Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 452 › Conversation 452-009

Nixon, Elam & Parker on Government service and Staff recognition

Friday, February 19, 1971 · 12:44 PM–1:02 PM ET · Oval Office · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Elam, Harriet; Elam, Harry; Elam, Clarence; Chapin, Dwight L.; Parker, David N.; White House photographerConversation452-009 on Tape 452 (tape position 02:39:09–02:43:13)StartFriday, February 19, 1971 at 12:44 PMEndFriday, February 19, 1971 at 1:02 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 452-009 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417175903 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with White House staffer Harriet Elam and her family, accompanied by Dwight L. Chapin and David N. Parker, to express his appreciation for her government service. The session served as a formal acknowledgment of Elam's work and included the presentation of commemorative gifts. A White House photographer was present to document the meeting, which focused on recognizing Elam’s career contributions.

Harriet Elam
Government service
Staff recognition
White House personnel
Gift presentation

Audio

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NARA Description

On February 19, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Harriet Elam, Harriet Elam, Harry Elam, Clarence Elam, Dwight L. Chapin, David N. Parker, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:44 pm and 1:02 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 452-009 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 452-009
Date: February 19, 1971
Time: Unknown between 12:44 pm and 1:02 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Harriet Elam, Mrs. Robert H. Elam, Harry Elam, Clarence Elam, Dwight
L. Chapin, and David N. Parker; the White House photographer was present during the meeting
Harriet Elam’s service on White House staff
-The President’s appreciation
-Career advancement
-Presentation of gifts by the President
-Government service
-Appreciation
Harriet Elam, et al. left at an unknown time before 1:02 pm

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 2 minutes of this recording (about 56% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

Oh, look out there.

All right.

Now, there it is.

It's funny.

Uh-huh.

Wait, wait.

You want to get that thing around a little bit?

No, it's not good.

Well, all we have left to do is point the lead.

You're not even there, are you?

Yes, this is really good.

Oh, my God.

Weird.

Well, this is great.

It's really good.

All right, everyone.

Have a good one.

This is Bill.

That's good boy.

Wow.

Also recorded on February 19, 1971

452-005 12:41 PM · 53 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:41 pm and 12:44 pm.
452-006 12:41 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:41 pm and 12:44 pm.
452-018 12:41 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:41 pm and 12:44 pm.
452-007 12:44 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Leah McReynolds, William E. Casselman, II, David N. Parker, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:44 pm and 1:02 pm.
452-008 12:44 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John R. Brown, III, Mrs. John R. Brown, III, Alexander P. Butterfield, David N. Parker, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:44 pm and 1:02 pm.
452-010 12:44 PM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon, George Black, Jr., Evelyn Abrams, Delores McGee, Lawrence Smith, Robert J. Brown, Dr. John A. Hannah, Harvey J. Witherell, David N. Parker, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:44 pm and 1:02 pm.
452-011 1:02 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:02 pm and 1:04 pm.
452-012 1:04 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Lionel Hampton, Harry Yeates, William Tipone, Henry C. Cashen, II, John Richardson, Jr., and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:04 pm to 1:08 pm.

All 30 conversations from February 19, 1971 →

Nixon, Korologos & Friedersdorf on Senate legislative strategy May 6, 1971 · 2 min
Nixon, Robb & Huntsman on White House photography and staff recognition May 14, 1971 · 2 min
Nixon alone in the Oval Office on Letters of recommendation June 2, 1971 · 1 min
Nixon & Price on Texas lawyers and Personnel recruitment October 6, 1971 · 1 min
Nixon & Sanchez on Government service and Appreciation December 18, 1971 · 2 min
Nixon, Greenfield & Grunewald on Presidential appointments November 2, 1971 · 7 min

Cite this conversation

Conversation 452-009, February 19, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417175903). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/452-009 (accessed November 2, 2026).