CC w Chris Day 3

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2014 09 04 Day 3



Not much to report today. We got an earlier start than usual, leaving the motel at 8:09. It was raining, but not so much that it made driving difficult. When we got to President Herbert Hoover's Birthplace and Museum about two hours later, it was sunny and warm.



The Hoover museum and birthplace was very interesting and informative. We spent about a half an hour at the blacksmith shop listening to the blacksmith explain what life was like when Hoover was a child, and how things were made back then.



I had always thought that Hoover was responsible for the Great Depression, but apparently, it was more Coolidge and Mellon than Hoover who caused the depression. Hoover acted according to prevailing economic theories of the time (which were horribly wrong) believing that his actions would limit the effects of the depression. That, along with the Roosevelt administration blaming Hoover for the country's ills, gave Hoover a bad reputation.



It turns out, however, that Hoover was one of the great humanitarians of the 20^th century. He pretty much single-handed saved the entire population of Belgium during World War I. He was solicited by Wilson (if I remember correctly) to provide food to the Belgians who were caught between Germany and Russia and were facing extreme famine. His brilliant management and diplomatic skills enabled him to create and operate and organization that obtained massive amounts of food through donations and government funding and transport it to Belgium during the war, saving the Belgian population from starvation. He was also extremely active after his presidency in various civic and charitable causes, often working 12 – 14 hour days into his eighties.



We then drove to Sioux City, arriving around 5:30. During the long, boring (very boring) ride, Chris kept commenting on the long, very boring ride. I began to wonder if there was an airport in Sioux City.

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Comments

[Cheryl Cole]

Testing
Hi...Love your post, every bit of it.

[Rick]

Hmmm. A bit different?
Can't just turn the two way radio off like you did when Bill complained too much? Funny..