Secrets & Scandals Of America’s First Ladies

The Quest for Clean Clothes

In 1903, after dealing with overwhelming drinking and debt issues, her father committed suicide. After his tragic death, she felt she had to stay close to her family. No matter how hard she tried, Bess never got used to life in Washington. She even preferred the laundromats back home. Soon after moving to D.C., she insisted on having her dirty laundry mailed to a Kansas City laundromat. There’s nothing like home sweet home. She was so against being in Washington, that after the press urged her to hold a press conference with prewritten questions, her responses were either monosyllabic or “no comment.”