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of White House art and artifacts.
Retreat Christmas Tree Since their introduction, the ornaments have become a sought-after and
beloved collector’s item for millions of families around the country,
I became interested in starting my
White House Historical Association providing an opportunity for admirers of the history and the elegance
of the White House to share the traditions and stories of holidays past
annual Christmas ornament collection
as a result of having a couple family with the next generation.
members in the Secret Service. One Each year’s ornament honors either an individual president — we are
of them who was working White working our way from Washington to present day — or a significant
House duty decided to give each fam- White House anniversary. For example, in addition to the presidents,
ily member one of the first Christmas we’ve celebrated the bicentennial anniversaries of the American Presi-
Ornaments when the program started dency (1789), the laying of the White
House Cornerstone (1792), and the
in 1981.
year the White House first served as
That sparked my interest and the rest is history, both figuratively and
literally. The historical society Christmas Ornament program celebrat- home to the President (1800).
th
ed it’s 40 anniversary this year. I have collected my ornaments with- Though the ornaments themselves are
out exception since the program started. My collection is being shown conceived by a new designer every
for the first time on the Christmas tree at The Retreat. They have never year, they have been manufactured
been out of their packaging until this year. since the beginning of the program by
When Jacqueline Kennedy established the White House Historical As- ChemArt, a veteran-founded small
sociation in 1961, she envisioned an organization that would educate business in Lincoln, Rhode Island.
and inspire Americans — and particularly children — to take part in I hope you take the opportunity to
our shared history. Twenty years later, the Association launched an view these special ornaments before
initiative to celebrate that history by offering unique annual Christmas the season is over.
ornaments to the public. All sales of the ornaments benefit the Associa-
tion’s mission of education and support for the historical preservation Resident, Terry Brady

January 2022 Page 19