Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 647 › Conversation 647-014
Nixon, Cevey & Pontier on Birthday celebration and PRC trip
Thursday, January 13, 1972 · 1:03 PM–1:19 PM ET · Oval Office
AI Summary
President Nixon hosted a group of students and their teacher in the Oval Office to celebrate his birthday and engage in an informal, educational visit. During the meeting, the attendees recited poems, presented gifts to the President, and participated in a photo session. Nixon discussed his upcoming trip to the People's Republic of China, emphasizing the importance of international relations for the younger generation, and concluded by distributing souvenir pens to the students.
- Richard Nixon
- Birthday celebration
- PRC trip
- Student engagement
- Oval Office
- Poetry
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 168.4 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 168.5 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 33.4 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 02:42:58 into the tape and ends around 02:59:13.
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
Download transcript (.txt) ·JSON data · Timestamps are positions within the full tape recording.
2:43:08That's the way it is.
2:43:10Well, it's over now.
2:44:26uh...
2:44:50and then forget the little of them.
2:44:51Excuse me, yeah.
2:44:52Yeah, I think this is a good one.
2:44:55Bob, you're going to have a, I don't know, maybe 10 is your best name.
2:45:00Cory.
2:45:00You think they're better than the other ones.
2:45:05But they are students and they've written you.
2:45:07Yeah.
2:45:09All right.
2:45:10And also, give the teacher a three.
2:45:11A little overhand.
2:45:14All right.
2:45:46You're a teacher, huh?
2:45:50Well, how long have you been a teacher?
2:46:00I didn't find it very different from my mother.
2:46:04I had people who were, well, I was in college soon.
2:46:10I tried to inspire them.
2:46:15All of us, all boys.
2:46:18Oh, I see.
2:46:18I see.
2:46:18Well, I mean, I want to meet them all.
2:46:19Tell me your first name and last name.
2:46:22You're in my class.
2:46:24What's your last name?
2:46:25My name is Jim.
2:46:27What's your brother's name?
2:46:29Hi.
2:46:29Hi.
2:46:29Hi.
2:46:30Hi.
2:47:15I don't know, let's see.
2:47:16You're the, what's your name?
2:47:19She's the director of our school.
2:47:21Oh, you're the director of the school.
2:47:22She was just the director of the school.
2:47:25Ah, I see.
2:47:27All right.
2:47:29You'll go, or they'll do, there's some such things.
2:47:32You on one side, and on the other side, you stand on this side, and on the other side, you stand on this side, and you stand on this side, and you stand on this side, and you stand on this side, and you stand on this side, and you stand on this side, and you stand on this side, and you stand on this side, and you stand on this side, and you stand on this side,
2:47:59I heard that you were going to make it, but I can't believe you're doing this kind of stuff.
2:48:02Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow.
2:48:11Now, I've got a whole year.
2:48:12Do you all remember this?
2:48:13This is, uh, let me say that I have many birthdays in my life.
2:48:18And, uh, I'm not having any pictures.
2:48:23This is one of the most interesting, most interesting followers of mine.
2:48:30Thank you.
2:48:31Thank you.
2:48:32Thank you.
2:48:32Thank you.
2:48:33Well, that means that you find people.
2:48:36You have this many inspirational people.
2:48:40Yeah.
2:49:01You know, I, uh, I'll let you in on a little secret here.
2:49:04My, uh, everybody at one time in his life was really supportive of him.
2:49:11Uh, when I was a man, I said, I have to do a, I have to write a poem to my brother, which was very ill. And I had to write a poem.
2:49:23How about this?
2:49:37uh... uh...
2:49:59But I'm going to let the members of the press see what they have to say.
2:50:05I'll let them know what they have to say.
2:50:11I'll let them know what they have to say.
2:50:17I'll let them know what they have to say.
2:50:55So, we're going to have to wait a little bit longer.
2:50:58So we're going to have to wait a little bit longer.
2:51:01So we're going to have to wait a little bit longer.
2:51:12yeah yeah
2:51:39This is the last one.
2:51:41I'm going to show you what this is to do.
2:51:48It's by Brian.
2:51:48I don't know about you.
2:51:49A birthday is something good.
2:51:53And if I could, I would celebrate with you today.
2:51:57But I would just be in the way.
2:52:00There you are.
2:52:08This is now his first book.
2:52:10Because I don't read them all, I'll give them all to the press.
2:52:18Here's his drawer, you see.
2:52:24I hope your day is filled with fun, because your job is not just that.
2:52:33You're right.
2:52:34Really, I wonder, you know, how many times have you said this to yourself?
2:52:43How many times?
2:52:52Uh, this kind of thing.
2:52:53And of course, we have some collections of this and this.
2:52:59But we've got mine, because also we're writing a story across the river.
2:53:04I used to live over there.
2:53:08And, uh...
2:53:10What we're going to do now is, if you all like it a little bit, would you like some birthday cake?
2:53:18Yes, we'll do that.
2:53:19Or at least I'll have cake.
2:53:20I'm not going to give you birthday cake, because you have to be a little old.
2:53:25And my daughter and I thank you very much.
2:53:28We have no poets here.
2:53:30We have no cartoonists here.
2:53:32We have no presidents here.
2:53:33But we have boys.
2:53:40Oh, good.
2:54:01It was made at a school, and we hope that you find it useful and interesting on the future of music.
2:54:21It says modern Chinese, but I don't understand it.
2:54:28Good morning.
2:54:30Good morning.
2:54:38Good morning.
2:54:43Good morning.
2:54:47Well, I'll tell you, we can't go late here, because it's not in the digital world.
2:54:56But one of the reasons I'm going is that I hope to be able to take a boat in the world of olden times, so that regardless of the differences we have between countries, we can have a good time.
2:55:10People like yourself, young people, who are growing up, who are living in a world that's old, that people like to live in a world that's old and old and old.
2:55:21So at a time when you have to be perhaps not my age, but perhaps half my age, you can say, oh, it's bad.
2:55:27Because I don't have the money.
2:55:29I just don't feel it's worth it.
2:55:34uh... uh...
2:55:51We have to see if there's plenty of characters if we want to find any clues.
2:56:00There's all of them.
2:56:02We have to run away all the way.
2:56:08It is.
2:56:32Well, I guess we have to go now.
2:56:35I'll get you some sun from the airplane on the way to Queens.
2:56:39We're going to give you a reminder.
2:56:43This is for 10.
2:56:44This is for 10 weeks here.
2:56:45When I'm trying to kill, you know, when I'm trying to kill you, you know, I'm trying to kill you.
2:56:53I'm trying to kill you.
2:56:58And then I sign it with this name, 32%.
2:56:59And I get each one who's gonna respond to the bill of hands.
2:57:04Now, what I'd like to do is give each one a bill of hands.
2:57:09It's a departmental hand, so it's gonna be next to the White House.
2:57:14And that's gonna be good to keep in mind.
2:57:20Okay, let's see.
2:57:21Here is the seal, and we will hold you where you want at any time.
2:57:29At one, two.
2:57:46That's what we have for life.
2:57:50So there we are.
2:57:52So those are the services there.
2:57:55You know who that is?
2:58:00What?
2:58:01Good.
2:58:01See, that is one of these portraits that very few have seen.
2:58:04It was by one of the Peel's.
2:58:06There were several Peel's, you know, Mr. Rembrandt Peel, that was painted.
2:58:10But this was the Peel who was, I think, the father of one of these, this painting, Washington Children's, with a different face than some of the others.
2:58:18That was it.
2:58:19Mr. President, was it that Saturday night when the bill was signed?
2:58:22It had fallen right across the road.
2:58:24Yeah, this, that's right, the eyes of theater, there are many, there are paintings of that kind that are pictured in such a way that it's an area you're looking at that the head is looking at.
2:58:38And down beneath that is a star.
2:58:40As you see, that's a student's glass that the president has sealed and put it in.
2:58:46That's the first one.
NARA Description
On January 13, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Arthene Cevey, Andrey Pontier, Karl Wunderlich, Peter Yu, Michael Slattery, Billy McNight, Richard Buck, Stephen Bazo, James Toomey, Russell Burke, Brian Clark, Phillip Beauregard, Pete Wyrough, Brooks Ross, Robert Jones, Brian Bunce, John Sharood, Peter McMahon, Francois VanDerMenbrugge, Christopher Cook, White House photographer, Ronald L. Ziegler, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:03 pm to 1:19 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 647-014 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 647-14
Date: January 13, 1972
Time: 1:03 pm - 1:19 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Arthene Cevey, Audrey Pontier, Karl Wunderlich, Peter Yu, Michael
Slattery, Billy McNight, Stephen Bazo, Richard Buck, James Toomey, Russell Burke, Brian
Clark, Philip Beauregard, Pete Wyrough, Brooks Ross, Robert Jones, Brian Bunce, John
Sharood, Peter McMahon, Francois Van der Mensbrugge, and Christoper Cook at 1:17 pm; the
White House photographer was present at the beginning of the meeting.
Introduction
-Teacher
-Years spent in teaching profession
The President's childhood
-Mother, Hannah Nixon
Introductions
Poems
Photograph session
-Arrangements
The President's birthday
Poems
-Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon
-Tricia Nixon Cox
-The President's poem to sick brother
Students
-Future plans
-Writers, journalists
-President
Press
Poem recitation
Washington Post
Poem recitation
Birthday cake
Student's interests
The President's forthcoming trip to the People's Republic of China [PRC]
-Effect on the world
-Unknown teacher
-Airplane flight
Presentation of gifts
-Pens
-Bill signing usage
Oval Office
-Presidential seal
-Floor and ceiling
-Gift
-Bowpin
Portrait of George Washington by Rembrandt Peale
Steuben glass
-“Star of the President”
The President's grade school years
-Fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Zimmerman
-Geography
Pontier, et al., except Cevey left and Ronald L. Ziegler and Stephen B. Bull entered at 1:17 pm.
Birthday card
The President's birthday present
-Compact
Cevey and Bull left at 1:18 pm.
The President's meeting with Edwin M. (“Jiggs”) Fauver
-Length of meeting
-Fauver's duties
-White House Telegraph and Travel Office
-John Fauver
-Photographs
-Press
-Ray M. Zook
The President’s recent meeting with school children
Ziegler left at 1:19 pm.Also recorded on January 13, 1972
- 647-011 12:36 PM · 38 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:36 pm and 12:38 pm.
- 647-012 12:37 PM · 22 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Lt. Cmdr. James E. Sheehan, John Sheehan, Kathleen Sheehan, Kelly Sheehan, Kevin Sheehan, Eugene T. Sheehan, Edward J. Sheehan, Geneva Smith, Adm. Adm. C. D. Griffin, Louie B. Nunn, John Sherman Cooper, John J. Sparkman, Arthur F. Burns, J. L. Robertson, George W. Mitchell, J. Dewey Daane, Sherman J. Maisel, Andrew F. Brimmer, Robert Holland, George P. Shultz, Herbert Stein, Peter M. Flanigan, Frederic V. Malek, Oliver F. ("Ollie") Atkins, and E. Pendleton James met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:37 pm and 1:02 pm.
- 647-013 1:02 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 1:02 pm and 1:03 pm.
- 647-015 1:19 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, Edwin M. Fauver, Mrs. Edwin M. Fauver, Ray M. Zook, Ronald L. Ziegler, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:19 pm to 1:23 pm.
- 647-016 1:23 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:23 pm to 1:24 pm.
- 647-017 1:24 PM · 51 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Robert O. Anderson, J. Erik Jonsson, Kenneth R. Cole, Jr., Leonard Garment, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:24 pm to 2:14 pm.
- 647-018 2:14 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:14 pm and 2:16 pm.
- 647-019 2:16 PM · 6 min — Jon M. Huntsman, Mrs. Jon M. Huntsman, Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., Paul Huntsman, Kathleen Huntsman, Kristina Huntsman, James Huntsman, Paul Huntsman, David Huntsman, Alexander P. Butterfield, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:16 pm to 2:21 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 647-014, January 13, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/647-014 (accessed September 18, 2026).