Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 453 › Conversation 453-003

Nixon, Black & Southall on Oval Office and Presidential gifts

Friday, February 19, 1971 · 4:00 PM–4:05 PM ET · Oval Office ·5 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Black, Melia;  Southall, Pamela;  Black, Orville;  Black, Hilary;  Manarin, Rosemary;  Fountain, Betty;  White House photographerConversation453-003 onTape 453 (tape position 00:39:02–00:44:05)StartFriday, February 19, 1971 at 4:00 PMEndFriday, February 19, 1971 at 4:05 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 453-003 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon hosted a brief meeting in the Oval Office with a group of visitors, including Melia Black, Pamela Southall, Orville Black, Hilary Black, Rosemary Manarin, and Betty Fountain. The primary purpose of the gathering was to facilitate introductions and engage in informal conversation. Nixon presented the guests with presidential pins and posed for official photographs to commemorate the visit.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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I did.
Mr. President?
Well, hello there.
Are you?
What's your name?
Hillary.
What's your first name?
Hillary.
Well, Hillary, that's a pretty name.
Thank you.
And this is?
Julia.
And you're?
Yes.
Really?
Yes.
You're Bill?
Orville.
Orville, right.
You're married.
She's from the State Department.
Oh, yes.
How are you?
You're from the State Department?
Oh, that's fine.
Who's having all those trips?
Most amazing things.
And you're Bob Brown?
Yeah.
Yeah?
Right.
Well, I was going to say, when I saw that your great-grandmother, or grandmother, great-grandmother,
When I saw him 90 years ago, the age, one of the wonderful things he was doing, put out a little smoke shop.
At that age, I was, I mean, I know I have my mother-in-law's sister, my mother-in-law, my mother-in-law's sister, 75.
And she, like all her acquaintances, at 75 years of age, she went out and spent time with her husband and all things.
And they went there to do work with on the medical side.
And I thought that was about as high as they could get to.
Here's a 92-year-old man, so that's a wonderful example.
But he is young.
He's full of it.
Well, I think they did that.
Sure.
Here.
Oh, yeah.
Give me a light.
What?
Give me a light.
Give me a light.
Here, pal.
I'll go to the mine.
I'll tell you how to get there.
Now, let's get a picture here.
Each of you are getting a pin.
This is the presidential pin.
You've already done it.
I mean, go.
Get your ass out there.
Are you?
Let me get your name straight.
Orville.
Orville.
O-R-V-E-L.
Okay.
There you go.
Now let's see, how would I make it, how would you set this picture up?
Put the little ones, the smaller ones, you know, right next to each other.
Done, that's it.
Now, they're gonna come look out at this group.
They're gonna go and smile at you, be real big.
Okay.
Thank you.
All right, just send me a copy of that, real quick.
You want this, oh, of course.
Now let's get your name back.
That's right.
That's what I'm saying.
Back in the mall, when you started fishing, back in the mall.
All right, fine.
President, this is Bob Brown, Secretary of Defense.
Oh, yes, yes, of course.
And if you'd like a shot, come on, shoot your picture.
Come on over here.
Me too.
Now we'll get the two of you together.
And we'll give you presents for the very good.
Only special visitors can have them.
Goodbye.

NARA Description

On February 19, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Melia Black, Pamela Southall, Orville Black, Hilary Black, Rosemary Manarin, Betty Fountain, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:00 pm to 4:05 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 453-003 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 453-3

Date: February 19, 1971
Time: 4:00 pm - 4:05 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Melia Black, Pamela Southall, Orville Black, Hilary Black, Rosemary
Manarin, and Betty Fountain; the White House photographer was present during the meeting

     Introductions

     [General conversation]

     Presentation of gifts

     Manarin

Black, et al. left at 4:05 pm

Also recorded on February 19, 1971

  • 453-001 3:15 PM · 38 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Ehrlichman, George P. Shultz, John C. Whitaker and Stephen B. Bull and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:15 pm and 3:59 pm.
  • 453-002 3:59 PM · 58 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:59 pm and 4:00 pm.
  • 453-004 4:06 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald C. Romas, Linda McQuaig, Glenn Wilson, Jay Morris, Joseph Abate, Robert C. Odle, Jr., and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:06 pm to 4:11 pm.
  • 453-005 4:11 PM · 5 min — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:11 pm and 4:52 pm.
  • 454-001 4:11 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, Manolo Sanchez, Ronald L. Ziegler, White House operator, Rose Mary Woods, and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:11 pm and 4:59 pm.
  • 454-002 4:54 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:54 pm and 4:59 pm.
  • 454-003 4:59 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:59 pm to 5:08 pm.
  • 454-004 5:08 PM · 1 hr 39 min — President Richard M. Nixon, George P. Shultz, Paul W. McCracken, Arthur F. Burns, John B. Connally, Ronald L. Ziegler, Rose Mary Woods, the White House photographer, and members of the press met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:08 pm to 6:34 pm.

All 30 conversations from February 19, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 453-003, February 19, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/453-003 (accessed September 18, 2026).