Dining & Diplomacy

Presidents have long used dining events to foster diplomatic ties. Have you ever wondered what is served at these events? 

Dining and Diplomacy, an online exhibit from the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, utilizes original menus and photographs to illustrate the wide range of social events hosted by President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush at the White House, Camp David, and Prairie Chapel Ranch.

White House residence staff prepare desserts for a social lunch honoring President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia. NAID: 193426476

From the Stacks: The Spruce Division

In 1917, when the United States entered World War I, the Germans ruled the skies. America and the other Allies desperately needed a reliable supply of airplanes, and the U.S. Pacific Northwest had just the thing to help: wood, specifically Sitka spruce.

To this purpose, the U.S. Army Signal Corps Aviation Sector took control of the logging industry in the Northwest and created the Spruce Production Divisionto manage it. The division was headquartered in Vancouver, WA, and by Armistice Day, had nearly 30,000 soldiers assigned to the division. These soldiers served their country far from the battlefields of Europe, and their work changed the course of the air war.

5,000 soldiers worked and lived at the Vancouver Spruce Mill.

(National Park Service photo)

The Great Transcription Challenge

Two years ago, NARA set an audacious goal to transcribe the more than 2.5 million pages found in the Revolutionary War Pension Files by America’s 250th on July 4th, 2026. In our first year, Citizen Archivists transcribed 65,000 pages. During the project’s second year, record transcription saw exponential growth, and we’ve been so excited to see the stories of America’s first veterans as they have been uncovered.

We invite you to help transcribe these records to unlock the details and stories found within these rich records. 

• New to the Citizen Archivist program? Learn how to register and get started.
• Be sure to review the video How to Transcribe in the National Archives Catalog, our tutorial Get Started Transcribing and how-to videos on the Resources page.

The stories of over 80,000 men and women who lived through the American Revolution are waiting to be told. Will you help us tell them?