In the time before Taco Night, there were hot dogs and movie stars

This Week In National Press Club History

November 11, 1919: American Legion Post 20 is founded at the Club, one year after the signing of the armistice which ended World War I. One of its best known projects was the sponsorship of the World War II canteen at the Club, where enlisted men from the Allied Forces were entertained at the Club on Saturday afternoons. Post members served them drinks and hot dogs. President Harry S. Truman sat down at the piano at one of these canteens, and young movie star Lauren Bacall ended up perched on top of the piano as he played. A photo of that unexpected duet can be seen today in the Truman Lounge.

November 12, 1991: Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger tells a National Press Club luncheon there would be “no television in the Supreme Court forever.”

This Week In National Press Club History is brought to you by the History & Heritage Committee, which is dedicated to preserving and revitalizing the Club’s history through displays, panel discussions, events and lectures, as well as a long-standing oral history project.

For more information on upcoming Committee-sponsored activities or to join the Committee, contact Bill Hickman at [email protected].