FRANCES KAYE PULLEN FILES, 1974-77

Frances Kaye Pullen (usually know as Kaye) joined the White House staff as a speechwriter for President Ford in the Editorial Staff Office in November 1974.  One year later she informally began assisting with Mrs. Ford's speech preparation and transferred to the First Lady's staff in February 1976.  Pullen remained on the First Lady's staff as her speechwriter, reporting directly to Sheila Weidenfeld, Mrs. Ford's press secretary, until the end of the administration.

Pullen was responsible for drafting the First Lady's speeches.  These remarks rarely lasted longer than five minutes and were usually given during "drop-by" affairs scheduled for the First Lady.  Pullen also prepared occasional background briefing papers for Mrs. Ford's trips and assisted in the preparation of special messages the First Lady sent to various groups.

Many of the speeches prepared by Pullen and given by Mrs. Ford in 1976 were related to President Ford's campaign.  Other common topics included cancer, the Equal Rights Amendment, the Bicentennial, and the presenting and receiving of many awards.

The First Lady's speeches often went through several drafts before an acceptable text was agreed upon.  Pullen's files consist largely of these early drafts and copies of each annotated by Mrs. Ford.  Also included in many of the speech files are schedule proposals and agenda for each event where Mrs. Ford was to speak and background material gathered by Pullen to aid in speech preparation.  Pullen often interviewed Mrs. Ford before composing a speech and her notes concerning these meetings are in several of the speech files.

It is not clear who was responsible for Mrs. Ford's speeches before Pullen joined the First Lady's staff in February 1976.  Due to Mrs. Ford's illness in the fall of 1974, she did not do much public speaking until 1975 and during that time only occasionally until the presidential campaign was underway in 1976.  It is likely that Sheila Weidenfeld composed some of Mrs. Ford's statements with the assistance from the President's staff.

Related Materials (February 1987)
Pullen's materials concerning President Ford's speeches are scattered throughout the Paul Theis and Robert Orben Files.  The files of Sheila Weidenfeld, Mrs. Ford's press secretary, include scattered speech drafts for miscellaneous events as well as more background on all events where Mrs. Ford appeared.  The Betty Ford Papers including background on Mrs. Ford's trips and her participation in Washington-area events, as well as some speeches.  Some material in the White House Central Files Subject File designation for Betty Ford, PP 5-1, may also be relevant.