I was pleasantly surprised to see the article written by Robert Nedelkoff concerning President Nixon and the War on Cancer Act of 1971.  Robert mentioned my name from a then recently published story about how I have personally benefited from this initiative in my battle with an incurable blood cancer.  I was elated to see [...]

Rennie Silva, Presidential Management Fellow at the U.S. Department of State, argues that First Lady Pat Nixon was overlooked in a Washington Post story about the wives of presidential contenders. “More so than any other first lady since Eleanor Roosevelt, Nixon helped pave the way for the practice of candidates’ spouses of both political parties speaking at national conventions,” Silva wrote. “Her appearance went beyond simply humanizing her husband to showcasing what she called “personal diplomacy” around the world, one of the hallmarks of her public life.”

Those who served Congressman, Senator, Vice President or President Richard Nixon hold a deep connection to RN that always brings them back to this giant of American politics. Nixon Foundation staffer Jimmy Byron discusses the experience of Lillian Menne Peeler who began working for “the Boss” in 1954.

In preparation for an interview with Jon Movroydis, Director of Communications of the Nixon Foundation, I began to search through the accumulated memorabilia, important documents, letters, memos, email copies, and yes, just plain junk that have cluttered my files, my basement, and my mind all these years. I wanted to refresh my memory (at my [...]

“Think Mariah Carey is the queen of Christmas cheer? Think again.” MSNBC recently crowned the true Queen of Christmas: First Lady Pat Nixon, credited with introducing the most festive traditions of any First Lady. PRINT THIS…

There are some who will always treat our 37th president, Richard Nixon, with an asterisk. He was the first president in American history to resign in lieu of impeachment for his involvement in the Watergate affair. They will remember him for this, and ignore his achievements in foreign relations like the opening to China, the [...]

When the Frost/Nixon interviews were turned into a major motion picture, my 23 year old daughter and her friends noticed – for the first time – some letters and autographs that I had received in my youth from President Nixon which remain framed in my library. They asked me questions about President Nixon and the [...]

The Docents at the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace had their annual “Refresher Course” on Saturday. Ron and I were both asked to speak. As you know, they are an amazing group of very knowledgeable and supportive representatives of the life and career of President Nixon. Many of them have told me that they love [...]

The Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace has a bumper crop of kumquats. The six beautiful trees, three on each side of the reflecting pool, are loaded with the picture perfect fruit. Daughter Marja and I couldn’t resist. We harvested the little flavor-bombs to make kumquat marmalade. I tried hard to find the Nixon/Kumquat historical background, [...]

A special birthday party was held at the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace yesterday. Over 3,400 Girl Scouts gathered to celebrate what would have been Pat Nixon’s 98th birthday, and what was the girl scouts 98th birthday. Both will be celebrated in even greater grandeur on their centennials. The theme this year was “Girl Scouts [...]

The Nixon Alumni Club lost another valued member recently. Alexander Haig. Ron and I were proud to call Al and Pat Haig friends, and it got me to thinking about them both. Al’s career has been quite amazing. He was an aide to General Douglas MacArthur and Cyrus Vance, Secretary of the Army under President [...]

It was my privilege to be part of the Nixon Administration during the height of the Southeast Asian War, first as Director of Motion Pictures and Television of the United States Information Agency and later as Deputy Special Assistant to President Nixon. I was, therefore, able to witness a great man seek liberty for the [...]

On January 9, President Nixon would have turned 97 years old. We are celebrating his Legacy in Yorba Linda. Earlier this month, the Richard Nixon Foundation, and the folks at the National Archives co-sponsored a panel discussion “Domestic Policy Initiatives of the Nixon Years: Bringing Innovation and Progress to the American People.” It was great. [...]

The President’s facility in global matters was generally well known. But I was surprised by two demonstrations of RN’s remarkable memory, first during a June 1972 Oval Office meeting and again in 1975 after a meeting at San Clemente. In the summer of 1972, the President asked Special Assistant Patrick J. Buchanan and Staff Assistant [...]

As Christmas approached in 1967, Richard M. Nixon, private – though prominent – American citizen, was going through a period of soul searching. The sweep of national and international events, as well as extraordinary personal experiences, weighed on his pensive mind. He was emerging from a wilderness period, the kind he would later quote historian [...]

I joined the Richard Nixon Foundation in June 2007, only weeks prior to the transformation of the private Nixon Library & Birthplace into the federally-operated Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. I was fresh out of 8th grade. My meeting with Foundation Vice President Sandy Quinn was my first time in a board room. I had [...]

It seems to me that we are hearing the term “Nixonian” used more often these days. Most recently when TV pundits were talking about the Obama Administrations criticism of Fox News. They talked a great deal about the Obama folks having an enemies list and how they were acting very “Nixonian.” I know they weren’t [...]

On February 10th, 1975, approximately six months after President Nixon left office, former Nixon staff member Dewey Clower, who had become a prominent association trade executive after he left the White House, hosted a luncheon for a dozen or so of his former White House colleagues, with the idea being to preserve the friendships that [...]

White House history being a “hobby” of mine, one of the biggest thrills in my five years as a docent at the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace was when John Zweifel’s Miniature White House went on display in 2004.  (“Miniature” in this case being a model 70 feet by 30 feet.)   I developed a forty-five [...]

In 1943, my dad, Jack Waldron, was hired as the custodian and bus driver for the Yorba Linda Grammar School. The school was built on the corner of Eureka and Yorba Linda Blvd. where the Richard Nixon Library is now located. It was a beautiful Spanish style school, with a red tile roof and many [...]