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

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Latta, Delbert L.;  Springer, Delbert;  Nidecker, John E.;  Springer, Jill;  White House photographerConversation720-008 onTape 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

Download MP3 (part 1) · 168.2 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 145.3 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 01:56:29 into the tape and ends around 02:02:00.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

1:57:37How big is your town?
1:57:38The town of Ann Worth
1:58:05That's great.
1:58:06I'm all for it.
1:58:06I grew up in a town called .
1:58:08What's now 100,000, but over 12,000 years, I grew up 12,000 times.
1:58:11Little college.
1:58:12But there are great people out there in the small towns of America.
1:58:23Of course, Lattice is a little liberal down here.
1:58:30He's great.
1:58:31I just want you to know he's a strong man.
1:58:33He's always there when things are tough here in Congress.
1:58:37And we'd be proud to have that kind of manner.
1:58:48He doesn't need to say that.
1:58:50He always wins, but he won't say it.
1:58:52Not quite.
1:58:52Not quite.
1:58:53That's right.
1:58:53He's not going to say it.
1:58:55Now, we have a little present for you.
1:58:57Not much.
1:58:58Here's a seal and a compliment.
1:59:01Are you a compliment?
1:59:02Thank you.
1:59:03Very good.
1:59:03And you get compliments.
1:59:04You've got another one.
1:59:05Now, you've got one already.
1:59:06Here's a seal and a bow for you to wear to church.
1:59:09Oh, thank you.
1:59:11It's not an expensive thing, but it's a little...
1:59:15I'm very proud of you, man.
1:59:19I think, you know, because of all the work they've done, that you have one of our main careers.
1:59:28Yes, sir.
1:59:28I don't know if you smoke or not.
1:59:31I do.
1:59:31We have a presidential ashtray.
1:59:32We can't get many of these because they're all on the stage.
1:59:36But I think that because of that work...
1:59:39I'll show you what it is.
1:59:41Here's the package.
1:59:42Here's the white.
1:59:44And here's what it is.
1:59:46It's the seal of the signature.
1:59:49Yes, it is.
1:59:50So that's for George, the folks in Van Werten.
1:59:56Arrested?
1:59:57Arrested.
1:59:58Put it there.
1:59:59Better nail it down.
2:00:03Arrested.
2:00:06She wanted to know if she'd have your autograph.
2:00:26Oh, you did?
2:00:27What's your first name?
2:00:28Jill.
2:00:28Honey, you heard Jill.
2:00:30That's right.
2:00:31You said Roselle.
2:00:34That's your daughter.
2:01:05Stationary.
2:01:06Rose, Ellen, two names or what?
2:01:08Ellen.
2:01:08Two names, Rose and Ellen.
2:01:11You guys are terrible at this.
2:01:19You have to summon a boss to do this.
2:01:25You don't have to do this.
2:01:27You just need to manage the cars.
2:01:29You need to do this.
2:01:36Hey, sir, I appreciate it.
2:01:37Now, let's see.
2:01:38This is the right thing for you.
2:01:39Let's give you a little country sign for it.
2:01:45How would you like that?
2:01:46For you.
2:01:47That's great.
2:01:47I'll put it in my box.
2:01:48Have a look at the search.
2:01:53All right.
2:01:55Thank you.
2:01:56Goodbye and good luck.
2:01:58We wish you the best.
2:01:59We wish you the best.
2:02:02Thank you all.
2:02:04We'll be looking forward to that.
2:02:06Thank you.
2:02:06You're going to get a White House tour now.
2:02:07Have fun.
2:02:24Oh, you did?

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

                                         (rev. Jan-02)

              -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.

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 · 45 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 · 38 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 September 18, 2026).