The original documents are located in Box 30, folder “State Dinners - 12/4/74 - Canada” of the Sheila Weidenfeld Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. Copyright Notice The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Gerald Ford donated to the United States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections. Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. Some items in this folder were not digitized because it contains copyrighted materials. Please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library for access to these materials. Digitized from Box 30 of the Sheila Weidenfeld Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library For immediate release Wednesday, Dec. 4, 1974 THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary to Mrs. Ford ------------------------------------------------------------------ The President will host a stag dinner this evening in honor of The Right Honorable Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, ' at 8 p. m. About 28 guests are expected for the black-tie dinner, which will be preceded by a reception in the Red Room. The dinner will be served in the Blue Room at a 30' rectangular table. The centerpieces on the table are six vermeil knights, borrowed from the White House collection on display in the Vermeil Room. Two of the knights are on horseback and measure about 13 1/2" in height. The other four statuettes are armored knights, standing on a pierced design pedestal. They measure about 11 11 in height. The vermeil pieces are English and European and are dated at the beginning of the 19th Century. They are part of a collection bequeathed to the White House in 1957 by the late Mrs. Margaret Thompson Biddle. Vermeil is gold-dipped silver. Surrounding the vermeil knights will be an assortment of greens, including boxwood and needlepoint ivy. A rope of ivy will join the centerpieces together down the center of the table. The dinner menu: Romaine soup and cheese straws; Roast prime ribs of beef, Onion and celery amandine and Broccoli timbale; Endive and watercress salad and Brie cheese; and Hazelnut mousse for dessert. Demitasse will also be served. Wines to be used are Robert Mondavi Pinot Noir and Mirassou au Naturel. # # # # • ( Ca~aca ) (SZAL) DINNER Romaine Soup Cheese Straws Robert Mondavi Pinot Nair Roast Prime Ribs of Beef 197. Onion and Celery Amandine Broccoli Timbale Endive and Watercress Salad Brie Cheese lv!irassou au Naturel Hazelnut Mousse ( 1970 \. ,.. ~ / Demitasse .. The 'N'nite Hause ·Wednesday, December 4, 1974 • - -t ........ ... .-... .. .. : . L. "" V') f <1 noli'° l"'Vl I - ~I J ~ .., '1 ~ \ ', "'VV'A ~,'l • ~; J ') ) C) ) ~ ) ' (} ~ f ) ., nJ }'. • p~ --~Y\'. NOJ.aN J HSVM 3SnOH 3.LIHM 3HJ. • ry,~_q rnrK/ ~lf/l ~ /:J v__;:P )-<, -:r'j ·- (?~--117/ u J} /lr(j r-o;;; p--rr (X/ n I - - ~ ol 77 ?{;-;;--- ,,.,f)'/7? ,1 j-_,r2f/J(J (7fT"J(-f 2j---i ~ (7_-1- //~>'Zl1f' 'v"' (4 h (/Jf ( NOJ.DNIHSVM '.3:SilOH '.3:.LIHM '.3:H.L • • IIIF "?.VE •r_·c Sr.AR, Jar u~ry 17, 1C)5o, p. B·-S \1 HTTr Hou. E GETS FAMED COLLFC l TO"i Tlw White House is now putting to use a nc,; and fctb11 lous gift_ Tlu· lz1ter 11lrs. Margaret Thom.pson Biddle in her will requesttd that her enti. e silver-gilt collccLion uf se 1cral hundred pieces be left to the United SL1tes Gov'~rnrncnt for Ltse in the White House. According to the Associated Press the collection is valued at $100, 000. l"1r s . .Morton Downey, wife of th~ singer and tlaL1ghtc1- o[ J\,,r s. Diddle, w 112n reached in New York said that her mother h ad been very proud of the coil-' tion. 11 0ver che years Mother collect d many pieces of silver gilt ancl aL,o som silver pieces w ii.ch she had gi.lted. S le had trenwndous tiumber of sets -;.hi.ch she u..> cl in her various hon1es in Europe, 11 scl.id V1rs . Do vney. J'ccordin~~ t:o her daughter, Mrs. Biddte who wa<; the form,:r 1ift· of :0.1Jaj. Gen. Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, dined u1 in~{ times at the IV 1it...: Hr)use tnd on one su~h occasion she decidv::1 thdt she wanted to lE«lv-c thi.s treasure to be u;;ed in the Executive l\tl<J.ns i 011_ . The pil:ces w1·ch are n1ainly L8th century cr•nsi ·to" E' ret·ytlti'.1<'. frc.n:1 large sou;) turt!ens to flat wea , nut di.3hes, cigar1.~tte bo_. !.,, d'•h lrc:ys, ci.lld. vanous objets d'art. The first convenient liir1e .1.or the White E:.:>ttS staff to ta\:.e p s.se~,s1or • f the gift according to Mrs. Downey was during the l ... TO c onferenc ' in Par is last month . .As with al l gifts to th _ \Vhite 1-:husc, the beqtte:-;t W~lS referred to the F1l; ·, Arts Commission w ich decides wb Lher it would 1Je Le£it~ing the PrPside .t' · House. /\ member of thP commission s,i.icl tha - Lht?~r felt tl1 e pieces vere very be;iutitLtl and accepted theni.. 1\1-·s. Biddle, who was ;.;n heiress to the Thon1pson gu d r .ining fortune, Ya-:; one of the r::1ost .farnou3 ! ost ....!sses in the Fr nch-A1neric"'.t1 c·)lor ~' in Pci.r is . .:'imong her freqLient guests Wf· ·e Gen. a11d :tvTrs. Eis.::nl1owe:- (\;,ltea he hedded SHAPE), G n. antl M r·::1. t\1.frc<l Grllenth(!r, Lhe Du.kc c:nd Duche'rn u£ Windsor, and Mr-s. Pc.:rle Mesta when she W"S Minister • , ...... r.··~3 T t".lu..ry > l9S7, f I/ 11. S. "l/v '· wL ACC£P'1' T.: BLEW.ARF GI F'T A h~t1 1iest ci( $~ 0, 000 \Vot·th o[ gold-dq>[)('d f;ilverwarc fo ·USE' 1n th"' Vvni<-c HuL1.7e w· 11 b..:! accei_,tc·d by the: Gov~rnment, it wa..; lc:>arr..ed )E• •.;b· d-i~r Th· pift wa..; l.ft by the late J'IS. Margaret Thnmpso1 L iddl(~, a l1·ader (Jf An1eri ·an society in Paris. ! .. fr.., , ILJ<ll died in Paris last June 8 at tl . age d 58. She s!-i.tred with her Mother the ::>JS, 000, 000 estat..! or her father, "\Villiatn Th.ornpson, inini.ng engineer dnd b.:1nker. Mrs . Biddle's will was fi..ied for p .obat.: ll Surrog.it ' s Court l ast JunE: 25 and the bequest t'J the Governrnent b ~came kno :vn. Daniel McMahon, assistant United States ttorney, said that th, G'~-€-!'-t1.n::i~''"-b- Feder?..L director of national pa.-ks, vho, with the ap rovai of the Pr si<lent, has the powc:-r ta accept such b<·qu st.8, had appointed a committee to pass on thE: Diddl bequest . .1.1rs. Biddle collect<"d the ;:;ilverv:ar o, ~a period of years in Paris and this city, according to her attorney.' Joseph B. Lynch. He said the bequest consisted. n1ain.ly of table silver and 01·n,111c111.i:;. .., GUEST LIST FOR THE DINNER TO BE GIVEN BY THE PRESIDENT IN HONOR OF THE RIGHT HONORABLE PIERRE ELLIOTT TRUDEAU, PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA, ON WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1974, AT 7:30 O'CLOCK, THE WHITE HOUSE The Right Honorable Pierre Elliott Trudeau Prime Minister of Carui4a The Honorable Allan J. MacEachen Secretary of State for External Affairs His Excellency Marcel Cadieux Ambassador of Canada Mr. Jack Austin Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Mr. Ivan Head Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Mr. A. J. Andrew Assistant Under Secretary of State for External Affairs The Honorable J. Russell McKinney Minister of Canfl.da to the United States Mr. J. S. Nutt Director General, Western Hemisphere Affairs, Department of External Affair• The Honorable Henry A. Kissinger Secretary of State The Honorable William E. Simon Secretary of the Treasury The Honorable James R. Schlesinger Secretary of Defense The Honorable Rogers C. B. Morton Secretary of the Interior The Honorable Earl L. Butz Secretary of Agriculture The Honorable Frederick B. Dent Secretary of Commerce The Honorable George D. Aiken, U. S. Senate( (Vermont) The Honorable Gale W. McGee, U. S. Senate (Wyoming) The Honorable Robert C. McEwen, House of Representatives (New York) General George S. Brown, USAF Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff The Honorable William J. Porter American Ambassador to Canada The Honorable William D. Eberle Special Representative for Trade Negotiations The Honorable L. William Seidman Assistant to the President for Economic Affairs The Honorable Arthur A. Hartman Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs The Honorable Helmut Sonnenfeldt Counselor, Department of State The Honorable Robert F. Ellsworth Assistant Secretary of Defense Lieutenant General Brent Scowcroft, USAF Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Mr. Richard D. Vine Deputy Assistant Secretary of State '£ha Hcmr>rable Stuart W. Rockwell Deputy Chief of Protocol Mr. A. Denis Clift National Security Council FOR RELEASE UPON DELIVERY DECEMBER 4, 1974 Office of the White House Press Secretary ------------------------------------------------------------------- THE WHITE HOUSE A TOAST BY THE PRESIDENT IN HONOR OF PRIME MINISTER PIERRE ELLIOTT TRUDEAU THE BLUE ROOM Mr.