--------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600000 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ C TITLE...................... JERALD F. TERHORST FILES (WH Press Secretary's Office) ...DESCRIPTION... Jerald Franklin terHorst was named Press Secretary to the President on August 9, 1974, the day Gerald R. Ford became the 38th President of the United States. He was Ford's first presidential appointment. TerHorst was a Michigan newspaperman who had covered Ford's political career since the 1948 Congressional race. As Press Secretary to President Ford, terHorst was responsible for conveying information on the President's programs and activities to the press. Each morning terHorst met with the President and top White House staff members, including Alexander Haig, Brent Scowcroft, Henry Kissinger, Robert Hartmann and Donald Rumsfeld. Afterward he prepared for his weekday and occasional Saturday briefing of the White House press corps. Les Janka, National Security Council, provided terHorst with press items and briefings on foreign affairs and defense related matters. John G. Carlson, assistant press secretary, provided information on domestic issues. The President's schedule and other information, such as texts of presidential messages and remarks, personnel lists, biographical data and arrangements, were posted. During the press briefing, terHorst would first review the details of the day's schedule, make announcements, then answer questions from the press. TerHorst's tenure as press secretary lasted one month. On Sunday, September 8, 1974, Ford granted a full pardon to Nixon and terHorst presented his written resignation. He rejoined the Detroit News as a national affairs columnist and Deputy Press Secretary John W. Hushen became acting press secretary. The terHorst files cover only the period from August 9 to September 8, 1974 when he served as press secretary. The most significant portion of the collection is the press briefing background materials, which are useful for viewing the administration's handling of the news media during this period of transition. They contain extensive guidance on current issues, but the information was often provided to the press only when requested. Therefore, some of this material is not available in the transcripts distributed after the briefings. These files are also valuable for tracing the procedures followed daily by the press secretary in preparing for press briefing. The majority of the first two series in this collection, the chronological and personal files, contain terHorst's responses to letters of congratulations. The two series frequently duplicate each other. The final series, the subject file, contains Q's and A's and other press guidance background information. Materials reflecting his duties other than serving as spokesman for the President through the daily press briefings do not survive. ...ABSTRACT... TerHorst, in preparation for his press briefings August 9-September 6, 1974, gathered such material as schedules, draft announcements, and guidance prepared by the National Security Council and other staff. Also included is courtesy correspondence with well-wishers. There is no documentation concerning the Nixon pardon or terHorst's resignation over it. Some office files from the period are in the Ron Nessen Files and the Ron Nessen Papers. SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... White House Briefings, White House Press Corps LC SUBJECT TERM............ UNPOB, MASU, United States--Politics and government--1974-1977, Mass media--United States BEGINNING DATE............. 1974 ENDING DATE................ 1974 VOLUME..................... 1.2 UNITS MEASUR............... linear feet ...RELATED MATERIAL... Related materials include the files of his successor, Ron Nessen, especially the press briefings series which contains the transcripts of terHorst's briefings; the Ron Nessen papers; and the files of staff members of the Press Secretary's Office. ...ARRANGEMENT... Arranged in four series: Chronological File, Personal File, Press Briefing Materials, and Subject File. PREFERRED CITATION......... Jerald F. terHorst Files, Gerald R. Ford Library CLASSIFICATION CODE........ P, Contains Some Classified Material LANG. CODE(S).............. eng LOCATION................... 2-15-06-2 DATE OF OPENING............ 05/1983 CREATORS NAME.............. terHorst Jerald F. CONFORMING NAME............ terHorst, Jerald F. CONFORMING NAME INDICATOR.. P CREATORS RELN TO PRES...... Press Secretary's Office: Press Secretary CREATORS CURRENT POSN...... Unknown ...BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE... July 11, 1922 - Born, Grand Rapids, Michigan 1943-46 - Officer, U.S. Marine Corps 1946-51 - Reporter, Grand Rapids Press 1947 - B.A., University of Michigan 1951-52 - Officer, U.S. Marine Corps 1953-57 - City and state political writer, Detroit News 1958-60 - Washington correspondent, Detoit News 1961-74 - Washington Bureau Chief, Detoit News August 9 - September 8, 1974 - Press Secretary to the President 1974-81 - National affairs columnist, Detroit News/Universal Press Syndicate 1981-present - Washington director of public affairs, Ford Motor Company DONORS NAME................ Ford Gerald R. DONORS RELN TO CREATOR..... President SOURCE OF LEGAL TITLE...... DM, Donated materials ...PROVENANCE... After terHorst left the White House staff, these materials were retired to White House Central Files Oversize Attachments. The Ford Library received them as part of that collection, but moved them back to staff files during processing. Originally accessioned as 77-NLF-107. ...RESTRICTIONS... Open. Some items are temporarily restricted under terms of President Ford's deed of gift, a copy of which is available on request. ...LITERARY RIGHT... Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain. In addition, Mr. Ford has donated to the United States of America his copyright interest in any other of his writings that might be included in this collection. The copyright interest to materials written by other individuals or organizations is presumed to remain with them. WRITTEN PERMISSION......... N BOX........................ ******* TERHORST FILES --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600001 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ S TITLE...................... Chronological File, {This is a Series Title} ...DESCRIPTION... White carbons of outgoing correspondence to general public, professional acquaintances and others concerning issues such as vice-presidential candidates, views on policy, requests for Presidential interviews, and congratulations to terHorst. Arranged chronologically. SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... None BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 09/1974 VOLUME..................... 0.4 UNITS MEASUR............... linear feet BASIS OF ARRANGEMENT....... C, Arranged chronologically. TYPE OF MATERIAL........... COR, Correspondence BOX........................ 1 TERHORST CHRONOLOGICAL FILE --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600005 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Chronological File SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... None BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 09/1974 BOX........................ 1 PAGE COUNT................. 400 TERHORST CHRONOLOGICAL FILE --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600002 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ S TITLE...................... Personal File, {This is a Series Title} ...DESCRIPTION... Correspondence exchanged with the general public, professional acquaintances and others, including letters of congratulations and invitations to terHorst. There are occasional draft handwritten replies. Responses dating September 9-12, 1974, are signed by John W. Hushen. Arrangement is alphabetical by first letter of name of correspondent and chronological thereunder. SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... None BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 09/1974 VOLUME..................... 0.8 UNITS MEASUR............... linear feet BASIS OF ARRANGEMENT....... A, C, Arranged alphabetically., Arranged chronologically. TYPE OF MATERIAL........... COR, Correspondence BOX........................ 1-2 TERHORST PERSONAL FILE --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600006 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Personal File, A - L SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... None BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 09/1974 BOX........................ 1 PAGE COUNT................. 400 TERHORST PERSONAL FILE --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600007 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Personal File, M - Z and Invitations SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... None BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 09/1974 BOX........................ 2 PAGE COUNT................. 400 TERHORST PERSONAL FILE --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600003 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ S TITLE...................... Press Briefing Materials, {This is a Series Title} ...DESCRIPTION... Press announcements, memoranda, schedules, agendas, notes, White House press releases, news wires and newspaper clippings compiled by terHorst in preparation for daily press briefings. The majority of memoranda are from Les Janka (NSC) and John Carlson (Press Secretary's Office) for briefing and guidance. Topics include the transition, President's schedules and meetings, staff changes, resignations, domestic and foreign affairs. Arranged chronologically by date of press briefing. SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... White House Briefings, White House Press Corps BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 09/1974 VOLUME..................... 0.8 UNITS MEASUR............... linear feet BASIS OF ARRANGEMENT....... C, Arranged chronologically. TYPE OF MATERIAL........... MEM, SCH, AGE, NOT, PRR, CLI, Memorandum, Schedule, Agenda, Note, Press Release, Clipping BOX........................ 2-3 TERHORST BRIEFING MATERIALS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600008 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Press Briefing Materials, 8/9/74 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... White House Briefings, Presidential Transitions, White House Press Corps, Foreign Affairs BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 08/1974 BOX........................ 2 PAGE COUNT................. 25 TERHORST BRIEFING MATERIALS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600009 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Press Briefing Materials, 8/10/74 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... White House Briefings, White House Press Corps, Foreign Affairs BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 08/1974 BOX........................ 2 PAGE COUNT................. 10 TERHORST BRIEFING MATERIALS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600010 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Press Briefing Materials, 8/11/74 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... White House Briefings, White House Press Corps, Cyprus BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 08/1974 BOX........................ 2 PAGE COUNT................. 1 TERHORST BRIEFING MATERIALS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600011 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Press Briefing Materials, 8/12/74 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... White House Briefings, White House Press Corps, Egypt, Foreign Affairs, Cyprus BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 08/1974 BOX........................ 2 PAGE COUNT................. 25 TERHORST BRIEFING MATERIALS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600012 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Press Briefing Materials, 8/13/74 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... White House Briefings, White House Press Corps, Foreign Affairs BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 08/1974 BOX........................ 2 PAGE COUNT................. 17 TERHORST BRIEFING MATERIALS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600013 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Press Briefing Materials, 8/14/74 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... White House Briefings, White House Press Corps, Foreign Affairs, American-Soviet Relations, Egypt, Cyprus BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 08/1974 BOX........................ 2 PAGE COUNT................. 20 TERHORST BRIEFING MATERIALS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600014 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Press Briefing Materials, 8/15/74 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... White House Briefings, White House Press Corps, Foreign Affairs, Egypt BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 08/1974 BOX........................ 2 PAGE COUNT................. 11 TERHORST BRIEFING MATERIALS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600015 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Press Briefing Materials, 8/16/74 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... White House Briefings, White House Press Corps, Jordan, Foreign Affairs, Cyprus BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 08/1974 BOX........................ 2 PAGE COUNT................. 20 TERHORST BRIEFING MATERIALS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600016 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Press Briefing Materials, 8/20/74 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... White House Briefings, White House Press Corps, Vice President, Presidential Appointments, Education, Legislation BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 08/1974 BOX........................ 2 PAGE COUNT................. 12 TERHORST BRIEFING MATERIALS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600017 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Press Briefing Materials, 8/21/74 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... White House Briefings, White House Press Corps, Cyprus, Iran, India, Foreign Affairs, Motor Vehicles, Economics, Statistics BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 08/1974 BOX........................ 2 PAGE COUNT................. 25 TERHORST BRIEFING MATERIALS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600018 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Press Briefing Materials, 8/22/74 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... White House Briefings, White House Press Corps, Amnesty BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 08/1974 BOX........................ 2 PAGE COUNT................. 12 TERHORST BRIEFING MATERIALS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600019 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Press Briefing Materials, 8/23/74 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... White House Briefings, White House Press Corps, Syria, Cyprus, Presidential Personal, Foreign Affairs, Cuba, Panama BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 08/1974 BOX........................ 2 PAGE COUNT................. 25 TERHORST BRIEFING MATERIALS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600020 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Press Briefing Materials, 8/26/74 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... White House Briefings, White House Press Corps, Conference on Inflation, China, Cyprus, Foreign Affairs, Italy BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 08/1974 BOX........................ 3 PAGE COUNT................. 20 TERHORST BRIEFING MATERIALS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600021 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Press Briefing Materials, 8/27/74 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... White House Briefings, White House Press Corps, Civil Aviation, Conference on Inflation, Romania, Freedom of Information, Legislation BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 08/1974 BOX........................ 3 PAGE COUNT................. 20 TERHORST BRIEFING MATERIALS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600022 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Press Briefing Materials, 8/28/74 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... White House Briefings, White House Press Corps, Foreign Affairs, Poland BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 08/1974 BOX........................ 3 PAGE COUNT................. 10 TERHORST BRIEFING MATERIALS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600023 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Press Briefing Materials, 8/29/74 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... White House Briefings, White House Press Corps, Right to Privacy BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 08/1974 BOX........................ 3 PAGE COUNT................. 12 TERHORST BRIEFING MATERIALS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600024 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Press Briefing Materials, 8/30/74 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... White House Briefings, White House Press Corps, Amnesty BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 08/1974 BOX........................ 3 PAGE COUNT................. 35 TERHORST BRIEFING MATERIALS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600025 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Press Briefing Materials, 8/31/74 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... White House Briefings, White House Press Corps BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 08/1974 BOX........................ 3 PAGE COUNT................. 13 TERHORST BRIEFING MATERIALS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600026 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Press Briefing Materials, 9/3/74 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... White House Briefings, White House Press Corps, Foreign Affairs, Conference on Inflation BEGINNING DATE............. 09/1974 ENDING DATE................ 09/1974 BOX........................ 3 PAGE COUNT................. 14 TERHORST BRIEFING MATERIALS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600027 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Press Briefing Materials, 9/4/74 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... White House Briefings, White House Press Corps, Foreign Affairs, Presidential Appointments, Ambassadors and Envoys, France, Republican Party, China, East Germany BEGINNING DATE............. 09/1974 ENDING DATE................ 09/1974 BOX........................ 3 PAGE COUNT................. 50 TERHORST BRIEFING MATERIALS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600028 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Press Briefing Materials, 9/5/74 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... White House Briefings, White House Press Corps, Foreign Affairs, Presidential Appointments, Department of State, Conference on Inflation BEGINNING DATE............. 09/1974 ENDING DATE................ 09/1974 BOX........................ 3 PAGE COUNT................. 20 TERHORST BRIEFING MATERIALS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600029 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Press Briefing Materials, 9/6/74 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... White House Briefings, White House Press Corps, Foreign Affairs BEGINNING DATE............. 09/1974 ENDING DATE................ 09/1974 BOX........................ 3 PAGE COUNT................. 15 TERHORST BRIEFING MATERIALS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600004 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ S TITLE...................... Subject File, {This is a Series Title} ...DESCRIPTION... Q's and A's, memoranda, correspondence, transcripts and speech texts routed to terHorst for background and guidance. Q's and A's and press guidance memoranda cover both foreign and domestic topics. Arranged alphabetically. SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... Domestic Affairs, Foreign Affairs BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 09/1974 VOLUME..................... 0.4 UNITS MEASUR............... linear feet BASIS OF ARRANGEMENT....... A, Arranged alphabetically. TYPE OF MATERIAL........... BRP, MEM, COR, TRA, SPE, Briefing Paper, Memorandum, Correspondence, Transcript, Speech BOX........................ 3 TERHORST SUBJECT FILE --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600030 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... General SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... Media BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 08/1974 BOX........................ 3 PAGE COUNT................. 25 TERHORST SUBJECT FILE --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600031 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Q's and A's - Domestic Policy SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... Domestic Affairs BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 08/1974 BOX........................ 3 PAGE COUNT................. 65 TERHORST SUBJECT FILE --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600032 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Q's and A's - General SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... Domestic Affairs BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 08/1974 BOX........................ 3 PAGE COUNT................. 75 TERHORST SUBJECT FILE --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600033 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Q's and A's - International Policy SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... Foreign Affairs, Middle East Conflicts, Vietnamese War, American-Soviet Relations BEGINNING DATE............. 06/1974 ENDING DATE................ 08/1974 BOX........................ 3 PAGE COUNT................. 55 TERHORST SUBJECT FILE --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600034 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Press Guidance - Domestic SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... Domestic Affairs, Legislation BEGINNING DATE............. 07/1974 ENDING DATE................ 09/1974 BOX........................ 3 PAGE COUNT................. 75 TERHORST SUBJECT FILE --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600035 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Press Guidance - Foreign SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... Foreign Affairs, Cyprus, Saudi Arabia BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 08/1974 BOX........................ 3 PAGE COUNT................. 75 TERHORST SUBJECT FILE --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 015600036 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-211 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... White House Privileges SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... None BEGINNING DATE............. 08/1974 ENDING DATE................ 08/1974 BOX........................ 3 PAGE COUNT................. 12 TERHORST SUBJECT FILE ---------------