After the United States entered World War I, Mrs. Wilson joined a Red Cross unit, donned a uniform that made her look a bit frumpish, and spent afternoons in a Washington canteen handing out candy and cigarettes to soldiers passing through town. One hot day in July, a soldier came up to her and said, “Am I right in thinking this is Mrs. Wilson?”
”Yes, you are,” said Mrs. Wilson, “and I am mighty glad to tell you how proud the President is of you boys.”
The soldier then brought some of his buddies over to meet the First Lady. But one of the doughboys, a tall, raw-boned fellow from the West, took a look at Mrs. Wilson and, and then drawled: “Well, buddy, you can’t string me. That’s not the wife of the President of the United States.”
”Oh,” interposed Mrs. Wilson, “you don’t think I look the part?”
”I certainly do not,” he said frankly.
”Well, I agree with you,” laughed Mrs. Wilson; “but when you come back from France, if you will come to the White House I will do my best to ‘look the part’ and give you such a warm welcome it will convince you.”
Source:
Boller, Paul F. "The Wilson Wives." Presidential Wives: An Anecdotal History. New York: Oxford UP, 1988. 235-36. Print.
Original Source Listed:
Memoir, 158-59.
Further Reading:
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