Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum

I finally did it. I got a photo with Donald Trump. Well...almost.

Long-time readers will remember that last election my sister and I tried to get a photo with and autograph from each candidate. We got Hillary Clinton, Mike Pence, Martin O'Malley, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorina, John Kasich, Ben Carson, John Cogswell (did you know he was running?), Rand Paul, Rick Santorum, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush, Mike Huckabee and Bobby Jindal. We got autographs from Trump and my sister got a photo with Trump, but I gave up on a photo--until my recent trip with my friend Kathleen Franck to see the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum!

Visiting the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum had been on my bucket list for years. Once in a while it's nice to just take a day off work and get something done. And I was thrilled that Kathleen had the day to spare to come with me. Exploring is funner if you have someone with whom to share your adventures. She and I both love sightseeing and photography, and any of these photos that I couldn't have taken are courtesy of Kathleen.

Our first stop after meeting Trump, Lincoln, Hoover and Washington was a room filled with items that had belonged to each of the presidents. Photography wasn't allowed, but we saw (to the best of my memory) John Quincy Adam's cuff-links, Andrew Jackson's pipe, Abraham Lincoln's satchel, Teddy Roosevelt's saddle, and Bill Clinton's tennis shoes, to name a few items.

The room above represents Hoover's Suite 31-A of New York's Waldorf Towers. The Hoovers moved to the four-room suite in December 1940.

Kathleen said the last time she visited the museum was with her husband and a couple friends when she was 22, but everything looked different then. They had a representation of the Oval Office instead of the Waldorf Towers suite.

"With this new telexecutive, you can stop worrying about what you are going to say. Instead concentrate on how you are going to say it. Your speech is here before you in large, easy-to-read letters. The script moves at the speed you wish."

The politician's best friend--the teleprompter!

Hoover wrote the poem above for a classmate, Addie, at the age of eight. The train was one of Hoover's toys as a boy. One of his earliest ambitions was to drive a locomotive. The museum was filled with a variety of items from throughout all stages of Hoover's life.

This two-room cottage, built by Jesse Hoover for his wife Hulda and son Theodore in 1871, is where Herbert Hoover was born in 1874. In 1879 the Hoovers moved to a larger home after the addition of a daughter, Mary. Hoovers' West Branch home is *tiny!* But the whole neighborhood is very idyllic. I wonder how often the neighbors visit the museum!

"This cottage where I was born is physical proof of the unbounded opportunity of American life." --Herbert Hoover.

Also on the museum grounds is the 1853 West Branch Schoolhouse. The school also served as a place of worship for the members of the Society of Friends until a larger building was constructed for that purpose in 1857.

The Jesse Hoover Blacksmith Shop was also an interesting site. It appeared that the museum sells horseshoes, boot scrapers and diner triangles as mementos, judging from a sign in the shop.

Before becoming President, Herbert Hoover worked as a mining engineer. He traveled worldwide, working in mining in Australia and Asia.

When World War I struck, it was Hoover who organized relief for Belgium after it was invaded by Germany in 1914, administering the distribution of over two million tons of food to nine million war victims over the next two years.

After the United States entered the war in 1917, President Woodrow Wilson appointed Hoover as head of the U.S. Food Administration. After the war, the organization became the American Relief Administration (ARA), and Hoover oversaw the ARA in feeding millions in Central and Eastern Europe. After government funding for the ARA ended, Hoover raised money for the effort through private donations. His work was widely appreciated throughout Europe.

Hoover served as Secretary of Commerce under President Warren Harding.

Hoover was elected President of the United States and served from 1929 to 1933. I think it is amazing that none other was President during the start of the Great Depression than a man who had spent his life feeding the hungry. And I think it is unfortunate that Hoover is most remembered for the Great Depression, caused by the policies of his predecessors. 

Above left are gifts of esteem Hoover received from other heads of state. Above right are some of First Lady Lou Henry Hoover's dresses.

Hoover enjoyed fishing during his retirement. He also enjoyed taking road trips with his wife or a friend. He served under President Truman and President Eisenhower as chairman of commissions to reorganize the executive departments. He also wrote books, oversaw the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and did fundraising for the Boys Club.

Hoover died on October 20, 1964 at the age of 90. Herbert and Lou Hoover are buried on a hill near the museum. 

Visiting the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum was a great experience!

"Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt."  --Herbert Hoover