Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 720 › Conversation 720-008

Nixon, Latta & Springer on Oval Office and Small-town America

Friday, May 5, 1972 · 12:09 PM–12:15 PM ET · Oval Office · 6 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Latta, Delbert L.; Springer, Delbert; Nidecker, John E.; Springer, Jill; White House photographerConversation720-008 on Tape 720 (tape position 01:56:29–02:02:00)StartFriday, May 5, 1972 at 12:09 PMEndFriday, May 5, 1972 at 12:15 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 720-008 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon hosted Representative Delbert L. Latta and the Springer family in the Oval Office for a brief, ceremonial meeting featuring a photo session. The conversation centered on praising a woodcarving presented by Delbert Springer, discussing the value of small-town American life, and acknowledging Latta’s legislative support. The visit concluded with the exchange of presidential gifts and the President providing autographs for the Springer family members.

Audio

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This clip was extracted from the full tape recording by Easy Nixon.

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Position in tape: 01:56:29 – 02:02:00

part A, 1:56:27

720a.mp3
720b.mp3

NARA Description

On May 5, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Delbert L. Latta, Delbert Springer, John E. Nidecker, Jill Springer, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:09 pm to 12:15 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 720-008 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 720-8

Date: May 5, 1972
Time: 12:09 pm –12:15 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Delbert L. Latta, Delbert Springer, Mrs. Delbert Springer, Jill Springer,
and John E. Nidecker; the White House photographer was present at the beginning of the
meeting.

     Greetings
          -Latta
          -Springer
          -Mrs. Springer
          -Miss Springer

     Photographs

     Springer's woodcarving
          -The President’s praise
          -Time spent

     Photographs
          -Arrangement

     Wood

              -Type and amount used

      Springer's hometown
           -Size
           -Small-town America
                 -The President’s view
           -Latta
                 -The President’s view
                 -Support for the President

      Gifts
              -Cuff links
              -Bow
              -Ashtray

      Jill Springer
            -First name
            -Request for President's autograph
                  -For Jill
                  -For Rose Ellen
            -Gift of pen

      White House tour

      Goodbyes
          -Latta

Latta, et al., left at 12:15 pm.

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

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

to be on standby.
You know, I had, uh, I had Henry Lane Polk here, and I had Henry, I had, and Rose, and, yeah, Rose was going.
He was having his second thoughts on everything today.
Yeah, I'm telling you.
That was the evening before.
I think it was before, but he's...
I'm trying to...
I'm trying to tell how I can see you.
I can see you.
Here's our friend from this year's evening.
How are you?
How are you?
How are you?
How are you?
Great.
Let's go over here and get a picture of this, shall we?
All of this wonderful work you put in this.
I saw that 120 hours.
You'll get here in a minute like this.
And I'll tell you on that side, the one that you put in the back picture.
How big is your town?
The town of Ann Worth
That's great.
I'm all for it.
I grew up in a town called .
What's now 100,000, but over 12,000 years, I grew up 12,000 times.
Little college.
But there are great people out there in the small towns of America.
Of course, Lattice is a little liberal down here.
He's great.
I just want you to know he's a strong man.
He's always there when things are tough here in Congress.
And we'd be proud to have that kind of manner.
He doesn't need to say that.
He always wins, but he won't say it.
Not quite.
Not quite.
That's right.
He's not going to say it.
Now, we have a little present for you.
Not much.
Here's a seal and a compliment.
Are you a compliment?
Thank you.
Very good.
And you get compliments.
You've got another one.
Now, you've got one already.
Here's a seal and a bow for you to wear to church.
Oh, thank you.
It's not an expensive thing, but it's a little...
I'm very proud of you, man.
I think, you know, because of all the work they've done, that you have one of our main careers.
Yes, sir.
I don't know if you smoke or not.
I do.
We have a presidential ashtray.
We can't get many of these because they're all on the stage.
But I think that because of that work...
I'll show you what it is.
Here's the package.
Here's the white.
And here's what it is.
It's the seal of the signature.
Yes, it is.
So that's for George, the folks in Van Werten.
Arrested?
Arrested.
Put it there.
Better nail it down.
Arrested.
She wanted to know if she'd have your autograph.
Oh, you did?
What's your first name?
Jill.
Honey, you heard Jill.
That's right.
You said Roselle.
That's your daughter.
Stationary.
Rose, Ellen, two names or what?
Ellen.
Two names, Rose and Ellen.
You guys are terrible at this.
I'm going to make a bomb out of this.
I'm going to make a bomb out of this.
I'm going to make a bomb out of this.
Hey, sir, I appreciate it.
Now, let's see.
This is the right thing for you.
Let's give you a little country sign for it.
How would you like that?
For you.
That's great.
I'll put it in my box.
Have a look at the search.
All right.
Thank you.
Goodbye and good luck.
We wish you the best.
We wish you the best.

Also recorded on May 5, 1972

  • 720-007 11:47 AM · 23 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Stephen B. Bull, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:47 am to 12:09 pm.
  • 720-009 12:15 PM · 48 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:15 pm and 12:16 pm.
  • 720-010 12:16 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Dr. Jerome H. Jaffe, Mrs. Jerome H. Jaffe, Miriam Jaffe, Celia Jaffe, Ari Jaffe, Egil ("Bud") Krogh, Jr., and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:16 pm to 12:18 pm.
  • 720-011 12:18 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 12:18 pm and 12:19 pm.
  • 720-012 12:19 PM · 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Rockefeller, III, Grace Olivarez, Dr. Christian N. Ramsey, Jr., Kenneth R. Cole, Jr., Raymond J. Waldeman, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:19 pm to 12:32 pm.
  • 720-013 12:32 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:32 pm and 12:34 pm.
  • 720-014 12:32 PM · 41 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:32 pm and 12:34 pm.
  • 720-015 12:34 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:34 pm to 12:41 pm.

All 54 conversations from May 5, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 720-008, May 5, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/720-008 (accessed November 2, 2026).