Barbara Gamarekian Oral History Interview JFK#1, 6/10/1964

Creator: Barbara Gamarekian Interviewer: Diane T. Michaelis Date of Interview: June 10, 1964 Place of Interview: Boston, Massachusetts Length: 103 pages (DIANE T.) MICHAELIS: How was it said that Mimi had met the President originally? GAMAREKIAN: Well, she had graduated fromoh, dear, what is the school that Mrs. Kennedy [Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy] graduated from? The preparatory school? I cant think of the name of it. Mrs. Chapins school? MICHAELIS: Chapin. GAMAREKIAN: She was the editor of her school newspaper, and following the campaign she thought it would be interesting to do an article on Mrs. Kennedy, since Mrs. Kennedy was now in the White House and an alumna of the school, and had written Mrs. Kennedy about the possibility of coming and seeing her and Tish Baldrige [Letitia Baldrige] had apparently arranged for Mimi to come down and spend some time in Washington, but Mrs. Kennedys schedule was such that she was not able to see her personally. I dont know if Tish was a graduate of Mrs. Chapins but at any rate, Tish saw a good deal of Mimi and gave her a lot of background, enough material to do an article on Mrs. Kennedy, but apparently the President did meet her on this visit. He had more time than Mrs. Kennedy (chuckles). Barely. And she was brought over and met the President. I dont know how much she saw of him but at any rate, while she was there she also met Priscilla [Priscilla Wear] who worked in the Presidents office and who was one of the younger girls. And I think she may have stayed with Priscilla while she was down here for the weekend, but I dont know how the job came about. Mimis story was that she had had a note from Priscilla asking her if she would like to come and work in the White House that summer and I dont know who suggested it or how she ended up there, but that was how she made the original contact. MICHAELIS: The other thing that does strike one as being rather extraordinary is why, of all places, to be in the Press Office which would presumably be the most conspicuous place to GAMAREKIAN: I suppose MICHAELIS: be. Inside, the White House photographer GAMAREKIAN:Yes and you know a girl wasnt in the office very long before the press began to ask why she was there and what she was doing because Mimi had no skills. She couldnt type. She couldnt She was a bright girl. She could answer the phone and she could handle messages and things but she was not really a great asset to us. But there was great mobility in the Press Office. Whenever the President travelled, members of the press staff travelled as well. You always have a press secretary and a couple of girls travelling as well as a large contingent of newspaper people and it was, I think, easier. One of the other girls worked in our office and had been working there from the very beginning. She made almost all of the interesting trips and the trips are normally rotated among the girls. We all went on trips one time or another, but Mimi who obviously couldn't perform any function at all made all the trips! So it made it very easy for them to move around, although even if they worked in another office, they still would have been able to go on trips. I dont know. I just think that there was always one more desk that you could find in the Press Office, and it was a busy office. You could almost always use another person. If you were going to use a girl who didnt type or didnt have any skills, probably the Press Office was as good as any place because our phones are insane. All six lines ring at the same time and if nothing else, you can use someone just to take phone calls and look up things in the files, and cut the ticker and that sort of thing. And this is what Mimi did. And in another office where you would have a lot more substantive work I just dont know what she would have ended up doing. MICHAELIS: Well, just one more obvious question that probably ought to go in the record and maybe you have answered it already. Was the President himself aware of the rumors in the White House press corps? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MICHAELIS: What happened to her? GAMAREKIAN: Shes married. Mimis now married. She married a boy who graduated from Williams College. I understand that people do want these interviews to be candid and to discuss all aspects of the presidency and his life and, although I dont know that much about this aspect, it certainly....