Please note that the following is a digitized version of a selected article from White House History Quarterly, Issue 56, originally released in print form in 2020. Single print copies of the full issue can be purchased online at Shop.WhiteHouseHistory.org No part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. All photographs contained in this journal unless otherwise noted are copyrighted by the White House Historical Association and may not be reproduced without permission. Requests for reprint permissions should be directed to rights@whha.org. Contact books@whha.org for more information. Š 2020 White House Historical Association. All rights reserved under international copyright conventions.
“Here lives A GREAT Chandelier Cleaner” The White House Career of Stewart C. Stevens
RONALD REAGAN PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
st ewa rt c. stevens with lynet ta s t ev ens
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“Here lives A GREAT Chandelier Cleaner” The White House Career of Stewart C. Stevens
RONALD REAGAN PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
st ewa rt c. stevens with lynet ta s t ev ens
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left
Stewart Stevens and his wife, Janice Marie, c. 1969. They were married sixty years and raised six children. previous spread
Stevens sits atop scaffolding while cleaning an East Room chandelier, 1982. opposite
Attached to the window surround with a harness, Stevens cleans an exterior window on the North Facade, 1983.
D.C. During this time, children had to purchase Washington D.C. Transit bus tickets to get to school. Those who could not afford to buy a ticket did not go to school. I was going to middle school and working nights at a bowling alley in College Park, Maryland. It was very hard to do both, so one day, when I was around 15 years old, I went to my mother and asked her to sign a permission form for me to go into the army, because I was not doing well in school. I joined the National Guard and was sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky, for basic training. After basic training I went to Augusta, Georgia, for military police training. I did very well in training because I had always wanted to be a police officer. While on thirty-day leave before going to Germany, my sister introduced me to my first love, my only love, Janice Marie. In Germany, I was one of the youngest guys in the 520th Military Police Battalion, where I spent nine months before I was sent to the 130th Station Hospital. This was the hospital where General George Patton died.
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A U T H O R’ S C O L L E C T I O N
i f y o u a s k a n y o n e whether they have ever heard of me—Stewart C. Stevens, Senior, the White House Chandelier Cleaner—they probably would say, “Who is he?” For the most part I am not well known. I have been a behind-the-scenes guy in my job in the most famous house in the world. But I am thankful for the opportunity to have been in a position that would make some people wonder, “How did a black man in the 1970s come to work in such ‘high’ places?” I would like to answer by telling you the story of my life. I have had several names in my lifetime. During my childhood, my family called me Calvin. At school, my teachers and classmates called me Stewart. Later, the presidents and White House staff addressed me as Steve. But I am introducing myself to you as Stewart Calvin Stevens, Senior, White House Chandelier Polisher and Cleaner. I was born in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., in a community known as Marshall Heights. It was predominately black, and most families had a whole bunch of children. In only three to four rooms there might be ten to twelve children. The fourth son of Stewart R. Stevens and Rachel E. Green Stevens, I had seven sisters and five brothers. It didn’t matter the time or day, my dad was always working, but we were poor. On some days we did not have anything to eat. There were days that we did not even have heat. My family did not have much, but we had plenty of love! I graduated from John Carroll Nalle Elementary School in my neighborhood and then went on to Hugh Mason Browne Junior High School, which was named for a civil rights activist and educator. Browne was located miles away on the east of the Anacostia River on Benning Road, Washington, D.C., an area known as a historic district. I had to take the bus from the Central Avenue, Southeast, side in Washington,
RONALD REAGAN PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
When I returned home from Germany, I told Marie that as soon as I got a good job, we would get married. At the time, there was one black police department and a black fire department in Washington, D.C. I took the test for the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, but once I learned they were not hiring black men, my brother and I started a window-washing business. Success was difficult because of competition from larger, established white house history quarterly
companies, but we subcontracted work, and that is how we got to work at the New Executive Office Building near the White House, which houses offices of the Executive Branch. One day, while I was washing windows at the NEOB, Charlie Rotchford, the building manager, approached me. He asked if I wanted to work at the White House. I replied, “Yes Sir!” He asked if I had ever been in any trouble and I told him, “No Sir!” He asked me if I had been in the military and I told him, “Yes Sir!” Then he sent me to his office in the Old Executive Office Building, where he gave me some papers to take home. I came back the following day with the papers, and he issued me a temporary pass to use until I could be cleared by the Secret Service to work at the White House. Once I had a temporary pass, I had access to the White House. It was unusual that I was not recommended by a friend or family member for this position. In my case, I knew no one. In fact, although I was born, raised, and lived in the nation’s capital, I had never even visited the White House. So, I started washing windows, and I was doing a good job. After working at the White House for about six months, I went to the Usher’s Office and met with Rex Scouten, the chief usher. I told him that I had been washing windows for some time but there wasn’t enough work to keep me busy. He looked up at me very surprised. I told him that the chandeliers were very dirty, and I had experience in cleaning chandeliers. He warned me, “These are very old chandeliers, but I’ll let you try to show me that you can clean one.” The painters put up scaffolding, and I proceeded to clean the chandeliers in the Cross Hall. The chandeliers were so dirty they actually looked as if they had mud on them. The word soon spread over the White House that the clean chandeliers looked good (some even said they had never looked so good before).
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me a brass belt buckle that said “Steve.” I would shine my belt buckle each day before going to work, and soon everyone came to know me as Steve. The Secret Service officers would even say, “Hey Steve, let us see that belt buckle so we know it’s you,” and everyone would laugh. My family was discreet and did not discuss my job, but I knew they were proud of me. One thing that really kept me motivated was Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech: “Even if it falls your lot to be
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Stewart Stevens was often away from his family sixteen hours a day, but his family was supportive and proud of his work. His children included daughters Lynetta (top, c. 1963), Marisa (above right, 1993), and four sons (above left, counterclockwise from left) Lamonté, Mark, Eric, and Stewart Jr., 1974.
B E LT B U C K L E : B R U C E W H I T E F O R T H E W H I T E H O U S E H I S T O R I C A L A S S O C I A T I O N A L L O T H E R S T H I S S P R E A D : A U T H O R’ S C O L L E C T I O N
As a White House worker, you feel such pride because your home is on display. It has to be pretty and must show polished furniture, waxed and glossy flooring, cleaned and polished chandeliers, and definitely no cobwebs. You take such pride in it. It goes beyond your paycheck and is more as if it were your own home and your work on display, so you go beyond your call of duty. I was often asked to perform other duties such as working as a carpenter’s helper or assisting with the setup of podiums and stages for special events. I enjoyed working at State Dinners and became good friends with Eugene Allen, the well-known longtime White House butler. Some of the performers I had the pleasure of meeting were Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, Muhammad Ali, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and Aretha Franklin. Dignitaries who visited the White House during my tenure included Anwar Sadat, Bruno Kreisky, Margaret Thatcher, Pope John Paul II, and Nelson Mandela. On one memorable day, on February 21, 1974, I walked from the White House over to the Treasury Department to cash my salary check. While walking through the Treasury corridors, I noticed a check with documents attached. I picked it up and could not believe my eyes. The check was for $14.5 million. On the paper there were typed instructions that said, “Deliver to Room 204.” I proceeded to take the check to that office. About two weeks later, Rex Scouten called me into his office and told me that the Treasury Department had sent me an award of $50 (which turned into a measly $40 after taxes were taken out). As I look back, I wonder how much finder’s fee I would have received if I had not been a White House employee. I was away from my family an average of sixteen hours per day, but the hours were made less stressful because I had a very patient and understanding wife. This brings me to how I got my White House name. My wife bought
Stewart Stevens cleaned the great lunette window outside of the West Sitting Room for more than thirty years while secured to the window with a safety belt. He is seen above in c. 1983 and waving to the camera (above right), c. 1997. Once his wife gave him a brass belt buckle that said “Steve” he became known as “Steve” at the White House.
a street sweeper, go on out and sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures; sweep streets like Handel and Beethoven composed music; sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry; sweep streets so well that all the host of heaven and earth will have to pause and say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well.’” So, I thought to myself daily, “If it falls my lot to be a chandelier cleaner and a window washer, clean chandeliers and wash windows so that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause and say here lives a great Chandelier Cleaner.” My job was tedious and dangerous. For example, one picture shows me cleaning outside of the North Entrance while I was up in the air on the ladder. There was a glass enclosure directly under me, and if I had fallen, I would have been killed. Christine Crans-Limerick, the housekeeper, had an assistant who was supposed to learn everybody’s job to fill in if that person was not there, but I told the assistant that I wasn’t going to show him my job because he wouldn’t be able to do it. So the chief usher called white house history quarterly
me into his office and said, “Steve, everybody here has to show the assistant housekeeper their job so that if you are not here the job can be done.” The next day, the assistant housekeeper wanted to go with me upstairs so I could show him how to do my job. I showed him the procedures to do the job proficiently and safely so he would not fall. One of the procedures involved leaning back as far as you can once you are outside the window. Once you are out there, it feels almost like you are hanging in thin air. Safety hooks on windows were attached to safety belts and the bucket on the inside. We went through the procedures, but, as I expected, he was unable to perform the task or master my job as the window washer. I worked for seven presidents. Each one was different, yet they were similar in some ways. I had respect for each and every one of them. The mementos I received from each president over the years include photos and signed portraits. Typically, whatever affected the president or the first family during his time in office affected the entire staff. Be it
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Among Stewart Stevens’s many responsibilities was the cleaning of the set of three massive chandeliers purchased for the East Room from Edward F. Caldwell & Co., New York, during the Theodore Roosevelt renovation. Made of cut glass and gilded brass and measuring 10 feet, 9 inches long by 5 feet, 8 inches wide, the electric light fixtures were purchased by the U.S. government in 1902 for $19,061.50.
easygoing president, and the first lady was rather quiet and shy. President Ford really liked to play golf. Unfortunately, he would always hit someone with the ball. The Fords were a wonderful family, and the president gave me several watercolor paintings signed by him. President Jimmy Carter would go to the Oval Office carrying his Bible with
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E A S T RO O M : B RUC E W H IT E F OR T H E W HI T E H OUSE H I S TO R I CA L A SSOCIATION S T E WA R T S T E V E N S : R O N A L D R E A G A N P R E S I D E N T I A L L I B R A R Y A N D M U S E U M
a time of war, special or sentimental moments such as the passing of a loved one, any other crisis affecting them personally, or any adverse crises affecting the country, it also affected the White House staff. The end of a presidential administration could be a time of real sadness for the staff after four or eight years with the first family. We felt as if we were losing a part of our own family. Behind the wrought-iron fence was our eight-hours (or at times sixteen-hours) a day family. The first president I worked for was President Richard M. Nixon. I was hired in the middle of his term in 1970, so I did not form as close of a relationship as I did with some of the other presidents. But he was a very nice president, and every Christmas he would give all of the employees a gift for each of their children. I certainly remember bringing home a toy for each of my four children at that time. President Gerald R. Ford was my next president. He was a pleasant and
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BRUCE WHITE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE HISTORICAL A SSOC IATION
and replace it with hardwood flooring. President Reagan liked the new floor so much that he sent each one of us a piece of the cork floor in a hard, plastic container, thanking us for a job well done. President George H. W. Bush was my fifth president. He was very friendly with the White House staff. Once, he invited us to pick partners so we could have a horseshoe match. He gave the winners presents like fishing rods and other sports gear. The idea was supposed to be that you had to beat him to win, but he was a decent man, and whether you won or lost he gave you a present. President Clinton was friendly and down to earth. He would ride the elevators with staff and joke around with everybody. The relationship between President Clinton and me was truly special. When I lost my mother, he came down the hall with the Secret Service on the way to the Oval Office, noticed me washing windows, and stopped to say, “Steve, hold your head up because I have been there like you and everything is going to be okay.”
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above left
Stewart Stevens with President and Mrs. Reagan in November 1988. above right
After helping White House carpenters remove an old cork floor in the Oval Office in 1982 during the Reagan administration, Stevens received a piece of the cork along with a letter of thanks from John F. W. Rogers, deputy assistant to the president for management.
CL OCKWISE FROM TOP LEF T: RONALD REAGAN PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM / BRUCE WHITE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE HISTORICAL A SSOC IATION
him each morning at 6:00 a.m. promptly. I would be there to open the door for him. He would always say “Good morning Steve.” It made me feel very good to have the president of the United States address me by my name. It was exemplary of any president to put a name to a face and treat an employee with respect as a person, not just for their job, although all the presidents and the first ladies knew what an excellent job I did when they saw the chandeliers sparkling and the windows cleaned. What I admired about President Carter was how, after his presidency, he came back to the Southeast neighborhood in Washington, D.C. (not far from where I grew up) to design and build affordable homes for low-income families. President Ronald Reagan was the fourth president for whom I worked. At the time there was a cork floor in the Oval Office that had served six presidents, but the cork was starting to crack. The president decided that he wanted to put in a new floor. I helped the carpenters bust up the old cork floor
STEWART C. STEVENS’S Advice to Young Men and Young Women In the Workplace Keep a clean record and reputation. Stay away from workplace gossip. Work diligently! Find time to observe others and learn new skills. You will remain a valuable asset to your organization. Practice being courteous and kind. Maintain a separation between your personal life and your work life. Practice integrity, honesty, and truth. Dress for success! Respect yourself, and others will too!
President George W. Bush was my seventh and last president. While working for his administration, there was a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, as well as the Pentagon. On the morning of September 11, 2001, word got around that a plane was on the way to the White House. Everyone was ordered to leave except the Secret Service. I did not know of the danger until the Secret Service told me to run. When I got outside of the East Gate, I noticed all of my co-workers standing outside in Lafayette Park. Had it not been for the Secret Service, I could have still been inside the White House. While working for President Bush’s administration, I was standing on a 12-foot ladder washing windows and missed one of the rungs on the ladder as I stepped down. The fall tore a tendon in my knee. I reported it to my supervisor and went to a physician, who informed me that I would need to have surgery. I took time off for therapy for over a year. After being off so long, I got a call from Mrs. Crans-Limerick regarding my return to work. That’s when my wife told me, “I don’t think you should go back because your job as you once knew it is over. You will never be able to climb ladders and scaffolds again.”
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I retired and bowed out gracefully to spend the remaining years loving my wife up until her death, July 4, 2013, after sixty years of marriage. I spend all my spare time with family and friends, traveling and telling the story of my life, and reminiscing on my time as the White House Chandelier Cleaner and Window Washer. note This article is an adaptation of The White House Chandeliers: My Experiences While Working for Seven U.S. Presidents by Stewart “Calvin” Stevens.
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