West Branch honors its famous son

Presidents Truman and Hoover worked their way through a throng of people for the opening of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library & Museum in West Branch on Aug. 10, 1962, Hoover's 88th birthday. Hoover's keynote speech turned out to be his last public address; he died two years later in 1964.

Herbert Hoover, the son of a blacksmith and the only U.S. President to hail from the state of Iowa, was born in West Branch on Aug. 10, 1874.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library & Museum. To celebrate its 50th anniversary, three new museum exhibits opened April 21. “Creating the Legacy” explores the history of the building, which has grown from less than 10,000 square feet when it was dedicated to just over 47,000 square feet today.

Another exhibit, “Dining with the President,” features the White House china and menus used by a number of U.S. presidents.

Finally, President Hoover was a great admirer of Abraham Lincoln, and the “Ideas of Lincoln and Hoover” exhibit showcases original manuscripts written by Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. and Theodore Roosevelt on themes such as honesty, humility and hard work - character traits revered by both Hoover and Lincoln.

The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library & Museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $6, $3 for seniors and free for children under the age of 16.

For more information, call (319) 643-5301 or go online to www.hoover.archives.gov.

The Hoover Museum sits on the grounds of the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, which is overseen by the National Park Service. “People oftentimes miss that there's two organizations here,” says Bob Palmer, chief ranger at the National Historic Site. Starting at the Visitor Center, which is next door to the brick post office, you can tour the cottage where Hoover was born, as well as a blacksmith shop, a Quaker Meeting house, an 81-acre tallgrass prairie and the gravesites of Herbert and Lou Henry Hoover. “You can learn about his early life and his humble beginnings,” Palmer says.

The Historic Site's buildings are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. There is no admission fee at the National Historic Site's Visitor Center or to tour the Historic Site's grounds.

Serving as President from 1929 to 1933, Hoover's legacy is often overshadowed by the Great Depression. Yet, he is highly regarded as a humanitarian, helping to provide famine relief around the world. Governor Branstad has declared June as “Humanitarianism and Public Service Month” in Iowa to highlight the contributions of both Hoover and Norman Borlaug, of Cresco, who helped increase crop production around the world.

“During the 20th century, it's conservatively estimated that those two people put together, the work that they did, saved the lives of over a third of the population on the face of the earth,” Palmer says. “Two guys from Iowa, that were born in very humble beginnings.”

Music on the Village Green

“To celebrate the month honoring Hoover, Main Street West Branch is working in partnership with the National Park Service to put on a summer concert series,” says Rod Ness, executive director of Main Street West Branch. Music On the Village Green will be held at 7:30 p.m. every Thursday night in June.

June 7:  Joe and Vicki Price

June 14:  James Kennedy and Friends

June 21:  The Maintainers

June 28:  The Beggarmen