Word: scouten
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...occupant of the grandest working home in the U.S. "It has never been in better shape," says Chief Usher Gary Walters, whose staff of 93 chases the dust tracked in by a million and a half tourists a year. The thought is echoed by curator Rex Scouten, who presides over the 38,000 pieces of art, furniture and tableware in the White House collection...
There is a marvelous mystery that Scouten is nurturing for the White House bicentennial celebration. Only one eyewitness account exists of the laying of the cornerstone on Oct. 13, 1792. An unknown Philadelphian related in a letter that the Freemasons had paraded from Georgetown to the site, placed a plaque between two stones, then returned to "Mr. Suter's Fountain Inn, where an elegant dinner was provided," followed by 16 toasts. The celebrators understandably forgot to record where the cornerstone and plaque were laid...
...mine detector picked up a signal between two stones at the southwest corner. Harry Truman ruled against disturbing the ghost. Two years ago, Scouten tried a radar device and got an image in the same place. Among other decisions for George Bush will be whether to lift out that fragment of history and raise a few more glasses to the grand old home...
...decade ago, the chief White House usher, Rex Scouten, who keeps the White House running, was confronted with the discouraging fact that new White House paint would peel in sheets only months after application. The Bureau of Standards and the Duron Paint Co. advised stripping off the accumulation, in some places 50 layers deep. Four years ago, the east wall was cleaned and yielded its story for Seale. Scorch marks from the fire set in 1814 by the British rascal General Robert Ross were still visible. Lumpy mounds turned out to be exquisite carvings, done by skilled immigrant stonecarvers...
...Scouten and his experts found a new paint that could be washed instead of replenished. But the paint job will not be finally finished until 2004 because the process is so complicated and expensive. (The U.S. dollar has proved less sturdy than the sandstone: it has already cost the Federal Government more money-$283,000-to repaint the grand old mansion than to build the place.) One other secret. The White House is not going to be pure white. Scouten wanted a paint that would dazzle the eye in the sun and yet glow with a mellow gold...