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Truman noted that he personally received none of the money raised. He also pointed out that he and his brother and sister were planning to donate up to eighty acres of the family farm in Grandview for the library. “And it’s very valuable property; it’s a real gift,” he added. “I don’t mind telling you some of the family are not as happy about it as they should be.” Then, referring to his old nemesis, the senator from Wisconsin, he added wryly, “If any of you want to take a look at the property to see if there are any financial advantages to me, you might ask McCarthy to make the investigation.”

That night the Trumans had dinner at the 21 Club with a group of friends. Margaret joined them as well, accompanied by her “escort” (as the papers put it), a Marine colonel and former White House aide named Warren Barker.

Opened at 21 West 52nd Street on New Year’s Eve 1929, 21 survived repeated raids by Prohibition agents to become one of the most popular and famous restaurants in New York. Sometimes the maître d’ had a hard time figuring out where to seat all the movie stars, politicians, sports heroes, and business titans who dined there. He faced a special challenge when, shortly after the Truman party was seated, New York Governor Thomas Dewey arrived. “It was completely coincidental,” a 21 spokesman said. The two rivals in the 1948 presidential election were seated on different floors. Each probably didn’t even know the other was in the restaurant until reading about it in the papers the next day.

After dinner, Harry and Bess went to see Wonderful Town, a musical comedy at the Winter Garden Theater on Broadway. Written by Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov, with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Wonderful Town is the story of two sisters from Ohio who move to New York City in search of fame and fortune in 1935. Starring Rosalind Russell and Edith Adams (the wife of Ernie Kovacs), and directed by George Abbott, the show opened to rave reviews just four months before the Trumans went to see it. The New York Times called it “the most uproarious and original musical carnival we have had since Guys and Dolls” and said Russell gave “a convulsing and ingenious performance.” The musical would go on to win six Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Actress (for Russell).

Margaret, an accomplished singer in her own right, may have suggested her parents see Wonderful Town, although Harry, at least, didn’t need much convincing. He was a big fan of musical theater. As a young man he often ventured into Kansas City to see shows at the Orpheum and the Grand.

As the Trumans entered the Winter Garden, everyone in the audience of fifteen hundred rose and applauded, and the orchestra struck up “The Star-Spangled Banner.” At intermission they cheered again. “I didn’t know what to do about it,” Truman said. “They cheered as if I were still president. So I pretended I was still president and waved back.”

After the closing curtain, the Trumans were ushered backstage, where they were introduced to the stars of the show. Truman told Rosalind Russell he “loved” her performance.

In New York, I had lunch at the 21 Club with an old friend from college. Unfortunately, the meal was preceded by two very large vodka martinis (up, dry, with olives). As a consequence, I don’t remember much about 21. I seem to recall football helmets hanging from the ceiling, and at some point I ended up getting into a long, friendly, animated discussion about FDR and Truman with the men’s room attendant. The foie gras and steak tartar, which my friend insisted I order, were, to the best of my recollection, eaten. My memories of the subway ride back to Brooklyn, where I was staying with friends at the time, are hazy.

Harry never would have let this happen to himself. Though he was far from a teetotaler, he almost never got drunk. He could nurse a single bourbon for hours, savoring every drop. “I don’t think he ever takes over two drinks at a time,” his friend Mize Peters once observed.