It was important for news coverage and public impression to have a crowd of people at the White House to help the President greet foreign dignitaries when they came to call. How better to get such a collection of people than to make quick calls to federal agencies and invite employees who already had the necessary security clearance. During the days I was involved, we were even trusted to bring along family members and other employees. Such was the situation on August 7, 1969 when German Chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger came to visit President Richard M. Nixon. I was able to take 3 of our children, a niece who was visiting from Nebraska, and a young summer intern from the office. It was a “once in a lifetime” experience for young people to be up close and see the President and the visiting dignitary review the troops and make a few comments. After the ceremony, there was an opportunity to wonder around the grounds and take pictures. I’m certain that security is much tighter these days.
Those were the days
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