Lou Henry Hoover

Lou and Girl Scout Cookies

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First Ladies - 1900 to 2000

Lou Henry Hoover*

President Herbert Hoover*

Lou Hoover at the White House Girl Scout picnic*

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First Lady Lou and President Herbert Hoover
First Lady - 1929 - 1933
Quotes from Lou - 

• "It is very possible to have both a home and a career, (for) in this modern age we are released from so many of the burdens our grandmothers and great-grandmothers had to bear."
• "I majored in geology in college but have majored in Herbert Hoover ever since."
• "I was a Girl Scout years ago, before the movement ever started, when my father took me fishing, camping, and hunting. I was sorry that more girls could not have what I had. When I learned of the movement, I thought: Here is what I always wanted other girls to have."
  

​F​actoids -

• Lou was first President's wife to make a national radio broadcast to the public.
• Lou was one of the first women to receive a geology degree in the United States.
• Lou was spoke fluently in over 7 different languages.
• Lou, as President of the Girl Scouts, helped coordinate one of the first Girl Scout Cookie Drives in 1935.

Bio - 

• Lou Henry was born in Iowa and also grew up in California.  She loved nature and especially geology.  Lou became one of the first women in America to major in geology at Stanford, where Lou met and married a metallurgy student, Herbert Hoover. Lou and Herbert traveled the world, even living in China, as he worked for a mining company.
• Herbert won the Presidential election by a huge majority.  Lou set to work with her First Lady duties, hosting Girl Scout meetings, campouts, and picnics at the White House.  She advocated for women's mental and physical health. She garnered criticism for hosting pregnant women and an African-American congressman's wife at a tea party!  Back in the time, pregnant women usually did not appear much at social gatherings.  On a global level, Grace helped American citizens escape from Europe while World War I was developing.
• With the 1929 Stock Market Crash and the beginnings of the Great Depression, Herbert lost his bid for re-election, but he and Lou worked hard to help provide food for the needy in America.

About Herbert - â€‹Herbert Hoover was the 31st President.  His  Presidency was defined by the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression, which began shortly after he took office. Although he implemented some public works and aid programs, his policies were seen as insufficient and out of touch. He lost his re-election bid due to widespread economic hardship and public dissatisfaction.

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Girl Scout Cookies

Lou was active in the Girl Scouts, acting as their National President, editor of American Girl magazine, and helping to begin what eventually became one of the largest charity fundraising efforts - Girl Scout Cookie sales!  The magazine printed a recipe for Girl Scout Cookies that could be made for 26 cents for 6 dozen and sold for 25 cents a dozen.

Ingredients -  Yield: 6 dozen
 1 cup butter
 1 cup sugar
 2 eggs, beaten slightly
 2 tablespoons milk
 1 teaspoon vanilla
 2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Steps

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare cookie sheets by greasing or lining with parchment.
2. Cream together butter and sugar.
3. Beat in  eggs, milk, vanilla, flour, and baking powder.
4. Refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.
5. Roll thin, cut, and bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges begin to brown.

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Portrait Credits*
Lou Hoover - oil painting artist - Richard Marsden Brown, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; on porch - National Photo Company, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; girl scout picnic - Harris & Ewing, photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
​Herbert Hoover - author unknown, Library of Congress, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons