A sheet of paper work that was longer than your name to join the fire department. So i knew bride away and i could not read that so i told my dad he said you have to tell them to call you a do have to find a job. You have been in germany so you have to get yourself together. So i went to work with the restaurant up in the northwest and they want me to be the busboy the that was no more than just washing dishes so i started and when people would finish eating i would pick up their dishes so i did not really know and i thought it was for me so i started to pick up some of it to put it in the trade to take a back. But then they were hollering because there was no tips. One of the girls said pick up some tips so they called me and said youre not supposed to you just pick up the dishes and wipe off the table. I said okay. So i stopped picking up the tips but i did not get along too good there so i left and i told dad im not making it in the restaurant and taking a peoples tips. So this will not work. My two brothers came by and said your brother tried to get it job can you help them . So my two brothers didnt have the business but was trying to do some work themselves like going to peoples houses washing windows are going to the store to wash the storefront. So finally they said we will take an with us how to wash windows. So they did. Not too long after that, i was down at the executive Office Building and i was cleaning the front of the building, 30 feet high and i know that because i had six pieces of ladder in each piece was 6 feet. , there was one section to put them together. I got up there i started to clean the glass and i was doing good because i like the job pretty good. Mr. Rogers cannot of the building at the time and stood back and watch me so when i got down he said young man, i see you doing a good job washing the windows. I said yes, sir. I have been doing it a long time. He said military . I said yes he said have you ever been in trouble . I said no, sir. He said rehab the gentlemen at the white house that will be washing the windows but he doesnt know what hes doing and we need somebody to wash the windows that know what they arguing. They are doing. I will give you a pass and a stack of papers to take home and fill out. Fill them out because the secret service will check everything if we find anything wrong you cannot work at the white house. I knew when i was coming up i may have done nephew crooked things but nobody knew anything about that. I did not mess up my record. I took the papers home with my mom and dad looked them over i went back to mr. Charlie to his office and asked the secret service then they came to me and gave me permission so he said what i will do is taking into the white house to have you meet mr. Wilson. So i get to the white house and i was a little nervous and i see mr. Wilson. Actually he was cutting the putty out of the of windows that were holding the glass into the frame but he was actually cutting it so i said mr. Wilson i and mr. Stevens and abbas sent over to help you. About because i am a window washer. He said i am glad to see you be coz they are trying to make a window washer out of me and i am not. He said ironclad to see you. I said one thing when you clean the window you cannot cut the puttee out because that is what holds the glass in the window. And started to work that day on. With the new Press Building so my job was to wash all of the zero windows. After i had been there for a while but i was fast because when you work for contractors they are paid by the work that you do and that is how you are paid by the work that you do so i was real fast. And start to clean the fast and i had seen a lot of the guys that work there that they see me doing better job summer going to the locker room to play chess but i was not into that. I have a family and i have to support my family and i knew if i did it good job i would have to go back out to the cold to wash windows. So mr. Wilson said you do with every one to do. Because i am through with it. Some of the one day i cleaned all of the windows by was just Walking Around trying to keep from getting into trouble. So went to the chief usher because at one time he was secret service. Host had you gotten your permission at this point to work at the white house c. Were cleared . Not at that time. I did not have secret Service Clearance just my temporary pass. So i told mr. Rick his glasses were down on his nose he said what can i do for you . I said i and used to working fast to get my work done and i am doing it too fast here so i dont have enough to keep me busy and i dont want to get into trouble. I said i see a lot of dirty chandeliers have cobwebs some of them are so dusty itll look like chandeliers. He said you want to start trying to clean chandeliers . I said yes, sir. I have other experience with that to because i had cleaned those before. He said we will give you a try. These are the most expensive chandeliers so you have to be careful if you break them you are gone. Said no problem. Yes, sir. Theyd put up the scaffold for me where the red rug commerce into the main entrance. And that is where i started right there. They put up the scaffolding and started to clean the chandelier. There were the two main ones and they were the prettiest chandeliers in the house. And they were real crystal they were like diamonds. Flashing colors. So when i started to clean them, i made up my own solution. 100 percent ammonia with no grease, and knows the odds it was clear. I would take a little bit of that to just a capful with a hot book of water with the water being hot, and made the ammonia get that much hotter because the warmer the water the stronger the ammonia gets so i get a pot of the scaffold and a started to clean the chandeliers. I had a clean rag and a dirty rag but one that i could lay the crystal on to put them in the bucket intake amount and polish them with my chammy ragged and then i would play them on the rag and a would put up some pieces and take down more pieces. So i went around the new move me to the next one it took me eight hours to clean the first one. Host 6,000 pieces quick. I had not got to dundees reduce the to a mahal. I did not mind working overtime because i needed the of money for my family. I started on the other end i cleaned that one when i finished they were like two diamonds you could not buy a diamond that looked any better. They were picking up the flag and the rug all of the color i told my was finished and i got the payment so i went back to washing windows somebody asked somebody who was cleaning these chandeliers and . He told them and word got around of white house that steve is clean chandeliers go see how they look. In everybody talked how bright it was hell clean they were. They told me i did as a good job but at that time i did not know when i was asking for. Sometimes they say you may not get it. Host what made you bright your broken write your book by. To be honest with all of my pictures in and the closet in boxes have been there for a while and my wife passed and my daughter had come to me she said but will be do with all of this . Why dont you write a book about your experience. I said i would like to ride a book but i am not that good at writing a book. I picked up a lot of stuff from working in different places but i really dont know how to write a book and. She said you tell me what happened, everything and i will righted down. So i would call my daughter and navistar talking just like i am talking to you and she would write everything down and she just kept writing in trading so then we started another day this same thing. We went right back to which and i did that for about three or four weeks it took that long to tell her everything for god is trying not to leave out anything but i left out some things because they did not think it was appropriate to put in the book. Host what happens at the white house stays at the white house . Absolutely. Just like lost big is. Speaking of that we had to sign papers of finances and everything you can think of the tax papers everything so anytime they wanted to dated go into Police Records pull your records as a security check. Host started to work their with Richard Nixon do remember the first time you saw him in the of whitehouse cancer. He did not come down like the other president s it would be around 6 00 the was a good while before i saw him like 8 00 or 9 00. I was working in the flour room and he came not of the Main Residence and shut the door then you go when to another set of doors into the oval office. So he came through one day i said good morning mr. President he did not even notice my belt buckle. But we got along good because he was a nice president. One thing he believed he wanted the names of the children and how old they were ending a christmastime he would send presents to everybody all of my children. Expensive gas. Robots and all kinds of stuff. And i never really had a good conversation with him but he wouldnt set in the room he wasnt the type of president to be disturbed he acted like he wanted to be to himself. But i wanted to do my work and get out of his wife. I saw him a couple of times after that. So finally to say good morning i would say good morning mr. President. One morning president carter came through 6 00 in the morning going to the oval office and we got to be real good to say good morning mr. President he said what is your name . He saw my brass buckle everybody saw that. And lee would get to talking but but president carter him and i got to be very good friends. Host did it ever occur to you they were standing there with the president of the United States having a conversation . One eyed said good morning mr. President he would say good morning steve , that is what it would hit me you are talking to the top people in the United States and they recognize your name. That really made me feel good and i was sure that i would be there when they came through at that time even president reagan. Everybody that would see me me, i was of regular person minding my business with my work to keep me busy. Use said kind things about Hillary Rodham clinton and nancy reagan. What was your interaction with the first ladys question. The main ones would notice the chandeliers first. The open and pick up on a lot of the stuff that the men dont bother. To me i always said to myself how much smarter the women are they and the men because i have seen that at the white house. Mrs. Reagan and mrs. Clinton were a couple of very smart ladies even barbara bush. The only thing ever heard dad was miss Hillary Clinton was one night she was on the second floor bulletproof glass that slides back and forth it got a little warm so they would crack that at all for it was the president or her so it would slide that back to get some air. The secret service was under there and favor talking and having a good time but the president could not sleep but they made so much noise. Miss hillary went to the window and she hollered out the window if you dont cut out the new ways you will be working there no more. Sure enough i did not see them on that job no more. I dont know where they went. And ms. Reagan and the way that i described her, very much in love with her husband. Very much. They used to go have a diplomatic reception or to get on the plane they would always have the diplomatic Reception Room auletta people fought the white house said the front door and the back door. There was no back or front door because the dignitaries would come so they named it then north door and the south door. It is a beautiful place but ms. Reagan was a very nice lady but stayed to herself. But she readily speak and laugh. But was so great. Just talk about all over the whitehouse she loved tim that much and he was the same way. Thank god he did not get killed with the attempted assassination on his life. Were you there that day. Qsr. What happened was the president went to make us speech and the secret service surrounded him like a normal but when he came out hinckley fired two or three shots. The secret service guys right away grab the president and pushed and into the limousine they got hinckley mr. Brady was shot in the head. Host where were you that day . I was doing windows. I dont remember what part but i heard it from the eschers that there was the attempted assassination on president reagan. I was told everything that went on because when the secret service grabbed him putting him into the automobile they pushed him too hard he wanted to know where you pushing me so hard . They were trying to hurry of to get him out of their. Whenever the president is in danger they rationed out of their so he said want to go back to the white house. One of the secret Service Knows noticed he had blood coming out of the nose we said were not taking you back we will take you to George Washington hospital. So they examine them the best examination you begin as president and there was something in his long and told him he would have to have surgery but by that time the word had gotten back to ms. Reagan she came in and she was upset. She was worried and scared and crying and ran over to romney and said how are you doing . He said i am doing fine nancy. Everything is alright. So the doctors told him he would have to have immediate surgery. Had to have emergency surgery and, mrs. Reagan, she had came in and stepped back and he told her. Im going to be all right. Im going to be all right. And they all kind of smiled and went on with their work and after they did the surgery and everything. He stayed in the hospital for a day or two nobody knew how serious it was. Do you remember when he came back to the white house . Yes, sir, i do. And we all welcomed him and all standing outside and we were hollering for him and he was tough, man, he was a movie star, just waved, you know . Like he was all right. They had a wheelchair and rolled him in the door and went on upstairs and he was up in that bedroom for a few days and then he heard everybody outside hollering and clapping for him and he went out to the window and just waving at them which he wasnt supposed to be up out of the bed, but he was just that type of person, you know . Mr. Stevens, i understand youre a pretty good horseshoe player . No, i wouldnt say that. [laughter] yeah, i knew president bush, he was such a nice president and by him having so much, kind of resume that he had, the man had done just about everything. You know . And he put up a bill passed around he was going to have a horseshoe pit made and he wanted a horseshoe pit made and he wanted it made the way it was supposed to be made, the right distance, and the pegs supposed to be the right distance like its supposed to be. Right away he had a horseshoe pit made and it was over by the Swimming Pool because they had moved the Swimming Pool in the old place when it was down and president president , thats okay, it will come to me as i go on. He had the horseshoe pit made perfect and then he issued an order for everybody to get a partner and him and his son, were going to meet them over at the horseshoe pit and he was going to we were going to have the best man win. Dont be worried about it because youre the president , you pitch the best you can pitch. Okay . And whoever won or lost, he gave them a present. So i went around and i picked up a guy that worked in the shop, and matthew keel. He told me i pitched horseshoes when i was down in virginia, i know how to pitch them and i said, well, i pitched a little bit, but im not that good, but he said well go and practice and well get him. So i said okay. So, everybody else, all the guys, i cant remember whether any women was involved. I dont think no women was involved. All of the men picked their partners and they went over and practiced a day or two and then the president was ready. Im trying to think, i believe him and george w were partners. And a couple of the guys got up there and they were gone. They knocked them off right awayment a couple more came and they got rid of them. They were good. They were good together so my partner and i, we went over there. And first horseshoe first one i threw, it hit the peg and leaned up against the peg. Youre supposed to get three points, Something Like that. And my partner, he throw a ri ringer. We have it. We know were going to get these guys. Man when they pitched the horseshoes they pitched five after five after five both of them and shut us out. They shut us out and we just felt bad because we were shut out, but we felt good because, hey, we met the president , you know . Did it occur to you you were playing with the president of the United States . I guess thats why we didnt do nothing. [laughter] we was scared, scared half of the time, but he was such a good president and he really was into horseshoes. I mean, when he was in texas, he sent for some of the guys who come to texas to come down to texas to play horseshoes with him. He really loved playing horseshoes. Now, those are just a couple of the stories that youve included in the white house chandelie chandeliers, my experience working for seven president s. Here in your home you have got quite a collection of memorabilia. Yes, sir. When did you collect it and when did you get it . Starting from president nixon. After every year, all of the house residence staff, they got presents from the president. And ive got four from each president that only served one term. Ive got eight from the other president s that served two terms which made me have more, you know, so much more and it was everything, man. The bowls that set up there that president bush gave us and you get a chance, you look at it and theyve got the name and date and everything in there, a lot of it was during the bicentennial year. Just looking at your collection here, ive seen personal notes from Richard Nixon, ronald reagan, bill clinton, Hillary Rodham clinton just to name a few. Yes, thats the truth and they really well, i got to know the president s very well. By meeting them, going back and forth through the hallway. Sometime they come down and i would be up on the ladder cleaning the the light globes. We had light globes went from one end of the hallway to the other and its my responsibility to make sure they were clean every monday and sometimes theyd come down and id get off the ladder and wouldnt speak to them, i would respect them and good morning, mr. President and then get back up and do my work and stuff. But jimmy carter, he well, president clinton, he was very special because when i lost my mother and he came downstairs going to the oval office and i spoke to him and he came over to me and he said, steve, he said i heard that you had lost your mother and he said, you have my sympathy. He said ive been there and the same thing happened when i lost my father, which was a year or two later. He came to me and he said the same thing. And he sent me my every birthday he sent me a card. I got, i dont know, about 10 or 15 of those things and every birthday he would send me one. And president carter, he had taken the cake and this is what happened. Most of us that worked at the white house had never been to camp david. I was one of them. And id never been to camp david, id heard a lot about it, but i knew it was it was the president s retreat where they would go out and play golf or enjoy themselves, didnt have to worry about the country too much. I guess they had all of their phones and things with them, but mostly just enjoying themselves. So one sunday, we was getting ready for christmas and we had 13 days to always get ready for christmas, set up Christmas Tree, fix the chandeliers, i cleaned in the east room from ceiling to floor. Four of them. And i had to clean all of the windows and the chandeliers in the Bowling Alley, they had mirrors in the Bowling Alley that went from one wall all the way down to the other wall, and the same thing on the other side and that was my responsibility to keep all of those mirrors clean, even up where they had the gymnasium. They had windows all over the place because people liked to watch themselves when theyre working out in the gym. Okay now, getting back to president carter, on one sunday, we got the order that president carter had told them to get everybody ready, he would want to take them up to camp david for dinner. Man, we were all kind of excited. All of us got out and left work and left, and nobody had a chance to wash off or take no baths or nothing, we just grabbed tuxedos and we put on tuxedos and we were sharp and dirty. [laughter] i mean, because we had been working and sweating getting ready for the Christmas Day because we were there was a lot of parties going on. So he took us up to camp david and we got up and he introduced all of us and we walked around and everything, they had all of the tables, all big round tables set up with all of the trimming, you know, just like we were professionals, you know . A lot of us didnt know anything about five or six water glasses on the table and eight or nine pieces of silverware. We didnt know anything about that, which spoon goes where and which fork goes where. Anyway, we got there and had separate tables, i think it was six i think its six or eight was to a table. And they president carter got up and he asked blessing over the food and then the butlers went around and pouring out the wine in the glasses. So everybody had a nice glass and he poured one went around and poured out the wine and everybody was just, we were just so happy and laughing and smiling, when it got to president carter the butler was kind of new and he poured wine into president carters glass and president carter, he stood up and he said, steve, i said, yes, mr. President , i stood up. He said you know im religious and i dont drink wine. He said would you like to have mine . And i said, yes, sir, mr. President. So he reached over and handed me the glass of wine and i had two glasses of wine in my hand, everybody else had one and that drank mine instantly and i had one more left and sat down awn taking my time and i sipped the wipe and finally it was gone and then we had a big glass of cold ice water on the table and then all kind of dessert and everything, we really had a fabulous time. So when we got back to the white house, all of the guys said to me when we went in through the south portico, the big doors they go out into the round diplomate and reception lounge and the guys tell me, steve, man, were really surprised and ashamed. What are you talking about . He said you drank the president s wine. I said, well, man he offered it to me and i said you never tell the president no. They looked at me and they said, youre smart. I said, no, you never tell the president no. But thats why he gave thats why i drank his wine and it was good wine and i was ready to drink some more, but we had a good time and we left from there and we went back straight back to the white house, taking off our tuxedos and all of that stuff and back into our work clothes and i went back up on the scaffold because i had to finish the chandeliers and everybody else was hanging christmas wreaths and putting up the Christmas Tree and all of that kind of stuff, but it was a wonderful experience, man. I just cant tell you just how wonderful it was. And stewart calvin stevens, sr. , the book is called the white house chandeliers, my experiences working for seven president s, worked from 1970 to 2002. Where can people find the book . Well, we have it on our website, which is stewart stevens, sr. Dot. Com. Com and we also have it in a couple of book stores and were working to get it into some more book stores and we go around to different places to sell our books. So we can find it online as well, correct . Yes, sir, y that all happens tonight on cspan2s booktv. Let me introduce you to paul moreno, professor of constitutional history at Hillsdale College and the author of this book, the bureaucrat kings the origins and underpinnings of americas bureaucratic state. Professor paul moreno, on page one of your book you write the