BRIEF HISTORY OF NLAPW
In1897, professional women journalists were barred from the Washington Press Club (an organization "for newsmen only"). Recognizing a need to bring together women journalists, authors, and illustrators for mutual benefits, three women organized the first meeting of a women's literary club which originally was named "The League of American Pen Women." Three women formed The League and invited others to join them at their first meeting on June 26, 1987. These women were:
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Marion Longfellow O'Donoghue (niece of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow), who was a poet and prose writer for The Boston Transcript, The Boston Herald, and The Washington Post.
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Margaret Sullivan Burke, who was a capital correspondent for leading daily newspapers; Margaret was noted in the Congressional Directory (first session of the 53rd Congress) as the first woman admitted to the Press Gallery as a regularly accredited telegraphic correspondent.
- Anna Sanborne Hamilton, who was the social editor for The Washington Post and a special proofreader for the United States Government.
The League constitution and bylaws were written by Marion Longfellow O'Donoghue. The group's only artist, New York illustrator Alice R. Morgan designed the League insignia (shown at the left in our web site banner above). The insignia is comprised of an owl (to symbolize wisdom) perched on a white brush; the white brush, a blue pencil, and a red pen form a triangle. Patriotism was expressed in the League colors of red, white, and blue. For the League flower they chose the red rose.
By the end of its first year, in 1898, The League's membership consisted of fifty women located across the country from Maine to California. The League was incorporated in 1918; it was legally chartered and renamed as "The National League of American Pen Women" in 1926. After a hundred years, by 1997, the membership had grown to thousands of members in branches throughout the United States and the Panama Canal Zone.
Today, women journalists are allowed membership in press clubs, and several other organizations also exist for creative people. However, NLAPW , the first organization of its kind, still holds a strong membership and continues as a most prestigious organization of women who are professional writers (journalists, poets, authors, script writers, lecturers, etc.), artists (illustrators, graphics artists, painters, photographers, sculptors, etc.), and musicians (composers, arrangers, performers, etc.).
Since 1951, the National League headquarters have been located in an elegant Washington D.C. Victorian mansion which has nine fireplaces to warm its twenty rooms. Located at 1300 Seventeenth Street NW, the mansion was built in 1895 as a town house for opera star Sara Adams Whittemore of the presidential Adams family. In late1910 and 1911, the mansion was leased as the home of Robert Todd Lincoln (son of Abraham Lincoln) and his family.
In 1951, the mansion was purchased by NLAPW and then became known as the Pen Arts Building. The current NLAPW members together own the Pen Arts Building; part of each member's NLAPW dues are used to maintain the mansion and its furnishings.
Any NLAPW member visiting Washington D.C. can stay overnight in the Pen Arts Building, if space is available, for a small fee.
CONTACTING NATIONAL NLAPW
To learn more about the national headquarters, NLAPW membership requirements, various branch locations, and other information, visit the National League web site at www.americanpenwomen.org. You can contact the national headquarters via email to NLAPW1@verizon.net. The editor of the national League magazine titled "The Pen Woman" may be contacted via email to SandChap39@aol.com.
Note: The link to the National NLAPW web site given in the above paragraph opens a new window, so you can easily return here to continue viewing the Dallas Branch web site in this window. (Better yet, it is suggested that you first browse the complete Dallas Branch NLAPW web site before browsing the National NLAPW web site.)
