Allena M. Price
Cite this Page
"Allena M. Price," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/1040.
- Position
- Cook
- Years in President's House
- 1948 – 1966
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Female
- Race/Ethnicity
- Black or African American
- Biography
- Allena Mae Price was born in Gaylesville, Alabama on January 13, 1893. (1) She relocated to Washington, D.C. with her husband, Walter, and their children in 1922, and worked in domestic service. In 1940, she was a charwoman, or cleaner, employed by the Public Buildings Administration. According to her obituary, she also ran a restaurant in the city until 1942. Afterward, she worked as a “maintenance employee” for the House of Representatives. (2) In 1948, Allena Price joined the Truman White House staff as a cook – although at that time, the White House was under renovation and she would have cooked for the first family at their temporary residence, Blair House. (3) In 1951, she earned a $300 salary increase from President Truman. (4) Price continued to work at the White House across the Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson administrations before retiring in 1966. (5) In 1993, Allena Price celebrated her 100th birthday and was honored at the annual Salute to District of Columbia Centenarians; she told The Washington Post: “I’ve had a very good life.” (6) Outside of work, Price was a member of the Mount Horeb Baptist Church and the Gettysburg Senior Citizens Club. She died on March 9, 1995, at the age of 102. (7)
- (1) Allena M Price, U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015; Allena Price, 1950 United States Federal Census, National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: 2526; Page: 7 A; Enumeration District: 1-1237A, Ancestry.com.
(2) Alena Price, 1930 United States Federal Census, Year: 1930; Census Place: Washington, District of Columbia; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 0305; FHL microfilm: 2340035, Ancestry.com; Allena M Price, 1940 United States Federal Census, Year: 1940; Census Place: Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia; Roll: m-t0627-00563; Page: 61A; Enumeration District: 1-311B, Ancestry.com; “Allena M. Price,” Washington Post, March 13, 1995, pg. B4.
(3) White House Staff Christmas Gift List of Bess W. Truman, 1946, Christmas Lists Subject File, Bess W. Truman Papers, Harry S. Truman Library, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/139308529; “Allena M. Price,” Washington Post, March 13, 1995, pg. B4.
(4) “Memorandum to President Harry S. Truman re Salary Increases for White House Employees,” November 1, 1951, White House Files: President's Secretary's Files, Harry S. Truman Library, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/354584155.
(5) Despite retiring in 1966, she appears in a photo of the White House Kitchen Staff from 1967; it is unclear if she came back to work at an event, or if her retirement date is incorrect in several newspaper articles. Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis Personal Papers. Textual Materials. Letitia Baldrige Files. Christmas: 1961 (2 of 2 folders). JBKOPP-SF037-009. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum; “Food Preparations in the White House Kitchen,” Image, November 30, 1967, White House Historical Association Digital Archives, https://archives.whitehousehistory.org/fotoweb/archives/5006-Digital-Archives-WHHA/Main%20Index/Main%20Index/Henry%20Haller%20Collection/1128329.tif.info; Leonard Hughes, “Offering a Little Insight on 100 Years’ Experience,” Washington Post, October 21, 1993, pg. DC2; “Allena M. Price,” Washington Post, March 13, 1995, pg. B4.
(6) Leonard Hughes, “Offering a Little Insight on 100 Years’ Experience,” Washington Post, October 21, 1993, pg. DC2.
(7) “Allena M. Price,” Washington Post, March 13, 1995, pg. B4. - Birthplace
- Gaylesville, Alabama, USA