Lou Henry Hoover, ca. 1932 By Thomas F. Schwartz Lou Henry Hoover liked to capture kernels of ideas on papers for further elaboration at some later date. Often, the ideas never were revisited and remain unpolished thoughts containing interesting potential. One of these describes the problem of human nature. Lou writes: “It is a … Continue reading On Human Nature: Lou Henry Hoover’s Musings
First Lady Lou Henry hoover Sometimes blog posts miraculously present themselves, like spring flowers after a long winter. The astute blogger just provides the background context, the stands aside to let the reader see the beauty for themselves. This is a nearly verbatim re-presentation of an undated essay written by Lou Hoover. SPRING’S COMING Flower … Continue reading Lou Hoover ‘Spring’s Coming’
Dirty tricks in political campaigns are not recent phenomena. Every American electoral cycle spawns a new reason for candidates to be justifiably paranoid. Someone is out to get them, or at least to get their political office. Those closest to the candidate, especially members of their immediate family, sometimes get caught up in the … Continue reading Political Campaigns and Dirty Tricks
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
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
By Thomas F. Schwartz Before the invention of IMAX projection and Circle Vision 360, the viewing public was dazzled by panoramic paintings called cycloramas. Dating from 1787 and reaching its height of popularity by 1900, cycloramas depicted beautiful landscapes or great historic events. Created by producing multiple oil paintings that could be assembled in the … Continue reading “What a wonderful panorama!” Lou Henry Hoover’s idea for picturing America.
Lou Henry Hoover died on Friday January 7, 1944 at the Waldorf-Astoria suite that she shared with her husband Herbert Hoover. The following Monday more than 1500 mourners attended her memorial service at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church. There was no eulogy. After the service, the Hoover family took the mortal remains of Lou Henry Hoover … Continue reading On the Passing of Lou Henry Hoover
by Matthew Schaefer Every spring, certain recursive features appear on the American landscape—crocuses, April showers, Easter bonnets, and elders addressing students on college campuses. On May 16th 1920, Lou Henry Hoover made her contribution to this annual tradition, giving a short address to the women of Bryn Mawr College. As was her wont, Lou Hoover … Continue reading Spring Diversions
by Hoover Archivist, Matthew Schaefer In honor of First Lady Lou Henry Hoover's birthday, March 29, 1874 At 5:15 in the evening of Sunday, November 27th, 1932, First Lady Lou Hoover gave an address, ‘Women’s Place in the Present Emergency,’ over the NBC national radio network. The speech was part of a series of weekly … Continue reading Women’s Place in the Present Emergency
By Thomas F. Schwartz December 1931 was like any other except that more Americans were feeling the effects of what would later be known as the Great Depression. Herbert and Lou Hoover had a long history of assisting those in need. The First Lady decided that the annual Christmas party would have a different emphasis. … Continue reading Santa Claus Lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
