Travels with Eleanor #11: Herbert Hoover, the Goddess Isis, and the Presidential Race - by Nan Brooks
The Veiled Isis, a gift to Herbert Hoover from the people of Belgium.
When the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site invited
my “Eleanor” for a visit, I had no idea she would be expected to fire a gun or
that I would discover a statue of a Goddess in tribute to a U.S. president. Or
that I would declare the winner of a presidential race.
First, I had to get there. The site is located near Ames, Iowa and the drive from
Indiana was tougher than I’d thought it would be. My heart rhythms were ragged,
the air conditioning on my little car failed en route and it was July in corn
country. At one point I stopped at a rest stop in Illinois and lay down in the
grass from sheer exhaustion. I slept there for over an hour, which was
certainly neither safe nor smart, and left me itching. Later, just after I
crossed the Iowa state line, I caught a little red flash out of the corner of
my eye. The gas tank warning was on, it was after midnight, and I was miles
from just about anywhere. The next exit turned up miles later and I took it,
figuring that if I ran out of gas I would at least be off the interstate. I was
troubled that I hadn’t even thought about needing gas. A few miles off the highway, I found a
little gas station/quick stop market and got back on the highway. I’d used my flip phone to call the bed and
breakfast where I was to stay and let them know how late I would be, as I
recall. I had no money for a motel, so had to press on. I hoped I would have enough
physical energy and mental clarity to get through the three days of appearances
and meet the terms of my contract. I was just plain scared and knew it was not
wise to be traveling alone. It strikes me that I remember the drive so clearly, but not the performance. This was another firm reminder that it was time to stop
touring.
The bed and breakfast owners were sweet, and I managed
a couple hours’ sleep, then went to meet with the event planners at the site. On my way to the meeting I came upon a statue that
stopped me in my tracks. She was veiled and powerful and I knew at one it was a
Goddess. She is over seven feet tall and holds two symbols. Her right hand holds a small torch with three flames to represent the past, present and future. Her left hand holds the key of life. The plaque read
“I
am that which was and is and
Will
ever be, and no mortal has yet
Lifted
the veil which covers me”
This was Isis, Goddess of Life, the gift to Herbert
Hoover from the people of Belgium for his work to ease their suffering in the
famine during World War I. She holds a
I needed to know more about Herbert Hoover. All I remembered
was that he preceded FDR in the White House and had been unable to reverse the
Great Depression or to provide for veterans. In May 1932 over 1,000 veterans had arrived in
Washington, DC. They had been promised bonuses during World War I that had
never been paid; their families were suffering. Eventually, over 20,000 other
vets and their families arrived. Many of
the veterans pitched camp in a park and refused to move. In July, the bill
providing their payments had passed in the House but failed in the Senate
(sound familiar?), which added fuel to the veterans’ rage. President Hoover sent
the army to evict them, led by General MacArthur, whose men set fire to the camp. This incident sealed Hoover’s reputation as
insensitive, at best, to the needs of the country’s poor. It helped FDR get
elected, too.
This may be a Bonus Army photo.
By the time Franklin Roosevelt took office, there were
more veterans encamped in a park near the White House. So Eleanor went to visit,
listened to their stories and concerns, and promised help. Someone in the press
coined the phrase, “Hoover sent the Army; Roosevelt sent his wife.” It was one
of the many stories that set the tone for the New Deal as part of the response to
the Depression.
I heard a podcast recently by historian Heather Cox
Richardson in which she pointed out that at least one of Hoover’s cabinet
members had told him he must focus government aid to the stock market and big
business, but Hoover resisted. Here is an example of how history goes in
cycles, eh? At the time I write this, the current president is insisting upon
rescuing “Wall Street” rather than the country’s suddenly unemployed and poor.
He wants to lift the constraints urged by public health experts as a way to
mitigate the spread of the Covid 19 virus. Like the members of Hoover’s cabinet, he wants
to focus on the stock market and big business instead of mitigating the
suffering of poor people, who could be helped by government bonuses.
Hoover’s resistance to his cabinet’s urging in 1932 is
not surprising, as the Goddess statue indicates. In 1914 the people of Belgium
were starving. Hoover, who was head of the US Food Administration, urged the US
government and the public into action. He successfully asked people in this
country to conserve food so that it could be sent to Europe and became known as
the “Master of Emergencies” for his humanitarian actions.
Hoover, head of the Food Administration,
asks the US public to help feed starving Europeans
Here is information
from the Cornell College website:
Herbert Hoover
created the Commission for Relief in Belgium (CRB)
to help the victims of famine. At the time of the CRB's foundation, the United
States had not yet entered the war, and Hoover was viewed as a neutral
negotiator. As a result, he was personally able to deal with the English,
French, and German governments, so that the CRB could bring aid to the famished
citizens.
Food relief was essential because 10 million
Belgians and French were dependent on it during the four years of German
occupation. The first ship to deliver goods to the Belgians carried 1,018 tons
of wheat, rice, beans, and peas. Close to 2,500 other ships took 5 million tons
of food to the innocent civilians. By working together, Hoover and prominent
Belgian officials ensured that the acquired food was given directly to the
citizens of the starving areas.
… Even after the United States entered
the war in 1917, Hoover still helped combat hunger. As the appointed head of
the United States Food Administration (USFA),
he encouraged the Americans to conserve food. Through these efforts, there
would be enough to send to Europeans in need. Once the war ended, he continued
to help arrange relief as head of the American Relief Administration for all of
the European countries, as well as defeated Germany and the other Central
Powers. In this capacity, Hoover enabled 6 million tons of food to be sent to
just about every European country.
Herbert Hoover is, thus, credited with saving
close to 10 million lives in this region —about 2 million in northern France,
and approximately 7 million Belgians.
I probably talked about Hoover’s care for the starving
Europeans from the stage as Eleanor; I hope
so, at any rate. I remember only that the stage was not shaded and very hot,
that I was dizzy, that there had been a big thunderstorm that caused some
damage, and that my performance was shortened somehow or other. I remember a variety
show on the stage with folks from the local community. And I remember the Presidential
Race, one of the cleverest community events I’d seen at the time.
The town of West Branch was on the route of a very
long bicycle race that was set to whiz through the town that weekend. There
would be hundreds of cyclists, all moving fast, so residents offered food and
water to the cyclists and cheered them on. To build upon that community interest,
the town held a serious half marathon, I think it was. The whole thing was to
begin with a foot race, a very short foot race, that included all the
presidents in the surrounding area: the presidents of women’s organizations
like NOW and the League of Women Voters, service organizations like Rotary and
Kiwanis, the school board and PTAs and quilting clubs and farmers’ coops. I
admired the willingness of all those folks to run in the July heat. My job
would be easy: I was to start them off by saying a few words and firing the
starting pistol. My new heart meds required that I stay out of the sun, so I
fashioned a wide-brimmed straw hat. I determined to say only one sentence and
be merciful to the runners and all their cheering families.
Somehow or other I had told the site director the
story about Eleanor, the Secret Service, and how she locked the gun they provided
in her glove compartment. He asked, “Are you comfortable firing the starter’s
pistol? It is loaded with blanks, you know.” I responded that I thought Eleanor
would be uncomfortable. He offered to fire the pistol and I would say whatever
one says, something like “Take your mark.” I stayed around to cheer the runners across
the finish line and hand them cups of water, which tickled most of them to my
delight.
I remember the kindness of a young couple I met at the
B & B. He was a historian doing research at the historic site library, she
was there for a quick visit over the July holiday. They invited me to go with
them into Ames one evening in search of entertainment. I was so touched by
their kindness and we had a great conversation about their lives. I’ve visited
several college towns – small cities with large universities seem to share a sort
of cultural atmosphere. The images run together in my memory, but that sort of
community always feels like home to me.
My memories may lack details, but the kindness that
surrounded me everywhere I went is still clear and I am grateful.
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