommons)
Get out your best china and polish that silver! Don a feathered turban, and settle in for a chat about a woman who was not only one of the greatest hostesses in the history of party throwing, but a woman who was an extraordinary networker, before networking was cool. Not just another first lady…the first, First Lady.
In this episode we shine the spotlight on a woman who lived in one, Dolley Payne Todd Madison.
Dolley after shedding her Quaker garb
Dolley Payne was not born of high society, but into a simple Quaker family in North Carolina in 1768. Dolley- her given name- true!- was the third of eight children born to John and Mary Payne. The family moved when Dolley was young, first to Virginia and then to Philadelphia.
This tall, dark haired, blue eyed beauty married a Quaker lawyer, John Todd when she was 21. The couple had two sons. Tragically, John and the youngest son ( who was only 3 months at the time) died of yellow fever when Dolley is 25. This event unleashes the rest of her life that plays out like a classy, well mannered, dynamic soap opera!
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