May/June 2022 (Volume 14, Issue 3)

 

By Terry Branstad and Margaret Hoover

 

Iowa values are timeless. But in our divided times, we may need a nudge to remember that Iowans have long embodied honesty, generosity, and altruism.

 

One of the great symbols of that spirit sits in the humble town of West Branch. It’s the birthplace and resting place of Herbert Hoover — the only American President born in Iowa. And it’s about to become a major player in reinforcing Iowa’s evergreen ideals.

 

Straddling rural Cedar and Johnson counties, West Branch is home to the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. Opened in 1962 alongside his dear friend Democrat President Harry Truman and rededicated in 1992 by Republican President Ronald Reagan, the time has come to revive this great home-grown cultural institution.

 

Thanks to a new state tax credit, we now have the ability to tell the Great Humanitarian’s story in new ways that will resonate with a new generation. 

 

Iowa’s generosity is legendary. It’s rooted in our culture and values. And there’s perhaps no better place to look for an embodiment of those local values — and their global reach — than the epic life of Herbert Hoover.

 

It’s a story of an orphaned nine-year-old Quaker boy who grew up to become a self-made mining engineer millionaire by the age of 40 — and then decided to dedicate himself to a life of public service. In the middle of the first world war, he dedicated himself to famine relief, saving millions from starvation while pioneering the model for modern food relief organizations like UNICEF. Hoover was the man America called upon to coordinate disaster relief after devastating natural disasters like the 1927 Mississippi River Flood, earning him the title the “Master of Emergencies.”

 

It’s also the story of a loving lifelong partnership with a wife from Waterloo named Lou Henry, who shared his passion for geology and material sciences and who, as First Lady, was a trailblazer for racial equality and helped grow the Girl Scouts — and the sale of those famous cookies — into a force today. It’s an American story of the both rugged individualism and America’s voluntary spirit that strengthens our communities that all Iowans can take pride in — a heritage to carry forward to inspire future generations.

 

That’s why, as co-chairs of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum’s visionary campaign, “Timeless Values | Modern Experience,” our goal is ambitious: to evolve Iowa’s only presidential museum into a thoroughly modern destination — an uncommon experience that reflects the uncommon lives of service that Herbert and Lou Henry Hoover embodied. Renovating the museum — both the building and the experience itself — will allow us to welcome an audience inclusive of all ages and backgrounds to an immersive learning experience that makes civics, humanities, and history come alive — and inspire visitors to advocate for positive change in their own communities. The updated exhibition space and immersive experience will rival those of more widely recognized presidential museums, all while keeping our welcoming, humble Iowa charm.

 

Thanks to the new Hoover Tax Credit Program, created to leverage gifts in support of the renovation, Iowa residents can invest in Iowa’s future while lowering their income tax expenses. And with a goal to unveil the renovated space on Aug. 10, 2024, on what would be Hoover’s 150th birthday, we have no time to waste.

 

We hope you will join your fellow Iowans in supporting a true treasure for learning — not only about history and civics, but also about ourselves. Find out more at TimelessValuesCampaign.org.

 

(Terry Branstad and Margaret Hoover are the co-chairs of Timeless Values | Modern Experience: The Campaign for the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. Branstad is the former governor of Iowa and former ambassador to China. Hoover, great-granddaughter of Herbert and Lou Henry Hoover, is the host of PBS’ “Firing Line with Margaret Hoover.”)