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| Miss Helen |
July 20, 2006 |
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Dear Friends,
Helen Sewell passed away this week. You probably have never heard of her. Most members of Congress just knew her as Miss Helen.
In the back of the House chamber through some swinging doors that you can`t see on C-Span is a small room called the Cloakroom. It has telephones and couches and newspapers. But it also has a little lunch counter -- a place to grab a sandwich during a fifteen minute vote or an ice cream bar late at night.
It started way back in the early 1900`s when Helen Sewell`s father, a shoe shine man I think, brought in some donuts to sell to members in the cloakroom. He kept doing it and, in 1934 or 1936 he brought his daughter Helen to help him.
Helen didn`t want to run the lunch counter. She wanted to be a school teacher. But she stayed anyway and eventually took over for her father.
Helen knew what everyone liked. She introduced me to one of my lunchtime favorites: a plate of half cottage cheese and half tuna salad with sweet relish on top. It`s not as gross as it sounds. In fact, it`s pretty good.
While Helen was personable to everyone, she had her favorites. Henry Cabot Lodge was one. President Ford would go in to see her when he came back to the House. So did the first President Bush. She once told me what Nixon liked for lunch. I`ve now forgotten, but she never did.
House members live bustling lives. Miss Helen was a pleasant constant for all of us in a quiet corner off the floor. She died this week at the age of eighty eight.
Wish you were here,
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