by Matthew Schaefer This blog is the closest this archivist gets to modern social media and the digital social network. I’m a bit of a dinosaur in this regard. Facebook, Twitter, Snap-Chat are as foreign to me as Urdu, Swahili and Latin. My social networking is old school. It does not trend. It trades on … Continue reading Old School Iowa Social Networking
by Matthew Schaefer Theodore Roosevelt Box 12 of the Allan Hoover papers contains an intriguing folder titled ‘People Herbert Hoover Knew.’ The names on these twenty-seven pages obviously did not list every one that Hoover knew, just those with sufficient political prominence to catch Hoover’s attention. One page was especially noteworthy. On it Hoover listed … Continue reading Herbert Hoover and American Presidents of the 20th century
August 13th is International Lefthanders Day, a day to celebrate the uniqueness of lefthanders. First observed in 1976 by a small cadre of left-thinking individuals, International Lefthanders Day has grown over the years to become something of a social media phenomena. This year’s version highlighted American Presidents who were left-handed. Somehow Herbert Hoover is listed … Continue reading Left to the Vagaries of History
by Matthew Schaefer Many years after Hoover left the White House, he became a respected elder statesman. Hoover relished this role, giving advice to Democrats and Republicans alike as he entered his eighties. At this late stage of his life, Hoover came to be seen as a model of vigorous aging. Magazine articles were written … Continue reading Days of Reckoning-Herbert Hoover’s Birthdays at age 80+
by Spencer Howard In 1928, the press reported a narrow escape from injury by Lou Hoover, then the wife of Secretary of Commerce and Presidential hopeful, Herbert Hoover: MRS HOOVER ESCAPES INJURIES IN CAR CRASH Secretary's wife and two friends leap from auto hanging at bridge edge Washington Star, March 18, 1928 Winchester, March 17 … Continue reading Lou Henry Hoover’s Narrow Escape?
by Spencer Howard Visitors to the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library-Museum often ask, what ever happened to the Hoovers' kids? Both of their sons lived productive lives, though neither achieved as much fame as their father. Herbert Charles Hoover was born in London on August 4, 1903. He was named for his father, Herbert Clark Hoover, … Continue reading What ever Happened to Herbert Hoover’s Kids?
Part 3 By Thomas F. Schwartz Sustained by Hoover’s loan of 100,000 francs, Chevrillon also received infrequent shipments of food aid through Hoover’s Lisbon agents. By 1942 Chevrillon reported that, “the markets are empty….the harvests for next year are announced as poor.” He added, “already the ration itself is insufficient for normal feeding and the … Continue reading War and Peace: The Friendship of Louis Chevrillon and Herbert Hoover
by Matthew Schaefer Later this July, baseball’s annual All-Star Game will take place in Washington DC. Among the featured stories that week will be the brutal heat and humidity attendant on any summer event in Washington. Washington’s weather in the summer should surprise no one as the town is laid out on what had been … Continue reading Washington in the Summer
Part 3 By Matthew Schaeffer After Herbert Hoover left the White House on March 4, 1933, Hoover Ball disappeared from the public awareness. Clearly Franklin Roosevelt, suffering from the lingering impact of polio, was not going to throw a six pound ball over a net. Like Calvin Coolidge’s mechanical horse, Hoover ball was consigned to … Continue reading Hoover Ball Rejuvenated
Part 2 By Matthew Schaeffer Visitors to the Herbert Hoover Museum will find nearly seven hundred artifacts on display to tell his life story. There is an entire exhibit case dedicated to documenting the Hoovers’ time in the White House. It contains scores of artifacts, and it can be overwhelming. One artifact that escaped my … Continue reading The End of the First Hoover Ball Era
