The Invisible Guest-Part II

Last year at about this time Thomas Schwartz wrote a blog here about Hoover’s ‘Invisible Guest’ dinners, innovative efforts to raise private funds to pay for the feeding of Europeans after World War I.  Congress had originally appropriated $100 million to this humanitarian effort, but was reluctant to expend funds beyond this commitment.  Hoover recognized … Continue reading The Invisible Guest-Part II

The Oval Office Roasting on a 1929 Christmas Fire

By Thomas F. Schwartz A previous blog described Christmas gifts Lou Henry Hoover gave to people in 1930.  Made from century-old pine beams original to the White House and removed in the 1927 renovation by Calvin Coolidge, some of the oral histories conducted with associates of Herbert Hoover conflate these gifts with the 1929 fire … Continue reading The Oval Office Roasting on a 1929 Christmas Fire

Tales of the Sea Christmas Exhibit

Reposted from the Declarations Blog   On November 18, the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library & Museum kicked off the holiday season with the "Tales of the Sea Christmas" exhibit. The exhibit will run through January 7, 2018. Since 1990, the Hoover Museum has presented a decorated tree exhibit every year, beginning with "Christmas Around the World," … Continue reading Tales of the Sea Christmas Exhibit

Christmas 1903

As the holiday season approaches, thoughts turn to family gatherings, festive celebrations, and delighted children. The Hoovers were not a typical family, and spent many Christmases in unusual circumstances. Take, for example, Christmas 1903. The year 1903 was significant because Herbert and Lou welcomed their first child, Herbert Charles Hoover, into the world on August … Continue reading Christmas 1903