Burlington Liar's Club

1929 - Present

"The Greatest Lie is the one that you believe"

If ever a story was not too believed, this was it; early in 1980, a story was circulated saying that the notorious BURLINGTON LIAR'S CLUB was going to call it "quits" after 50 years. Most people thought it another play for Publicity by the old-timers who ran the club. Yet, the rumors persisted and the newspaper stories kept appearing. Later that year the truth, hoped to be a lie, came out - the club was indeed closing.

This was the way the founder, Otis Hulett, wanted it. He started the club back in 1929 and decided to close it at the end of 1979, 50 years later. Hulett, at age 82, decided he had had enough and wanted to discontinue the club.

The Burlington Chamber of Commerce, however, decided to keep the club's history alive. New officers were selected to continue to choose the yearly World Champion Lie and carry on the other related activities but without the notoriety and color of its great founder and first leader, Otis Hulett.

The club was founded on a lie, a fabricated news story concocted by Hulett, famous about town for his various pranks and escapades, and a fellow reporter, Manuel Hahn, in 1929 after a slow news week. Between Christmas and New Year's, it is really dead news-wise and the old-timers concocted a story saying that the Burlington police chief and policemen and firemen sat around the station New Year's Day seeing who could tell the biggest lie. The winner of that first year was told by the police chief who said he had never told a lie in his life.

The story was filed with a news service and, of course, it made some of the papers because they were short of copy too. And the next year, Associated Press called and wanted to know if they were going to pick a liar again and, of course, they had to.

The lies continued pouring in each year. Hulett formed a club, incorporated it and expanded the contest to a national contest and eventually to a world contest when lies began pouring in with international addresses. The only requirement to become a card carrying member was to send a lie and a dime. Inflation has raised the one-time fee to a dollar ($1.00).

It was Hulett's perseverance that kept the club going that first 50 years. He read every lie and responded to every request for membership. This practice is being continued.

How to enter the liars contest:

If you would like to win next year's contest, please mail your entry to P.O. Box 156, Burlington, WI 53105. Entries received after Dec. 15, 2010 will be entered in the next year's contest, or e-mail at championlies@gmail.com , submissions are free.

If you would like to become a card-carrying member of the Burlington Liars Club, mail the club $1, and they will sent you an authentic card. For more information on the Liars Club visit http://www.burlingtonliarsclub.com .