Alonzo Fields

Alonzo Fields was born in Lyles Station, Indiana, on April 10, 1900.¹ As an adult, he moved to Indianapolis, where he ran a grocery store and meat market. After an economic downturn in 1925, he decided to pursue his true passion, music, and enrolled at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. To support himself, a friend recommended him for a butler position with Dr. Samuel W. Stratton, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. There, Fields met Lou Henry Hoover, who later offered him a job as an assistant to the Chief Butler at the White House, a role he began in 1931.² 

His brother, George, worked as a butler and valet at the White House By 1933, Fields had become maitre d’Hotel, a prestigious position he held until 1953.⁴ When asked about his duties, he remarked that he “looked over the shoulders of four presidents and was a silent member of the White House cabinet.”⁵ In this role, Fields oversaw both formal and informal meals for the presidents and their guests. He also experienced the segregation of staff at the White House. In his memoir, Fields recalled that under President Herbert Hoover, there were two dining rooms for household staff. To prepare for a potential visit from the president, “the colored help’s table had the same food as appeared on the other dining room table.”⁶ This practice continued until Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency, which eliminated nearly all white Residence Staff workers except for the housekeeper. Reflecting on this racial divide, Fields admitted he had “reservations concerning the White House as an example for the rest of the country.”⁷ 

After retiring shortly after Eisenhower took office in 1953, Fields moved to Medford, Massachusetts. He worked in civil service quality control while compiling notes for his memoir, My 21 Years in the White House, published in 1960.⁸ Alonzo Fields died on March 22, 1994.⁹