News Notes for Ford Library Researchers - 2012

December 27, 2012
The Library has opened for research the audiovisual portion of the collection James L. Trimpe 30-30 Club Scrapbook. The textual materials in this collection were opened in September 2012. View the collection finding aid.

December 26, 2012
The Library has published finding aids for the following previously opened collections:

White House Central Files:

and White House Social Office Central Files:

December 21, 2012
Are you interested in recipes for such delicacies as "Peas, Pickle, and Peanut Salad" or "Scalloped Cabbage, Spaghetti, and Wisconsin Cheese." How about regional foods such as "South Dakota Pheasant" or "Maine Lobster Pie"? Maybe "General Eisenhower's Beef Stew" which serves 60 guests will appeal to you. See the Republican Congressional Cook Book published ca. 1962.

December 21, 2012
The Library has posted a list of documents declassified in whole or in part through the Mandatory Declassification Review process during the months of October to December 2012. You can also see lists of documents declassified in earlier quarters. Researchers may contact us for additional information about the newly opened documents or to order copies. Please note that Mandatory Review is but one of the methods through which Ford Library documents are declassified. Many additional pages are opened each month through systematic declassification review and returns from the Remote Archive Capture project.

December 20, 2012
The Library has completed the digitization of the President's Speeches and Statements: Reading Copies. All speeches are now avialable. View the documents.

December 14, 2012
The Library has completed the digitization of the first 13 boxes of the chronological series of the Presidential Handwriting File. All documents from August 8, 1974 through February 14, 1975 are now available. View the documents.

December 13, 2012
The Library has completed another segment of a project to digitize White House photograph contact sheets and make them available on the web. Descriptions and images of photographs from August 9, 1974 to July 10, 1975 and March 1, 1976 to January 20, 1977 are now available. Detailed reports describe the photographs taken by the White House photographers on a given day and contain links to contact sheets (1:1 images of 35 mm negatives) for each film roll. We have completed the scanning and posting of images for the missing dates and the staff is working on completing the descriptions.  View the reports and contact sheets.

December 11, 2012
The Library has completed the digitization of the first 38 boxes of the President's Speeches and Statements: Reading Copies. President Ford's speeches through October 2, 1976 are now complete. View the documents.

December 6, 2012
The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation announced the list of recipients of Research Travel Grants from the Fall meeting of the grants screening committee.

November 5, 2012
The Library has completed the description and indexing of the Dale Van Atta Papers in its PRESNET collection description database. The collection contains chronologically-arranged photocopies of selected CIA staff notes,Weekly Reviews, and issues of the National Intelligence Daily. Also State Department INR morning summaries, memos and memoranda of conversations; and Defense Intelligence Agency documents regarding intelligence issues and findings. Also included are NSC documents as well as an almost complete collection of National Security Decision Memoranda from 1969 to 1976. The documents cover an extensive range of foreign policy and national security topics and provide analyses of numerous foreign political situations. The documents were collected by journalist Van Atta while covering those issues. Although many documents are still classified, intelligence documents relating to many different countries have been opened and withdrawal sheets for closed items will ease the filing of Mandatory Review requests. View the collection finding aid.

November 1, 2012
The Library has completed the digitization of all boxes of the collection National Security Adviser. Presidential Correspondence with Foreign Leaders. View the documents.

October 17, 2012
The Library has completed the digitization of the first two boxes of the collection National Security Adviser. Presidential Correspondence with Foreign Leaders. View the documents.

October 15, 2012
The Library has opened for research an accretion to the collection Office of White House Central Files Files. This accretion consists of White House filing manuals and logs of oversized attachments. View the collection finding aid.

October 5, 2012
The Library has posted a list of documents declassified in whole or in part through the Mandatory Declassification Review process during the months of July to September 2012. You can also see lists of documents declassified in earlier quarters. Researchers may contact us for additional information about the newly opened documents or to order copies. Please note that Mandatory Review is but one of the methods through which Ford Library documents are declassified. Many additional pages are opened each month through systematic declassification review and returns from the Remote Archive Capture project.

October 2, 2012
The Library has completed the digitization of the first 15 boxes of the President's Speeches and Statements: Reading Copies. President Ford's speeches through September 13, 1975 are now complete. View the documents.

September 26, 2012
The Library has updated several digitized documents from the collection National Security Adviser. Memoranda of Conversations to reflect recent changes in their declassification status. We keep the paper documents and the digitized files in sync so that online researchers see exactly what is in the boxes and folders in the Library.

September 25, 2012
The Library has completed the digitization of the last box (box 35) of the Ford administration's White House Press Releases. All 10,592 press releases (27,197 pages) are now available in digital form on the Library's web site. View the documents.

September 14, 2012
The Library has opened for research the collection James L. Trimpe 30-30 Club Scrapbook. This scrapbook consists of textual materials and photographs compiled by James L. Trimpe related to the 30-30 Club. The club, which met annually on Thanksgiving Day, consisted of the members of the 1930 All-City championship football team of South High School (Grand Rapids, Michigan). The collection consists of club reports and correspondence, group photographs, and newspaper clippings primarily related to the 1974 team reunion hosted by Gerald Ford (a 30-30 Club member) at the White House. View the collection finding aid.

The Library has opened for research accretions to the collection Gordon E. Vander Till Papers. These accretions consist of materials related to the 1968 Nixon campaign activities in Michigan, and an assortment of materials primarily related to Gerald Ford’s Grand Rapids congressional district office. These materials include: an audio recording of a television program featuring the 1972 Michigan Fifth Congressional District Democratic primary election candidates; Ralph Nader’s Congress Project assessment of Gerald Ford’s record; opposition and Ford campaign materials; and records relating to Vice President Ford’s homecoming in 1974. View the collection finding aid.

September 11, 2012
The Library completed the description of the collection National Security Adviser. Europe, Canada, and Ocean Affairs Staff Files in the PRESNET collection description database. Please contact the Library to request searches of this database. This subcollection is comprised of working files of A. Denis Clift and his staff concerning U.S relations with and events in specific countries in Europe and Canada, trips there by American officials, visits to the U.S. by European and Canadian leaders, and ocean policy. View the collection finding aid.

September 11, 2012
The Library has completed the digitization of the Bradley Patterson Files. Patterson worked on legislation and policies concerning Native Americans and served as a White House liaison between Federal officials and tribal organizations. View the documents.

September 6, 2012
The Library has completed the systematic review of the William J. Baroody, Jr., Papers. The collection is now fully open to research, although some items remain closed under the terms of the donor's deed of gift. View the finding aid.

August 30, 2012
The Library has completed the digitization of the first seven boxes of the President's Speeches and Statements: Reading Copies. President Ford's speeches through April 19, 1975 are now complete. View the documents.

August 30, 2012
The Library has completed the digitization of the first four boxes of the Bradley Patterson Files. Patterson worked on legislation and policies concerning Native Americans and served as a White House liaison between Federal officials and tribal organizations. View the documents.

July 6, 2012
The Library has opened the following collections:

Yanek Mieczkowski Research Interviews, 1994-2007 (less than one foot)
Only the textual portion of this collection is open at this time. This collection consists of audiocassettes and transcripts of interviews of former President Gerald R. Ford, Ford White House staff, agency officials, and congressmen. Yanek Mieczkowski conducted the interviews in support of his scholarly works, including his book, Gerald Ford and the Challenges of the 1970s. The interviews focus heavily on Gerald Ford’s response to the economic and energy crises of the 1970s, relations with Congress, 1975 State of the Union Address, and the 1976 Presidential campaign. View the collection finding aid.

James D. Haldaman Photographs and Papers, 1980-81 (less than one foot)
Only the textual portion of this collection is open at this time. This collection consists of textual and audiovisual materials related to the planning and execution of community events held in conjunction with the dedication of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in September 1981. The textual materials, which consist of press releases, schedules, correspondence, agendas, and minutes, document the work of the Gerald R. Ford Museum Dedication Committee’s Community Events Committee headed by Peter Secchia. These events celebrated the opening of the Ford Museum, and included a lecture series, fireworks, and the dedication ceremony, among others. There is also a significant amount of material in the collection related to the week-long “Celebration on the Grand” in Grand Rapids, MI, which took place at the same time as the dedication. View the collection finding aid.

Warren "Bill" L. Gulley Papers, 1974-77 (less than one foot)
This collection consists of passenger manifests of flights made by President Ford, Mrs. Ford, and the Ford family on government-owned aircraft. Also included is a chronological list of Air Force One trips of President Ford and a map of Camp David. View the collection finding aid.

The Library also opened two small additions to existing collections. Transcripts of interviews with John Connolly and William Simon were added to the Bruce S. Wagner Papers. The Ford Vice Presidential Reception File, 1973-74, series of the Peter Sorum Papers was processed and opened to research.

June 29, 2012
The Library completed the declassification review for the collection National Security Adviser. Europe, Canada, and Ocean Affairs Staff Files and opened the remaining portions of the collection to research. This subcollection is comprised of working files of A. Denis Clift and his staff concerning U.S relations with and events in specific countries in Europe and Canada, trips there by American officials, visits to the U.S. by European and Canadian leaders, and ocean policy. View the collection finding aid.

June 28, 2012
The Library has completed the digitization of the Budget Review Decision Papers from the collection White House Special Files Unit Presidential Files. The entire collection is now available in digital form, with the exception of a small administrative file that will not be digitized. View the documents.

June 27, 2012
The Library has posted a list of documents declassified in whole or in part through the Mandatory Declassification Review process during the months of April to June 2012. You can also see lists of documents declassified in earlier quarters. Researchers may contact us for additional information about the newly opened documents or to order copies. Please note that Mandatory Review is but one of the methods through which Ford Library documents are declassified. Many additional pages are opened each month through systematic declassification review and returns from the Remote Archive Capture project.

June 25, 2012
The Library has opened the collection U.S. Department of Defense. Historical Office. Public Statements of Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, 2001-06 (4.8 linear feet). The collection contains transcripts of Secretary Rumsfeld’s remarks, testimony, press briefings, press conferences, and media interviews concerning his work as Secretary of Defense in the George W. Bush administration and various national security issues. View the collection finding aid.

June 25, 2012
The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library is proud to announce that Victor McFarland has been chosen as the 2012 winner of the Gerald R. Ford Scholar Award in Honor of Robert M. Teeter.  Mr. McFarland is a doctoral student in History at Yale University and is completing his doctoral dissertation: The Oil Crisis of the 1970s: An International History. His work explores the economic and political consequences of changes in the oil industry and rising oil prices during this time using sources from both the United States and the Middle East. See additional information about this award.

June 15, 2012
The Library has finished the digitization of White House Press Releases for 1975 and begun the ones for 1976. So far our digitization team has completed 6,053 of the total 10,632 press releases from the Ford administration. In terms of pages, we have digitized 15,637 of the total 27,327 in the collection. Visit the Ford Digital Library to view press releases.

June 14, 2012
The Library has opened two additional oral histories from the collection Gerald R. Ford Library Oral History Projects. The first is that of Nina Babcock, former editor of the Cedar Springs Clipper in Cedar Springs, Michigan. The interview concerns her work with the newspaper and her involvement in early political campaigns of Gerald R. Ford. The interview of Bill Brockett concerns his work at the White House Communications Agency and his unofficial role as White House dog trainer, assisting the Ford family with their dog "Liberty." For information about other interviews in this collection see the finding aid.

June 14, 2012
Recent openings from the Ford Library Project File of Documents Declassified Through the Remote Archive Capture (RAC) Program include almost 4,800 pages of documents from such collections as the records of the U.S. Commission on CIA Activities within the United States (Rockefeller Commission), NSC Information Liaison with Commissions and Committees (much of this also relates to the intelligence investigations), and the Scowcroft Daily Work Files. Also included are recently opened codeword documents from a number of National Security Adviser collections. The Project File is intended as a convenience to researchers, affording expedited access to declassified information from unprocessed/closed collections.  It also allows returning researchers to more easily discover newly declassified information from previously processed/open collections. Although some documents are now available, major portions of some of these sub-collections are still unprocessed and not available for research. Since November 2008 the staff has opened 56 archives boxes of declassified documents through the RAC program. View the collection finding aid.

June 12, 2012
The Library has completed the digitization of the Issue Decision Papers for the President series from the collection White House Special Files Unit Presidential Files. Topics include busing, Indochina refugees, New York City financial crisis, nuclear policy review, Peterson Commission report on executive salaries, Panama Canal treaty negotiations, Puerto Rico compact of permanent union, Republican legislative agenda, science and technology adviser, and Secret Service protection for Vice President and Secretary of State. Work continues on other series from that collection. View the documents.

June 12, 2012
The Library completed the processing of the collection National Security Adviser. Kissinger-Scowcroft West Wing Office File. This collection is an unusually rich file of material from the West Wing office of the National Security Adviser. Many files cover some or all of the Nixon presidency, in addition to the Ford presidency. Included are communications at the highest levels between the United States and countries such as the Soviet Union, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Great Britain, France, West Germany, and China. Topics include the Vietnamese War, arms control negotiations, détente, the Cyprus crisis, the process of normalizing relations with China, Middle East peace negotiations, status of Berlin, and the Kurds. Also included are administrative materials concerning National Security Council staffing, organization, and procedures. View the collection finding aid.

June 10, 2012
In preparation for the writing of his memoir, President Ford wrote handwritten reflections (42 pages) on twenty-seven topics such as "How I make decisions," "What religion means to me," and "Richard Nixon's place in history." The Library has completed the scanning of these reflections from the collection Gerald R. Ford: Materials from the Writing of A Time to Heal, 1977-79. View the handwritten documents along with Library produced transcripts.

June 4, 2012
The Library has completed the systematic review of the Dale Van Atta Papers for declassification. The collection contains chronologically-arranged photocopies of selected CIA staff notes,Weekly Reviews, and issues of the National Intelligence Daily. Also State Department INR morning summaries, memos and memoranda of conversations; and Defense Intelligence Agency documents regarding intelligence issues and findings. Also included are NSC documents as well as an almost complete collection of National Security Decision Memoranda from 1969 to 1976. The documents cover an extensive range of foreign policy and national security topics and provide analyses of numerous foreign political situations. The documents were collected by journalist Van Atta while covering those issues. Although many documents are still classified, intelligence documents relating to many different countries have been opened and withdrawal sheets for closed items will ease the filing of Mandatory Review requests. View the collection finding aid.

May 29, 2012
The Library has completed the digitization of the Gerald R. Ford student file for summer school classes at the University of Michigan Law School (15 pages). View the documents.

May 25, 2012
The Library has completed the digitization of the Ford-Carter Debate Files from the collection White House Special Files Unit Presidential Files. Work continues on other series from that collection. View the documents.

May 24, 2012
The Library has completed the digitization of the reading copies of First Lady Betty Ford speeches from the Frances Kaye Pullen Files and also started on the digitization of Pullen's working files on the drafting of the speeches. View the documents.

May 21, 2012
The Library has completed the scanning of several documents relating to travel, events, and activities of the President and First Lady. View the documents.

May 14, 2012
The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation announced the list of recipients of Research Travel Grants from the spring meeting of the grants screening committee.

May 10, 2012
When planning his memoir "A Time to Heal", President Ford wrote down 27 reflections on topics such as "How I make decisions," "What religion means to me," and "Richard Nixon's place in history." The Library has diigitized these handwritten reflections along with typed transcripts from the collection Gerald R. Ford: Materials from the GERALD R. FORD: MATERIALS FROM THE WRITING OF A TIME TO HEAL, 1977-79

May 7, 2012
Although minutes of National Security Council meetings have been available on our web site for more than a dozen years, other documents from the collection National Security Adviser. National Security Council Meetings File have not. The Library has now completed the scanning of the entire collection (including withdrawal sheets for items that remain classified). View the collection.

May 2, 2012
The Library has completed the scanning of a selection of documents relating to Ford administration White House State Dinners. Document selection and much of the scanning for this project was completed by Library intern Melissa Hernandez, a student at the University of Michigan School of Information. Included are dinner menus, entertainment programs, photographs, and other documents relating to each dinner, along with a description of the dinner planning process written by Mrs. Ford's Social Secretary Maria Downs. View the documents.

April 27, 2012
The Library has now completed the digitization of 40 percent of the collection White House Press Releases. All press releases from the first year of the Ford administration are now available on our web site. The press releases include transcripts of speeches, briefings, and press conferences; schedules; biographies; proposed legislation; press pool reports; etc. View digitized press releases.

April 25, 2012
The Library uploaded updated files for five digitized folders from the National Security Adviser collections Memoranda of Conversations and National Security Study Memoranda and Decision Memoranda. As additional documents or portions of documents from these collections are declassified the Library updates the online files to keep them identical to what a researcher would see by visiting the Library.

April 23, 2012
The Library completed the digitization of the Frank Zarb Papers concerning his work as Administrator of the Federal Energy Administration during the Ford administration. All series have been digitized with the exception of his Scrapbook File. View the documents.

April 11, 2012
The Library completed the processing of five additional boxes from the collection National Security Adviser. Kissinger-Scowcroft West Wing Office File. The first 32 boxes of the collection (subject file folders covering the letters A through U) are now processed and open to research. The boxes opened most recently focus on U.S. relations with the USSR, especially the frequent exchanges between Henry Kissinger and Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko or Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobynin during both the Nixon and Ford administrations. Processing of this collection continues and additional boxes will be made available as they are completed.

April 4, 2012
The Library has posted a list of documents declassified in whole or in part through the Mandatory Declassification Review process during the months of January to March 2012. You can also see lists of documents declassified in earlier quarters. Researchers may contact us for additional information about the newly opened documents or to order copies. Please note that Mandatory Review is but one of the methods through which Ford Library documents are declassified. Many additional pages are opened each month through systematic declassification review and returns from the Remote Archive Capture project.

April 2, 2012
On the day that the 1940 census becomes available for research, the Library has a new page with links to images of President and Mrs. Ford's listings in the 1920 and 1930 census and an appeal to the public for assistance in finding them in the 1940 census.

March 27, 2012
The Library completed the processing of additional boxes from the collection National Security Adviser. Kissinger-Scowcroft West Wing Office File. The first 32 boxes of the collection (subject file folders covering the letters A through U) are now processed and open to research. The boxes opened most recently focus on U.S. relations with the United Kingdom and the USSR. Processing of this collection continues and additional boxes will be made available as they are completed.

March 27, 2012
The Library has now completed the digitization of 20 percent of the collection White House Press Releases. Press releases covering August 9, 1974 to February 18, 1975 are now complete. The press releases include transcripts of speeches, briefings, and press conferences; schedules; biographies; proposed legislation; press pool reports; etc. View digitized press releases.

March 8, 2012
The Library completed the digitization of the second series of the Frank Zarb Papers. This series contains his testimony before congressional committees about the Federal Energy Administration and a variety of energy issues. View the documents.

February 22, 2012
The Library completed the digitization of the first series (more than two boxes) of the Frank Zarb Papers. This series contains memoranda from Federal Energy Administrator Zarb to President Ford from 1974 to 1976. The memoranda concern a wide variety of energy policy issues. View the documents.

January 25, 2012
The Library completed a re-digitization of the collection National Security Adviser. National Security Decision Memoranda and National Security Study Memoranda. This brought the digitized collection up to our current standards in scanning quality and presentation. View the documents.

January 18, 2012
The Library completed the digitization of the Frederica Pantlind Papers. This small collection primarily focuses on Gerald Ford's time at the University of Michigan and Yale University in the 1930s. View the documents.

January 18, 2012
The Library completed the digitization of all seven oral history transcripts from the Grand Rapids Oral History Collection. The oral histories focus on Gerald Ford's early life, his involvement in Republican politics in Grand Rapids, and his first campaign for Congress in 1948. View the transcripts.

January 17, 2012
The Library staff completed the systematic review of Boxes 1-30 of the Russell Armentrout Files which contain case files on White House social events, including state dinners. The series had previously been available for research on a review on request basis. View the collection finding aid.

January 10, 2012
The Library completed revisions to the National Security Adviser. NSC East Asian and Pacific Affairs Staff Files collection finding aid. The updated finding aid is available online.

January 10, 2012
The Library completed the processing and description for a small collection of Charles T. Miller Telegrams. The collection primarily contains marine telegrams between Miller, captain of the merchant ship SS Mayaguez, and officials from Sea-Land Service, Inc., the ship’s parent company.  The messages were exchanged shortly before the ship and crew were seized by Khmer Rouge armed forces and after they were recovered by U.S. armed forces in May 1975. For more details on the collection, view its finding aid.

January 6, 2012
The Library completed the processing of additional boxes from the collection National Security Adviser. Kissinger-Scowcroft West Wing Office File. The first 23 boxes of the collection (subject file folders covering the letters A through S) are now processed and open to research. Processing of this collection continues and additional boxes will be made available as they are completed.

January 4, 2012
The Library has posted a list of documents declassified in whole or in part through the Mandatory Declassification Review process during the months of October to December 2011. You can also see lists of documents declassified in earlier quarters. Researchers may contact us for additional information about the newly opened documents or to order copies. Please note that Mandatory Review is but one of the methods through which Ford Library documents are declassified. Many additional pages are opened each month through systematic declassification review and returns from the Remote Archive Capture project.

See News Notes for Ford Library Researchers for the year 2011