But Yorba Linda Vows to Carry On : Nixon’s Birthplace Bill Shelved at His Request

At the request of Richard M. Nixon, a bill naming the former President’s birthplace in Yorba Linda a national historic site has been shelved, mainly because of opposition by those who “will never forgive (him),” Rep. William E. Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton) said Thursday.

Instead, a local group--with the backing of the city--decided this week to take on the task of refurbishing and opening the home to the public.

The Nixon bill died in committee when “it became very obvious” that the issue would be decided “on who loves Richard Nixon and who doesn’t,” said Rep. Bruce F. Vento (D-Minn), who heads the subcommittee on national parks and recreation where the bill languished.

A similar bill giving historic status to several sites in Plains, Ga., home of former President Jimmy Carter, became “a casualty” of the Nixon bill and also was shelved, Vento said.

The Carter bill was moving in tandem with the Nixon bill and got shelved along the way because if one living President cannot be honored, then “it would only be fair” to hold off on honoring another, Vento said.

The official word from the House Interior Committee, which oversees the parks subcommittee, is that living persons are not typically honored with national historic sites.

“It’s just a matter of appropriateness. When Presidents die, they get honored,” said Bob Newman, administrative assistant to Rep. Morris K. Udall (D-Ariz.), who heads the Interior Committee.

But Dannemeyer, Vento and Yorba Linda officials contended that it was politics that killed the Nixon bill.

“Some of them are still mad at Richard Nixon,” Dannemeyer said. “This is a display of the power of the barons who run the House of Representatives.”

Pointing to the 30 California co-sponsors of his bill--15 Republicans and 15 Democrats--Dannemeyer said he was confident that the votes were there had the bill cleared the committee and gone to a full vote.

Vento wasn’t as optimistic.

“It was not the right environment. The personality became more important than the presidential park being created,” Vento said, adding that he preferred to have the bill withdrawn rather than allow it to stir further controversy.

“It would be a major embarrassment” to the former Presidents and their families if the bills (naming) national historic sites after Nixon and Carter were voted down, Vento said.

Dannemeyer said Nixon requested that efforts on a federal front be discontinued. “I think the President chooses not to pursue a course which would cause some to relive those days . . . . Who needs it,” the Fullerton congressman said. Nixon wanted also to avoid a debate on whether public money should be spent on a historic site, according to Dannemeyer and Yorba Linda Mayor Michael J. Beverage, who also was in touch with Nixon’s staff.

The foundation and the President would just as soon have “the birthplace operate privately at no cost to the taxpayers,” said John H. Taylor, Nixon’s administrative assistant.

The move is “consistent” with others by Nixon in the last year, Taylor said from New Jersey Thursday night. Last year, Nixon voluntarily gave up his Secret Service protection, which cost the government about $3 million annually, Taylor said. The former President has also taken steps to lower his office’s operating costs, he added.

2 Projects Won Approval

Had the small wood-frame home at 1806 Yorba Linda Blvd. received a national designation, the National Park Service would have paid for its restoration and maintenance. The Park Service gave its approval to the Nixon and Carter projects last October. There was no specific site chosen to honor the only other living President, Gerald Ford, because his original home in Nebraska was destroyed by a fire, Vento said.

Lois Ann Lundberg, a friend of Nixon’s and a former chairwoman of the Orange County Republican Party, said Thursday that she was “very distressed” to hear that Dannemeyer’s bill had died but added that she was not surprised to hear of Nixon’s request.

“The President is a remarkable man, and if he saw the slightest controversy,” he would attempt to avoid it, Lundberg said. “There are too many things in the world that need attention than to have lawmakers fighting over something like this. It would be like him to do this. He’s not one to push for anything for himself.”

Lundberg said she herself had attempted years ago to make Nixon’s first law office in La Habra an historic site. After Watergate, however, “we finally put it on hold and gave up” until Dannemeyer introduced the Yorba Linda birthplace bill.

Won’t Reintroduce Bill

Dannemeyer said he does not plan to reintroduce his bill. Instead, the Nixon Birthplace Foundation, which owns the home, decided Wednesday to refurbish it and open it to the public, foundation Chairman Roland E. Bigonger said.

The foundation also plans to purchase two to three acres of land adjacent to the birthplace site, which is slightly larger than an acre, to create room for parking and to plant lemon and orange trees, such as those that originally grew when Nixon’s father, Francis, built the farmhouse in 1912.

The adjacent land belongs to the Yorba Linda Elementary School District, which decided recently to keep the closed Richard Nixon Elementary School building there as a day-care center but would be willing to sell some of the land, Supt. Mary Ellen Blanton said.

Bigonger said the home’s restoration and property acquisition could cost as much as $1 million. The city has committed up to $100,000--or 10% of the total costs--to assist the foundation, according to Mayor Beverage.

The foundation, established when Nixon first became President, now pays property taxes on the home, which is maintained by a family that lives there. The home’s original furniture, including the bed where Nixon was born, is in storage, Robert L. Meador, another foundation member, said.

Eventually, Bigonger said, “it’s going to be a national historic site.”

Says Residents Favor Idea

Most Yorba Linda residents want to see the home given national recognition, despite the Watergate scandal which led to Nixon’s resignation, Councilman Gene Wisner said.

“I don’t think that should have any bearing on it. The Watergate thing doesn’t change the fact that he was the 37th President of the United States. There’s no reason in the world why he should not be remembered,” Wisner declared.

“Certainly, there’s going to be some animosity. I would be an ostrich with my head in the sand if I thought otherwise,” Bigonger said. But Nixon’s old home, he continued, is “probably one of the most single important assets” the community has. For Yorba Linda, he said, it’s the city’s “claim to fame.”