Laura Bush Spends Afternoon at The Mount
 Bush last visited The Mount in 2006 as first lady. |
The party was organized by Lois Phifer Betts, whose husband, real estate developer Roland Betts, has been close friends with George W. Bush since their freshman year together at Yale. The group arrived at 11 a.m., beginning with an extensive tour of the gardens.
"They were all extremely curious and knowledgeable about the plantings," said Executive Director Susan Wissler, who accompanied them throughout the tour. "I would say there were only one or two varieties that they couldn't identify."
Following the garden tour, the group retired to the library, where they were greeted by Mount librarian Nynke Dorhout and Wharton scholar Irene Goldman-Price. Bush, who holds a master's degree in library science, had visited The Mount in 2006 as first lady to celebrate the acquisition of Wharton's 2,700 volume-collection.
"Mrs. Bush's last visit was very quick with every moment scheduled in advance," said Wissler. "This was completely different; we all sat in comfortable chairs and looked at Wharton's annotations and the many deeply personal inscriptions from good friends such as Theodore Roosevelt and Henry James."
Goldman Price, who is editing a collection of recently discovered letters from Wharton to her longtime governess and secretary Anna Bahlmann, due for publication in 2012, led a lively discussion that ranged from Wharton's insatiable intellectual curiosity as a young girl to her unhappy marriage and passionate love affair.The group then moved on to the dining room, where they were seated for lunch, just as Wharton might have hosted them in her day, at a round table for six. The lunch, catered by Betsy Dovydenas of Lenox, began with a chilled avocado soup, was followed by a crab and spring vegetable salad, and ended with a vanilla sorbet accompanied by fresh berries and a walnut brittle.
The visit concluded with a trip up to the cupola and onto the roof for a bird’s-eye view of the estate.
"Mrs. Bush has been a very loyal friend and supporter of The Mount for many years," said Wissler. "She was a fierce advocate when, as first lady, she was the honorary chair of Save America's Treasures; moreover, she was instrumental in procuring emergency support in 2008 when The Mount was in critical need of funds; and lastly, she played a pivotal role in making sure that the Bahlmann collection of letters were acquired by Yale. We are honored and delighted that she chose to spend her Saturday here at The Mount."
Tags: first lady, The Mount,
