Elaine Cogan Crashes the White House

Read all about how Elaine Cogan, COC Principal, gained entry to the White House on the strength of her Multnomah County Library identification card!

Story courtesy of OregonLive.com (http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/12/what_a_multnomah_county_librar.html)

What a Multnomah County library card can get you
By Guest Columnist
December 15, 2009, 7:00AM

It was April 12, 1973, and I was one of 50 guests, representing each of the states, who received a national landscaping award from First Lady Pat Nixon. I was chairwoman of the Portland Development Commission at the time and accepted the award for Pettygrove Park, a gem just south of Keller Auditorium. For evidence, I have my photograph with the president’s wife in the State Dining Room, plus the tiny pot in which I carried a gift, a Sappora Japonica seedling from the White House grounds. (We were told it was President Richard Nixon’s favorite tree.) That cutting has now grown to 40 feet and has been designated an official Portland Heritage Tree.

But back to the story. When I arrived that day at one of the many security gates at the White House, the guard consulted the invitation list. After verifying that my name was on it, he asked for identification. I must have been more nervous than I expected to be as I always carry my Oregon drivers license and other forms of identification. After fumbling for what seemed forever, I handed him my Multnomah County library card, saying that was all I could find. The guard turned it over, looked it at closely and waved me on through, saying, “It must be legitimate. I have never seen anything like this before.”

It was a gala afternoon, with the Marine Band playing, light refreshments and the opportunity to wander through the Blue Room and other beautiful ceremonial spaces. In addition to receiving a plaque and the seedling from Pat Nixon, I had the opportunity to have a short chat with Helen Thomas, who even then was a veteran White House correspondent. She obliquely warned me of the Watergate storm that would burst on the national scene shortly thereafter. When I took an unauthorized peek at the Oval Office, I was told by a staff member that the president was working there at that time. Indeed, he was, as that date appears prominently on the White House tapes.

I often have wondered if anyone else could be so easily admitted to the White House. Now, many years later, we know.

Elaine Cogan is a principal in the Portland consulting firm Cogan Owens Cogan.