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Tom Ross

Tom Ross' column appears Tuesdays and Sundays in Steamboat Today. Contact him at 970-871-4205 or tross@SteamboatToday.com.

Steamboat Springs — When newly sworn-in President Barack Obama greets guests at his various inaugural balls beginning this weekend and continuing through Tuesday night, he shouldn't have to suffer the embarrassment President Ulysses S. Grant did at his inauguration March 4, 1873. That was the inaugural gala when the canaries froze in their cages.

The weather forecast for Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20 anticipates high temperatures in the 30s. However, the nation's capital was enduring an unseasonable March cold snap 136 years ago when Grant was sworn in for his second term in office.

The presidential party planners really let Grant down, according to the official Web page of the U.S. Senate.

Their first big mistake was in building a temporary unheated structure in Judiciary Square to host the ball. After a lightly attended swearing-in ceremony and a less-than-scintillating speech, guests arrived at the ball to find that the food in the buffet line was cold, as was the cocoa. Many guests never took their overcoats off while dancing.

Worst of all, the party planners had attempted to lend a festive air to the shindig by scattering cages of brightly colored canaries throughout the drafty hall.

It was so cold that night, the canaries fell off their perches and expired.

Andrew Jackson, the commanding general and frontier attorney from Tennessee, was a president who knew how to party.

After his swearing in party at the Capitol on March 4, 1829, Old Hickory was escorted to the White House by a large group of admirers hoping to crash the after-party. A number of them were described as frontiersmen in mud-caked boots who had come to Washington to congratulate the man they admired so much.

Indeed, large numbers of people off the street inundated the White House, and that was fitting as Jackson had run as a populist, vowing to end political patronage and return government to the people.

The official Web page of the White House reports that in his first annual message to Congress, Jackson recommended eliminating the Electoral College.

He even promised to treat Americans Indians with dignity and respect.

"It will be my sincere and constant desire to observe toward the Indian tribes within our limits a just and liberal policy, and to give that humane and considerate attention to their rights and their wants which is consistent with the habits of our government and the feelings of our people," Jackson proclaimed.

I guess even 180 years ago, it was standard form for presidents to break their campaign promises.

Unfortunately, Old Hickory's inaugural party got a little out of hand. So many people invited themselves into the White House that some of the furnishings were trashed. That presidential china sure makes fine souvenirs.

PBS describes how Jackson grew uncomfortable with the throng and snuck out of the White House. Luckily, when it was announced that ice cream and wine were being served on the lawn, people exited en masse, some climbing out the windows to ensure they didn't miss out on the free refreshments.

President Jackson convinced Congress to give him $50,000 to redecorate his new home after the inaugural bash and continued to throw public parties in the White House throughout his administration, something President Obama, sadly, will not be allowed to do.