Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 31 › Conversation 031-097

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Staff appreciation

Monday, October 16, 1972 · 8:36 PM–9:42 PM ET · White House Telephone · 38 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation031-097 on Tape 31StartMonday, October 16, 1972 at 8:36 PMEndMonday, October 16, 1972 at 9:42 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 031-097 ↗

President Nixon consulted with the White House operator regarding the status of pending calls to Fred Gualtieri and Ralph Marrinson, learning that both individuals were currently unavailable. The President authorized the operator to postpone these attempts until the following day. Additionally, Nixon used the opportunity to express his personal appreciation to the operator for the hard work performed by the entire telephone staff.

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Hello.
Mr. Kirsten, Mr. Fred Gualtieri is on a hunting trip in Wyoming.
Oh, that's right.
Don't call that Mary.
And then Mr. Ralph Marinson is at a nursing convention.
That's all right.
We'll call it left tomorrow, perhaps.
Call it tomorrow.
All right, sir.
Good.
And I think that's about all we have.
That's all.
And I think that took care of all of them.
Fine job.
Thank you.
Thank the other girls, too, will you?
Thank you, Mr. Kirsten.
Thank you.

On October 16, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:36 pm and 9:42 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 031-097 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 31-97

Date: October 16, 1972
Time: Unknown between 8:36 pm and 9:42 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The White House operator talked with the President.

        Status of calls to Fred Gualtieri and Ralph Marrinson

        The President's appreciation for work of telephone operators
  • 031-090 8:00 PM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Frank Scumaci talked on the telephone from 8:00 pm to 8:01 pm.
  • 031-091 8:02 PM · 46 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and C. Beverly Briley talked on the telephone from 8:02 pm to 8:05 pm.
  • 031-093 8:08 PM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Richard M. Scaife talked on the telephone from 8:08 pm to 8:11 pm.
  • 031-092 8:12 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Theodore S. ("Ted") Williams talked on the telephone from 8:12 pm to 8:14 pm.
  • 031-094 8:16 PM · 23 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John T. Connor talked on the telephone from 8:16 pm to 8:19 pm.
  • 031-095 8:24 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John F. Collins talked on the telephone from 8:24 pm to 8:30 pm.
  • 031-096 8:33 PM · 23 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John W. Mulcahy, Jr. talked on the telephone from 8:33 pm to 8:36 pm.
  • 031-098 7:54 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:54 am and 9:12 am.

Conversation 031-097, October 17, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/031-097 (accessed October 12, 2026).