by Spencer Howard When Hoover became President in 1929, he decided to build a weekend retreat – a fishing camp – some place where he could escape from Washington and unwind. He chose a site on the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia about 100 miles from Washington, where two small streams … Continue reading The President’s Mountain School
Part 2 (Part 1: A Mother's Day Gift: the Friendship of Louis Chevrillon and Herbert Hoover) By Thomas F. Schwartz On December 15, 1938, Chevrillon wrote to Hoover presenting a grim future for France and Europe. Commending Hoover on his strong public statements against the German government’s oppression of Jews on what is now referred … Continue reading The Clouds of War: The Friendship of Louis Chevrillon and Herbert Hoover
by Matthew Schaefer In the course of her life, Lou Henry Hoover gave many addresses to graduating classes: Radcliffe, Bryn Mawr and Whittier Colleges, Stanford University, and Castilla high school. The first time that she spoke to a graduating class occurred in 1890, when sixteen year old Lou Henry spoke as valedictorian to her Bailey … Continue reading Another Lou Henry Hoover Commencement Address
While on the subject [howsoever narrow] of Hoovers speaking at Stanford commencements, I would be remiss not to note that Lou Henry Hoover contributed to the oeuvre. Lou Henry Hoover was one of three speakers tapped to address the graduates at Stanford’s fiftieth anniversary, June 15, 1941. She was the first woman to address Stanford’s … Continue reading Rites of Spring: Lou Henry Hoover’s Commencement Address at Stanford, 1941
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 School near the Kansas border in a makeshift bus fashioned from a 1929 truck with … Continue reading Boy Hero Visits Hoover White House and Leaves a Family Friend
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 the President. It was also the first time that the ruling monarch sat at the … Continue reading State Dinner at the Hoover White House for the King and Queen of Siam
Part 1 By Thomas F. Schwartz One of the under researched aspects of Herbert Hoover is his vast network of associates that provided him with vital information as well as served as valuable agents in his many humanitarian efforts. Louis Chevrillon is unknown to most Americans, but he was one of the driving forces in … Continue reading A Mother’s Day Gift: The Friendship of Louis Chevrillon and Herbert Hoover
by Spencer Howard Lou Henry Hoover's papers include numerous files documenting some of the secretaries, servants and aides that worked for her over the years. Among them is a folder of letters that tell the story of a Filipino, Matias Estella. Matias Estella was born in the Philippines around 1896. Two years later, the United … Continue reading Asian Pacific American Heritage Month: Not Quite American
by Matthew Schaefer While re-processing the personal papers of Senator Bourke Hickenlooper, I came across a folder labeled ‘Fish, 1954-1966.’ This was an odd title, and less descriptive than one would hope. Being a curious cat, I further investigated this fishy folder. It contained dozens of letters, newspaper clippings, receipts and photographs documenting Hickenlooper’s landing … Continue reading Fish Story
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 on March 4, 1929 it took some time and many rearrangements of the furniture before … Continue reading Feng shui at the White House
