The front of Herbert Hoover's Boys Clubs of America Professional Association Distinguished Achievement Award. The front depicts the Boys’ Clubs logo at the time, a shield with a torch. The inscription on the band surrounding torch reads: BOYS CLUBS / PROFESSIONAL ASSN. There is an inscription around upper edge of medal: BOYS CLUBS PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION, and an inscription under shield: DISTINGUISHED / ACHIEVEMENT / AWARD.

Much Ado About Medals Act IV: The Aftermath and Our Most Valuable Natural Resource

The front of Herbert Hoover's Boys Clubs of America Professional Association Distinguished Achievement Award.The back of Herbert Hoover's Boys Clubs of America Professional Association Distinguished Achievement Award. The back of the medal was personalized for the former President with: PRESENTED TO / HONORARY / HERBERT HOOVER / FOR TWENTY FIVE YEARS / OF HUMANITARIAN SERVICE … Continue reading Much Ado About Medals Act IV: The Aftermath and Our Most Valuable Natural Resource

President Hoover smoking and reading on the deck of the U.S.S. Arizona on his trip to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands on March 27, 1931. (31-1931-12)

Travel, Reading, and Herbert Hoover

By Thomas F. Schwartz Miss Jennie Gray is immortalized by Herbert Hoover as introducing him to the wonders of reading.  As he recalled: “She took me to the small library in town [Salem, Oregon] and borrowed for me a copy of Ivanhoe. That opening of the door to a great imaginative world led me promptly … Continue reading Travel, Reading, and Herbert Hoover

H. R. Gross, Iowa’s Congressional Curmudgeon

Representative H. R. Gross speaking at the dedication of the Waterloo, Iowa municipal airport, June 10, 1951. by Spencer Howard One of the seldom used collections at the Hoover Library is the papers of Harold R. Gross, who represented northern Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives for 13 terms from 1949 … Continue reading H. R. Gross, Iowa’s Congressional Curmudgeon

The front of the Inaugural Medal given to Herbert Hoover, dated March 4, 1929. (65.7.11)

Much Ado About Medals Act III: The Secretary, The Flood, and The Chief

The front of the Inaugural Medal given to Herbert Hoover, dated March 4, 1929. The back of Herbert Hoover's Inauguration Medal. In March 1921, after having served for four years as United States Food Administrator and Commissioner for Belgian Relief, Mr. Hoover was appointed as Secretary of Commerce by President Warren G. Harding. Beloved for … Continue reading Much Ado About Medals Act III: The Secretary, The Flood, and The Chief

A silver medal of thanks was made only two years into Mr. Hoover’s Belgian Relief activities. It depicts the face of Herbert Hoover on the front, with a personalized inscription on the reverse of: Herbert C. Hoover from his friends of the Commission for Relief in Belgium (65.6.38).

Much Ado About Medals Act II: Leones Belgicae

A silver medal of thanks was made only two years into Mr. Hoover’s Belgian Relief activities. It depicts the face of Herbert Hoover on the front, with a personalized inscription on the reverse of: Herbert C. Hoover from his friends of the Commission for Relief in Belgium (65.6.38).The back of the silver medal of thanks … Continue reading Much Ado About Medals Act II: Leones Belgicae

A framed lithograph showing the "First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln," an 1864 painting by F.B. Carpenter.

The Emancipation Moment

There are numerous emancipation moments in American history: many by blacks fleeing enslavement on their own initiative, and others through legal, military, executive and congressional acts. Most individuals know of the work of the “Underground Railroad” that was neither underground nor a railroad, but a network of individuals who helped enslaved people escape to freedom. Often … Continue reading The Emancipation Moment

Mining medal for Lou Henry and Herbert Hoover, showing the inscription of the medal inside its case.

Much Ado About Medals Act I: Lou and The Engineer

Mining medal for Lou Henry and Herbert Hoover, showing the inscription of the medal inside its case. Here in the Curatorial Department of the Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, we help promote and protect the former President’s legacy by safekeeping his physical artifacts. This includes approximately four hundred coins and medals that Herbert Hoover accumulated … Continue reading Much Ado About Medals Act I: Lou and The Engineer

A letter of thanks written by Rosemarie Brettman to Herbert Hoover for his food relief efforts in Germany. The letter is dated March 4, 1948.

“We all are poor fugitives.”

A letter of thanks written by Rosemarie Brettman to Herbert Hoover for his food relief efforts in Germany. The letter is dated March 4, 1948. Previous blogs have described various aspects of Hoover’s food relief efforts in post-WWII Germany. Combating various leaders who sought to punish Germany by withholding food, Hoover understood the necessity of … Continue reading “We all are poor fugitives.”

A drawing included in a letter dated November 12, 1947, made by students at an elementary school in Germany, showing appreciation for Herbert Hoover's efforts fighting hunger in the British and American zones in Germany

Hearing Loss, Colds, and the Hoover Speisung [Feeding]: Hoover’s 1947 Trip to Germany

Students from the elementary school at Hamburg Volksdoft in Germany sent drawings like this to Herbert Hoover as a sign of appreciation for their "Hooverbreakfast" in a letter dated November 12, 1947. On January 18, 1947, President Harry Truman reached out to Herbert Hoover with another request. Stating that “a serious situation in food still … Continue reading Hearing Loss, Colds, and the Hoover Speisung [Feeding]: Hoover’s 1947 Trip to Germany