To celebrate Gerald R. Ford’s 111th birthday this Sunday, we’re sharing a little bit about his first birthday as President, celebrated on July 14, 1975. Ford had been in the White House for almost a year. After a big White House staff party in the afternoon, First Lady Betty Ford surprised her husband with a private party in the residence.

A handful of friends came, and they had a buffet dinner followed by a birthday sponge cake with butter pecan ice cream. Cheekily, the cake had 2 candles and a 60-watt light bulb on top—Ford turned 62 that year.

Ford wore a light blue suit for the occasion while Betty wore a flowing pink and blue gown from Frankie Welch, a Washington designer she frequented.

Newspapers listed some of the gifts the President received that year: a golf putter with a gold foot, red swim trunks emblazoned with the Presidential Seal, a stone poolside frog, and a golf shirt with his—hated—childhood nickname, Junie, on the back. You can see a theme…

Upon reading accounts of this birthday party, which we have in our records at the Library in Ann Arbor, our first instinct was to see if we had any of these gifts in our artifact collection. Unfortunately, we don’t. We do have this trophy, which the Camp David Stewards gave to Ford for his birthday that year. It features a sign that hangs from two posts and a thatched roof, all made of metal. It is mounted on a wooden base that contains a gold plaque, which reads “Happy Birthday / President Ford / Camp David Stewards / 1975.”

Ford chose to keep it in his possession after his Presidency, and it was gifted to the Museum by Betty Ford in 2007.

It serves as a  sweet reminder of Ford’s first Presidential birthday, and the relationships Presidents have with their staff who help keep things running.

Author: Dr. Mirelle Luecke