Bruce Wagner came to Campaign ’76 Media Communications at the behest of Chairman Peter H. Dailey in November of 1975. On extended leave from Grey Advertising, Inc., the eighth largest advertising agency in the United States, the 32 year-old Wagner was charged with overseeing the staff and daily operations of the agency, a corporation specifically established to handle President Ford’s advertising for the 1976 nomination and general election campaigns.
The Waldron files cover her work form June 1976 to the end of the administration. The bulk of the collection documents the production of "News & Comment", the White House news summary, but some materials on her research work are also included. The news summary was a compilation and distillation of printed and electronic media news articles, distributed daily to ca. 150 White House staff.
This collection contains the working files of two directors of the White House Office of Communications, Gerald Warren and Margita White, concerning news media liaison and coordination of Federal Government public relations efforts. Discussed below under separate headings are the organization and functions of the White House Office of Communications, the scope and content of the Warren and White files, and related materials in the Ford Library.
The Gerald Warren Papers concern his work as Deputy Press Secretary and Director of the White House Communications Office between August 1974 and August 1975. He joined the White House Communications Office in 1969 as Deputy Press Secretary to Ron Ziegler in the Nixon administration, often delivering the daily press briefings as the Watergate scandal intensified in 1974. Following the resignation of Richard Nixon, Warren remained in the Communications Office, first serving as one of several deputies to Jerald ter Horst.
Birge S. Watkins, a 1971 graduate of Alma College, began working for L. William Seidman in 1972 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In September 1974, he volunteered to aid Seidman with the Economic Summit and was then appointed to Seidman's office as staff assistant for scheduling.As staff assistant, Watkins drafted replies to requests for appointments, appearances and White House tours. He also drafted responses to uncomplicated letters regarding economics and routine matters. Many form letters were used.
The Sheila Weidenfeld files consist of memoranda, correspondence, briefing papers, agenda, notes, newsclippings, press releases and sundry background material compiled by Weidenfeld and her assistant, Patti Matson, during her tenure as press secretary to the First Lady from November 1974 to January 1977. First Lady Pat Nixon's press secretary, Helen M. Smith, briefly served in that capacity for Mrs. Ford prior to Weidenfeld's appointment.
Roy Wetzel grew up in southeastern Michigan and developed an interest in American politics at an early age. He began making audio recordings related to presidential elections in 1952 as a hobby, starting with national party conventions and election night coverage. Between elections he continued recording news conferences, speeches, and significant political news stories, as well as collecting transcripts and related news articles.
David Wheat joined the White House Staff in March 1973, as assistant to Anne Armstrong, Counsellor to the President. Although Armstrong departed the White House in December 1974, Wheat remained through May 1975 and provided assistance to the Economic Policy Board staff. The majority of his files concern his work for Anne Armstrong.
The White House Administrative Office was one of the permanent operating offices which remained in the White House even as Presidents changed. The Administrative Office was divided into four areas: White House budget, payroll, personnel, and supply activities. Leave records, time and attendance reports, personnel records, and the purchase of supplies and equipment necessary for the operation of the White House Office were among the matters handled by the Administrative Office.
RELATED MATERIALSSamples of public mail were filed in the White House Central Files (WHCF) Subject File "General" folders. Weekly public mail tabulations and summaries are located in WHCF Subject File subcategory WH 4-1 and in the Robert Hartmann Papers, boxes 139 - 144. A sample of received telegraphs can be found in the collection White House Telegraph and Travel Section: Sample of Telegrams. Public mail related to the First Lady and the Ford children was filed in the White House Social Office Central Files.
WHCA selectively created, or acquired, videorecordings of news and public affairs broadcasts from the national networks CBS, NBC, and ABC; the public broadcast station WETA in Washington, DC; and various local station affiliates. Program examples include: news special reports, national presidential addresses and press conferences, local presidential events, guest interviews of administration officials, appearances of Ford family members, and the 1976 Republican Convention and Ford-Carter debates.
WHCA created weekly compilation tapes of selected stories from the evening news broadcasts of the CBS, NBC, and ABC television networks. It offered these “Weekly News Summaries” to White House staff via an internal cable TV system. The stories range across a host of national political, domestic policy, and foreign affairs topics.
The White House Communications Agency (WHCA) recorded audio of First Lady Betty Ford’s public remarks at the White House and a few other locations. The table below is based on WHCA’s inventory log. Actual tape times may differ from what was indicated by the White House staff. Use the search capabilities in your PDF reader program to locate specific people or keywords in this table. There are no copyright restrictions with these tapes. WHCA did not make audio recordings of Mrs. Ford’s other speeches and statements.
The White House Communications Agency (WHCA) recorded President Ford's speeches, news conferences, and other public statements. The table below lists these recordings and is based on WHCA’s daily inventory log. Actual tape times may differ from what was indicated by the White House staff. Use the search capabilities in your PDF reader program to locate specific people or keywords in this table. There are no copyright restrictions with these recordings.
The White House Communications Agency (WHCA) made a few audio recordings of Ford family interviews. The table below lists these recordings and is based on WHCA’s daily log inventory. Actual tape times may differ from what was indicated by the White House staff. There are no copyright restrictions with these tapes. WHCA did not make audio recordings of other statements by the Ford family.
The White House Communications Agency (WHCA) recorded press briefings by various officials, press pool reports, and occasional other events during the administration of Gerald Ford. The table below lists these recordings and is based on WHCA’s daily inventory log. Actual tape times may differ from what was indicated by the White House staff. Use the search capabilities in your PDF reader program to locate specific people or keywords in this log. There are no copyright restrictions with these tapes.
The White House Communications Agency (WHCA) recorded many of Vice President Nelson Rockefeller’s speeches, news conferences, and public statements made at the White House and other Washington, D.C. locations. The table below lists these recordings and is based on WHCA’s daily inventory log. Actual tape times may differ from what was indicated by the White House staff. Use the search capabilities in your PDF reader program to locate specific people or keywords in this log. There are no copyright restrictions with these tapes.
The Congressional Relations Office received and responded to dozens of letters addressed to the President from members of Congress each day. To control this mail and allow for easy reference, the Congressional Relations staff created a single centralized file of logs of incoming mail and copies of their outgoing letters. Copies of congressional letters drafted by other White House offices were often added to the file.
The White House Gift Unit is one of several permanent operating offices that provide support services to each administration. Marjorie Wicklein headed the office in the Ford administration, supervising a staff of eight. Wicklein reported to Robert Lindner, the Permanent Operations Offices' chief executive clerk, who in turn reported to the staff secretary, through David Hoopes, special assistant to the President. The Gift Unit processed all gifts received at the White House for the First Family or other government officials, with the exception of Bicentennial gifts.
The office provided still-photographic coverage of Gerald Ford's day-to-day activities as Vice President and President. David Kennerly, a photojournalist whom Ford met while Vice President, and four other photographers, shot approximately 290,000 photos of Mr. Ford and his staff and family. They took the photos in White House meeting rooms, offices, and the family residence; at Camp David and aboard Air Force One; during trips overseas, vacations in Colorado , and campaign swings. Kennerly enjoyed exceptional access to the President.
During the Ford administration the primary mission of the White House Photographic Office was to supply all the photographic needs of the President, the Vice‑President, and the White House staff, especially the Press Secretary. Oliver Atkins headed the Office until his December 1, 1974 resignation; immediately upon his departure David Kennerly, the President's personal photographer and Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist, took over as the overall director, at least nominally reporting to Press Secretary Ron Nessen. At the end of the Ford administration Kennerly reported to Ri
The White House Press Release Unit is one of the permanent White House support operations which serve each President. Supervised during the Ford administration by Mary E. Hooper, Editorial Clerk, the unit worked with the Office of the Press Secretary, receiving draft press releases, reproducing, and distributing them. They compiled a keyword index to presidential speeches, announcements, interviews, statements, press conferences, and messages whose texts were issued as press releases.
The White House Press Release Collection contains both the press releases published and distributed by the White House Press Release Unit and most of the press releases issued informally by the Press Secretary's office. The collection originally included only press releases distributed by the Press Release Unit, but a partial set of press releases collected by the National Archives have been interfiled. Most of those added were fairly routine releases of information which the Press Office distributed. Such items were usually just photocopied and released without ever being
SUMMARY OF FORD ACTION ON CLEARED LEGISLATIONPublic Bills and Joint Resolutions Signed1974 - 2781975 - 2011976 - 379Total - 858Private Bills Signed1974 - 351975 - 271976 - 115Total - 177Public Bills Vetoed1974 - 24 (4 Overridden by Congress)1975 - 17 (4 Overridden by Congress)1976 - 20 (4 Overridden by Congress)Total - 62 (12 Overridden by Congress)Private Bills Vetoed1974 - 31975 - 01976 - 2Total - 5 (None overridden by Congress)INTRODUCTION
Although the frequency varied, the senior White House staff met about three times weekly, usually for 30 minutes, during the Ford Administration. The meetings were informal, with no agendas apparently prepared and no formal minutes recorded, and could include office principals or their "alternates."To make documentation of these meetings more accessible, archivists searched the individual collections at the Library and copied scattered meeting notes prepared by White House staff. That search produced information for 11 meetings in 1974, 102 in 1975, 203 in 1976, and 11 in 1977.
The White House Social Files contain materials that relate to the activities of First Lady Betty Ford and her staff. They were maintained in a designated filing scheme under the supervision of the Chief of Files and the White House Central Files staff. Included was over 500 cubic feet of mail addressed to Mrs. Ford, or both President and Mrs. Ford, from the general public that became the White House Social Files Bulk Mail File. White House staff sorted this mail into boxes by general category or topic, but it remained unorganized within each box.
RELATED MATERIALS (December 2012)Individual staff office files document the activities of the First Lady’s staff. These include the files of: Russell Armentrout, Maria Downs, Elizabeth O’Neill, Susan Porter, Frances Pullen, and Sheila Weidenfeld. The Library also holds the personal papers of Betty Ford, Maria Downs, Peter Sorum, and Sheila Weidenfeld (unprocessed).The White House Social Office maintained several other central filing systems. See collections beginning with “White House Social Office”.
RELATED MATERIALS (December 2012)Individual staff office files document the activities of the First Lady’s staff. These include the files of: Russell Armentrout, Maria Downs, Elizabeth O’Neill, Susan Porter, Frances Pullen, and Sheila Weidenfeld. The Library also holds the personal papers of Betty Ford, Maria Downs, Peter Sorum, and Sheila Weidenfeld (unprocessed).The White House Social Office maintained several other central filing systems. See collections beginning with “White House Social Office”.
RELATED MATERIALS (December 2012)Individual staff office files document the activities of the First Lady’s staff. These include the files of: Russell Armentrout, Maria Downs, Elizabeth O’Neill, Susan Porter, Frances Pullen, and Sheila Weidenfeld. The Library also holds the personal papers of Betty Ford, Maria Downs, Peter Sorum, and Sheila Weidenfeld (unprocessed).The White House Social Office maintained several other central filing systems. See collections beginning with “White House Social Office”.
RELATED MATERIALS (December 2012)Individual staff office files document the activities of the First Lady’s staff. These include the files of: Russell Armentrout, Maria Downs, Elizabeth O’Neill, Susan Porter, Frances Pullen, and Sheila Weidenfeld. The Library also holds the personal papers of Betty Ford, Maria Downs, Peter Sorum, and Sheila Weidenfeld (unprocessed).The White House Social Office maintained several other central filing systems. See collections beginning with “White House Social Office”.
RELATED MATERIALS (December 2012)Individual staff office files document the activities of the First Lady’s staff. These include the files of: Russell Armentrout, Maria Downs, Elizabeth O’Neill, Susan Porter, Frances Pullen, and Sheila Weidenfeld. The Library also holds the personal papers of Betty Ford, Maria Downs, Peter Sorum, and Sheila Weidenfeld (unprocessed).The White House Social Office maintained several other central filing systems. See collections beginning with “White House Social Office”.
These files of the Special Files Unit consist of miscellaneous items accumulated by Gertrude B. Fry on President Ford's preparations for his debates with Jimmy Carter, his review of federal agency budget requests, and selected issues considered sensitive by Fry. Also included is a small file on the administration of the Special Files Unit. The Presidential Handwriting File and other files of the Office of Staff Secretary, originally maintained in the Special Files, are separate collections and not included here.
As a permanent operating unit of the Office of the Chief Executive Clerk [1], the White House Telegraph and Travel Section arranged travel for White House staff, assisted with travel arrangements for the White House press corps, and received and dispatched all telegrams for the White House Office. The collection has no information on these duties, but does contain a sample of telegrams taken from a complete set of incoming and outgoing telegrams maintained by the Telegraph and Travel Section.
RELATED MATERIALS (October 2015)Additional material related to the Executive Residence are found primarily in the White House Central Files Subject File, category WH (White House), as well as FG-100 (Committee for the Preservation of the White House) and FG-180 (National Park Foundation) categories. Materials pertaining to the swimming pool specifically can be found in the John Stiles and Merrill Mueller Files.
The Margita White Papers concern her work as White House Assistant Press Secretary between January 1975 and July 1976. During the early months of her service, she worked as deputy to Gerald Warren, Director of the Office of Communications. When he left the White House in the summer of 1975, she succeeded him as Director.
The James M. Wilson papers mainly concern his career in the State Department, 1958‑77. The topics most completely documented are Micronesian status negotiations and State Department human rights and humanitarian affairs policies and activities.Wilson joined the State Department on detail from the Department of Defense in 1958 to work on the foreign aid program. He became a foreign service officer in 1961 and served overseas in Spain, Thailand, and the Philippines before returning to Washington in 1970 as a Deputy Secretary of State.
The Robert Wolthuis files span the period November 1974 to January 1977. They document Wolthuis' work in the White House Congressional Relations Office.