Pastimes and White House History (#82)

Few subjects other than the historic White House could inspire the public to collect silver spoons, write postcards, preserve photographs, invent board games, build models, or embrace a teddy bear. With this issue of White House History Quarterly we focus on the creative ways in which this shared affection for and curiosity about the White House and its inhabitants have been expressed through favorite pastimes—just for fun.

We open the issue with a look back at twentieth-century pastimes. Baby boomers and their families will immediately recognize the Lincoln Logs and View-Master and perhaps even remember the wood-burning wonder pen featured in our opening photo essay.

Philatelists Lynn Batdorf and Rodney Juell detail the evolution of presidential portraits and White House images on U.S. postage stamps. While President George Washington appeared in 1847 on one of the first stamps, the White House was not pictured until 1938.

Alison Houpt takes us to her great-grandmother’s attic, where for decades a treasure trove of black-and-white photographs awaited discovery. The collection captures scenes of President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy arriving in Dallas on November 22, 1963, shortly before the president was assassinated. Taken from a close vantage point, the beautifully preserved views are published for the first time in this issue of the Quarterly.

Writing on the phenomenon and legacy of the teddy bear, Rebecca Durgin Kerr explains how a presidential encounter with a doomed young bear inspired cartoonist Clifford Berryman to bring the cub back to life in his illustrations. The stuffed toy bears soon manufactured by Ideal and Steiff became retail sensations. For more than a century the teddy bear has remained a childhood staple and a universal source of happiness and comfort.

Cecelia Rose Eure takes us to the Nixon White House, where first daughter Tricia Nixon’s public roles inspired the production of paper dolls. Historian Jessie Kratz meanwhile finds another Nixon-era pastime in the National Archives, Politicards, featuring caricatures of the president and his family. Kratz reminds us that Richard M. Nixon enjoyed poker and was even known as a card shark while serving in the U.S. Navy during World
War II.

Two additional articles take us behind the scenes to the making of modern White House games. The Association’s director of graphic design, Christina Hancock, explains her process for creating a twenty- first-century White House matching game, while the chief education officer, Matthew Costello, reveals how an online game, Brief the Chief, was created through a partnership with iCivics.

Author Keyawna Griffith observes that at the White House no aspect of American culture is too small to celebrate. She delves into the role of the White House in establishing and observing the national days, weeks, months, and years created to recognize our shared history, culture, and, of course, our favorite pastimes.

With our Presidential Sites Feature, Luke Boorady tells the story of the creation of a wholly new pastime for the twenty-first century. The People’s House: A White House Experience, which opened in September 2024 at 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue, welcomes visitors from across the country and around the world to virtually experience more than two hundred years of White House history.

Stewart D. McLaurin closes the issue with a preview of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, which in August 2026 will follow a 1.7 mile route, circling the National Mall.