Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 464 › Conversation 464-010

Nixon, Fassen & Pratt on AARP and White House Conference on Aging

Tuesday, March 9, 1971 · 12:03 PM–12:23 PM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Fassen, Fred;  Pratt, Foster J.;  Schuettner, Arthur;  Ast, Raymond;  Barhydt, Emily T.;  Blueth, Louis;  Fichtner, Charles C.;  Gilbert, George E.;  Gillingham, Robert C.;  Hendler, H. Benjamin;  Krieger, Florence;  Long, Leslie O.;  Mathias, A. O.;  Powell, William J.;  Ray, Willie C.;  Spain, Jayne B.;  Sandberg, J. Cecil;  Tiller, H. A.;  Tilly, Lola;  Wilmot, Jennie S.;  Woodward, Emma;  Nash, Bernard E.;  Crippen, Dorothy;  Brickfield, Cyril;  Wright, Lloyd;  Thomas, Charles;  Rensselaer, Bernard S. Van;  Martin, John B.;  Bell, George T.;  Finch, Robert H.;  White House photographerConversation464-010 onTape 464 (tape position 02:17:09–02:38:17)StartTuesday, March 9, 1971 at 12:03 PMEndTuesday, March 9, 1971 at 12:23 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 464-010 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with representatives from the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) to discuss the administration's commitment to the elderly and the outcomes of the White House Conference on Aging. The conversation centered on the challenges of retirement, medical care, and welfare reform, while drawing parallels between the needs of the aged and the younger generation. Nixon emphasized the importance of improving the quality of life for senior citizens and expressed his support for legislative follow-up on conference recommendations.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 166.6 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 168.0 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 150.1 MB ·Download MP3 (part 4) · 167.6 MB ·Download MP3 (part 5) · 11.8 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 02:17:09 into the tape and ends around 02:38:17.

Transcript (AI-generated)

No transcript is available yet for this conversation. The recording may contain no audible speech, or it may not have been processed.

NARA Description

On March 9, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Fred Fassen, Foster J. Pratt, Arthur Schuettner, Raymond Ast, Emily T. Barhydt, Louis Blueth, Charles C. Fichtner, George E. Gilbert, Robert C. Gillingham, H. Benjamin Hendler, Florence Krieger, Leslie O. Long, A. O. Mathias, William J. Powell, Willie C. Ray, Jayne B. Spain, J. Cecil Sandberg, H. A. Tiller, Lola Tilly, Jennie S. Wilmot, Emma Woodward, Bernard E. Nash, Dorothy Crippen, Cyril Brickfield, Lloyd Wright, Charles Thomas, Bernard S. Van Rensselaer, John B. Martin, George T. Bell, Robert H. Finch, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:03 pm to 12:23 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 464-010 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 464-10

Date: March 9, 1971
Time: 12:03 pm - 12:23 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Fred Fassen, Foster J. Pratt, Arthur Schuettner, Raymond Ast, Emily T.
Barhydt, Dr. Louis Blueth, Dr. Charles C. Fichtner, George E. Gilbert, Dr. Robert C. Gillingham,
H. Benjamin Hendler, Florence Krieger, Leslie O. Long, A. O. Mathias, William J. Powell, Carl
R. Quast, Willie C. Ray, Jacob B. Spiegel, J. Cecil Sandberg, H. A. Tiller, Dr. Lola Tilly, Jennie
S. Wilmot, Emma Woodward, Bernard E. Nash, Dorothy Crippen, Cyril Brickfield, Lloyd
Wright, Charles Thomas, Bernard S. Van Rensselaer, John B. Martin, George T. Bell, and
Robert H. Finch; the White House photographer was present at the beginning of the meeting

     Introductions of members of the American Association of Retired Persons

     [General conversation]

     Welcome

     Oval Office
          -Previous visits by members
          -Decorations
          -Presidential seal carpet
                -Color
          -Portraits of George Washington
                -John Mills
                -Rembrandt Peale

     Portraits
           -Cabinet Room
                -Theodore (“Teddy”) Roosevelt
                -[Thomas] Woodrow Wilson

             -Dwight D. Eisenhower
       -East Room
             -George and Martha Washington portraits
       -Dining Room
             -Abraham Lincoln

Problems of aging
     -Martin’s arrangement of meeting
     -Importance

Problems of youth
     -President’s meetings with astronauts
           -Astronauts’ visits to colleges and universities
     -Importance

Problems of aging
     -Medical care
     -Retirement
     -Solutions
           -Communication
                -Compared with youth
     -Importance of aged

Administration concerns
    -Social Security
    -Welfare reform
    -Quality of life for aging
    -President’s experience
          -Mother and father

Aged
       -Importance
       -Programs
       -Needs
       -Importance
             -Message to youth
       -Medical care
       -President’s support
             -White House Conference on Aging
       -Importance
             -Youth
       -White Conference on Aging

               -Follow-up on recommendations
                      -Administration
                      -Congress
               -Importance
           -Minorities in US

     Presidential gifts
          -Cufflinks
          -Key rings

     President’s thoughts of aging

     [General conversation]

Fassen, et al. left at 12:23 pm

Also recorded on March 9, 1971

  • 464-006 10:36 AM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:36 am and 10:40 am.
  • 464-007 10:40 AM · 46 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John L. ("Jack") Swigert, Jr., William R. Pogue, Jack R. Lousma, William A. Anders, Donald H. Rumsfeld, Jeb Stuart Magruder, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:40 am to 11:28 am.
  • 464-008 11:30 AM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:30 am to 11:39 am.
  • 464-009 11:39 AM · 23 min — President Richard M. Nixon, George P. Shultz, Henry A. Kissinger, Peter M. Flanigan, Peter G. Peterson, and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:39 am to 12:03 pm.
  • 464-011 12:23 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 12:23 pm and 12:26 pm.
  • 464-012 12:26 PM · 1 hr 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Stephen B. Bull, Rose Mary Woods, Ronald L. Ziegler, unknown person(s), White House operator, and William T. Kendall met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:26 pm to 1:30 pm.
  • 464-013 1:30 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:30 pm and 2:34 pm.
  • 464-014 1:30 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 1:30 pm and 2:34 pm.

All 29 conversations from March 9, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 464-010, March 9, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/464-010 (accessed September 18, 2026).