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| About age 17 - Mom made this formal for me. |
I would drive into the District every weekday with my dad, who worked for MPR Associates on Connecticut Avenue just a few blocks from the White House. He was a nuclear engineer and consulted with firms like Westinghouse and General Electric about building nuclear reactors to generate electricity. On the way to and from work, we would often listen to General Conference talks, which Dad had taped in the middle of the night from radio broadcasts. I would walk from Dad's office a half dozen blocks to the Old Executive Office Building, next to the White House, where the correspondence section was located. Like many secretaries at the time, I left a nice pair of shoes at the office and wore my tennis shoes to and from work, which I'm sure looked charming with my skirt.
At the office, I would type short letters for the president's signature in response to letters from people who expressed their support. Because the letters would be signed by President Nixon (in actuality, by machine), there needed to be many carbon copies--about a half dozen or more for each letter. There could be no errors in the letters because people would save them and sometimes frame them. It was a big deal to receive a letter from the President! I typed about 60 words a minute and not very accurately, so I often filled my trash can in the first few hours of the day. I was thrilled when a year or two later, we used the first "mag card" automatic typewriters--precursors to word processors.
I began attending Brigham Young University that fall and worked in Mr. Nixon's correspondence section for four consecutive summers. In addition to typing letters, I was occasionally sent out on "detail" to substitute for secretaries who were ill or on vacation. Two of the men I worked for were Tom Korologos (who worked in the East Wing of the White House) and Bob Brown. I remember an incident with Mr. Brown when the mayor of Kansas City, I believe, called while Mr. Brown was on the phone and so I put the mayor on hold. About 15 minutes later, Mr. Brown asked if the call on hold was for him. Oops! I also remember that Nancy Wilson called for Mr. Brown one day. I asked for her name and then her organization, as I had been instructed. She was quite offended and retorted: "The singer!"
In 1973, the summer of the Watergate break in, I received a note that said I was detailed to "Plumbers, Room 6," and that I should stop by the office beforehand for orientation. I questioned why I would be sent to work for plumbers, but my supervisor didn't have any more information. When I arrived at Room 6 (in the Old Executive Office building), there was indeed a sign saying "Plumbers" on the door. When the door opened, I noticed a large shredder machine. A young woman greeted me and explained that I was to answer the phones while she and her boss were at Key Biscane, Florida with President Nixon and other staff members for a few days. When I asked why it said "Plumbers" on the door, she and her boss just laughed and didn't reply. A few days later I was informed that my security clearance wasn't high enough for the detail, so I never went. It wasn't until the following summer that I read in a press release that the White House "plumbers" were charged with stopping leaks to the press.
For the balance of the summer of 1974, I was assigned to work for David Gergen (age 32; now currently a political analyst on CNN), who was then director of speech writing for President Nixon. Ben Stein (famous as the droning teacher in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off") was also a speech writer (age 30). Jan Barbieri was David Gergen's secretary and I helped out with whatever assignments they gave me.
The Watergate scandal came to a head that summer. President Nixon had vowed to fight impeachment so Gergen and other speech writers worked long hours to create material that could be used in his defense. They wrote in longhand on yellow legal pads and I got pretty good at reading almost illegible handwriting. Finally, the evidence of Nixon's attempts to cover up the Watergate break in was so overwhelming that he was forced to resign. Elder D. Todd Christofferson (one of Grandpa Scott's missionaries in Argentina) was a law clerk to Judge John Sirica, who ordered Nixon to turn over the tapes of his conversations with staff in the White House. Elder Christofferson invited Grandma and Grandpa Scott to attend one of the Watergate hearings. In a 2018 address, Elder Christofferson talked about his experience during that time and how it taught him to always follow his conscience.
I'm grateful that in that fall semester at BYU my English teacher assigned us to write about our summer, so I have a good record of some of the key events as I witnessed them.
On August 8th, President Nixon gave a televised address to inform the nation that he would resign the next day. Because the White House switch board anticipated they would be flooded with calls, many secretaries, including me, were asked to stay after hours to take calls directly from the public. I invited a couple of handsome brothers (Eric and Clint Ensign) from my ward to be with me for the evening.
We stayed until about 11 p.m., taking calls, which ran about 9 to 1 supportive of President Nixon. At about 10:30 p.m. Jan Barbieri was asked to type two versions of President Nixon's letter of resignation, and I was tasked with delivering them to the office of George Jowlwan (Special Assistant) in the West Wing. I asked Eric to pose so I could take a photo of the letter.
At the office, I would type short letters for the president's signature in response to letters from people who expressed their support. Because the letters would be signed by President Nixon (in actuality, by machine), there needed to be many carbon copies--about a half dozen or more for each letter. There could be no errors in the letters because people would save them and sometimes frame them. It was a big deal to receive a letter from the President! I typed about 60 words a minute and not very accurately, so I often filled my trash can in the first few hours of the day. I was thrilled when a year or two later, we used the first "mag card" automatic typewriters--precursors to word processors.
I began attending Brigham Young University that fall and worked in Mr. Nixon's correspondence section for four consecutive summers. In addition to typing letters, I was occasionally sent out on "detail" to substitute for secretaries who were ill or on vacation. Two of the men I worked for were Tom Korologos (who worked in the East Wing of the White House) and Bob Brown. I remember an incident with Mr. Brown when the mayor of Kansas City, I believe, called while Mr. Brown was on the phone and so I put the mayor on hold. About 15 minutes later, Mr. Brown asked if the call on hold was for him. Oops! I also remember that Nancy Wilson called for Mr. Brown one day. I asked for her name and then her organization, as I had been instructed. She was quite offended and retorted: "The singer!"
In 1973, the summer of the Watergate break in, I received a note that said I was detailed to "Plumbers, Room 6," and that I should stop by the office beforehand for orientation. I questioned why I would be sent to work for plumbers, but my supervisor didn't have any more information. When I arrived at Room 6 (in the Old Executive Office building), there was indeed a sign saying "Plumbers" on the door. When the door opened, I noticed a large shredder machine. A young woman greeted me and explained that I was to answer the phones while she and her boss were at Key Biscane, Florida with President Nixon and other staff members for a few days. When I asked why it said "Plumbers" on the door, she and her boss just laughed and didn't reply. A few days later I was informed that my security clearance wasn't high enough for the detail, so I never went. It wasn't until the following summer that I read in a press release that the White House "plumbers" were charged with stopping leaks to the press.
For the balance of the summer of 1974, I was assigned to work for David Gergen (age 32; now currently a political analyst on CNN), who was then director of speech writing for President Nixon. Ben Stein (famous as the droning teacher in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off") was also a speech writer (age 30). Jan Barbieri was David Gergen's secretary and I helped out with whatever assignments they gave me.
The Watergate scandal came to a head that summer. President Nixon had vowed to fight impeachment so Gergen and other speech writers worked long hours to create material that could be used in his defense. They wrote in longhand on yellow legal pads and I got pretty good at reading almost illegible handwriting. Finally, the evidence of Nixon's attempts to cover up the Watergate break in was so overwhelming that he was forced to resign. Elder D. Todd Christofferson (one of Grandpa Scott's missionaries in Argentina) was a law clerk to Judge John Sirica, who ordered Nixon to turn over the tapes of his conversations with staff in the White House. Elder Christofferson invited Grandma and Grandpa Scott to attend one of the Watergate hearings. In a 2018 address, Elder Christofferson talked about his experience during that time and how it taught him to always follow his conscience.
I'm grateful that in that fall semester at BYU my English teacher assigned us to write about our summer, so I have a good record of some of the key events as I witnessed them.
On August 8th, President Nixon gave a televised address to inform the nation that he would resign the next day. Because the White House switch board anticipated they would be flooded with calls, many secretaries, including me, were asked to stay after hours to take calls directly from the public. I invited a couple of handsome brothers (Eric and Clint Ensign) from my ward to be with me for the evening.
We stayed until about 11 p.m., taking calls, which ran about 9 to 1 supportive of President Nixon. At about 10:30 p.m. Jan Barbieri was asked to type two versions of President Nixon's letter of resignation, and I was tasked with delivering them to the office of George Jowlwan (Special Assistant) in the West Wing. I asked Eric to pose so I could take a photo of the letter.
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| Eric Ensign pointing to one of the versions of Nixon's resignation letter. |
Here's the version that Nixon signed that is now in the National Archives:
The following morning, Erlynn Ensign and I arrived early to attend Nixon's farewell meeting with his staff in the East Room of the White House. The room was ablaze with lights and TV cameras were everywhere. There were only about five rows of chairs, and we were very lucky to find seats on the third row. Dr. Kissinger and his wife were seated about 15 feet away and Tom Korologos and other senior staff members were standing at the sides of the room.
As Mr. Nixon and his family entered the room, the military band played "As You Walk Through a Storm." Many eyes were moist as we gave them a standing ovation. I hadn't fully realized until that moment what a great personal tragedy this was for President Nixon and his family.
It was very sobering to witness President Nixon's fall from a position of great power to do good because he lied. Sadly, few remember Nixon's achievements, later cataloged by Ben Stein: "He ended the war in Vietnam, brought home the POWs, ended the war in the Mideast, opened relations with China, started the first nuclear weapons reduction treaty, saved [Israel], started the Environmental Protection Agency."
The following morning, Erlynn Ensign and I arrived early to attend Nixon's farewell meeting with his staff in the East Room of the White House. The room was ablaze with lights and TV cameras were everywhere. There were only about five rows of chairs, and we were very lucky to find seats on the third row. Dr. Kissinger and his wife were seated about 15 feet away and Tom Korologos and other senior staff members were standing at the sides of the room.
It was very sobering to witness President Nixon's fall from a position of great power to do good because he lied. Sadly, few remember Nixon's achievements, later cataloged by Ben Stein: "He ended the war in Vietnam, brought home the POWs, ended the war in the Mideast, opened relations with China, started the first nuclear weapons reduction treaty, saved [Israel], started the Environmental Protection Agency."
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| One of the photos I took during the President's speech |
President Nixon gave a rather emotional, impromptu speech, almost the exact opposite of the one he had given to the nation the night before. Throughout the speech Mrs. Nixon and their daughters, Tricia and Julie, struggled as their eyes filled with tears. Recently, I found Nixon's farewell speech online and listened to it for the first time since I heard it in person. I was surprised to see myself in the audience in the first few seconds during the standing ovation!
After the speech, everyone crowded on the balcony to wave goodbye and watch as the Nixons boarded the helicopter on the south lawn. I was too far back to see much, but I waved as hard as anyone else and watched the helicopter until it was just a small speck in the gray sky.
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| I'm in the upper left part of the frame, behind the smiling woman with grey hair. |
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| President Richard M. Nixon departing White House; photo by David Hume Kennerly |
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