Art Wiese's Snippets #3

1979 Club President Art Wiese was one of the Club's greatest leaders and most ardent supporters. He was responsible for planning much of the reconstruction of the Club during the building renovation in the early 1980s. For years, he was a watchdog to assure that the Club maintained its tradition as a safe harbor for journalists and communicators.

In his later years, he put together a series of snippets on the Club's history. In honor of his passing this year, the Wire will run one of them each week. Here's another:

"On November 22, 1932, less than three weeks after Democrats swept to electoral victory in the midst of the Great Depression, President-elect Franklin Roosevelt stood at the lectern of the National Press Club to discuss the economy. That appearance inaugurated what since has become a tradition of speeches to the Club by famous newsmakers. Thousands of them have since followed FDR to the podium at the National Press Club -- where news is made in the nation's capital."