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Excerpt From Nancy Reagan's autobiography "My Turn" published 1989 by Random House pgs 27-29 If the renovations made people angry, the new White House china drove them crazy! After our first state dinner, held in honor of Margaret Thatcher, the press reported that I had used a mixture of china patterns that had been selected by several past presidents, including Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Harry Truman. This was true, but I hadn't done it to honor those past leaders. I did it because there simply wasn't enough china from anyone pattern to go around. One reason was breakage. Fine china is delicate and when it's repeatedly handled and washed, a certain amount breaks. The cups and saucers are always the first to go because they're the most fragile. Then there's the problem of theft. Although the great majority of guests behave themselves, there's always somebody who just can't leave the White House without taking a souvenir. Back in the 1930's Elanor Roosevelt had to order new, larger than usual bread and butter plates because so many of her guests were sneaking the old ones into their pockets and hanbags! And during the Kennedy administration, linen cocktail napkins could no longer be used for White House receptions because so many people were taking them home. But te main reason we needed new china was because nobody had ordered a complete set since the Truman admistration. The Johnsons had purchased a new set in 1967 but it did not include serving platters, finger bowls, dessert bowls, and bouillon cups. And while the johnson china was lovely with the various state flowers around the edge, it was more suitable for a luncheon than a formal state dinner. The new White House china was made by the Lenox Company of Pomona, New Jersey . The same people who had made the china for the Wilson, FDR and Truman adminstrations. With their help and advice, I chose a new design. Ivory edged in red , with a raised presidential seal in gold on the serving and dessert plates. But I did not buy the china. It was purchased, at cost, by the Knapp Foundation in Maryland, who donated it to the White House. This was originaly done anonymously, but there was such a furor over the new White House china, and so many rumours, including one that it had been purchased by Texas oil tycoons, that Antoinette Vojvoda, whose grandfaher had started the Knapp Foundation called Rex Scouten and said, "Look, I think Mrs. Reagan is taking an unfair rap on this, so I'm going to announce that we are the ones who donated the china." I was delighted, but nobody seemed to be paying any attention to the announcement, and I rarely saw her name in print. To this day I still read that I "bought" the china. I don't know how many times I have to say this but let me say it again: I DID NOT BUY THE CHINA! For the press the china was a symbol of my supposed extravagance. Here too the timing was unfortunate. The new White House china was announced on the same day that the Department of Agriculture mistakenly declared ketchup to be acceptable as a vegtable for school lunches. As you can imagine the columinists and cartoonists had a field day with that one. --------------------------------------------------------------- Now all this was fine and dandy and somewhat interesting if only to me because after all I was gathering info to write my book about the Knapps. It was while working with a very powerful reasearch tool known as Lexis Nexis that I may of stumbled upon a motovation for the Knapp heirs to step out of Knapp Foundation tradition in making this donation. As I noted in the small piece from the Washington Post on the first page. The reporter says "Those In Know Were Astonished " by this gesture because the Knapp Foundation was set up for the bucks to go the birds (Ducks Unlimited and other pet projects of J. P. Knapp ) and education. J. P. almost singlehandly supported the school system in Currituck, NC in the 20's-40's and his donations to librarys and such were where his heart and interests initially lied. It was in Lexis Nexis that I discovered legal cases that went back to Joseph F, Knapp's days in the 19th century. Like his lawsuit with the city of Brooklyn over sidewalks! I also found IRS troubles over trust funds that Antoinette Brown J P's sister fought in the 1930's and 40's. Then Crowell - Collier appeals for tax relief when they were going under after J. P.'s death in the 1950's and then newer stuff including one that dragged on for years during the Reagan admistration years titled Alco-Gravure vs The Knapp Foundation. Basically what it told me was there were Two Knapp Foundations . The first one set up in 1923 was The Knapp Foundation of NY. Dodi was president of this one about 1933-34. The NY one was for the benefit of all Knapp printing employees and he had hundreds perhaps thousands of them. ( like I said earlier J. P. had his own Social Security system a decade before the government did ) This was quite a magnificent and progressive gesture and 180 degrees from the stero type tycoon of which many of J. P.'s peers were. I think he may of inherited a lot of philanthropic traits from his mother Phoebe. Anyway what the case was about was the Knapp Foundation of North Carolina which was set up to do charitable work wanted to move or should I say fold NY Foundation into it. That move was being was being challanged in NY courts by several Alco employees. In theory the NY Foundation was rendered unnessecary by Social Security and because it was not tax exempt, I could see the Knapp heirs wanting to fold it into the one that was. The last application for assistence was made in 1978 and denied by them. I'm am no legal expert but I suppose it was theoritically possible for the Knapp Foundation in NY to be eventually devoured by taxes ??? Anyway it seemed to be dragging through the court system so would not having friends in high places (and the Attorney General is mentioned in the court case) help expedite things? Just a rhetorical question, and like Nancy said... no one seemed to be paying any attention to the Knapp Foundation. Instead all the press wanted to do was give her grief over the whole deal....Could that also be why I got the ice treatment from the Knapp heirs? ( Antoinette Vojvoda BTW is Claire Knapp's youngest daughter ) Perhaps partially ....... but I don't really think so.... Like Mrs. Vojvoda's daughter once said to me We Have A Lot Of Black Sheep to which I say Baa, Baa, Baa and at this point don't really care what their reason was.......and so with that may I finally show you what I dragged you in here for...... MY PIECE OF KNAPP CHINA !
How About That...Ain't it a beauty? Printed by Knapp Co. in 1919 Words By A. J. Stasny & Music By Otto Motzan I know Phoebe would approve I think her son J.P. would too.... He seems to be smiling down at me extra big today NOW WHOSE TURN IS IT TO DO THE DISHES?
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