JOHN R. STILES AND MERRILL MUELLER FILES, 1974-75

John Stiles, a longtime friend of President Ford from Grand Rapids, served as Mr. Ford's campaign manager during the 1948 campaign for Congress and helped him during the Warren Commission's investigation of the Kennedy assassination.

Soon after Gerald Ford became President, Stiles began working part-time in the White House. Working under the supervision of White House Counsellor John Marsh, Stiles started several projects relating to the upcoming Bicentennial celebration. When President Ford decided that the White House needed a swimming pool to replace the one that President Nixon had closed, Stiles also became the White House liaison with the private group formed to raise funds and construct the pool.

Stiles transferred to the President Ford Committee in September 1975 and worked on campaign-related matters until his death in an automobile accident in April 1976. The Federal Energy Agency detailed Merrill Mueller to the White House to finish the swimming pool project. He remained until October 1975.

The files accumulated by Stiles and Mueller mainly document planning and fundraising for the new White House swimming pool and its subsequent construction. Included is information on the formation and operation of the committee, detailed financial contribution records, and product literature from companies offering their services. In addition, the collection contains material on Stiles' work on the Bicentennial, especially the science and technology exposition at Cape Canaveral, and his interest in housing issues. The collection includes nothing on his 1976 campaign activities.

Related Materials (May 1995)
Major collections on the Bicentennial celebration include the files of Counsellor John Marsh and his aide Milt Mitler. Other materials on the White House swimming pool appear in the files of David Hoopes, Kenneth Lazarus, and category WH 2 (White House Building and Grounds) in the White House Central Files Subject File. Some additional Stiles materials appear in the records of the Delegate Office of the President Ford Committee. A small collection of Stiles papers, relating primarily to the Warren Commission, is among the holdings of the University of Michigan's Bentley Historical Library.