(Radio Iowa) – This year marks what would’ve been the 150th birthdays of both President Herbert Hoover and his wife, Lou, and a special exhibit will open tomorrow (Saturday) at his birthplace in West Branch to celebrate the sesquicentennial. Aaron Scheinblum, spokesman for the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, says visitors will discover the lives of the Hoovers in a completely new way, highlighting their birthdays over the decades and the celebrations in their honor. “More than 70 items from our museum collection are actually coming out of storage and being put on display,” Scheinblum says, “and what makes them so unique is they all have ties to birthdays over the years for both Bert and Lou Hoover.”

new exhibit is called “Hoover 150: A Birthday Celebration,” and Scheinblum says it will offer a unique perspective on some of the Hoovers’ most intimate moments with friends and family.  “Our museum staff has, without exaggerating, spent weeks researching, diving into the diaries of Lou Henry Hoover,” he says, “trying to figure out exactly what memories match up with what item, to be able to tell such a unique story as you go through the walls and go through the galleries.” From childhood through adulthood, visitors to the West Branch facility will be able to experience some of the Hoovers’ great birthday memories through items that have never before been on public display.

“We’re actually showing a lot of different things as far as thank you cards, birthday cards — these giant birthday cards that he was honored with,” he says, “and a lot of correspondence, a lot of back and forth, sharing these memories with friends and family.” Sheinblum says this is a temporary exhibit that will only be up through the end of the year, and it provides an opportunity for visitors to discover the Hoovers in a remarkable way. “We actually have a number of Lou’s dresses in our museum collection,” Scheinblum says. “We were actually able to find what Lou was wearing, specifically on her birthday, while during her time in the White House, and one of those dresses is perfectly described and actually in our museum collection.”

library and museum will be closing early next year for what’s billed as a complete remodel and renovation. The 20-million dollar project is expected to take 12 to 15 months. For the remainder of this year, it will be open every day, with the only exceptions being Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.

https://hoover.archives.gov