I Painted the White House
White
This Italian immigrant had an American dream; here's
how he made it come true By DEWEY D'AGOSTINO
jui aa g HMM UaM
This Friday, Jan. 20, President-Elect Kennedy
and his family move into the White House.
Every four years the No. 1 house in the nation is
painted for the new President and the 182 million
Americans who look on it as partly their home, too.
Frankly, I'm very proud that I had the honor
to paint the White House this time. As a painting
contractor, I've dreamed about it for 20 years.
But I had a big surprise when I first started on
the outside of the White House in November. I
found out that it wasn't really white! Only the
trim and columns were white. The rest was sort
of a sand or limestone color.
So what did I do to get a (rue white color for
the White House? I prepared a special mixture.
I can't tell you what that's my trade secret.
All I know is that even before the job was done,
people around Washington started calling me "The
Man Who Made the White House White."
The greatest compliment I got came from Presi
dent Eisenhower himself. On Nov. 10, as he was
leaving in his helicopter from the south lawn, he
said to the crowd there, "Gee, the building really
looks white now. It never looked this white be
fore." Nineteen days later, he said to one of my
painters, "Your firm is doing an excellent job.
I don't want the painters to have any more inter
ruptions. Don't stop on my account!"
I met President Eisenhower at the 1956 Inaugu
ral Ball. I was one of four persons attending from
Mercer County, N.J. When I saw the President,
I said to him, "I'm going to paint your house some
day." All that I remember him replying was
"Thank you, thank you," and moving on.
Last May, when I was visiting Washington, 1
heard that the White House was going to be
painted. I talked to my representative, Frank
Thompson, Jr., to learn the requirements, then 1
went home to Trenton to prepare a bid. It came
to $23,800 $177 below my nearest competitor
and $1,200 less than the White House allotment.
Before I was awarded the contract, I had esti
mated 500 to 550 gallons of paint for the outside
walls, the three police booths, and the black iron
fence. Actually, I used 750 gallons because I did
four or five coats in some places even though
specifications called for only two. I kept throwing
in such extras as using a torch to get off bad paint.
After all, this job wasn't just for the money.
The contract allowed me GO days, but I was so
anxious to break all records that I finished it
in 26. 1 was supposed to have 14 men, but I used 21.
I brought my foreman and three painters down
from Trenton but hired the rest in Washington.
Naturally, all the men had to be cleared for se
curity. But I was very fussy with the fellows the
union sent over. I insisted that every painter have
an extra pair of clean overalls, and I supplied steri
lized rags and ash trays. I sent one painter home
because he needed a shave, haircut, and bath.
RioiiT after John Kennedy was elected Presi
dent, I got dozens of letters and wires asking
me if I was going to paint the White House green. I
thought this was in bad taste. That's not the way to
welcome a new President. I got so mad I threw .
them in the wastebasket. If I had my way, though,
I'd paint the lampposts and the canopy on the west
wing green. Then they'd blend in better with the
lawns and trees.
Now that the outside job is done, I'm going to
offer to paint the new First Lady's bedroom, and
Caroline's and young John's nursery. I would
charge $1 each. I feel this is little enough to do for a
country that has been so good to me an immigrant
born in Rome, Italy, 56 years ago who came to
America in 1920.
The White House staff was very nice to work
with. They told me that the White House is the
oldest building in Washington. It was begun in
1792 and first occupied in 1800 while still unfin
ished. I heard it was designed by an Irishman in
1792 on a site recommended by a Frenchman,
burned by the British in 1814 and now painted
by an Italian immigrant in 1960. They said that
President Theodore Roosevelt suggested to Con
gress that "White House" should be the official
designation, and it was adopted.
But what I remember most is a prayer by John
Adams, our second President and the first to live
in the White House.
"I pray Heaven," he wrote, "to bestow the best
of blessings on all who shall inhabit this house
and may none but wise and honest men do so."
Dewey D'Agostino, here on the South Terrace of the White House, completed painting in a record 26 days.
' ' V
hU'si --i&altf,;,fe
COVER:
That's not the Masked Maruel with the pert
young lady on our cover. He's a ski enthu
siast caught by photographer Arthur Schatz
wearing the latest in snow headgear. For
more on this, see "Wild but Warm" f p. 15).
Family
Weekly
LEONARD S. DAVIDOW Prcidmt nml 'M,r
WAITER C. DREYFUS I'rVr 'rrni.l. ill
PATRICK E. O'ROURKE l,rivrliii,,7 Mrrrtor
MORTON FRANK Oirrctar 11 I'ulihthr.r Kclnl
Send all odvertiiing communication! to Family Weekly,
153 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago t, III.
January IS. 1961
Board of Editor!
ERNEST V. HEYN Kdilor-in-Cliirl
BEN KARTMAN Kxrnilivr Editor
ROBERT FITZGIBBON Mmmiiiita Kdilo
MARGARET BELL fViilurri Kdilor
PHILLIP DYKSTRA Art Dirrrlor
MELANIE DE PROFT Food Kdilor
Addretl all communication! about editorial feature! to
Family Weekly. 60 E. 56th St., New York 22, N. Y.
Bob Driicoll, John Hochmann, Jerry Klein, Harold London,
Murray Miller, Jack Ryan; Peer Oppenhelmer, Hollywood.
1 mi, FAMILY WEEKLY MAGAZINE, INC., 153 N. Michigan Av.., Chicago I, III. All rights reierved.