by Spencer Howard When Herbert Hoover became President in 1929, one of his early initiatives was to call for a national conference on child health. Hoping to build on the work of the non-profit American Child Health Association, an organization he had founded in 1923, President Hoover announced that the purpose of his proposed conference … Continue reading Herbert Hoover’s vision for healthy children – Part 2: The Children’s Charter
This image is from the Commerce Years gallery at the Hoover Presidential Museum. by Spencer Howard Of the many charitable organizations that Herbert Hoover led, one of the most important was the American Child Health Association. In its almost 13 years of existence, from its founding by Herbert Hoover in 1923 to its liquidation in … Continue reading Herbert Hoover’s vision for healthy children – Part 1: The Child’s Bill of Rights
Lynn Smith On January 7, 1944 former first Lady Lou Henry Hoover died. For several decades of her life she was active with the Girl Scouts of America, serving in many leadership positions ranging from Troop Leader to National President. To pay tribute to this dynamic lady, the Girl Scouts created Lou Henry Hoover Memorial … Continue reading Memorial Forest and Wildlife Sanctuaries
Lynn Smith Sitting on a hillside in Burlingame, California is Hoover Elementary School. Originally founded in 1932, the neighborhood school closed its doors in 1979 due to declining enrollment. The school district sold the building to Buddhist monks. In 2010, the school district purchased the building back and after extensive renovations and the construction of … Continue reading Lou Henry Hoover Amphitheater
Herbert Hoover won the 1928 election in a landslide over Democrat Al Smith of New York. Four years later Hoover lost the 1932 election in a landslide to New York Democrat Franklin Roosevelt. The intervening four years marked the onset of the Great Depression. Ever pragmatic, Hoover knew that the American people would place their … Continue reading Herbert Hoover on Public Acceptance of the President
by Spencer Howard Frances Knight Parrish was the head of the U. S. Passport office from 1955 to her retirement in 1977. Working under her maiden name, Miss Knight was known for her no-nonsense style, constant feuds with her superiors at the State Department, and her conservative politics. Her tenure was noted for marked efficiency … Continue reading The “Dragon Lady” of the Passport Office – Frances Knight Parrish
by Matthew Schaefer In the course of writing serial posts on Herbert Hoover’s activities during World War I, it occurred to this Hoover archivist that he was giving short shrift to other actors with agency in the drama. To correct this oversight, today’s blog will respond to Abigail Adams’ challenge to not forget the ladies. … Continue reading War Conditions in Belgium and England
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 hear things that are typically not reported at the time but become known through “tell … Continue reading White House Staff Remember Lou
By Thomas F. Schwartz The first volume of Herbert Hoover’s Memoirs appeared in 1951. Only ten pages comprise his time in Iowa. Theodore Hoover, Herbert’s older brother, wrote a 1939 autobiography, Memoranda: Being a Statement by an Engineer, that was never published. It exists in typescript at the Hoover Institution with a copy at the … Continue reading Theodore and Herbert Hoover’s Childhood Recollections: A Comparative Study
By Thomas F. Schwartz Hoover’s selection of Harry F. Guggenheim as Ambassador to Cuba came after Guggenheim rejected an earlier offer to serve as assistant secretary of commerce for aeronautics. Hoover learned Guggenheim was interested in being Ambassador to Mexico. Dwight Morrow already was capably serving in that post so Hoover nominated Guggenheim to serve … Continue reading Ambassador Harry F. Guggenheim
