J. B. West

Who was J. B. West?

James Bernard West, known as J. B. was Chief Usher of the White House for 12 years, from 1957 to 1969. His best-selling book, Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies, documents his time in the executive mansion, starting in 1941 under Chief Usher Howell G. Crim. The book serves as the main source of numerous White House anecdotes, such as President Johnson's demands for a multi-head high-pressure shower that required much rework to make powerful enough to satisfy him.