The United States needed more food than ever to
feed people at home and in war-torn Europe.
President Wilson asked Herbert Hoover to head the
U.S.Food Administration, to coordinate food
conservation and distributon.
With "Food will win the war" as his motto
Hoover soon had millions eating cornbread, oatmeal
and fish dishes. Approximately 14 million American
families signed pledges to eat less meat, butter
milk, sugar and wheat.
Signing the pledge.
Each one was given a poster for their window.
They were given a poster, suggesting different
foods to eat.
Large numbers of young women came to Washington
D.C. to work and needed inexpensive places to stay.
Lou Hoover and a friend organized a Food
Administration Club to help the young ladies.
Lou also became interested in the Girl scouts and
remembered the times when her father had taken her
fishing, camping and hunting. She felt all girls
needed outdoor experiences, so she became a troop
leader.
She took the girls on hikes and helped them
plant victory gardens.
--------------------------------
After the war ended in 1918, Lou started to plan
a new home in Palo Alto, California.
The Hoover Home.
It was finished in 1920, but the family lived
there only a year, before being called back to duty.
Postscript..When Lou died in 1944, Herbert gave
"Lou's house" to Leland Stanford University!
--------------------------------
From 1921 to 1927, Herbert Hoover served as
Secretary of Commerce for two Presidents,
Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge.
Called the "wonder boy" by Coolidge, Hoover
transformed Commerce into a dynamic department and
one of the few bright spots in the Harding
Administration. He developed foreign markets for
American products and developed projects in
navigation, irrigation and flood control.
As chairman of the Colorado River Commission
he oversaw the intricate negotiations between six
western states that led to the building of
Hoover Dam.
In 1927 the Mississippi River flooded about
25.000 square miles of land, leaving approximately
350.000 homeless. Herbert Hoover was there to
supervise relief efforts, as he had done so very
well, during WWI. He brought in the militia, Army
Engineers. the Coast Guard and the Red Cross.
This brought him to the front pages of many newspapers.
The Republican Party nominated him for President
in the campaign of 1928.
Their son Allan had many pets. Hoover once said
"We have in our family, 2 small boys, 2 cats,
11 goldfish, 1 canary, 3 frogs, 14 chickens
2 turtles, 1 rabbit and a million mosquitoes!!!!
The story continues..
