CLOSE-UP of FEATURED HOOVER ARTIFACTS
ARTIFACTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD include a map depicting the Siege of Tientsin drawn by Herbert Hoover, Chinese and other Asian treasures collected by the Hoovers, exquisite Belgian lace, and currency from several European countries.
PERSONAL ARTIFACTS include a Burmese brass lantern that hung in the Red House, a baby jacket worn by both sons, Herbert Jr. and Allan, and selections from Mrs. Hoover's pewter collection,
Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, West Branch IA

"It's a country of red dust, black flies, and white heat," Hoover wrote of western Australia while camping in a small tent. Hugely successful as a mine manager, Bert soon became a consultant to the imperial government of China in 1899. Sailing first to California to marry his college sweetheart, Lou Henry, the newlyweds settled in Tientsin (now Tianjin ). Their beautiful brick home became a target during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900. Shells that hit the house during a six-week siege destroyed many possessions.

Over the next 17 years, the Hoovers raised two sons, Herbert Jr. and Allan, while Bert traveled the globe as the world's foremost mining engineer. "The Red House" in London , England became their home base: a stately mansion with steam heat, an oak-paneled library, walnut-paneled dining room, and a garden with a fish pond.

During World War I, a German blockade threatened the entire country of Belgium with starvation. The first of many famine-related organizations were led by Hoover to stem the crisis, starting him on "the slippery slope of public life." Over his lifetime it is estimated that Herbert Hoover was responsible for feeding more than a billion people in 57 countries.