Margaret L. Price

Margaret Louise Price was born on December 24, 1916 in Culpeper, Virginia.¹ By 1940, she was living in nearby Catalpa and working as a cook.² She moved to Washington, D.C., sometime prior to 1950.³

Information about Price’s work at the White House is currently limited to a single known source. In 1971, White House Chief Usher Rex Scouten wrote a letter of recommendation for Price in which he stated: “Mrs. Price was employed at the White House from 1951 to 1957 as a pantry girl on a part-time basis for large social functions. She was a per diem employee and not full time . . . We considered Mrs. Price to be a faithful employee and she ceased helping us for large social functions at her own request.”⁴ As pantrywoman, Price assisted in the kitchen shining silver, washing dishes, cleaning and organizing the pantry spaces, and helping with some food preparation for formal meals hosted at the White House. She likely assisted with such State Dinners as the visit of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands in 1952 and South Korean President Syngman Rhee’s visit in 1954.

Little is known of Price’s life after she left the White House in 1957. She passed away on November 15, 1994.⁵