Trumans asked Vietta Garr, an African American housekeeper and cook from Independence, to join them in the White House as cook and companion, and she agreed. (Garr had worked for Madge Wallace for years at the North Delaware Street home and had a close relationship with Margaret.) The Trumans could now enjoy more exciting aromas from the White House stoves, Vietta Garr’s Missouri home cooking—fried chicken, baked ham, sweet potatoes, and Harry’s favorite angel food cake. Meanwhile, Alonzo Fields, the head butler and an accomplished mixologist, had perfected old-fashioneds according to the
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