The Cheekwood 1929 Club Celebrates 10 years With a Look Back

On an August night in 1914, a ship named President Lincoln slipped through the ink-black water of the Atlantic Ocean, racing full steam ahead toward the New York harbor. Portholes were ordered closed and lights were extinguished. The passengers on board — including a young family from Nashville — held their collective breath as news passed through the crowd that Germany had declared war on Russia, just days after Austria-Hungary had declared war on Serbia to start World War I. The President Lincoln was a German ship, and the captain feared it would be targeted by the English or the French, who had also joined the war. Later, Leslie Cheek Sr. would recall the experience in the Nashville Banner. “It was the most dramatic moment of my life,” he said. “Within two minutes [of] the captain’s announcement that war was declared, every hand on the ship had been put out, every porthole closed, and in almost total darkness, full speed ahead was ordered, and the big ship plunged forward into the night.”

This and other Cheek family stories were among the highlights of the 10th annual 1929 Club dinner at Cheekwood, dedicated to Mabel Wood Cheek. Amos Gott created an elegant setting for the dinner under a tent on the Swan Lawn, with tables covered in embroidered, black organza linens surrounding a grand piano and a crystal chandelier floating above. Members of the 1929 Club enjoyed cocktails and glasses of Champagne, while hors d’oeuvres by Kristen Winston Catering passed on silver trays throughout the Loggia. 

The evening was picture-perfect. Jane MacLeod, president and CEO of Cheekwood Estate & Gardens, shared some successes Cheekwood has enjoyed, like refurnishing the mansion’s period rooms and stable, developing new interpretive displays, creating a book and audio tour to share the history of the Cheeks and Cheekwood, and so much more. Guests listened as Gigi Lazenby told the story of refurbishing the mansion library — and pulling books she inherited to donate to Cheekwood. 

In the end, guests compared notes on poignant moments from the evening and lingered to savor the night — the mark of a truly great party.