Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 683 › Conversation 683-013

Nixon, Murray & Bradford on Odessa College and Memorabilia

Monday, March 13, 1972 · 3:05 PM–3:12 PM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.; Murray, Grover E.; Bradford, John R.; Cook, Richard K.; Nidecker, John E.; White House photographerConversation683-013 on Tape 683 (tape position 04:52:18–05:00:02)StartMonday, March 13, 1972 at 3:05 PMEndMonday, March 13, 1972 at 3:12 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 683-013 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Representative George H. Mahon, Texas Tech University President Grover E. Murray, and other academic representatives to discuss a formal invitation for the President to address the upcoming American Society for Engineering Education conference in Annapolis. The participants also engaged in informal conversation regarding upcoming visits, the presentation of photographs and personal memorabilia for a presidential display at Odessa College, and general political pleasantries. Nixon agreed to consider the speaking invitation and facilitated a photo opportunity with the visiting delegation.

  • American Society for Engineering Education
  • Presidential scheduling
  • Odessa College
  • Memorabilia
  • George H. Mahon
  • Texas Tech University

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 167.7 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 168.1 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 164.4 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 04:52:18 into the tape and ends around 05:00:02.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Timestamps are positions within the full tape recording.
4:52:32But if he could be Secretary of State, he probably, Christ, he can't run an office.
4:52:37He couldn't be the main human being.
4:52:40He could go to Ramallah, right?
4:52:42He was weakness.
4:52:43But Henry could not run the office of Secretary of State.
4:52:45It's a hell of a... Sure it is.
4:52:47It's a good administrative job.
4:52:48Henry was awesome in models, personal relations.
4:52:50But Henry is not very good at that job.
4:53:45Being here is just a stand-up, just as late as we are today, right?
4:53:48It's great.
4:53:48I mean, how are we going to do it?
4:53:50It's great.
4:53:51I can't wait to feel it.
4:53:52It's a passionate meeting.
4:53:56We have 15 minutes to do it, except Kissinger's going to be here.
4:53:58He has to carry it on.
4:54:00We'll try to do that in 15 minutes.
4:54:02And what you've done has shown a lot longer gap, won't it?
4:54:05They can make it happen.
4:54:07Early in the morning, we'd like to see you bussing after the pass.
4:54:11And if that would be all right with you.
4:54:14All right.
4:54:30President Chairman Mayhem.
4:54:31Mr. President, Mr. President, how are you?
4:54:34Very good.
4:54:34Good to see you.
4:54:36Good to see you.
4:54:37This is President Murray of Texas Tech University.
4:54:4021,000.
4:54:40This is an E-divisionary here from Bradford.
4:54:43They, you know, get to be elected to senior school.
4:54:48Yeah, that's right.
4:54:50They're here to pass you the curriculum.
4:54:58But they're here to advise you to address, at once, the American Society of Engineering Education.
4:55:07The last campus of the National Convention, Annapolis, and they had 5,000 of them.
4:55:17So this would be a good spot, we think, with people from all over the nation.
4:55:37And there's some, it gives you a wide variety of things that you might want to say in June.
4:55:41And let me just open you up to the impression of the idea, which we realize you can make these memories about.
4:55:51I appreciate it very much, yes I do.
4:55:59In any event, whatever I have here, whatever I decide, I want to see it as small as it can be, because of your association.
4:56:07These are the best people in Texas, absolutely.
4:56:10You know, we will share with it if we like it.
4:56:11Come on, let's get a picture, a little presentation.
4:56:13That would be very entertaining at least.
4:56:14Well, and I will consider it, but I, you know, I get a little busy.
4:56:16We never know what's going on.
4:56:18We haven't met for the rest of it.
4:56:19We don't know where the beard is.
4:56:21That's a Dean's dent.
4:56:22Yeah, and then you've got it on the other side of the beard, like this.
4:56:27How's that?
4:56:28That's right.
4:56:29All right, ma'am.
4:56:30We don't want to be looking down on the beard without eyes.
4:56:33That's why we look you through.
4:56:34He's been doing this longer than I have.
4:56:36Right.
4:56:37I appreciate your note about my .
4:56:42I won't sit for a while, will you?
4:56:46No, no, but they showed that you didn't have any .
4:57:00I don't know what it was.
4:57:03I don't know what it was.
4:57:05I don't know what it was.
4:57:08I don't know what it was.
4:57:17She's from my home town.
4:57:38And I'm going to come in, she's coming in late tomorrow with Secretary Zettel, the one that we're having lunch with, and you can buy us that lunch, and the corporation's going to approve it.
4:57:52That's right, that's right.
4:57:53And so sometimes when we could do... You arranged it, I always say it.
4:57:58She's a good person.
4:58:00She is.
4:58:00All right, bring her in.
4:58:01That picture of hers is amazing.
4:58:03She was one of our...
4:58:05Oh, she's great.
4:58:05She's a great cop.
4:58:06Why don't you go out?
4:58:06Why don't you go out?
4:58:07Why don't you go out?
4:58:20I'm telling you this, at another college, I've got Odessa as well.
4:58:32I know Odessa.
4:58:33I know Odessa.
4:58:38they're having a presidential library, a presidential library.
4:58:42So the college is having a presidential display of everything associated with being president.
4:58:49So I'm sending out a bunch of pictures, and one of them is a picture that was taken in here before he was a child.
4:58:56The other is after he was a child.
4:58:58Now I'm even lending him that Chinese box.
4:59:01So there's nothing to remind me of.
4:59:05on Air Force One, going down to the game, the Arkansas-Texas game.
4:59:10You know that.
4:59:11Well, there's a bar we're supposed to take, and I'm sending them a million of that.
4:59:14You know what I mean?
4:59:16Yeah.
4:59:16It was sent to me.
4:59:18I think it was one of those scrolls.
4:59:21It's a small thing, but we had a little scroll we picked up, and we just gave it to them.
4:59:27Anything that...
4:59:27It was on the record.
4:59:28And it was with... Oh, that's...
4:59:31It was sent to me.
4:59:32And that...
4:59:32If you give it to them, then it belongs to you after all.
4:59:34Well, I'll just tell them that it's the president's office.
4:59:36He gave this to the man who told you to view it.
4:59:39That's right.
4:59:40That's right.
4:59:41That's the president's way of giving the parents the money now.
4:59:45This is...
4:59:45Wooden nickels.
4:59:46Ah!
4:59:46Is this for a cup of coffee or coke?
4:59:48I don't know.
4:59:49If you're doing this with wooden nickels, it'll lose out on some studies, too.
4:59:52You're trying to say you already have your documents, aren't you?
4:59:55Exactly.
4:59:55When you were here before?
4:59:56Yes, sir.
4:59:57We've got it now.
4:59:58There's the President of Chicago.
4:59:59It's always the same.
5:00:00It's the seal of the President.
5:00:01Let me show you what this is.

NARA Description

On March 13, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, Grover E. Murray, John R. Bradford, Richard K. Cook, John E. Nidecker, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:05 pm to 3:12 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 683-013 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 683-13

Date: March 13, 1972
Time: 3:05 pm - 3:12 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull, George H. Mahon, Grover E. Murray, John R.
Bradford, Richard K. Cook and John E. Nidecker; the White House photographer was present at
the beginning of the meeting.

     Introductions
           -Mahon

Bull left at an unknown time before 3:12 pm.

     Introductions
           -Murray
           -Bradford

     The President’s schedule
          -American Society for Engineering Education Conference
               -Invitation to the President to speak
               -Annapolis
               -Importance of conference
               -Decision

     Photographs

     Portraits
           -Note

     Maid of Cotton
          -Visit to Washington, DC
          -Request to visit the President

     Cotton Bowl
          -Texas Tech University
          -University of Arkansas

     Odessa College
         -Presidential display
               -The People’s Republic of China [PRC] trip
                     -Chinese box
         -Photograph
               -1969 University of Arkansas-University of Texas football game
               -Air Force One
               -Gift
                     -Chinese scroll
                           -Mahon

     Gifts
             -Cufflinks
             -Scroll
                  -PRC
                  -Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon
                  -Odessa College
                  -Mahon

     Mahon’s work as a Congressman

     Portrait
           -F. Edward Hebert

Mahon, et al. left at 3:12 pm.

Also recorded on March 13, 1972

  • 683-010 2:50 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:50 pm to 2:54 pm.
  • 683-011 2:54 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:54 pm to 3:02 pm.
  • 683-021 2:54 PM · 53 sec — Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:54 pm and 3:02 pm.
  • 683-012 3:02 PM · 46 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:02 pm and 3:05 pm.
  • 683-014 3:12 PM · 34 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:12 pm and 3:15 pm.
  • 683-015 3:15 PM · 26 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Otto E. Passman, Henry A. Kissinger, Richard K. Cook, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:15 pm to 3:41 pm.
  • 683-016 3:41 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:41 pm and 3:48 pm.
  • 683-017 3:41 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:41 pm and 3:48 pm.

All 72 conversations from March 13, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 683-013, March 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/683-013 (accessed October 3, 2026).