Nixon in China, the Opera

"Nixon in China", the Opera? HUH? When it opened in 1987, I thought the idea was laughably silly. Susie Chapin and I went to see it at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and still thought it was pretty far fetched and silly. Guess we weren't very sophisticated, because now it is back and opening at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. They, (the sophisticated, artsy folks) are calling it the most important new opera of the last thirty years.

Because President Nixon asked Ron to be his "responsible person" in China to make the final preparations for his historic visit, the trip was a game changer for us, his family. China was so far away and so much about it was mysterious and unknown. Ron's first advance trip to China in January was a chance to learn some important lessons for the long stay required to prepare for the President's visit. He had found it almost impossible to read anything by the light of the thirty watt light bulbs furnished in all Chinese hotel rooms, but every room, every day, at every moment, had a thermos of steaming hot water. Since he was never much of a Chinese food fan to begin with, we knew that an extended stay dining on the local fare was problematic. So we had to do something to make his upcoming trip more comfortable. We decided to pack him a "survival suitcase." The girls and I went to the local grocery store a couple of days before his departure to stock his survival suitcase. We had talked a great deal about what should go in it, and our girls did not want to miss the adventure of putting the assortment together. We waited until the last minute to make sure things like snickers and fritos would be really fresh. It seemed logical for him to take along some tasty instant packages that only needed hot water: instant coffee, oatmeal, tea (he preferred Lipton to Jasmine) and hot chocolate. Since ice cubes didn't come with room service, and since they were going to be in-country in the middle of winter, he decided to take along a couple of ice trays so he could make his own ice cubes on his hotel window sill. (To see how well that plan worked, I refer you to CHINA CALLS, Paving the Way for Nixon's Historic Journey to China, by yours truly. We also bought fritos bean dip, chips, peanut butter, crackers, toothpaste, kleenex, pepto-bismol, Kaopectate, and Marlboro cigarettes, (he preferred them to Chunghwas).

The check out clerk appeared appalled at the junk food the woman with the three little girls was buying. The $264.59 grocery bill did not include anything fresh or perishable, but it did include six GE 150-watt light bulbs and six four-packs of squeezably soft toilet paper.

We probably should have tried explaining it to the check-out clerk, but I really didn't know what to say. Looking back, the whole advance for the advance was pretty overwhelming for all of us. And that must be why the thought of turning it into an opera was and still is surprising.

Ron and I were among those invited to the dress rehearsal of the re-opening of "Nixon in China" at the Met in late February. We were joined by our pals Dwight Chapin and Jerry Warren. Ray Zook from the White House travel office. Ambassadors Richard Solomon and Winston Lord from the National Security Council. Bette Bao Lord joined us for lunch. Ambassadors J. Stapleton Roy and Nicholas Platt represented the State Department. Most of the others were from the press corps, including Dan Rather and Helen Thomas. At the luncheon, folks were asked to share a memory from the trip and Helen, clearly forgetting where she was and why, told an LBJ anecdote.

When the opera first opened in 1987, television critic Marvin Kitman has been quoted as saying that it would take 50 years to sort out what happened when President Nixon went to China and the same was true of the opera, Nixon in China. He said "There are only three things wrong with 'Nixon in China,' One, the libretto, two the music, and three the direction. Outside of that, it's perfect." I couldn't have said it better myself.

Peter Sellers came up with the idea of the opera and John Adams composed the music. The production was lavish. The cast was huge. My favorite part, as I told set designer Adrianne Lobel, were the stage sets. I found the music to be quite boring and laborious. I longed for just one hummable tune. And just one memorable one would have been good, too. Alas, both were missing from the interminable long, double intermission marathon.

But some positive aspects are certainly worth mentioning, Baritone James Maddalena, who was also the original Nixon, was amazing as the President. He captured his walk and other mannerisms perfectly. Janice Kelly portrayed a kind and gracious Pat Nixon. Thank heavens for that. And what can I say about the portrayal of Henry Kissinger? He was a horny, lecherous and cruel villain. Why, one has to wonder. What was the point of THAT? Dwight Chapin had a chance to ask that question and the response was that while doing research, he (I won't mention his name because I don't know if he told Dwight in confidence) read Kissinger's book. He found Henry to be arrogant and self serving so he decided to do something to get even. (Do you suppose that was Oliver Stone's motivation in NIXON, or the the reason the folks who brought us Nixon/Frost did what they did? They just didn't like RN?) That's a fine way to document history, and I think it is wrong. I have read that "Nixon in China", the opera, will be around for years to come. So future audiences will think that's what Henry Kissinger was really like? That seems unfair.

Now lets talk about the portrayal of Chairman Mao. His was another interesting on-stage character. His interpreters, three women, were ready willing and able to offer ANY assistance he wanted. Some reviewers have referred to it as "servicing Mao." It was embarrassing. I actually didn't want to look. Perhaps that was what he actually required of his handlers. Shocking behavior! If true, he, Mao should be ashamed of himself.

I should mention that there were other good parts, too. Air Force One landing from the sky, the famous hand shake between the President and Chou En-lai, and Mrs. Nixon, dressed in red. She was the perfect bright spot in a drab landscape with the Chinese people all dressed monotonously the same.

A supposed re-enactment of the Chinese State Dinner followed the dress rehearsal at the Shun Lee West restaurant. It was an elaborate presentation of many, many dishes. I kept hoping to be pleased with every one that I tasted. I never was. A red wine was served and the traditional Mao Tai. Evidently Mao Tai is very rare these days and quite expensive. You may remember that Dan Rather called it "liquid razor blades." Ron returned from his trip with several bottles and it was always quite a moment as our pals sampled a sip. Poured into a saucer, and touched with a match, it burns. It always presented quite a display of good lamp or heater fuel.

President Nixon's trip to China in 1972 was truly a week that changed the world. Scholars and students will study it, probably forever. It was important. It was significant. It should never be trivialized.

The February Group

If you are a February Group groupie, you know very well how important the gatherings have been to all of us over the years. Us Nixonites needed each other, and the February Group became the place where we could get together for fellowship and commiseration.

It's not everyone who can get a group of people together on a continuing basis for more than thirty five years, and yet Dewey Clower has done exactly that.

Like most things "Nixon" if we don't document it, someone else will invariably distort it. That's why I asked Dewey to give me a "history" of how The February Group came about.

Here is W. Dewey Clower's story:
It was January of 1975 when he submitted his letter of resignation as Assistant Director of the Domestic Council in the Gerald R. Ford White House. It was because of President Nixon that Dewey had the opportunity to work in the White House and he decided he wanted to see the former President and thank him for the honor of working for him as a senior advance man and member of the domestic council staff.

Dewey called Jack Brennan and asked for an appointment. Then he flew out to San Clemente. The President greeted him warmly and they spent forty-five minutes together, talking about the Ford Administration, world events and the 1976 presidential election. But, Dewey said the President was most interested in what his former staff people were doing. Dewey remembers that they talked about Ron Walker, Steve Bull, Bill Henkel and others on his advance and travel staff. The President said he wished there was some way a network could be established so he could stay in touch with the members of his White House Team. He asked Dewey if he could establish such a network? Dewey said he had not really thought about such a group, but promised to look into the idea.

When he returned to Washington, everyone he talked to, liked the idea. Dewey decided to host a luncheon on February 10, 1975 in the China room at the Mayflower hotel. The people who attended were: General Larry Adams, Pat Buchanan, Steve Bull, Henry Cashen, Red Cavaney, James Clausen, Michael Raoul-Duval, Michael Farrell, Dave Forward, Gerald Gilbert, John Gartland, Dave Gergen, Ashton Hardy, Bill Henkel, David Hoopes, Tod Hullin, Noel Koch, Tom Korologos, Anne Morgan, Pat O'Donnell, Terry O'Donnell, Dave Parker, Jack Pettit, Bill Rhatican, Howard Roycroft, Mike Schrauth, Geoff Shepard, Bill Timmons and of course, Dewey.

President Nixon sent a telegram saying how glad he was that they were getting together, and loved the symbolism of the group being in the China Room. Those listed above are the FEBRUARY GROUP CHARTER MEMBERS.

More gatherings were held and the group got bigger with each event. People suggested other people they wanted to invite. At first it was mostly limited to those who had served in the Nixon administration ,and then to those who had remained in the Ford White House. Dewey would send out a notice, saying, "The next gathering of the February 10th luncheon group will be . . . . " They went to cash bars and Dewey could usually talk the hotel into serving some food.

After about a year, they decided to ask for donations to cover mailings and they decided they needed a treasurer to keep track of donations. And, they needed a proper name for the group. The February Group was what everyone had come to call it, and that was the name they wanted to keep. The purpose of the group, as Dewey understood it, would be to provide a forum for like minded former Nixon Administrations members to be able to keep in touch with each other through social events and written communication. They held at least two events each year and established the FEBRUARY GROUP NEWS.

The February Group met regularly from 1975 to 2003. Jack D'Arcy, at the time working for a bank, volunteered to be the treasurer and he, along with Steve Bull and John Gartland, asked for volunteer contributions and the membership was very supportive. The group grew rapidly, especially during the Carter years. Ron and Dwight Chapin were kidding when they threatened to stand at the door and eyeball the arrivals. If neither of them recognized someone wanting to come in, they would send them to the room next door. They never did that, of course, recognizing that "The February Group" was no longer made up of just former Nixon staff members. It had become much bigger than that.

Dewey and Melinda Maury Thompsen managed the mailing list and the newsletters. The February Group News always included news and updates about the members. That's what President Nixon wanted to hear about. For instance, in a 1977 edition, it was announced that the "Walkers and Chapins had been invited to the People's Republic of China by Han Hsu, the chief of protocol and Ron's counterpart on the President's trip to China. They planned an around-the- world trip in the spring of 1978." Another 1978 edition talked about President Nixon's plans to travel to Paris and London, accompanied by Tim Elbourne.

The May, 1979 newsletter announced the birth of Christopher Nixon Cox.

The June, 1980 edition reported on a gathering at the 21 Club in New York where President Nixon met with Dave Bottoms, Steve Bull, Henry Cashen, Dwight Chapin, Dewey Clower, Ken Cole, Mike Duval, Jack Goldsborough, Roy Goodearle, Bill Henkel, Mike McManus, Bill Moeller, Bill O'Hara, Nick Ruwe, and Ron Walker.

These are just a few examples of Dewey's collection of back editions of the February Group NEWS and I believe he plans for those to end up in the Nixon Library someday.

The February Group reached a peak of more than 400 members just prior to Ronald Reagan's first campaign in 1980. It was about this time that Jack Anderson, a liberal political writer for the Washington Post, wrote an article that labeled the February Group, a "government in exile." That caused a lot of former Nixon/Ford folks to want to join the group and the result was that the membership list became a valuable document for Republican candidates. Dewey was constantly being asked to provide the mailing list to various campaigns, but he always insisted that members "vetted" the requests before he released the information. In June of 1981, the newsletter announced that 47 February Group members had joined the Reagan Administration, nine more administration members were listed in the next edition.

In September, 1986, it was noted that group members had raised $132,000 toward a goal of $200,000 for the Nixon Library and Birthplace. Many members attended the dedication in July of 1990. One year later it was reported that the Group donated $5,099.00 to the Camp David Chapel fund in honor and memory of Ron Jackson, a long time member of the Group.

At some point Ron Walker realized he could no longer attend the gatherings. He had opened the Washington, DC office for Korn/Ferry International in 1981. He was a "headhunter." Because of this he was usually given several resumes of people looking for jobs. It was better to stay away than say no to old pals from the ranks of the party faithful, and even worse to be hounded for jobs by people he didn't even know.

April Noland took over the duties from Melinda and was involved in the 25th Anniversary of the February Group in 2000.

When Dewey retired in 2002 and moved out near Fredericksburg, Virginia, the February Group seemed to retire too. Then, about the time that NARA's Tim Naftali invited John Dean to speak at the Nixon Library, all the stalwarts from the old guard woke up, shook their heads and went to work again. Steve Bull, Kay Bulow and Barbara McCaffrey lit a fire under the old FEBRUARY GROUP membership, and they came roaring back. It was time to circle the wagons and fight again. Then Ron Walker was persuaded to "flunk retirement" and assume the Presidency of the Richard Nixon Foundation. The February Group and the Foundation had a mission. Everyone was energized and they wanted to re-invigorate the base and enhance the President's legacy.

It's not clear why John Taylor, the former executive director of the Richard Nixon Foundation didn't want any of the Nixon folks involved with the Library. One can only guess and assume that he felt that since he didn't work for the President while he was President, anyone who did trumped his expertise. Now it was a new day. A new leader was at the helm and he wanted all those who had been a part of it to lend a helping hand. The re-energized staff at the Nixon Foundation liked to say, "There is a new sheriff in town." The response was amazing.

Legacy panels were put together. The people who worked in the White House, came together to talk about what they had done "back in the day." C-span loved the idea and they covered the panels. Now it's "in the can" and years from now, the panels can be watched and studied. The people doing the telling are not historians interpreting their personal opinions of what happened, it's the people who lived it who are doing the telling! That's the most exciting thing about it!

The February Group members played a huge role in all that has happened. Not just during the last 18 months, but ever since that February day in 1975 when they gathered for lunch in the China Room at the Mayflower hotel. What a historic day that was. What a lasting tribute to a former President that so many people would stay so loyal for all these years. Dewey described the February Group this way, "We are unstructured. There are no officers and no dues. We just get together several times a year and tell war stories."

Now that Ron Walker is being replaced by Sandy Quinn as President of the Richard Nixon Foundation, the February Group will move under the umbrella of the Foundation as well. That's where they belong and they will continue to support and tell the story of the Legacy of the 37th President of the United States. I predict they will be involved until the day comes when there is a last member standing.

Thank you President Nixon for asking that such a group be formed. Thank you, Dewey, for leading the group and thanks to all who stayed involved for so long and helped in so many ways.

Long live the February Group and the positive Legacy of President Richard Nixon.

A Stronger Foundation

There is now an Association of Presidential Library Foundations. It is 13 members strong. The members are the HOOVER, the ROOSEVELT, the TRUMAN, the EISENHOWER, the KENNEDY, the JOHNSON, the NIXON, the FORD, the CARTER, the REAGAN, the GEORGE H W BUSH, the CLINTON and the GEORGE W BUSH which will break ground on the SMU campus in December.


By coming together and discussing common issues and concerns, it became quite obvious that all Presidential Foundations could benefit by forming this group. The meeting last week in Washington, DC is the second one that Ron and I have attended. (An earlier blog is about our meeting at the Clinton last December.)


A Charter and By-laws were adopted and the officers elected are President Bruce Lindsey from the Clinton, Vice-President Jim Cicconi from the GHW Bush, and Secretary/Treasurer Becky Allgood from the Hoover.


The head Archivist, David Ferriero, has been in charge for nine months now. He and Sharon Fawcett spent time briefing the group. He specifically told Ron that the Watergate Exhibit is one of his highest priorities. The original Watergate Exhibit was ripped out almost immediately when the Archives person, Dr. Tim Naftali arrived at the Library. A sign that has been in place for over three years promises that a new exhibit is "coming soon." It is finally about to happen.

Originally given five days to turn around approval when the Foundation finally received the "plan", the deadline was extended by Ms Fawcett. "Team Searchlight" lead by Bob Bostock, also included members Frank Gannon, Dwight Chapin, Tod Hullin, Jack Carley, Sandy Quinn, and Geoff Shepard, went to work, studied the proposed exhibit, and made suggestions. Then a special team of archivist was set up to review Dr. Naftali's exhibit plans and our response to his plans. Sharon Fawcett made a point of telling Ron that he would be not be pleased with all the changes, but would be happy with some of them. Ron reminded her that our team had only asked that the replacement exhibit be fair and balanced and include the prospective of President Nixon. Looks like we'll soon know! Stay tuned. We are really looking forward to having that empty space filled. It is not fair to the paying guest to be confronted with vacant exhibit space.

A Small Victory?

As regular readers of my blog know, I have been very upset that the docents at the Nixon Library and Museum were "fired" from conducting student tours. After seventeen years of leading the school tours, they were replaced by people, many of them interns, working with the National Archives. This has resulted in blatant disrespect for the President we represent and incidents of revisionist history. The reason, we were told, is that the docents were too political and positive. Now, why I ask you, would someone want to donate hours and hours to volunteer in a place they did not care about, or talk about a person they did not respect? I personally find it disrespectful to represent a former President of the United States with your shirt-tail hanging out and wearing jeans. I also think his representatives should refer to him as President Nixon and not "Nixon." Even a Mr. now and then would be a little better.


One day when I was volunteering in the Museum Store, I saw a teacher storming toward the door, saying, "We will not be back." I ran after her to see what had a happened. She told me I did not want to know. I assured her I did want to know exactly what had upset her. She told me that the young people conducting the tour for her class had been very disrespectful toward President Nixon and his administration. "What happened to the wonderful docents who used to lead the tours," she wanted to know?


Ron has talked to the folks at the National Archives about this. They even sent out their person in charge of education at all Presidential Archives to look into the situation. We expect to hear back soon on the result of that visit. How many teachers vowing never to come back will it take for the feds to wake up and make some changes? When Marg Garvey, President of the Richard Nixon Docent Guild asked to get her members re-involved with student tours, she was informed that this years interns would be writing the script for the tours and perhaps some of the docents could use them at some later date. (I think you can read that answer as "S-T-A-L-L") Now there are a few docents who have been approved to lead school tours if a vacancy needs filling on short notice. To be approved, they had to agree to an orientation. Many of the books they were required to study were "anti-Nixon." You can imagine how many of the docents felt about that, but a few felt it was better to be inside the tent so they could know what was going on. I told you we have some very strong and dedicated volunteers.


Preaching to the Choir is something I realize I am doing on this blog. All of us "Nixon Loyalists" want to highlight the positive aspects of President Nixon's legacy. It is not an easy goal to achieve, because just when we think we are making progress, along comes another article filled with cheap shots and distorted statements. We always hope to find a little good along with the bad and the ugly.


The July issue of Los Angeles Magazine has an article, "The War Over Nixon." The subtitle is "The ghost of our most divisive modern president haunts efforts to make his library tell the truth." In talking about the up-coming 20th Anniversary of the original Library, "Befitting the strained detente, the celebrations will be held in separate parts of the same building. Naftali and the National Archives will be looking forward to serving visitors and researchers, and the foundation will be looking backward to honor its namesake." The article also says, "Think of the facility as a duplex shared by two highly suspicious neighbors, each using the same foyer and elevator but then going their separate ways."


Perhaps this article has provided a foot in the door to change. Recently, Dr. Naftali told Marg Garvey that "spontaneous tours" are a great idea and they will start them in the fall. The name comes about because the docents will just "spontaneously" gather up some visitors and offer to lead them on a tour. Maybe it is a small victory, maybe it will lead to more cooperation down the road. I hope so. Whatever it is, the visitor benefits, and that's the main thing.

I want to remind you how "GramAnne.com" came to come knocking on your e-mail in-box. When Ron agreed to "flunk retirement" and assume the Presidency of the Richard Nixon Foundation, soon after John Dean was invited to speak at the Library on the anniversary of the Watergate break in, our daughters made me promise that I would document the experience on my blog. At that time, GramAnne.com already existed. It was born as a fun way for me to talk about our long-awaited amazing grandsons, Hugh and Jake. Writing about the Richard Nixon Foundation and all the struggles we faced made it take on another mission. I have come to think of the "gram" part as a telegram, or aerogram, to keep people informed. It isn't a Grandma thing anymore, although it will morph back into that at some point, I hope.

Remembering Wally Hickel

"They Got Old Wally," read the caption on the wonderful political cartoon by Wright in the The Miami Daily News. The animals of the forest were lamenting the firing of Secretary of the Interior, Walter J. Hickel, by President Nixon. About the same time as the shooting of the students at Kent State, the secretary had written a letter to the President, expressing his concern for his five sons and his opposition to the Viet Nam war. Before the letter got to the President's desk, it was leaked to The Washington Star by a member of the Interior staff. Wally assured us that he meant it to be "eyes only to the President."

I am able to post that cartoon on my blog, because the pack rat I live with saves everything that is and was memorable and historic. We have always loved that cartoon and felt it was telling in so many ways. Today, we only have to change the caption to:

"Godspeed Wally. We are glad we knew you."

President Nixon sent Ron to the Department of Interior to help Wally get organized. Their friendship was one of mutual trust and admiration. Almost as soon as Ron arrived at Interior, the late Frankie Hewitt, executive director of Ford's Theater, approached him with a plea to help her save the historic Theater. It was on it's way to becoming a morbid museum to a murdered, martyred President. Frankie envisioned keeping it as President Lincoln enjoyed it, a living and vibrant theater. Ron talked to Wally about it. They agreed to help and Ford's Theater is alive and thriving today because of their involvement. Years later, that same Frankie Hewitt, now sporting the title of Fords Theater's Artistic Director, gave the Lincoln Medal jointly to Ron and Wally for helping to make sure Ford's Theater would continue to present live theater and be such an important part of our Nation's Capitol heritage. If you have a chance, be sure to visit the museum in Ford's Theater. It was recently re-designed by Richard Norton Smith. It tells the historic story of the famous theater in a way that is informative, wonderful and quite a work of art.

Wally and Ron traveled extensively during the time they worked together. One especially memorable trip was to Micronesia. It was the first time a Secretary of the Interior had visited the region. Ron, used to the ways of Presidential campaigns, arranged with the hotel to have all of the Hickel's telephone calls routed through him. The first morning, Ermalee, Wally's wife, called early to place their room service breakfast order. Ron, not wanting to embarrass Mrs. Hickel, did his best to sound like a hotel employee, and then got dressed and went to the kitchen to pass along the request. Years later, when he finally told Ermalee what had really happened that morning, they had a good laugh. Ever since then they have made a point of talking and laughing about it again and again. Ron's impersonation of the room service order taker is what makes the story so hilarious, so writing it on a blog does not do it justice. Sorry about that.

Here's the Secretary with some of the children of his staff members. Our three daughters are there; Lisa is in the white headband, Marja is second on his right and Lynne got the place of honor on Wally's lap. Note the two-page frame under the lamp. That's how President Nixon's daily schedule was framed on his desk and Ron made sure that the Secretary of the Interior had the very same schedule holder. Wally loved it.

Because he was fired, the President and Wally did not speak for several years. When the President was going to be meeting with Japanese Emperor Hirohito in Anchorage, Ron made arrangements for the Hickel's to host the President and Mrs. Nixon at a dinner in their home. Ron says he is proud and very glad that he was able to bring the two men together once again.

When President Nixon appointed Ron to be Director of the National Park Service, the two men had even more to talk about. Wally was always a wise and welcome confidant.

Years afterward, Ron would often go salmon fishing in Alaska with his pal Homer Luther. Their fishing camp, Enchanted Lake, was very remote and Ron would usually overnight coming and going, at the Anchorage Hotel Wally owned, The Captain Cook. This meant the old friends could have dinner and enjoy spending some time together.

Walter J. Hickel was a two time governor of the State of Alaska, a mover and a shaker for awhile in Washington, DC, and a one-of-a kind great guy. He took a practical view of the conflicts between the environmentalist and the oil companies. He was against locking up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He used the settlement money from the Exxon Valdez oil spill to help repair Prince William Sound.


In 1969, the first year of Wally's Secretaryship, the oil spill took place in Santa Barbara, California. Union Oil was the culprit that time. Wally wanted to make sure they did everything possible to clean up the mess. He asked Dick Kleindiest, then deputy attorney general, to do some research and see exactly who was legally responsible. They found a 1867 law that stated that the entity causing the leak was responsible to clean it up. Wally was on the beaches of Santa Barbara almost immediately. Taking names and directing traffic.


Wish he could talk to us today about what is going on in the Gulf Coast and the efforts of BP to stem the damage. He definitely would have strong opinions and we need his wise counsel and leadership.

On this Memorial Day, especially, we think of our heros and pause to offer our thanks and remember their service to our Nation. Yea, they got old Wally, but we got to have him for awhile. Weren't we lucky!