Hoover: The Great Humanitarian

Twenty million tiny beads fill giant plexiglass panels in a new exhibit at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Museum and Library in West Branch.

Each bead represents a life.

On one side of the display, 10 million black beads represent the estimated 10 million military casualties of World War I. On the other side, 10 million white beads represent the lives saved by humanitarian food aid in Belgium and Northern France during the conflict.

Behind that effort was Iowa native Herbert Hoover, who would go on to become America's 31st president. The exhibit, 'The Making of the Great Humanitarian: Herbert Hoover and WWI,' focuses on Hoover's efforts.

'We were trying to illustrate the sheer numbers Hoover dealt with and the challenges,' exhibit builder Dan Yeager said.

Herbert, born in West Branch, is the only president from Iowa. He started his career as an engineer and financier, and he and his wife Lou Henry Hoover were in London when war broke out. U.S. ambassador to Britain Walter Hines Page enlisted Hoover's assistance to get Americans stranded in Europe home. Hoover responded by organizing a massive effort from London's Savoy Hotel that helped some 120,000 Americans secure passage across the Atlantic.

The Savoy Hotel events started him on the path of public service. His attention next turned to a looming humanitarian disaster in Belgium, which Germany had invaded. The Germany army seized Belgian food supplies for its own soldiers, and food imports were blocked by the Allied naval blockade.

Hoover became chairman of the Committee for Relief of Belgium, a neutral entity which received assurances of safe passage for aid shipments from both sides of the war. Soon shipments of American food were arriving in Belgium. The efforts are credited with saving 2.5 million children between 1914 and 1918.

In 1917, President Woodrow Wilson appointed Hoover U.S. Food Administrator, where he continued his food relief efforts. Through a huge marketing campaign, he convinced Americans to voluntarily reduce their food consumption 15 percent without having to resort to rationing. Efforts like 'Meatless Mondays,' and 'Wheatless Wednesdays,' along with campaigns to promote food conservation not only saved enough food to keep Allied soldiers fed but built up a surplus food store that helped prevent a postwar famine in Europe.

'This is really the story of how Hoover became a great humanitarian and the events that propelled him into the presidency,' says Jerry Fleagle, executive director of the Hoover Presidential Foundation. 'I think it's important for people to realize how he actually got into public service.'

Beyond Hoover, the exhibit also delves into World War I generally — it marks the onset of the war 100 years ago. Visitors can practice sending messages via Morse code or semaphore flags and view art made from spent shell casings.

Panels tell the stories of other Iowans in the war, from Merle Hay, believed to be in the group of the three first American serviceman to die in World War I, to Marion Crandell, the first American woman killed in action in the war.

Patrons can also visit 'The Trench,' a long, darkened hallway closed off from the rest of the exhibit. Inside, flashing lights and sounds of booming explosions and gunfire pair with animatronic soldiers to evoke an atmosphere of war. Small screens line the wood-covered walls, where visitors can watch footage of World War I soldiers involved in trench warfare.

Outside the museum, visitors can view a 48-foot replica ship, which models one of the relief vessels used to transport American food relief to Europe. Patrons can also visit a tent 'Belgian Village,' and taste a typical meal served to Belgian children receiving food aid.

The Hoover Presidential Foundation raised $600,000 for the project, the largest ever temporary exhibit to come to the museum. It will be on display through Oct. 25.

• What: 'The Making of the Great Humanitarian: Herbert Hoover and WWI'

• Where: Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, 302 Parkside Drive, West Branch

• When: Through Oct. 25. Open daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Cost: $10 for adults; $5 for seniors, active and retired military members, and college students; $3 for children 6 to 15; free for children under 5

• Extras: June 22 to 28 is Iowa Teachers Week; free admission to the museum for any teacher with their school ID