Stories of Inspiration-Volume Two

The Secret keeper of Presidents- The Story of Ike Hoover

On September 17, 1933 President Franklin Roosevelt sent a telegram to the widows of former Presidents Benjamin Harrison, Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge and to former President Herbert Hoover.  The country was in the midst of the Great Depression and President Roosevelt certainly had a lot on his plate.  What was the reason for the telegram?  President Roosevelt was sharing his grief over the death of “Ike” Hoover, who for 42 years was the chief usher of the White House.  This was a man who these presidential families knew and respected a great deal.   According to FDR “It was Ike Hoover who met me at the door when I first came into the White House as my home…his passing is a  tremendous personal loss…The nation, too, has lost a true and faithful public servant.”

 Irwin Hood Hoover was born in 1871 and began his career as an electrician working for Thomas Edison.  In 1891, he was sent by Edison to assist in installing electricity in the White House.   Electricity in homes was still a relatively untested and unknown improvement in 1891 and President Benjamin Harrison and his wife Caroline were afraid of this new technology.  They were so afraid, in fact, that they asked Hoover to stay at the White House to help with the transition to electric power.  Over the next few years his responsibilities increased until President William McKinley named him chief usher.   What does a chief usher do?   Among Hoover’s responsibilities were the running of all social functions of the house, the presentation of credentials from foreign dignitaries, the arrangement of seating at White House dinners and he is generally the man seen holding the Presidents umbrella.   Time Magazine in its March 4, 1929 issue describes Hoover as “…he who inspects all callers, engineers all receptions, arranges all of the First Lady’s teas and sends the White House motor hither and yon”.  The magazine described Hoover as tall and dignified, but what struck me as inspirational about Ike Hoover was not his dignified look, but his consistently dignified character throughout his 42 years of service.  Through the administrations of nine presidents, I am sure Hoover overheard more than his share of “presidential secrets”.   It is rumored that he was offered $50,000 to write a “tell-all” book about his White House experience, which he turned down.  “When I pass out, everything goes with me”, Hoover calmly explained.

At some point, Hoover did record his memoirs, which were published the year after his death.  These memoirs, however, were a witty perspective of the American landscape over his years of service, and not the scandalous gossip sheet that they could have been.  His commentaries on the presidents that he served ranged from his colorful descriptions of Theodore Roosevelt’s children turning the White House upside down with activity after William McKinley’s quiet, dignified tenure, McKinley’s constant cigar smoking and a touching description of the devastation of the stroke that disabled President Woodrow Wilson in 1919.

Some of his duties were humble and he was treated with varying degrees of respect by different administrations.  He oversaw the weddings of both Theodore Roosevelt’s daughter Alice and Woodrow Wilson’s daughter Eleanor.  He was privy to the courtship of President Wilson with his second wife Edith Galt after the death of Wilson’s first wife Ellen in 1915.  Some leaders, however, were less friendly.   President Herbert Hoover (no relation) resorted to not speaking to most of the White House staff during the onset of the Great Depression in 1929.  Nonetheless from the early 1890’s to the beginning of Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency in 1933, Ike Hoover ran the White House like a smooth machine.  Democrat or Republican, it made no difference to Hoover.  This is the inspiration I found in Hoover.  Here is a man who did his best work behind the scenes, who was obviously excellent at what he did and who displayed discretion and respect both for the office of President and for the men who held the office and their families.  He can be held as an excellent example of work ethic, discipline and devotion to duty.

DON’T MISS IT!

For an intimate look at the life of White House servant staff, view the DVD Backstairs at the White House, a 1979 mini-series based on Lillian Rogers Park’s memoir My Thirty Years at the White House.   In the movie, Ike Hoover is portrayed by actor Leslie Nielsen. 

 

2.     Although out of print, copies of Ike Hoover’s memoir  Forty-Two Years in The White House are available at used bookstores and large excerpts are available online.

 3.        The White House usher is often seen holding the President’s umbrella.  It a humble job, but important.  Whose umbrella do you hold?  Become an umbrella holder, do something out of the limelight because it is the right thing do to, without seeking the credit for it.

      4.   There is a common saying “Loose lips sink ships”.  Imagine the discretion and self-discipline that Ike Hoover must have possessed. Are   you as trustworthy?  Begin today to be a person that others can trust. 

5.      Ike Hoover was originally hired to wire the White House, a six month job.  He stayed for 42 years.  You never know where today’s adventure will lead.  No matter what you do, put your stamp of excellence on it and you may find yourself invited to stay on longer than you ever expected.

Stories of Inspiration- Volume One

  A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words- The Edward Hopper Story

On the wall of the Art Institute of Chicago is a painting that has become an American icon.   As you stand in front of the painting, you cannot help but immerse yourselves in speculation about the characters in the painting.  It is a simple canvas with several non-descript customers sitting at an all night diner.

We are viewing their night through the front window of the diner and we wonder what conversations are taking place, what stresses each of the diners have dealt with that day and how just taking a load off at this diner is relieving that stress. We imagine conversations; we give meaning and depth to the bleakness of the all night diner. The painting is called Nighthawks and was painted by the American artist Edward Hopper in 1942.  It is the most famous of Hoppers’ works and depictive of his simple, scarcely populated paintings that nonetheless awaken our imaginations.  It has been parodied, re-populated and animated. It’s most famous parody was the replacement of the obscure characters with Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Humphrey Bogart and Elvis Presley.  The parody is called Boulevard of Broken Dreams and like the original Nighthawks has become a part of our American landscape.  

Edward Hopper was born July 22, 1882 in Nyack, New York.  He was a prolific painter with over 3000 canvasses painted, however, what inspires me most about Edward Hopper is first, his ability to say so much with so little, and his ability to overcome years of obscurity to finally, become an “overnight success” at age 41.    A person only has to study some of Edward Hopper’s most famous paintings to see how much he “says” with a seemingly empty landscape.   Hopper began studying art in 1899, first at the New York School of Illustrating and then at the New York School of Art.  He studied under Robert Henri and William Merritt Chase, who in turn was educated by famous American painter John Singer-Sergeant.  Hopper remained at the NY School of Art for seven years as he was considered a slow learner.  In 1906, he left for Paris and was to spend most of the next six years abroad.  At age 31, in 1913, he finally sold one of his paintings Sailing.  He could not support himself with the sales of his oils or his watercolors and spend the next several years as a commercial illustrator to make ends meet.  In 1920, The Whitney Studio Club offered Hopper his first solo exhibition and Hopper contributed 16 paintings, but did not sell a single one.

Finally, in 1924, two things happened that would change Edward Hopper’s life and help him become the inspiration that he is.  First, he married a fellow artist Jo Nivison, who herself was an inspiration to Hopper.  Next, he had his second solo exhibition at the Rehn Gallery and this time his exhibition sold out.  He was 42 and suddenly people couldn’t get enough of Edward Hopper.  Often what is seen as overnight success is actually years of toiling in obscurity waiting for a breakthrough.  Over the next 20 years, painting after painting appeared that piqued the interest of critics and the public alike.  Paintings such as House By the Railroad (1925), Chop Suey (1929), Early Sunday Morning (1930) and Gas (1940) are still discussed by art students today.  He has been described as a “prophet of loneliness” and a pictorial poet who recorded the starkness and vastness of America.  Hopper never gave up on his dreams and from 1925 until his death in 1967, enjoyed his place as a celebrated American artist, probably the most well known of the American realist painters.  He is an inspiration to young artists and to middle age businessmen chasing their dreams to not give up, to continue to work hard and to achieve the object of their goals.  As Susan Goldman Robins, author of Edward Hopper: Painter of Light and Shadow wrote, “Hopper’s is a story of determination, hard work and success.”

Don’t Miss It!

1.      Visit the Art Institute of Chicago to see Nighthawks.  Sit in front of it with a notebook for a good 15 minutes and record everything that comes to mind about the painting.  Think about the relationship between the man and woman at the counter.  Think about the day the lonely businessman has had, imagine the thoughts of the waiter.  The key here is to get your imagination running and slowing your pace down enough to pull observations from the seemingly vacant painting.

 2.  Visit an excellent website on Edward Hopper www.edwardhopper.com where you can purchase reproductions of his prints, books on his life, and view many of his most famous works. 

3.    Never give up on your dreams.  At 41, Edward Hopper had painted over 20 years, sold one painting and had to make a living as a commercial illustrator, something that by all accounts he hated.  At 42, he was newly married, and had an entire exhibition of his work sell out at the Rehn Gallery. From that point forward, finances changed and Hopper was able to paint what he wanted, when he wanted.

 4.    If you have a budding artist in your house, purchase the book Edward Hopper: Painter of Light and Shadow by Susan Goldman Robins, published by Abrams Books for Young Readers.  It outlines the story of Edward Hopper in an especially inspirational way for young artist.

5.     Edward Hopper said “The man is the work.  Something doesn’t come out of nothing.”  Does your work reflect who you are as a person?  Does the quality match the quality you want to display to the world?  Is your signature on all that you do and is that signature distinguished?