2. In 1975 Susan Ford held her senior prom in the East Room of the nation’s presidential residence
The youngest child and only daughter of President Gerald Ford, Susan Ford understood as well as anyone the sacrifices imposed upon the First Family. Awarded Secret Service protection prior to her father becoming president after being targeted by the Symbionese Liberation Army in the early 1970s, she was enrolled at the Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, Maryland, to complete her high school education. At the suggestion of her classmates, the First Daughter petitioned White House Chief Usher Rex Scouten to allow the senior prom to take place at the White House, a proposition he accepted provided security conditions were met and the costs carried entirely by the students.
Held on May 31, 1975, seventy-four seniors from the school descended upon the East Room of the White House. Attempting to book The Beach Boys, the unfortunate prom committee was forced to defer to two lesser-known bands, whilst the First Couple was unable to attend due to prior commitments out of town on the evening. Despite these setbacks, the event was regarded as a tremendous success, except by Ford herself who remarked it had been “just like any other prom”, concluding at approximately 1 am with after-parties continuing in the Executive Residence. Never replicated, the event remains to date the only high school dance in the building’s illustrious history.