Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 639 › Conversation 639-005

Nixon, Woods & Butterfield on Christmas preparations and Administrative tasks

Saturday, December 18, 1971 · 12:43 PM–12:50 PM ET · Oval Office · 11 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Woods, Rose Mary; White House operator; Nixon, Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan); Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation639-005 on Tape 639 (tape position 00:05:12–00:17:03)StartSaturday, December 18, 1971 at 12:43 PMEndSaturday, December 18, 1971 at 12:50 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 639-005 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Rose Mary Woods, Alexander Butterfield, and other staff members to finalize administrative tasks and discuss his upcoming holiday schedule. The conversation centered on the President's personal plans for Christmas, including weather concerns, football, and potential travel to Florida or Bermuda. Additionally, the group addressed office operations, such as signing paperwork, managing Christmas card messages, and approving a holiday financial gift for a staff member's wife in recognition of her assistance with data organization.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 9% 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Yeah, this is next to the place.
Let's see if there's more residents.
There's a lot of people.
Calls, you know, places of meeting.
Lenny was delighted.
He didn't know I was here.
And, uh, he said, you know, hey, you know.
Yeah.
We're all set for that, uh, thing now.
I think it's by 540 time.
That's what everybody wants.
We'll go there on occasion.
And so we'll just, we'll go where we'll be prepared.
We'll be dressed for the occasion.
And it's awesome.
I think it's the best way to go, don't you?
You see, I'll try not to hold it, but it'll change.
Before I go, I'll be ready to go.
And I'll, and see, see, I'll, I'll see.
I know we can set it up.
So many notes that I know in your own cards, and in cards to me from people I don't really know, are all saying, you know, they're saying that busy times, they're working hard, they're praying.
Everybody's almost working and praying for you.
That's the thing about Christmas.
I never get the chance to see them.
I mean, I agree.
They're so nice.
If you find something particular that should be brought to my attention, be sure that we can do a hundred different things for you.
It's a pretty good time around the end of business.
They're right close to come forward.
Everybody's going to be gone.
You're not thinking of, if you get back in time, are you going after the game and all that again?
I'm just having fun.
That's what you have to do.
You know the reason I had, Tom Gray had a, he called me, I'll tell you what it is, he had a, Tiffany picked up a special seven binoculars.
Oh.
And he did their thing, and the clients there, I guess they're the clients, right, where they bring a whole field in.
Sure.
I don't go to this game, no.
I told you I didn't.
Sure.
Well, I think I'll tell you, the sudden change in the weather.
It was warming, you know, 74 here the other day.
Yeah, and now it's... And now it's 30.
They love themselves.
And I just love George sitting out there in that cold.
Well, I mean... No, so many things I don't like.
You shouldn't have.
I don't know if they died.
Oh, listen, I just wanted to make a mention in the back here.
Yes, that's a nice idea.
This is what transpired.
Wait a minute.
That's a Q-man.
That's a Q-man, sir.
Too bad in a way to get the period when everybody else did accidentally.
I almost didn't even read the paper.
Well, we had to do it for a reason.
I know.
If you want, you were going to have to press it.
Oh, yeah.
Yes, sir.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
And I thought, if you don't mind, because I think, you know, we had Jack Coffey who worked with us.
His wife worked every day for about three or four months on some confidential, you know, groupings for us of trying to find, you know, get the materials by state and a whole lot of things.
Would it be all right if I gave her even like a hundred dollars for a Christmas on a client?
There isn't anything else we need done on that.
There's nothing else we can do this year.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10.

NARA Description

On December 18, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, White House operator, Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:43 pm to 12:50 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 639-005 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 639-005

Date: December 18, 1971
Time: 12:43 pm - 12:50 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Rose Mary Woods.

     President’s schedule

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

The President talked with the White House operator at 12:43 pm.

[Conversation No. 639-5A]

[See Conversation No. 16-108]

[End of telephone conversation]

     John D. Ehrlichman

     Meetings

     Bernard J. (“Bunny”) Lasker
          -Woods’s location

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

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 06/14/2019.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[639-005-w001]
[Duration: 46s]

The President talked with Thelma C. (“Pat) Nixon between 12:44 pm and 12:45 pm.

[Conversation No. 639-5B]

[See Conversation No. 016-109]

[End of telephone conversation]

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

     Christmas cards
           -Messages

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

     The President's schedule
          -Football
               -Robert K. Gray
                      -Binoculars
          -Church
          -Weather
          -Bermuda
               -Florida
                      -Christmas

Alexander P. Butterfield entered at an unknown time after 12:45 pm.

     President’s schedule

     Signing papers

     Questions and answers sheet

     [Pause]

Butterfield left at an unknown time before 12:50 pm.

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

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 06/14/2019.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[639-005-w002]
[Duration: 3m 10s]

     Relaxation
          -Reading the paper

     Cash gifts
          -House
                -For unknown person’s mother
          -Five hundred per person
                -Gift so no need to report it

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

           -Marjorie Caulfield
                -Send gift for work done

     Christmas card

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

Woods left at 12:50 pm.

Also recorded on December 18, 1971

  • 016-106 12:37 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:37 pm and 12:42 pm.
  • 639-001 12:37 PM · 42 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:37 pm and 12:42 pm.
  • 639-002 12:37 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:37 pm and 12:42 pm.
  • 016-107 12:42 PM · 50 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 12:42 pm to 12:43 pm.
  • 639-004 12:42 PM · 50 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:42 pm to 12:43 pm.
  • 016-108 12:43 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 12:43 pm.
  • 016-109 12:44 PM · 49 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 12:44 pm to 12:45 pm.
  • 016-110 12:45 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:45 pm and 1:40 pm.

All 52 conversations from December 18, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 639-005, December 18, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/639-005 (accessed October 11, 2026).