Cooking for state’s governors earned her national fame
Eliza Ashley spent more than 30 years as the cook in the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion, serving from the administration of Francis Cherry to that of Bill Clinton. Her 1985 book, “Thirty Years at the Mansion,” garnered her national attention, leading to book signings across the country, guest appearances on cooking shows, and interviews on CNN and “Good Morning America.”
Ashley was born Eliza Jane Burnett on Oct. 11, 1917, in Pettus Township, Lonoke County, on the Oldham Plantation. She was the daughter of William Burnett and Eliza Johnson Burnett. Eliza, who carried the same name as her mother, was often referred to as Liza or Janie.
Although she had spent some time in Little Rock with her mother as a teenager, she was working on the Oldham Plantation when she married Calvin Dodson in 1933. Louis Calvin Dodson, the couple’s only child together, was born in Little Rock in 1951. Eliza’s marriage to Dodson ended in divorce; in 1960, she married Fred Ashley.
Ashley learned to cook at a young age from her grandmother, who was the Oldham cook. When she died, Eliza took over. She left plantation life in 1942 and had several jobs before finding employment at the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion in 1954 during Gov. Francis Cherry’s administration. She began work in the fall and remained employed when the family left in December.
When Gov. Orval Faubus and his wife, Alta, took residence of the mansion in 1955, Henry Scribner was the head cook, with Ashley filling in on his days off. However, Alta Faubus insisted on a female cook, and Ashley assumed the duties. During the Rockefeller administration (1967–1971), Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller came to the mansion with his own personal chef, with Ashley again filling in on off days.
Ashley’s smile, enduring personality and loyalty won the hearts of Arkansas’ first families and anyone who came into contact with her at the mansion. She spent at least 36 years there — 35 as the cook, a position renamed “food production manager” during David Pryor’s administration. Over the years, she served formal dinners, banquets, receptions and holiday affairs. She fed governors and their families, dignitaries, celebrities, and first and second ladies of the United States.
In 1985, Ashley released her book, co-written with Carolyn Huber, mansion administrator during Gov. Bill Clinton’s time in office. “Thirty Years at the Mansion” was published by August House of Little Rock.
Beginning with the Faubus administration, Ashley’s October birthdays were celebrated at the mansion with great fanfare. She retired in December 1990 during the Clinton administration. First families who came and went maintained close connections with her throughout the years; even successors who came after her retirement stayed in touch.
In addition, Ashley was an American Legion Veteran Affairs volunteer and chaplain, a member of the Sunshine Charity Club (affiliated with the National Council of Negro Women), and an active church member who served on the usher board of Canaan Missionary Baptist Church in Little Rock.
Because of her service to the state, “Eliza Jane Ashley Day” was proclaimed on Dec. 20, 1974, by Gov. Dale Bumpers. She also received the key to the city of Lonoke in 1986; “Liza Ashley Day” was proclaimed in North Little Rock on Aug. 25, 1994, by Mayor Patrick Hays; and she was named “Countess of Pulaski” on Oct. 12, 1997, by County Judge Floyd G. “Buddy” Villines III.
In her 90s, Ashley moved to California. She died on Nov. 13, 2020, in Los Angeles.