The holiday season is a special time – even at the White House during threatening moments. Here are two Christmas stories.

On Christmas Eve in 1929, seven weeks after the stock market crashed and the nation slipped into the Great Depression, President Herbert Hoover and first lady Lou Henry Hoover threw a holiday party for White House staff and children. The gathering was off to a great start with a festive dinner, treats, and gifts. The Marine Band played Christmas songs. At about 8 p.m., a White House messenger smelled smoke. Along with a police officer and Secret Service agent, the messenger ran upstairs to the attic above the president’s office to find the problem’s source. The heat was intense and flames lapped stored papers. “The whole loft is burning up,” shouted the agent. They grabbed fire extinguishers, but that didn’t work. They called the fire department and the White House chief usher told the president that the “executive office is on fire.” The first lady hurriedly evacuated guests to a safe part of the building.