Barbara Bush, the Matriarch Mach 12, 2020

Copyright © 2020                               John F. Oyler

March 12, 2020

Barbara Bush, the Matriarch

The Bridgeville Area Historical Society welcomed back one of its favorite speakers last month, Dr. John Aupperle. His subject this year was Barbara Bush, based on the recent biography “Matriarch”, by Susan Page.

Barbara Pierce was born in New York City in 1925 and reared in nearby Rye, New York. Her father was President of McCall Corporation, publisher of popular women’s magazines. If her future husband, George H. W. Bush, was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, her spoon was at least silver-plated.

Her mother and her older sister, Martha, were both slender fashion plates; in contrast Barbara was plump and dumpy, “the little fat girl” according to her mother. Apparently this feeling of inferiority stayed with her all her life.

She attended Ashley Hall, a distinguished girls’ preparatory school in Charlestown, South Carolina. In 1941while she was home for a vacation she met George H. W. Bush at a country club dance. He was a student at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, an equally prestigious boys’ preparatory school.

They became engaged eighteen months later, when George went off to war as a pilot of a Navy torpedo bomber. When he returned in 1945 she dropped out of Smith College and they were married. Their marriage lasted seventy-three years until her death, a record for a President that has since been broken by Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter.

The newlyweds moved to New Haven, Connecticut, where George comfortably negotiated an accelerated program in economics and sociology at Yale in two and a half years, while playing first base in the first ever College World Series.  They then moved to Odessa, Texas, where he began a successful career in the oil industry.

Barbara was an extremely supportive wife in these years, as their family began to grow. The death of their three-year-old daughter, Robin, in 1953 was a terrible shock to both of them.  The five surviving children remember her as the glue that held the family together in their early years.

George’s father, Prescott Bush, served two terms as U. S. Senator from Connecticut, beginning in 1953. It was obvious that George would eventually enter politics on his own; in 1964 he lost a race for Senate representing Texas. He successfully was elected to Congress two years later.

A second run for the Senate in 1970 was also unsuccessful. As a consequence President Nixon appointed him Ambassador to the United Nations. A series of other high profile assignments followed – Chairman of the Republican Party, Head of the U. S Liaison Office in China, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Vice President of the United States, and finally President.

Through all of this Barbara played the part of good wife and mother. She enjoyed their tour of duty in China and endured her role of “Second Lady of the United States”.  The contrast between her and Nancy Reagan was very obvious. This experience groomed her to be venerated as “America’s Grandmother” when her husband became President in 1988. The White House staff found her to be the friendliest and most easygoing occupant of the First Ladies the had served.

Her favorite cause was family literacy, culminating in the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, which currently supports 1,500 literacy programs across the nation. Other issues that had her enthusiastic support were abortion access, AIDS awareness, civil rights and LGBT issues.

Barbara accepted retirement in 1992 much better than did her husband. Both were eager to dismiss the Secret Service protection and to return to life as normal, albeit wealthy, citizens. She was shocked to realize that hadn’t cooked or driven an automobile for twelve years.

She received honorary doctorates from thirty-one colleges and universities, including her alma mater, Smith College, eleven more than her husband. When asked what her values were, she responded “Respect, dignity, and trust”. Her legacy is the fact that her name is synonymous with them.

The next Society program meeting is scheduled for 7:30 pm, Tuesday, March 11, 2020. Another favorite, Todd DePastino, will discuss “The American Way of Voting; A Wild History”, in the Chartiers Room of the Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Department.