One of the wonderful aspects of being an administrator in Montgomery County, in addition to working with students is working with other administrators and the friendships and ties that are forged that last a lifetime. I am lucky that I have such a tie with one of my former assistant principals, Renay Johnson who is now the principal of Takoma Park Middle School. Knowing that I am an avid Obama fan and gardener, Ms. Johnson asked me if I would like to help her chaperone about 25 students from her school who were scheduled to meet with the First Lady at the White House and get a tour of the White House Kitchen Garden on July 22, 2009. Of course I jumped at the opportunity.

We travelled to the White House via MCPS school bus and arrived in time for our tour. After some discussion about whether the gifts (TPMS t-shirts and mugs) that were brought for the first family could be accepted, we were ushered into the East Wing of the White House, the First Lady’s side. We were disappointed that plans had changed and Michelle Obama would not be able to meet with us but we were told our tour was going to be conducted by Sam Kass, the Obamas’ personal chef from Chicago, assistant White House Chef and coordinator of the White House Kitchen Garden project. After greeting us and answering some questions about some of the pictures we could see in the reception area we were ready for our tour.

Out the door we went, through the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, past trees planted by past presidents we could see Sasha and Malia’s new swing set, the south portico with the Truman Balcony atop of it and the Oval Office where the president works. We went to the Southeast corner of the White House grounds near the Children’s Garden and tennis courts and there it was---the White House Kitchen Garden! It was fabulous---a gardener’s dream. Mr. Kass did an excellent job of making it an educational tour showing us everything that was grown in the vegetable beds and some smaller raised boxes. As we walked through the garden he quizzed students on what plants they were seeing. Growing in the White House Kitchen garden were at least three kinds of tomatoes including cherry tomatoes which were covered with netting to keep the birds from eating them (this gave me an idea for my own garden), butternut squash, cucumbers, zucchini, onions, eggplant ( the long skinny Italian kind) and the regular kind, green peppers, okra, several varieties of lettuce, okra, shallots and herbs such as rosemary, basil, and parsley. Mr. Kass explained that as of July 22nd they had harvested about 300 pounds of vegetables some of which were used in the White House but much of which was donated to a local food bank. We met the groundskeeper in charge of the compost box which was made out of wood and started with Leafgrow. This was regulated by what seemed to be devices that measured the right ingredients for the bin so that the compost would enhance the garden soil. The garden was completely organic in that no chemicals were used in the growing of the vegetables.

Finally Mr. Kass took us over to the bee hive where the staff were able to collect honey made by bees. As we were leaving, I got Mr. Kass’s card and autograph. I told him a little about the Restaurant Management program that we have here at Paint Branch and invited him out to meet with our students and have lunch.

Even though we did not get to meet Mrs. Obama, it was a wonderful tour, and a great opportunity for students to see and walk through a historic kitchen vegetable garden. Ms. Johnson has now written to the White House to see if her students can be invited to the pardoning of the Thanksgiving Turkey. Stay tuned!