By Scott A. Grant
mail@floridanewsline.com
In the spring of 1975, students at the Holton-Arms School had a novel idea. Why not, a member of the committee suggested, have their prom at Susan’s house? Holton-Arms is a prestigious all girls academy in Bethesda, Maryland. At the time, the school’s most famous alumnae included a member of the Astor family and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. A few years later, Julia Louis-Dreyfus would join the list.
Susan’s house was certainly an exciting possibility, but there were some problems. For one thing, Susan’s parents, Betty and Jerry, would be out of the country. Arrangements were made for Aunt Janet to chaperone along with teachers from Holton-Arms and so it was agreed that the girls could use the house where Betty and Jerry were living so long as stipulations were met. The biggest one being that the prom would not cost the taxpayers any money. Betty, Jerry, and Susan Ford were all living in the White House. Jerry had become the only non-elected President of the United States upon the resignation of Richard Nixon in 1974.
The students at Holton-Arms raised $1,380, primarily through bake sales and so, for the first and only time in our colorful history, a prom was held at the White House. A few weeks before the big event, Susan Ford broke up with her long-term boyfriend, Gardner Britt. The couple parted ways over a disagreement concerning the Equal Rights Amendment. The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was designed to provide equal rights for women at a time when they were barely able to open a bank account or get a mortgage without a husband. Susan and her parents, President and Mrs. Ford, were big proponents of the ERA. Apparently, Susan’s boyfriend disagreed.
I guess it would be even worse to break up right before the prom. That is what happened to Jenna Bush, daughter of President George W. Bush. She and her twin sister, Barbara, went to a public high school in Austin, Texas. Jenna’s boyfriend purportedly dumped her a few days before the prom to take a prettier girl. Sister Barbrara was named Prom Queen. Now Jenna is a TV star, so it all worked out. “He knows who he is,” she told her TV audience.
Less than a month before prom, Susan Ford found a new date at the Apple Blossom Festival in Shenandoah. She was crowned Apple Blossom Queen. Her father put the crown on her head. Bob Hope acted as Master of Ceremonies. Susan invited her escort, a senior from Washington and Lee named William Pifer, to take her to the prom. He, of course, agreed!
Picking a band or bands for the prom proved problematic. White House staff insisted that any band be free of any drug charges. Initially, Ford and her classmates tried to get the Beach Boys. That did not work out, so they settled for “The Outerspace Band” from Trinity College in Hartford and a top-40 band from Virgina. Members of the Outerspace Band showed up in a beat-up Chevy Suburban “full of hippies” and announced, “We’re from Outerspace and we’re meant to be here.” As they rolled down the driveway towards the White House, one of the members mooned the Secret Service.
Some parents send their children to prom in a fancy limousine. Susan and her friends arrived on the presidential yacht, “Sequoia.” They enjoyed a meal of beef stroganoff over rice with white wine before arriving at the White House half an hour late. FDR and Churchill had once discussed war strategy on the “Sequoia.” Jimmy Carter would sell it a few years later as part of his austerity program.
Upon arrival, prom guests were greeted by a throng of press, snapping pictures and asking questions. A White House spokesperson assured the press, “This party isn’t costing the taxpayers a cent.” The attendees enjoyed Swedish meatballs and quiche and a non-alcoholic punch. Apparently, there was also an open bar. One student, now an anesthesiologist in New Jersey, remembers ordering a gin and tonic. The prom ended around 1 a.m. Some guests spent the night in the White House. Some went to the Lincoln Memorial to watch the sun rise.
In doing research for this story, one fact really hit me, and I had no place to put it, so I will put it here as an ending. Susan Ford remembers that she was excited to move into the White House because it was the first time in her life that she had a private bathroom.
Scott A Grant is a local historian and author. He welcomes your comments at scottg@standfastic.com.
