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Monday, June 11, 2007 -
Last night we spent the night in Keokuk, Iowa, a small town right over the border from Missouri. We headed out early this morning and detoured through the town of West Branch, birthplace and Presidential Library of Herbert Hoover. Arriving at the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site around 11 am, we first watched a short movie detailing the boyhood of Hoover. Son of a Quaker blacksmith, Herbert Clark Hoover brought to the Presidency an unparalleled reputation for public service as an engineer, administrator, and humanitarian. He was born in West Branch in 1874, but was orphaned young, around 10, and he went to live with his uncle in Oregon. He enrolled at Stanford University when it opened in 1891 and graduated as a mining engineer. He married his college sweetheart, Lou Henry. They went to China where he worked
for a private corporation as China's leading engineer. Caught in the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, he is credited with risking his life rescuing Chinese children. At the outbreak of WWI, Hoover was in London. He was asked to head the task of helping stranded Americans return home. His committee helped 120,000 Americans return to the United States before Hoover turned to a far more difficult task, feeding war torn Belgium, which had been overrun by the German army and was short on food. Later, the country of Belgium presented Hoover with the Statue of Isis, Goddess of Life, in gratitude for feeding them during the crisis. The statue still stands on the property in West Branch.
Our park ranger, Amanda, toured with us through the various buildings in West Branch. We saw the small home where Hoover was raised by his humble Quaker family, the Quaker meeting house, his father's blacksmith shop, and the one room schoolhouse where Hoover was educated as a young boy.
From the National Park Visitor's Center we headed over to the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library, which is located right next door. It was fascinating inside. We learned all about how Hoover became the 31st President in 1928 and the events that followed, including the Stock Market Crash of 1929. Europe remained unstable during that time period and Hoover became the scapegoat for the Depression. He was badly defeated in the 1932 election. Hoover remained a humanitarian and was appointed to head commissions in 1947 and 1953 under Presidents Truman and Eisenhower which in both cases led to economic gains. He published many books and articles and died in New York City in 1964 at age 90.
After visiting the exhibits at the Library we visited the grave site where Herbert and Lou Henry Hoover are buried side by side on a lovely rolling hill in West Branch. It was a great experience.
From West Branch we headed on to Waterloo...
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