By Thomas F. Schwartz George Aubrey Hastings served as an administrative assistant to President Herbert Hoover. After Hoover left office, Hastings was asked to speak about his time in the White House and what he observed. In a talk before the National Republican Club on May 16, 1933, Hastings provided a glimpse into the … Continue reading An Average Day in the Life of a President
By Thomas F. Schwartz Many young people are in a hurry to grow up and be able to do things that their age prevents. Once they get older, they begin to pine for the previous unencumbered joys of childhood. It remains a great irony of life. Herbert Hoover was one of the many precocious youth … Continue reading A Problem of Youth: Herbert Hoover’s Changeable Age
Bess Goodykoontz was born in 1894 and raised in Waukon, Iowa. She earned BA and MA degrees from the University of Iowa, then taught in rural Iowa schools, supervised elementary schools in Green Bay, Wisconsin and taught at the University of Pittsburgh for five years. In 1929, Goodykoontz was appointed Assistant Commissioner for Education within … Continue reading Women’s History Sources at the Hoover Library: Bess Goodykoontz-Educator and Writer
The goodwill tour of Latin America by the Hoovers had ripples that extended long after they returned to the United States. Reciprocal visits by Latin American heads of state included: Pascual Ortiz Rubio, President of Mexico in December 1929, Dr. Enrique Olaya, President-elect of Columbia in early June 1930, and Dr. Julio Prestes, President-elect of … Continue reading Brazilian President-Elect Prestes Visits the Hoover White House
The Hoovers were not the only First Couple to go on a goodwill trip. Enrique and Maria Olaya Herrera, President-Elect and First Lady of Columbia, visited the Hoover White House in early June 1930. After serving eight years as Columbian Minister to the United States, Olaya was elected President in February 1930, but he did … Continue reading Campbell Hodges reports on visit of Columbia President-Elect and First Lady
At times, our social media guru has had to scramble to meet our weekly goal of posting a Hoover blog. At times, it is not easy to generate a 400-word article of interest, or not of interest, under a deadline. Clearly this is not a new problem for newspaper writers, many of whom had to … Continue reading Writers and Deadlines
by Spencer Howard Herbert Hoover is remembered today primarily as the President who struggled to contain the Great Depression. It’s hard for us to imagine how incredibly popular he was before entering the White House, and how he dazzled the world with his meteoric rise to fame. Hoover’s adult life leading up to the Presidency … Continue reading Wonder Boy — Herbert Hoover as Secretary of Commerce
by Spencer Howard Today we know Inauguration Day falls every four years on January 20, but for much of American history it was March 4, almost four months after election day. Herbert Hoover was the last and perhaps most unfortunate President to serve four months as a “lame duck.” What changed? The ratification of the … Continue reading The 20th Amendment : the obscure amendment that changed Inauguration Day
by Spencer Howard In the spring of 1885, 18-year-old Laura Ingalls did not graduate from high school in De Smet, South Dakota, though perhaps she should have. Of course, high school in the current sense didn’t exist then, especially in rural areas. Most Americans had no opportunity to attend school beyond 8th grade, and many … Continue reading Graduations that never happened — Laura Ingalls Wilder
by Spencer Howard Among the hidden gems at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library-Museum are the papers of Rose Wilder Lane, which document the extraordinary lives of Rose and her mother, Laura Ingalls Wilder. Laura’s Little House books are a fictionalized account of her childhood, but they contain many charming and vivid descriptions of pioneer life … Continue reading Searching for the real Laura Ingalls Wilder
