A Local Family's White House Ties
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| Frances Buckley and her grandson Edward Buckley IV pose with President Bush and first lady Laura at the 2006 White House Christmas party. |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — It took more than 70 years to get there, but longtime Democratic Party supporter Frances Buckley has made it into the White House twice, thanks to an unlikely source.
"It took a Republican grandson to get me into the White House," said Buckley, who visited the president's home in early December for President Bush's annual Christmas party.
Buckley attended the festivities with her grandson, Edward W. Buckley IV, 24, who is the press assistant to Frances Townsend, the president's homeland security adviser. Edward, a Drury High School graduate, will take a position in the State Department this month.
"It's amazing, all the things he sees and does," said Buckley.
Making the trip to the nation's capital for the second year in a row, Buckley said she's always struck by the White House's decorations — and by the president's warm demeanor.
"There are these two great halls and there are tables so huge I can't even describe them. Everything is decorated; it's absolutely spectacular. And these tables are laden with everything you could ever ask for, from shrimp to the most delectable deserts," Buckley said.
"And the president, he's a very different person than I anticipated. I always imagined him to be very cold," she added. "He's so different than what he appears on TV."
After having the opportunity to meet with the president and first lady Laura Bush, Buckley said the pair were "cordial and sweet," taking extra time to speak with her.
"It's all just so exciting," said Buckley.
Calling herself a Democratic "since I was old enough to vote," Buckley has been active in politics for many years, receiving invitations to presidential inaugurations for both Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. Though she has no intentions of switching her loyalties, Buckley said she was happy to have been able to develop her own impression of the president.
"I don't agree with a lot of the things he's done but he's really a very kind man. He should show that side of himself to the public," she said.
A Family Passion
In the 1980s, Buckley served on the City Council and was Mayor John Barrett III's first opponent in the race for mayor. Also the first ever woman elected president of the former Northern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, Buckley paved the way for women to hold leadership roles in the community.
"It was a man's world in business and a man's world in government and I feel as though I opened the door for a lot of women," said Buckley, who also helped start Century 21, Harold Dupee Realtors in 1986. Buckley's husband, Edward Buckley Jr., was the Northern Berkshire register of deeds for more than 30 years.
With such a strong presence in local politics, Buckley thinks some of that passion influenced her grandson, a 2005 graduate of George Washington University.
"I hope some of our love of politics rubbed off," she said. While she thinks her young grandson has no intention of leaving the city, she prefers the lifestyle in small-town New England.
"I always said I'd rather be a big fish in a little sea than a little fish in a big sea," Buckley said.
Tags: first lady, president,
