2005 Ad

Travel America, Jan-Feb, 2005 by Randy Mink

In comments on the audio tape keyed to an exhibit on formal dinners, Letitia Baldrige lauds Jackie for "unstuffing the White House," changing it into "a beautiful, warm place for a party instead of a cold, formal, rather boring place." Jackie preferred round tables seating 8 to 10 persons rather than long tables that had been the norm. A mural of the Blue Room shows a seating chart for a dinner honoring Nobel Prize winners, and there are guest lists with her notations.

Jacqueline Kennedy altered our idea of what a first lady could be, and in so doing, transformed the image of America. The objects in this exhibition take visitors back to an exhilarating era in our nation's history--a moment when the world opened before us and nothing seemed impossible.

Contact: The Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605-2496; (866) FIELD-03; www.fieldmuse um.org. For a list of Chicago hotels offering "Jacqueline Kennedy" packages that include VIP admission tickets, call (312) 665-7309. Hotel-provided tickets can be used any day of the visit without having to call ahead.

Upon exiting the exhibition, visitors enter a gift shop selling mementos trading on the Camelot era. For devotees of that period in our history, it might be hard to forgo buying a Jack and Jackie T-shirt ($22 or $24), playing cards, journals, note cards, mugs, key chains, pens, or a pad of sticky notes emblazoned with the first couple. Books include a photo-filled, 208-page keepsake related to the exhibition ($35 paperbound) and The Best Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis ($21.95), selected and introduced by Caroline Kennedy. Also available is a DVD of Jackie's televised White House tour.