President Bush rode into town just before 7 p.m. in a motorcade that turned off Main onto Royal and then another block to the Celebration Center where a cocktail reception and wedding rehearsal dinner were slated for his daughter, Jenna, and future son-in-law, Henry Hager.
Even the innkeepers and caterers had been kept in the dark about who their client really was until the last minute - although rumors were flying in Salado beginning Wednesday of last week.
Will Lowery who owns The Inn on the Creek, a toney restaurant and bed-and-breakfast, said a woman named Chris Pritchard called him eight months ago.
“She reserved all our rooms for a young bride whose name I was told was Lindsey Lineweaver,” Lowery said.
Lowery said the guests who called to register the rooms in their names were a red flag to him that something was up.
“They booked with the American Express Touring Card that comes with the personal assistant,” Lowery said. “Then one woman registered her room while in flight. That had never happened.”
Lowery said when he Googled Lindsey Lineweaver and found out that she is first lady Laura Bush’s personal aid, he knew something was up.
“But I didn’t know it was actually a luncheon for Jenna Bush until the day before the event,” Lowery said.
The luncheon for about 30 women was a creekside yoga picnic, Lowery said, that included Jenna, her maid of honor and sister, Barbara, the first lady and Jenna’s friends - who served as attendants in Saturday’s wedding - and their mothers.
When they arrived, they were presented with light appetizers and pomegranate juice. The younger women went creekside for yoga instruction amid a colorful array of pastel parasols. The mothers had chair massages.
Chef Cynthia Apichino said the group later dined on a light, summery vegetarian menu of red pepper humus with pita chips, black bean salad, ceviche, pasta salad, and chicken breast with a pesto spread.
She said she was impressed by the graciousness of the guests.
I went out front to check on things and Jenna Bush came up and thanked me for everything I had done,” she said. “I looked over at Laura who was getting a massage. She waved and smiled. All the girls were so respectful. It was so nice to be around something like that. It makes me feel good to get complimented like that. You know you’ve done well.”
Dave and Katy Hermann who own the Range at the Barton House in Salado said they catered the wedding rehearsal dinner at the Celebration Center, owned by Katherine Campbell. A woman named Sarah Knuson from Virginia spent months arranging the menu by e-mail and phone, Hermann said. Hermann found out the night before the event that he had really been doing business with Maggie Hager, Henry Hager’s mother.
“We thought, that’s just pretty cool,” Hager said. “They could have had anybody from anywhere in the world to do that event and they chose to keep local in Central Texas.”
Hermann said the menu included parmesan crusted stuffed artichokes, mini crab cakes, bacon wrapped chicken stuffed with jalapeno and Monterrey Jack cheese, Steak Style Salad (from his restaurant’s menu) pork tenderloin and a lemon crested rainbow trout over roasted corn pudding and a dessert of berry tart with a Chantilly cream filling over fresh raspberry sauce.
Hermann said the president and first lady were so incredibly gracious, kind and courteous and made it apparent it was the Hagers who were hosting this party, not them.
Katy Hermann said Jenna wore a sleeveless summer dress - a white top with V-Neck and black pleated skirt with her hair to the side and down her back. She said Laura Bush offered a prayer in the form of a poem - “A Wedding Prayer.”
“Bush greeted me and said ‘We are so glad to be in Texas - we are so glad to be home - thank you for taking care of this,” Ms. Hermann said. “They were very kind and the president took the time to introduce himself to the staff and thank them for being a part of this special event.”
Ms. Campbell said unknown to the press, the president and first lady did not return to Crawford at the end of the evening as published but stayed at her bed and breakfast, the Old Salado Inn, in the Lindsey Cottage.
She said it was about eight months ago she returned a phone inquiry to someone who wanted to reserve the Celebration Center. The phone number had a 202 prefix. When the party answered, they said “The White House,” Ms. Campbell said.
“I asked them, ‘White House? Do you mean White House as in Washington as in where George Bush lives?’”
Things will never be the same for Salado.
