Category Archives: White House
Boy Hero Visits Hoover White House and Leaves a Family Friend
by Lynn Smith March 26, 1931 started as a lovely 60 degree spring day on the eastern plains of Colorado between the small farming communities of Towner and Holly. Twenty local children, dressed for spring, set out for Pleasant Hill … Continue reading
State Dinner at the Hoover White House for the King and Queen of Siam
On April 29, 1931 several precedents were set at a State Dinner at the White House. The Hoovers hosted King Prajadhipok and Queen Rambai, monarchs of Siam. This was the first State Dinner where an ‘Oriental monarch’ met with … Continue reading
Posted in Herbert Hoover, Lou Henry Hoover, Presidency, White House
Tagged Royal visits
Leave a comment
Feng shui at the White House
By Thomas F. Schwartz A popular approach to room design is feng shui, or creating the right harmony between the room, the furnishings, and the people who use the space. When Herbert and Lou Hoover moved into the White House … Continue reading
White House Staff Remember Lou
By Thomas F. Schwartz, Director A genre of writing concerns the memoirs of domestic White House staff. Personal secretaries, head butlers, maids, and secret service who live round the clock with the President, First Lady, and First Family see and … Continue reading
White House Musicales: The Rest of the Story
By Thomas Schwartz Having previously noted some of the White House musicales presented during the Hoover Administration, one may ask who was in charge of determining the programs and securing the artists. These tasks were the responsibility, not of a … Continue reading
Posted in Lou Henry Hoover, Uncategorized, White House
Tagged White House Concerts
White House ‘Musicales’
The Hoovers continued the tradition, which began during the Theodore Roosevelt administration, of sponsoring concerts or “musicales” at the White House, usually following important dinners or receptions. The Hoovers’ tastes, and therefore the programming, tended toward classical music. Some of … Continue reading
Posted in Lou Henry Hoover, Musicales, White House
Tagged Lou Henry Hoover, music, White House
1 Comment
Hoover and Books
A love of books is rarely innate and usually the result of careful cultivation. Herbert Hoover described a moment when he was a teenager in Salem, Oregon when Miss Jennie Gray took an interest in his education. “She took me … Continue reading
Posted in Presidency, Sports and Leisure, White House
Tagged Books, Lincoln Bedroom, Reading
1 Comment
Recollections Of A Piece of Wood 1930
One of the many improvements to the White House was undertaken by President Calvin Coolidge. In 1927, Coolidge replaced 100-year-old pine beams with an expanded third floor using a steel frame. Of the most under-appreciated endeavors of First Lady Lou … Continue reading
Posted in Lou Henry Hoover, White House
Tagged Christmas gifts, repurposing, White House
Movie Night at the White House
Like many of their generation, Herbert and Lou Hoover were fascinated by motion pictures. They lived at a time when film evolved from its infancy into a mature industry. Silent pictures were often enhanced by a piano, theatre organ accompaniment … Continue reading
Posted in Presidency, White House
Tagged Movies, White House
