Praise for Washingtons Iron Butterfly
In my eyes, Bess will always be the person I wanted to be when I grew up.Lynda Johnson Robb
A new and fresh look at the inner workings of the Johnson White House from the perspective of the Iron Butterfly. While she was officially social secretary to the First Lady, Bess Abells political and social skills shaped the success of the East Wings contributions to that administration.David S. Ferriero, Archivist of the United States
Bess Abell was the P. T. Barnum of the White House and Washington in her time. She had the inventive mind to create limitless events big and small and the knowledge and organizational skills to pull them off. This book brings the reader into a storytelling session about her remarkable life through her voice and the voices of those around her.Larry Temple, special counsel to President Lyndon B. Johnson (19671969) and chairman of the Lyndon B. Johnson Foundation
The story of Bess Abell would have been very different had she been born a generation later. In Washingtons Iron Butterfly, her story comes alive through her own words and the words of those who knew her. Ably edited by Donald Ritchie and Terry Birdwhistell, two of the best oral historians around, this work allows the reader to feel the emotions, the joys, and the sorrows of a remarkable woman. It is a book that both entertains and instructsa good read, indeed. The result is a fun, entertaining, and readable book about a very special woman.James C. Klotter, author of Henry Clay: The Man Who Would Be President
The Katharine Hepburn of Washington in the 1960s, Bess Abell was a force of nature. From a deeply divisive war to luncheons gone horribly wrong, she was able to deftly steer the Johnson family through the tumult of their Washington years. In Washingtons Iron Butterfly we hear the story from Abell herself and from the members of the Johnson administration who knew her best.Kate Andersen Brower, CNN contributor and New York Times best-selling author of The Residence, First Women, and Team of Five
Few had intimate access to the Johnson White House like Bess Clements Abella young Kentucky woman who took her political savvy as a former governors daughter from Morganfield to the Potomac. Talented and likable, described as feisty and funny by the editors, she was known to be gracious, but tough as nails when things had to get done. An important read for Kentuckians and anyone who wants an inside view of the Oval Office.Bill Goodman, executive director of Kentucky Humanities and author of Beans, Biscuits, Family, and Friends
Bess Clements Abell learned from her parents grace and grit and she used both during her Washington career. She handled difficult situations with calm resolve and demonstrated how to serve and lead. She made her home state of Kentucky proud.Eli Capilouto, president of the University of Kentucky
The position of White House social secretary is challenging in even the most tranquil of times. For Bess Abell, who served in the role for Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson during the 1960sa time of enormous social change, including some brought about by Johnsons transformative policy itselfthe challenges were formidable. Donald Ritchie and Terry Birdwhistells Washingtons Iron Butterfly: Bess Clements Abell, An Oral History offers a vivid and entertaining portrait of the inimitable social secretary, whom the Secret Service code-named Iron Butterfly due to her perfect combination of Kentucky grace and unflinching strength.Mark K. Updegrove, president and CEO of the LBJ Foundation and presidential historian for ABC News
Washingtons Iron Butterfly
Copyright 2022 by The University Press of Kentucky
Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth, serving Bellarmine University, Berea College, Centre College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, The Filson Historical Society, Georgetown College, Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, Spalding University, Transylvania University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University.
All rights reserved.
Frontispiece: Bess Clements Abell, 19332020.
(Photo by Yoichi Okamoto, courtesy of LBJ Presidential Library)
Editorial and Sales Offices: The University Press of Kentucky
663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508-4008
www.kentuckypress.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Ritchie, Donald A., 1945 editor. | Birdwhistell, Terry L., editor. | Smith, Richard Norton, 1953 writer of foreword.
Title: Washingtons Iron Butterfly : Bess Clements Abell, an oral history / [edited by] Donald A. Ritchie and Terry L. Birdwhistell ; foreword by Richard Norton Smith.
Other titles: Bess Clements Abell, an oral history
Description: Lexington : University Press of Kentucky, [2022] | Series: Kentucky remembered: an oral history series | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021035783 | ISBN 9780813182261 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780813182278 (pdf) | ISBN 9780813182285 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Abell, Bess Clements, 19332020Interviews. | PresidentsUnited StatesStaffBiography. | Vice-presidentsUnited StatesStaffBiography. | Social secretariesWashington (D.C.)Biography. | United States. White House OfficeOfficials and employees. | Johnson, Lady Bird, 19122007Friends and associates. | Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 19081973Friends and associates. | Washington (D.C.)Social life and customs1951 | KentuckyBiography.
Classification: LCC E846 .W37 2022 | DDC 973.922092 [B]dc23
This book is printed on acid-free paper meeting the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
Member of the Association of University Presses
For our iron butterflies,
Anne and Janice
Contents
Foreword
With Bess Abells passing in October 2020, an event that only deepened the sorrow generated by that annus horribilis, a cruel paradox suggested itself. This woman, robbed of her memory by the most insidious of diseases, had spent most of her eighty-seven years creating memories to be cherished by the family she adored and the countless friends she made to feel like familynot to mention several presidents and vice presidents, or the tens of thousands of White House guests she welcomed as White House Social Secretary. That was her official title, though it hardly did justice to her versatility or brio. Mrs. Johnson came closer to the truth when she pronounced Bess the greatest showman since P. T. Barnum.
Having eloped with the love of her life in 1955, Mrs. Tyler Abell did her wedding planning belatedly, but on a grand scale. Her efforts to air-condition the ovenlike Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for Luci Baines Johnsons 1966 nuptials came to naught, but she did manage to defuse a potentially embarrassing snafu involving the use of nonunion dressmakers. At least the International Ladies Garment Workers were placated. For Lynda Bird Johnsons East Room wedding to Chuck Robb in December 1967 Bess borrowed four walkie-talkies from the CIA. No friend to the status quo, she proposed to dress the bridesmaids in Christmas red. Emulating her employers thrift, she figured she could recycle the wedding decorations as part of the seasonal makeover of Americas House.
