honey, what kind of roast do you want to cook? uh. are you going to do the carving? what else? gloria, you'd better play it safe and make it baloney. okay. okay. after the way i rib joe, i guess i have that common soul to show you that my heart's in the right place. we will have standing rib roast. okay. it really doesn't make any difference. whatever kind of roast to get. you'll find it easy. they'll learn how to carve out. if i could learn how to carve. anyone can learn.

let's started does not make covid seem like a very distant memory. this is great to be back again with all you and you know, just to be able to talk to so many friends. well, i'm just delighted to greet you and the audience in grand rapids, michigan. well, as our c-span audience everywhere, i'm gleaves whitney executive director of the gerald r ford presidential foundation. and it's my honor to be your host, along with a lot of good people today, and to welcome to our 2023 edition of america's first ladies luncheon. this year's event is centered around a theme first ladies pat

nixon and betty ford lives of leadership, courage and, grace. three great words to describe these remarkable women are our foundation's long running first ladies series is the brainchild of the first daughter, susan ford bales, who's here with us from texas. susan, thank you so much for your dedication after all these years. and joining susan are number of special guests. so i'd like you to hold your applause to the end, please. president mrs. nixon's son in law, ed cox, is with us. he joins us in lieu of his son, christopher, who was originally on the program but could not make it today. and then we have mrs. nixon's and mrs. ford's chief communication. patti mattson. thank you much for being here. leaders and, board members of the white house historical associa, among whom are anita mcbride, who is a familiar face to this event and dr. colleen

shogan, who is president nominee to become the 11th archivist of the united states. we hope you get all the way through that senate process. also, trustees of the gerald r ford presidential foundation, in addition to susan, who are here, include tina freese, decker hooker and fred keller, the director of the ford presidential library and museum. brooke, brooke clements is with us also and west michigan's political reporter, rick albin with us. let's give all of these distinguished guests a hand. i also want to thank the many many generous donors, the sponsors who made this luncheon possible again. please hold your applause. our premier sponsor once again, fifth third bank. our table sponsors the steve and amy van andel foundation, blue cross blue shield, blue care network of, michigan, and the

secchia family foundation and are the principle table sponsors. i want to point out that joan secchia, the wife of the late ambassador peter secchia, is us. thank you so much for being here here. there are many additional sponsors who are listed on the back of your program. and we appreciate and thank you. well, i'd now like to reverend lynette sparks, senior pastor at westminster presbyterian church, to come forward and offer a benediction, an invocation. thank you. thank you. gleaves and to all of you at the gerald r ford foundation for the invitation to participate today. so as we begin, i invite you to join me in prayer, holy and

almighty, one source of all is good and noble and gracious. you gather, your people together in communities for mutual support and for of the common good. and we come to this gathering, thankful for the community assembled here today. we come with gratitude for all those who have committed lives to public service and to the betterment of our city, our state, and nation. and today we come, especially thankful for the lives of first ladies pat nixon and betty ford, and for ways that they modeled leadership, courage and grace to their families, to their loved ones, to our country, and to the world. we are grateful. the presence of susan ford bales for ed cox, patty mattson and rick albin and ask your upon them as they reflect on the

lives of these first ladies and we remember their legacies today. help us all to take to heart the lessons from lives, inspire us to live our own lives with integrity, honesty, courage. give us the will to combine our gifts and abilities to put aside all would divide us and to work hand in hand toward the flourishing of all people. and we give thanks for all who have made today's gathering possible for the meal. we are to share. and all who have had a part in preparing it. and bringing it to our tables and through it strengthened us for service to another and to all the citizens, the world we offer these prayers in all holy names of god.

amen. not too subtle, is it? not subtle that we're about to begin. now, the proper program here. well, it's that time of year again, three weeks after betty ford's birthday and her name sake. daylilies are popping in the beautiful gardens outside our gerald r ford presidential museum. also this spring seen the publication of richard smith's much heralded biography, an ordinary man, which, by the way, is an ironic title which reveals a number surprises about president his private life and his historic presidency. now, once you delve into book,

you realize a good sequel to an ordinary man would be an extraordinary woman. and of course, i'm referring to betty ford. and that title would also apply to pat nixon. well, for these two remarkable women who became friends who encouraged each other to live their best lives in the pressure of public life and the glare of the white house. well, with us to give deeper insight into pat nixon and betty ford, we have some distinguished people on this stage, susan ford bales only daughter of president and mrs.. susan is the sponsor, the aircraft carrier uss gerald r ford and recognize one of her extraordinary service as the ship's sponsor. susan was named an honorary aviator by the united states navy, becoming only the 31st american ever to receive this distinction and the first woman

ever to be so honored. she is the recipient of three honorary doctorates and is the author of two novels set in the white house. i'm waiting for those novels. get on tv now, because the netflix we need to clean up next looks a little. edward cox next to susan, the son in law of president and mrs. nixon. many of you recall that the hauenstein and the ford held a joint program. i figured it out 12 years ago. you asked when it was 12 years, 2011, where we were at the ford museum and featured ed cox talking about what it's like to work with presidents. he's worked with four of them. he's a corporate lawyer, finance lawyer. and he and tricia nixon. i found out this story last night. they met in new york at a class dance in 1963 when they were seniors in high. they married eight years later, of course, the famous marriage

in the rose garden that we're all familiar with. and just celebrated their 50th anniversary at the nixon in 2021. so congratulations congratulations, everyone, on that. harry mattson, who's next to ed? we're with both mrs. nixon and, mrs. ford. she served the assistant press secretary and speechwriter in the white house office of the first lady during ford administration, the nixon administration, patti traveled extensively and she traveled not only domestically but internationally. she was an advance person. she later worked at abc for 25 years, including as senior vice president of communications. and last but not least, today's conversation will be moderated by rick albin veteran political report. you know, i didn't know which word you are. are you senior veteran? i've got to be careful when rh fragrance out, but veteran

political reporter for news eight. he has long been associated with wood tv, which has given him the platform to cover politics on radio and television. five states and in dc. and rick has interviewed every since president ford. so, ladies and gentlemen, please join me in expressing appreciation for our great penn. as are. thank you. gleaves. and good afternoon, everyone. i take a quick moment to thank the foundation as they have the better part of. 30 years, inviting me to be part of these very special events. and this one, i promise you, will be extraordinary. after listening to the conversations that had since i've been here and a special thanks to the ford family, because they too have allowed me to do things that most reporters don't get a chance to do, and particularly susan, who we spent so much time together between the ship, some of these events and it's always great you're back in town. and so it's nice to you all here. and let's get started. i want you to think for a minute

about these two remarks. all women, we all know them. we can think of the high points, but think about what they did, how they did it, and when did it. and think about this title. lives of leadership, courage and both of these women had very distinct examples of all three of those wonderful traits. think about being a relatively young mother in the 1950s, when women didn't have the same for the lack of a better word, privileges that are now. you didn't just go out and become that kind of a strong voice unless you came from a very place. these two families were also linked and so many ways. and susan, i want to start with you on this. we had a conference call and i had never really thought about it, but all the way back to congressional days or the time of mr. nixon being the vice

president, your father being in congress. and then the obvious choice of vice president and then ascending to the presidency. talk to me about. your mother and mrs. ford's. this was nixon's relationship and how your families were kind of intertwined. well, president nixon was a congressman when my dad became a young congressman in 1948. and then so that relationship and began then president nixon welcomed my dad, helped him along find his way. all of those things as young, new congressman. but then mrs. nixon back in the day which you know we're coming up on 50 years of all of this. was because she was the vice wife. she became head of the senate wives. that was part of your job. and so my mother, pat, worked together for years working in both a senate wives club, congressional wives club. they did fashion shows.

they rolled bandages i mean, it was a very active group. when you when you think about the two similarities, did did they keep in close contact even post white house? they did. you know, and that was one of the things i remember my dad visiting president nixon after he had had surgery and, the phlebitis issue, and my dad left an event and went to go visit him at the hospital. he was very ill at the time. but my mother was was close to pat. i mean, they been through so much together, just like my mother became good friends with nancy reagan. you know there's only so many people who have been in this fishbowl that understand where coming from. and and so they become dear friends. ladybird was another one who was a dear friend. ed talk me a little bit about that at nixon and how

multifaceted she was from promoting volunteerism and really being on the the kind of the early edge of focusing on reading and the importance of that. but she also traveled with the vice president and then president. i mean, she was a bona fide world traveler. she was as vice president. she traveled with the president, i believe it is 53 countries excuse me, with the vice president, 53 countries. the first was a trip around the world which president eisenhower, the vice president, to take. and mrs. nixon went with them and the couple's secret service and one aide. and that was it. and they were on their own and they went to allies in east asia, allies in south asia, in the mideast, in europe, and of course, there were different customs and from white tie to you know regular business suits.

and of course women have to do do what's necessary to dress according it and yet they did it on their own. it was quite extraordinary. and she was a real trooper in doing that. but of course you know she was brought up working. she believed just to get through college. she went to the university, southern california. she had nine different jobs from sweeping the floor of a bank to being an extra in a hollywood film. now her brother's, on the other hand, had football scholarships. why shouldn't women have scholarships, too? well, guess what president nixon passed title nine, which makes equal sports equal to men. sports. and put a little finer point on that. her mother passed when she was 13, 14 years old. yes. and father, she she 17 years old. she she actually took care of him. and she was taking care of her brothers. and they were they had a small so harm.

yes, exactly. there was an and then i and just one more note, because as i read all of this, it was making my head spin shortly after her father passed, she graduated from high school, an apartment and some wanted to go to new york city and she drove them. she drove them. she is interesting. she did like travel. so she took a job that didn't pay very much to take these two elderly people in an old car and drive across the country to, new york city, where she found a job as a secretary. among all the other things she did, she could touch type and could stay stenography. and she spent a year in new york city before she went to california. but that was her real trip. she liked to travel, but she and traveling she liked to communicate with ordinary people wherever she went. and on her tombstone at the nixon library. and i a little bit.

but it's while you may not the same language you always know if you have love in your heart and that's the way liked to communicate wherever traveled not go to big fancy things but to go out and meet the people even if they didn't speak the language she could communicate with. patty, you worked for both women at our table. you were talking about these great experiences and i'll just let you start where you want to. i don't want to pick a particular story because they're all charming but they're also very indicative of the kind of women they both were. and i think you describe both of them as kind. and and that's another it's a trait not just one implied. it has really struck me in preparing this and rereading a lot of the things that i was involved in that one, the main

thing that they both was this great empathy for people and, their kindness. so faced their jobs and their responsibilities. but you always sense that in it and a lot of the things that they did of i think were really because they understood how much it meant to people to have any kind of contact with the white house and i know that it it affected mrs. nixon's really revamping and having the white house available so many more people for international people

that came the brochures were in several languages and she was continually thinking about things that could make the experience more memorable and, and really meaningful to people. and most important to her were, the volunteers who came. that's what she focused on. yeah. people were giving back to their community. she wanted them to come to the white house. there was one little boy who came to the white house and he said, oh, you live. i don't believe you live here. where's your washing machine? and so she took the little boy and showed the little boy where the washing machine was, because you can't live in a house without a washer. yes. the other thing had in common was their sense of humor. mrs. ford as you know, she loved to have a good time as as well. and she was always seeing the humor in everything.

and then her quiet, elegant way. mrs. nixon did, the same thing. you know, there would seem to be a little bit different, but they both had that humor and the kindness. susan i, want to talk about a moment that showed grace and courage with your mother and it happened. never a good time for any diagnosis, but at such a pivotal moment in your family's life, you had just moved into the white house and your mother got a diagnosis of breast cancer. and if we were doing panel 50 years ago, i wouldn't have said breast cancer because you didn't say that in public. and she could have and others would have kept it as quiet

possible. had people who do communications gloss over it. she had people taking pictures of her after her surgery in the hospital room. the first lady of the united speak to me about what that was for her at once, knowing had just taken on the role of first lady of the united states and now is literally battling for her life. we had our wreck. i was at the lbj library last week and. lucy and i were talking because lucy and linda and her mother came to visit that day as mother was leaving that afternoon one evening to go check herself into bethesda. and lucy said, i don't know why your mother just have somebody else. let us see the white house, because it's a real privilege to go back to the house and see the house after you've left. i've only been once and then allowed to go upstairs to my

bedroom and see my bedroom of what it looks like now, who knows what it looks like now? but anyway, you don't normally to go upstairs into the family and so we were letting lucy and linda see their old rooms and and all of that and they unaware that mother was headed to bethesda naval hospital that afternoon, which i'm sure patty involved in right in that press release. and said to me, she goes, your mother was so gracious because she could have, you know, and said, but lucy, you and i now know how special it is to go back to the house. and why would my mother take that away from you. and and your mother. because it's unique experience and because my mother, lady bird, were also long time dear friends and had worked their husbands and worked together for years and years and years.

so what was it like, as you to get a handle on what your lives were like, what your mom's life was going to be like having? these two big events happen very close and proximity to each other. how tough was it for her to to grasp the role of first lady while she's still obviously has serious health issues? well know it's it's interesting. i worked my first job ever was for the white house historical association selling guidebooks to the tourists who came through. and that was my first job. and so i knew when the nixons were in house the the screen was up. so that couldn't go to the west wing and exactly what i'm talking about. so you knew if they were in house or out of house. so when we moved in, which was about ten days later while because julie, david were

packing their things and getting them moved. i was cocky. let's just say that. well, mom, i mean, i worked and, you know, let me just show you how it was and but let's also remember, was 17. let's put in perspective. so anyway and, my mother was extremely gracious because she had been to the white house many times mean there she was there during the kennedy administration and we went to church when the nixons have church services on sunday at the white house. i remember going to that. so you know the transition in from being vice president's wife to president's wife. i think it was a matter of housing because were still living in alexandria. so was an upgrade in housing for sure. and i want to ask you about the converse, because ten days earlier, you were standing beside the first lady and the president as talked to you and

the rest of the white house staff just before he walked out in that famous shot, got on the helicopter and flew out to air force one. you also accompanied him on that flight, and that was moment that had to be particularly difficult for everyone. but how did the first lady navigate at a moment like that? i actually that question was raised by steve bole, who has organized the event. and he asked me, should the family be there with the president? and of course, i thought of mrs. nixon. and of course, she's always been there with him, whether it is the fun crisis, where he wasn't sure what he'd do. and she said, you got to go fight it. and he did. and he won that. so in all these tough moments, she was there. she was a real fighter. and for her not to be would have

just not been right. i think steve was asking, you know, would she be able to control emotion. well yes. there's no doubt about she was that type of a person. so we were all there. it was night before i was in the president asked me to be in the lincoln sitting room with him as he was preparing his talk. i was very calm about. he asked me to go to book the quote that he used about roosevelt, teddy roosevelt, about his past wife, and that tribute that he read. so i brought that book with me to that and and then we got on the helicopter. i know that your parents accompany us there. julian, david stayed behind and we went off to san clemente with the with the president. mr. nixon, as we passed by the washington monument. the president is there. i'm sitting here. mrs. nixon's next him. and i thought. what do you say as you're going

by am the marine one. and said, mr. president, in ten years you will be back. because that's the kind of person he was. and mrs. nixon was. they were fighters. and ten years later, by order of katharine, who heard him give speech, he was on cover of newsweek saying he's back because everyone wanted seek his advice and is nixon was very much a part of that. patty a couple of things. your take as a staffer at that pivotal moment, but before that something much happier and i wanted to ask you earlier and we moved along you talked about mrs. loved to have one on one time with people to be able to look them in the eye, to make them understand not her importance, but the importance of the office and the presidency and the first lady. how many of you all have ever

taken a tour? the white house? bunch of us. i think we have done it during the nixon administration because what would she do when there were tours coming in in the last months, when weren't traveling so much, she was able to to be there and be a hostess, if you will, to people who wanted to come. so particularly with the women's that would come to see washington, she would have them invited into the white house. she would stand and sometimes three and four times a week she would greet them at door. she would them in the eye, talk to them and shake their hand. and everybody left. walking on air and and you know that those people still have that. a memory of of a highlight of

their life. but she understood how much it meant to people to have a sense of the kinds of people run the the and who are in the white house. so she also was known because she so much mail she had a view. remember it's like this has up outside her door for her to write her replies and she did it personally and not only. i mean, she never allowed else to sign the letters, but at any rate, she, she understood what mail meant to people and she made sure that everything was answered and. you know, sometimes it's what agency do you go to? i mean, you can't believe the the both the volume and how much time they they took because

understood what it meant to people to have that kind of a relationship to being in the white house, being the first lady being a congressional wife in the fifties having all of that pressure. your mother didn't lose her sense of humor. the the picture of her standing on the cabinet room table that kennerly took remains one of my favorites. how did she how did she cope with? the kind of pressures because it's not an easy place to live. there's a lot going on. and but she still in what i read what i see when you talked about her, she always seemed to be up and trying to to get others to be the same. i told you about the picture i saw the day, the election. your father had lost the entire family standing, the oval office as she tried to get jack to

smile. you know, she's physically, like trying to get him to smile because obviously people were unhappy, you know, but she wanted people to feel better. well as patty knows, she was quite the prankster. she loved a good prank. now, i think some of that comes having two older brothers and having three boys. and then she got me so you had to roll with the punches. and, i mean, it's my dad was gone probably 200 and some odd days a year. so you learn to roll with the punches. but we were always doing pranks at the white house and that was mandatory to keep spirits up. i mean, you know, inflation was this and, you know, whip inflation now buttons and the sweater that some woman wonderfully knitted my father i remember the picture of him it on christmas.

but you so beaten down on living there by the press and the american your numbers are up one day and they're down the next. you to laugh. you have to laugh and my mother was a great prankster. she loved to be involved in a prank. and i mean, patty, i'm sure you and you were part of maybe a prank or two along the way, but my mother was one of those that patty showed me a picture last night at dinner. that of what birthday was it for you? 30. 30. she hasn't changed a bit. and my mother really honored and respected her staff who worked for her and they became part the family because they are insiders and they know you can trust them and they're not going to talk. and i'm ed can say the same about president and mrs. nixon.

they become friends each and every one to come back to you. but you tell the story about your 30th birthday. oh we are mrs. ford reconnected with the famous woman, had taught her how to dance and. dancing was quite a an important part of her life when she had been young. so we went to new york. her escort was woody allen, who was in a tuxedo with tennis shoes. and it got quite a bit of it was her reuniting with martha graham. so we had had a wonderful weekend up there and. we came back and they given us a little plane to come in and we were, you know, just sitting there going over the day and how

much fun it had been. and that kind of thing. and in walks in walks at that part of the plane, this cake was my 30th birthday. i didn't know anybody knew it was my 30th birthday. and she had gotten as a surprise. it was such a sweet thing to do this beautiful cake with, candles. so that's how i celebrated my 30th birthday. this is my least favorite, favorite thing when it comes to these. we are almost out of time. and i it because i can sit here the rest of the afternoon. but i know you have schedules, so i'm going to make sure we stay with them and i'm going to with you i'm going to go to each of you. and this is a challenge, but try to tell me something, mrs. nixon, that else in this room knows. hmm. you've got to chat, patty. well, she was a wonderful mother in law to me, and we were

married in 71 and 72. i graduated from law school and. the you are required in order to practice law to take a thing called a bar exam. and the school i went to, harvard doesn't get you ready to do that. and mrs. nixon somehow understood that perhaps from her husband. and she made available to me the solarium of white house and set it for me so i could study there and nonstop for the six week sprint that you do to cram in order to pass the barracks. and that very kind of her do that. and the think of my and what i had to do because by the way, failing was not an option. and so she was that that

thoughtful a wonderful mother in law. great story, patty. what don't we know that you know about either of these great first ladies? i think with mrs. nixon, the people don't understand one of the things that made her so effective was that she had worked she started working and you mentioned a couple of the things she worked for in a hospital for two years. all these things. and that meant that when she came to the white house, she knew how to get things done and that was what drove her ability to bring more people into the white house all these other things but she never wanted any publicity herself so think most people do not understand how much she responsible for. and i. i regret but she really did it

on behalf of the the nixon and what would say the nixon community she wanted people to understand that the government was doing something for them. susan, same question to and i apologize. we didn't need to get a to talk about the leadership courage your mother showed after she left the white house complete. you know, specifically to substance abuse as well. and certainly worth noting. but what's something about your mom that we don't know she was spanker? i can attest to that. i know you. can't do that anymore. so i would also say that my parents were horror. well, drivers horrible. i was never so happy. as for them to get secret service and not be driving. and on that note will end with so many more stories to be told. thank you all very.

i appreciate it. thank. thank you all. i do want to i do want to thank the ford presidential foundation for putting a spotlight on mrs. nixon here. as you said, she never really wanted that that recognition but she was the kind of first lady who deserves it. so thank you very much is very much appreciated on behalf the nixon family. thank you. well and since we're passing out. thanks. i never for us to leave an event like this without saying thank you to all the people who work hard behind the scenes to make something like this happen. i want to thank the wonderful staff of the gerald r ford presidential foundation for all they did behind the scenes to pull off a big event like this. that's months and months, the planning. i'd also like to thank all the

people here at the gw who prepared the meal and served so beautifully. so thank you all for all you did to make a great event. and of course we thank you the four panelists who did just an exceptional job of humanizing what so often is just in a history book or, a textbook or a little clip on the history channel. you behind the scenes and underneath the exterior of these wonderful and humanize them for in a very special way. so thank each of you for bringing your a-game to us today. and i just want to make sure now that, nicolle, please come forward. this is a small token of our appreciation. we have a gift for each of you, and you'll be able to us this day. and at the same time, i want to bring susan ford forward because she's going to present a very special gift.

thank you. gleaves. the white house belongs to the american people. and don't ever that. but the history of the white house is a national treasure. and the white house historical is essential in being the keeper of that house history. with us today, gleaves had mentioned we have several guests from the association on behalf of the president and my mother i would like you all to please accept stand and accept boundless gratitude for all that you do every day. the keepers of the white house history. 40 years ago, the white house historical association began a tradition.

each year they produce an ornament that pays tribute to a selected president and his family. this year's ornament honors dad and our family's christmas celebrations. the ornament is wonderful, and it portrays special parts of our milestone. and one of this year's tributes that meant so much to my dad, the uss gerald r ford, cvn 78. to our friends, the white house historical association. thank you for all that do to preserve history of america's white house. and please accept my gratitude for this very special 2023 ornament. ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy video about this year's ornament. thank you all very much. the white house historical association was founded in 1961

to help collect exhibit artifacts of american culture at the white house and open the door to the rich history of the executive. to support this education efforts, the official white house christmas ornament program was started in 1981. each ornament is designed and assembled in the united states by a veteran founded business. these ornaments honor presidents and significant anniversaries in white house history. the official 2023 white house christmas ornament features president gerald ford on the front of the wreath. the ford's white house christmas decorations themes, which focused on american handcraft efforts. turn the ornament around. see emblems representing president ford's legacy of service from his in boy scout troop 15, where he earned the rank of eagle scout to his college years playing football for the university of michigan. after graduating from yale law school, ford served in the united navy during world war two, achieving the rank

lieutenant commander. one of the last honors that my received six weeks before he passed was naming of cvn 78. that was probably one of the highest honors he received following his military service, ford, elizabeth, betty bloomer, warren. they married in 1948 and had four children. michael, john stephen and susan. gerald ford took office august ninth, 1974, after president nixon resigned. for declared in his remarks upon taking the oath of office. i am acutely aware that you have not me as your president by your ballots. so i ask you to confirm me as your president with your prayers. god helping me. i will not let you down. thank you. during their time the white

house, the fords made an celebrar dated history such as their participation in the bicentennial, including hosting a state dinner for queen elizabeth. the second. although one of the most famous families in the country, the fords enjoyed ordinary moments, the president was often with the family's golden retriever liberty. liberty. and my dad had just a really unique relationship her dad taking her to the office, and she would just got right underneath his desk and made herself right at home. and like many american families was also a special time. the fords. the white house. so exceptionally beautiful during christmas and coming up with the themes you know the year of the bicentennial we did bicentennial ornaments. my mother was very involved in recruiting people to help make those ornaments. the official 2023 white house christmas ornament helps you to create your own white house

inspired holiday memories. this year's ornament so special. when i look at it, it brings back many things and memories of my white house days of parents and it will always have a very special on my tree. purchased the official white house ornament and help preserve our shared american story for generations to come come. isn't that a beautiful ornament. good afternoon. my name is rachel siglow and i am the director of the gerald r ford president foundation. i am that each of you will be

bringing home an ornament that is a reminder of the ford white house. there's a gift in your gift bags, autographed books. gigi in the white house. the book was written by giovanna gigi mcbride. illustrated by john hutton and published by the white house historical association. this children's is based on the real life experiences of gigi visiting her mother. anita mcbride, who is here today, who worked in the white house, the bush administration. unfortunately, gigi could not be with us today. she has finished finishing the semester's courses. anita is here along with her former colleague, albert lea. marilyn kimberly osborn and colleen shogan. thank you for joining us today. if you would like to purchase

additional ornaments or copies of book gigi in the white house be sure to visit the white house historical website. their online store has. many unique gifts for the special people and occasions in your life. thank you to today's sponsors. fifth third bank, the steve and amy van andel foundation blue cross blue shield care network of michigan. the secchia family foundation. grand valley state. the hauenstein for presidential studies. aquinas college. mary freebsd. rehabilitator john hospital. 13. on your side. dhs insurance. wilcox farms. trucking pioneer construction and allegra. if you're not a member, please becoming a member of the gerald r ford presidential foundation. we call our members friends of

ford. their envelopes at the tables for you to consider your level of membership. sponsor our ships of our programs and your membership. help support the many initiatives of the foundation including educational programs of the davos learning center and the ford leadership. in addition, important activities at the presidential library and museum that are not funded by the federal government. temporary exhibits, noted speakers and events are just a few examples. the activities supported by your. please us at our next event on 16th with author john luke, who will be discussing his book the good country a history of the american midwest. finally, i hope you enjoyed centerpieces at your tables. nathan veneman and, his team at green envy created today's look

based on photographs, state dinners during the nixon administration. one person at each table will home a centerpiece. the winner is person at each table whose birthday is closest to mrs. pat nixon. march 16th. congratulations thank you for joining us today and have a wonderful. merry christmas from the white house, nancy. and i wish we could personally thank the thousands of you who sent us holiday cards, greetings and messages. each one is moving and tells a story of its own. story of love hope, prayer and

patriotism. and each one has helped to brighten our christmas. some of the most moving have come from fellow citizens who, unlike most of us, are not spending christmas day at the family hearth surrounded by friends and loved ones. i'm thinking of the 12 of us marines who sent us a card from beirut, lebanon, where they all spend their christmas helping to rebuild a shattered hopes for peace in a suffering land. and i'm thinking of the petty officer serving aboard the uss enterprise who asked that we remember him and his shipmates this holiday season. christmas in the indian ocean is no, he writes, but it's for a very good cause. well, that's right, sailor. you're serving a very good cause on this. the birthday of the prince of peace. you and your comrades serve to protect the peace he taught us. you may be thousands miles away, but to us here at home, you've never been closer. one of my favorite pieces, christmas mail, came early this year. a sort of modern american

christmas story that took place not in our country's heartland, but on the troubled waters of the south china sea. last october. to me, it sums up so much of what is best about the christmas spirit, the american character and what this beloved land of ours stands for, not only to ourselves, but to millions of less fortunate people around the globe. i want to thank mr. gary kemp of neenah, wisconsin, for bringing it to my attention. it's a letter from ordnance. man first class john mooney, written to his parents from aboard the aircraft carrier midway on october 15th. but it's a true christmas story in the best sense. dear mom and dad, he wrote today we spotted a boat in the water and we rendered assistance. we picked up 65 vietnam refugees. it was about a two hour job getting everyone aboard. and then they had to get screened by intelligence and checked out by medical and fed and clothed and all that. but now they're resting on the hangar deck and the kids, most of them seem to be kids, are sitting in front of probably the

first television set they've ever seen watching star wars. their boat was sinking as we came alongside. they'd been at sea five days and had run out of water. all in all, a couple of more days. and the kids would have been in pretty bad shape, i guess once in a while. he writes, we need a jolt that for us to realize why we do what we do and how important really it can be. i mean, it took a lot of guts for those parents to make a choice like that, to go to sea in a leaky boat, in hope of finding someone to take them from the sea. so much risk, but apparently they felt it was worth it rather than live in a communist country for all of our problems with the price of gas and not being able to afford a new car or other creature comforts. this year i really don't see a lot of leaky boats heading out of san diego looking for the russians ships out there after the refugees were brought aboard. i took some pictures, but as usual, i didn't have my camera with me for the real picture. the one blazed in my mind as they approached the ship.

they were all waving and trying as best they could to say hello, america, sailor. hello, freedom. man it's hard to see a boat full of people like that and not get a lump somewhere between chin and belly button. and it really makes one proud and glad to be an american. people were waving and shouting and choking down lumps and trying not to let other brave men see their wet eyes. a lieutenant next to me said, yeah, i guess it's payday in more ways than one. we got paid today, and i guess no one could say it better than that. it reminds us all of what america has always been a place, a man or woman can come to for freedom. i know we're crowded and we have unemployment. we have a real burden with refugees, but i honestly hope and pray we can always find room. we have a unique society made up of castoffs of all the world's wars and depressions. and yet we're strong and free. we have one thing in common no matter where our forefathers came from, we believe in that

freedom. i hope we always have room for one more person. maybe an afghan or a pole or someone else looking for a place where he doesn't have to worry about his family, starving or a knock on the door in the night. and we're all men who truly seek freedom and honor and respect and dignity for themselves and their posterity can find a place where they can finally see their dreams come true and their kids educated and become the next generations of doctors and lawyers and builders and soldiers and sailors love. john. well, i think that letter just about says it all in spite everything we americans are still uniquely blessed not only by the rich bounty of our land, but by a bounty of the spirit, a kind of year round christmas spirit that still makes our country a beacon of hope in a troubled world. and that makes this christmas and every christmas even more special for all of us who number among our gifts the birthright

of being an american. until next week. thanks for listening. merry christmas. god bless