SUMMARY DESCRIPTION
This collection primarily documents Weidenfeld's tenure as the Press Secretary to First Lady Betty Ford, Mrs. Ford's activities, press operations, Weidenfeld's personal correspondence, and materials related to the writing of Weidenfeld’s book, First Lady’s Lady. This collection is temporarily closed under the terms of the donor's deed of gift.
QUANTITY
18.25 linear feet (ca. 36,500 pages)
DONOR
Sheila R. Weidenfeld (accession numbers 1992-NLF-017, 2018-NLF-003)
ACCESS
Closed. This collection is restricted from public access under the terms of the donor's deed of gift during her lifetime, except by her written advance permission. A copy of the deed of gift is available on request. If granted access some materials may still be temporarily restricted under the donor’s deed of gift, or under National Archives and Records Administration general restrictions (36 CFR 1256).
COPYRIGHT
Sheila R. Weidenfeld has donated to the United States of America her copyrights in all of her unpublished writings in National Archives collections. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them. Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain.
Prepared by James Neel, September 2018
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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Sheila Rabb Weidenfeld
1943 - Born, Cambridge, Massachusetts
1965 - Graduated from Brandeis University (BA)
1965-1968 - Production assistant and associate producer at WNEW-TV, New York City
1968-1971 - Talent coordinator, NBC
1971-1973 - Producer, "Panorama," WTTG-TV
1972-1974 - Member, Secretary of State Advisory Commission on Foreign Service Institute
1973-1974 - Producer, "Take It From Here," NBC (WRC-TV)
Oct. 1974 - Jan. 1977 - Press Secretary to First Lady Betty Ford and special assistant to President Ford
1977-1981 - Member, President's Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation
1978 - President, D.C. Productions, Ltd.
1978-1979 - Producer, Moderator, “On the Record,” NBC-TV, WRC-TV
1979 - Published First Lady's Lady
May 1987 - Jan. 1992 - Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Chronological File, 1973-1978 (1980, 1987).
(Boxes 1-16; 7 linear feet)
This series contains memorandums, correspondence, notes, lists, periodicals, and clippings primarily related to articles written about the First Lady Betty Ford and the Ford family. There are news releases by the Associated Press and the United Press International, and background information about events attended by the First Lady such as White House dinners for foreign dignitaries, and trips taken by the First Lady. The series also includes background information for issues such as equal rights for women, economic freedom for women, cancer research, the arts, the 1976 presidential campaign, and gun control.
Arranged chronologically by date of event or publication.
(Note: This series is temporarily closed under the terms of the donor's deed of gift.)
View container list for this series
Subject File, 1974-77. (Boxes 17-24, 3.5 linear feet)
This series consists of correspondence, calendars, cards, reports, memorandums, directories, clippings, logs, and notes used by the First Lady Betty Ford and her staff. Materials relate to Mrs. Ford’s schedules, the arts, fashion, social issues, communications with the East Wing staff and the Curators Office, gifts, events, political issues, and family issues. There are large segments on the Equal Rights Amendment, Mrs. Ford’s interview with Morley Safer on 60 Minutes, and miscellaneous notes taken by Weidenfeld during her tenure as the Press Secretary to the First Lady.
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
(Note: This series is temporarily closed under the terms of the donor's deed of gift.)
Personal Correspondence File, 1975-77.
(Boxes 25-27, (1.33 linear feet))
This series contains memorandums, letters, and notes between Weidenfeld and personal correspondents during her time as the Press Secretary to First Lady Betty Ford. There are also congratulatory messages to Weidenfeld on her appointment as the Press Secretary.
Arranged alphabetically by the last name of the correspondent, thereunder by year, with congratulatory messages at the end arranged alphabetically by the last name of the correspondent.
(Note: This series is temporarily closed under the terms of the donor's deed of gift.)
First Lady’s Betty Ford’s Alphabetical Correspondence File, 1975-77. (Box 28, 0.42 linear feet)
This series contains copies of memorandums, letters, and notes between Weidenfeld and correspondents while serving as the Press Secretary to the First Lady.
Arranged alphabetically by the last name of the correspondent.
(Note: This series is temporarily closed under the terms of the donor's deed of gift.)
Chronological Correspondence File, 1975-77. (Box 29-30, 0.83 linear feet)
This series contains copies of Weidenfeld’s memorandums, letters, and notes while serving as the Press Secretary to the First Lady.
Arranged chronologically by date of correspondence.
(Note: This series is temporarily closed under the terms of the donor's deed of gift.)
Telephone Logs, 1975-77. (Box 31-33, 1.33 linear feet)
This series contains logs that document telephone calls to Weidenfeld during her tenure as the Press Secretary to First Lady Betty Ford. The logs indicated who called, their organization, the matter they were calling about, and what actions were taken in response to the call. Most of the logs consist of calls of a general interoffice nature, while some are from members of the press asking a myriad of questions about President Gerald Ford, the First Lady, or the Ford family.
Arranged chronologically by date of log.
(Note: This series is temporarily closed under the terms of the donor's deed of gift.)
Stenographic Notebooks, 1975-77. (Box 34-35, 0.83 linear inches)
This series contains notes taken by Weidenfeld primarily during meetings of the First Lady’s staff. Most of the stenographic notebooks are dated, numbered, and have a bullet point summary written on the cover.
Arranged by notebook number, thereunder unnumbered notebooks are arranged by date, along with two notebooks without a number or a date.
(Note: This series is temporarily closed under the terms of the donor's deed of gift.)
A container list is not provided for this collection.
