A snippet of National Press Club history: Nixon enjoyed Press Club events, friendships

Snippet #11: Former President Richard M. Nixon: Probably no president was more famous for hating the media thanNixon. But apparently it wasn't always that way.

As a young [Republican] senator from California, Nixon sometimes sat in on poker games with reporters at the National Press Club. Photos show him at Press Club events as vice president, playing softball and plunking on the piano, accompanying Jack Benny on violin. In every picture, he's smiling broadly.

The National Press Club -- where news (and sometimes friendships) are made in the nation's capital.

This snippet was one of many put together by the late Art Wiese, who served as Club president in 1979. He was responsible for planning much of the reconstruction of the Club during its renovation in the early 1980s. In his later years, he put together a series of snippets on the Club's history. In honor of his passing last year, the Wire plans to run one each week.