Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 636 › Conversation 636-003

Nixon & Woods on Walter H. Annenberg

Friday, December 10, 1971 · 3:37 PM–3:45 PM ET · Oval Office · 7 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Woods, Rose MaryConversation636-003 on Tape 636 (tape position 00:03:20–00:12:54)StartFriday, December 10, 1971 at 3:37 PMEndFriday, December 10, 1971 at 3:45 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 636-003 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417182995 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and his personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, met to discuss logistical details regarding White House amenities and personal gifts. The conversation focused on procuring specific glassware previously used by the President and reviewing the design and placement of a crystal gift from Ambassador Walter H. Annenberg. Additionally, the pair coordinated the President’s upcoming schedule, including dinner plans with Jack and Helene Drown and potential arrangements at Camp David.

Audio

Download MP3 · 16.7 MB

NARA Description

On December 10, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:37 pm to 3:45 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 636-003 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 636-3

Date: December 10, 1971
Time: 3:37 pm - 3:45 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Rose Mary Woods.
**********************************************************************

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 12/06/2017. 2m
18s segment cleared for release. 37s remain closed as 636-003-w001.]
[Personal Returnable]
[636-003-w001]
[Duration: 2m 18s]

     Water glasses
         -Shape
         -Size
         -Replacements
         -President’s opinion
         -California

     Camp David

**********************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal Returnable]
[636-003-w001]
[Duration: 37s]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

**********************************************************************

     Gift
            -[“Star of the President” crystal]
                  -Design
                  -Walter H. Annenberg
                        -Call from Woods
                  -Placement
                  -Expense

     The President's schedule
          -Forthcoming meetings
Show the rest of the log (26 more lines)
          -[Camp David] [?]
          -Dinner

**********************************************************************

[Previous archivists categorized this section as unintelligible. It has been rereviewed and
released 03/01/2018.]
[Unintelligible]
[636-003-w002]
[Duration: 14]

     The President's schedule
          -Dinner
               -Jack and Helene Drown

**********************************************************************

          -[Camp David] [?]
               -Fog
          -Dinner
          -White House
               -President’s location

     Glasses

Woods left at 3:45 pm.

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 8% 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

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These are the bottle cap glasses that you give me on stage.
I have them in a different shape.
Maybe they can get the other shape if you want them.
And I'll need them for every night of the day.
Well, at the same time, that's a different shape.
Do you want the other kind that you had before?
No, no, no.
Well, I don't think you can get those out there.
It would be good to get them back, because it would supplement those when they break.
They're just exactly like the others.
If you could get the same one, it would be good, because we're broken.
Not too many, but some of them.
Not as many as the big water boxes, but the ones as far as some of them are broken.
There's nothing else to bring them back from California, so we'll be sure to get it checked.

— 1 min 35 s with no transcribed speech —

Here's his picture, and I bet that Amber did call me and wanted to know if I'd open it and show it to you and call him back.
All right.
She's got it on the back.
It's up here.
It was designed, you know.
That's it.
Yeah.
Maybe we could take the... Take the bridge off.
...in there while we're not finishing it.
Would you think so?
I would think so.
Put the eagle over... Now, they just...
I think it's been laid in the house.
Now, they can't be very big.
They're really... Where else can it be put?
Yes.
Well, you have to try it.
I think you should have put it on that.
You can try it.
Or put it in there.
See what you want.
But he is like, you know, he does this thing.
And of course, that's a very soft way of saying it.
Then he's just like an old kid.
Got to know what I said.
I thought we liked it.
So who gets the box office?
I don't get to say anything else about office.
Well, if you're going to like the farm that's out there, and have a good night's sleep up there,
I suppose I should stay here.
Let me go get that thing I was thinking about.
Yeah, they're all right.
Maybe, don't buy it.
Those are nice.
Those are fine.
They're a different style.
Those are fine.
Yeah, they're fine.
That's probably because those are sold.
Those are sold.
These are heavy.
The others are probably so fragile.
These are excellent.
I don't know if that's it.

Also recorded on December 10, 1971

  • 636-001 3:35 PM · 33 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:35 pm and 3:37 pm.
  • 636-002 3:35 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:35 pm and 3:37 pm.
  • 636-004 3:50 PM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:50 pm to 4:05 pm.
  • 636-005 4:05 PM · 43 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:05 pm and 4:07 pm.
  • 636-006 4:05 PM · 53 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:05 pm and 4:07 pm.
  • 086-002 4:07 PM · 6 min — during the Signing of the Revenue Act of 1971 (HR 10847), President Richard M. Nixon, Russell B. Long, Wallace F. Bennett, Clinton P. Anderson, Herman E. Talmadge, Carl T. Curtis, Jack R. Miller, Robert P. Griffin, Wilbur D. Mills, John W. Byrnes, Jackson E. Betts, Charles J. Chamberlain, Herman T. Schneebeli, Al Ullman, James E. Smith, Larry Woodworth, Thomas Vail, John B. Martin, George P. Shultz, Clark MacGregor, William E. Timmons, and Warren McEleney met in the Cabinet Room of the White House from 4:07 pm to 4:18 pm.
  • 636-007 4:07 PM · 15 sec — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:07 pm and 4:18 pm.
  • 636-013 4:07 PM · 27 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:07 pm and 4:18 pm.

All 84 conversations from December 10, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 636-003, December 10, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417182995). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/636-003 (accessed November 2, 2026).