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
By Thomas F. Schwartz December 7, 1941 was, as President Franklin Roosevelt aptly stated: “a date which will live in infamy.” The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese plunged America into World War II. At the time of the attack, Lou Henry Hoover’s sister, Jean Henry Large and niece, Janet Large, resided on … Continue reading Writing Christmas Cards Under Fire
One of the most sensational New York City murders of 1937 involved artist, Robert Irwin, who brutally murdered three people on Easter Sunday. Nicknamed the "mad sculptor" by the newspapers, Irwin briefly boarded with Mary Gedeon and her two daughters, Veronica and Ethel at their Beekman Place apartment. Veronica was a model who posed for … Continue reading Lou Henry Hoover and the “Mad Sculptor”
Lou Hoover encounters Stanford’s “Animal House” College is a time for both refining one’s education as well as gaining important life lessons. Often these lessons consist of doing things that seem like harmless fun until one realizes how incredibly stupid they were in retrospect. Such is the case with former First Lady Lou Henry … Continue reading Stanford’s “Animal House”
The eminent Hoover biographer, George Nash, describes Charles Michelson as "the Democratic Party's chief publicist and spin-meister," who, during the Hoover Administration, "orchestrated an unremitting barrage of disparagement of Hoover's shortcomings: a foretaste of what later generations would call "the politics of personal destruction." Michelson's job was an unrelenting flow of criticism, often as ghostwritten … Continue reading The Politics of Personal Destruction
The Hoovers continued the tradition, which began during the Theodore Roosevelt administration, of sponsoring concerts or "musicales" at the White House, usually following important dinners or receptions. The Hoovers' tastes, and therefore the programming, tended toward classical music. Some of the renowned artists who performed at the Hoover White House included opera stars Margaret Matzenauer … Continue reading White House ‘Musicales’
by Spencer Howard Yesterday, March 29 was Lou Henry Hoover's birthday. Lou spent many years of her life involved with the Girl Scout movement. Here is an excerpt from a tribute written in late 1945 by Dare Stark McMullin, a friend and former secretary of Mrs. Hoover: "Mrs. Hoover first became associated with the Girl Scout … Continue reading Lou Henry Hoover and the Girl Scouts
by Spencer Howard Before the days of international air travel, when passenger liners ruled the oceans and crossings were measured in days instead of hours, two passenger liners were named in honor of President Hoover. On December 9, 1930, the first SS President Hoover was christened by First Lady Lou Henry Hoover in Newport News, … Continue reading SS PresidentHoover
Shortly after her return to the United States to enroll her two young sons in school, Lou Hoover received an urgent telegram from her husband. Herbert Hoover, the head of the newly created Commission for Relief in Belgium [CRB], outlined the dire situation in Belgium: “OVER ONE MILLION PEOPLE ON BREAD LINE IN BELGIUM AT … Continue reading Lou Hoover’s Reflections on Reflectors
On March 18, 1928, an urgent telegram was received by Lou Henry Hoover from Lady Lister-Kay, wife of Sir John Lister-Kay groom-in-waiting to King Edward VII. Lady Lister-Kay queried: "I was horrified to read in the papers this morning of the very narrow escape you had in your automobile yesterday which most happily and mercifully ended … Continue reading Making a Mountain out of a Mole Hill
