On the old streets of the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site on the corner of Poplar and Penn sits the ES Hayhurst House. This old historic home is only a stone’s throw away from Jesse Hoover’s Blacksmith Shop and the Birthplace Cottage. To visitors, it looks like one of several locations managed by the National Park Service in West Branch. To siblings Jim Johnston and Joyce Sedlacek, both of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, it is much more than that. It is a place rich with memories of their grandparents, childhood, and Herbert Hoover.

Herbert Hoover was a household name for the family. As Joyce said about him, “Our mother loved everything about Hoover except that he smoked a pipe. She would say that he was raised differently than that.” Both expressed that you could not grow up with a mother like theirs and not have an appreciation for Herbert Hoover, and just like a Hoover, she was very proud of the Quaker’s Friends Church and West Branch.

Their mother’s first exposure to Herbert Hoover may have helped shape her opinion. In 1928, Hoover returned to West Branch to formally announce his candidacy for President. On this trip, the future President picked up their then seven-year-old mother, Thelma, and patted her head. What an exciting moment for a young child. This interaction is just one way the family interlinked with the Hoovers.

Their great uncle, Ralph Branson, was the first caretaker of the grounds of the Hoover Campus. He married Herbert Hoover’s second cousin, Gladys. When Herbert Hoover came to town, Gladys would sit on the stage with him. Their Great Uncle Ralph also had one other fascinating tie with the family. The first schoolteacher of Ralph Branson’s mother, Miriam Negas Branson, was Herbert Hoover’s mother, Hulda Minthorn Hoover.

The family of Jim and Joyce can be seen standing on the corner in the lower left watching the parade celebrating Herbert Hoover’s birthday in 1948.

A favorite family story, one that Jim and Joyce were present to experience, was Harry S Truman’s brief visit to their grandparents’ home. On August 10, 1962, the day of the dedication of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, Truman told their uncle that he needed to use their restroom. His emphatic plea was, “I’ll pee my pants!” Understanding his predicament, he was led into their home. That toilet was forever after known to the family as “Harry’s throne.”

As a child, Joyce would take her dolls to play in the Birthplace Cottage. At that time, rules for accessing the house were far more lenient. For those who have toured the Cottage, you may have noticed an antique rocking cradle. Joyce would use it to rock her dolls to sleep, while she passed the time in the historic home. For visitors, visiting the humble cottage home of a future President leads to moments of reflection. To Joyce, it was just another afternoon in West Branch.

The siblings have a very strong interest in their own family history, which has led to their deep interest in Herbert Hoover’s history. They have many stories of their family’s interaction with Herbert Hoover, as they were present for his visits, and a strong appreciation for the example he set. As Jim said, “If you don’t know your history, you’ll repeat it. You learn from history.”

During a recent visit, the National Park Service opened the ES Hayhurst House to Jim and Joyce for a visit. The home had changed some. Their grandfather, who came to Iowa as a barn builder, worked as a contractor and had made changes to the house that were undone for historical integrity. The front porch was once a patio. The south wall in the living room previously had a large picture window that was replaced with two modestly sized windows. A ground floor room on the west side was once a garage. Mostly, what they saw was very familiar and evoked fond memories of their family and childhoods. It was an opportunity to step into the past and remember their life in another time.

Jim and Joyce both feel that educating children on the Hoover story is vitally important. This is why they have chosen to give to the Timeless Values | Modern Experience campaign for the renovation of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. They feel it is the best way to tell Hoover’s story, and that story, the real Hoover story, is not told as much as it should be. They were quick to make the point that the Great Depression was such a miniscule part of it. His work as a humanitarian is often missed.

Jim expressed some of what he learned in more recent times, “The humanitarian part, that’s the thing. I remember the first time I saw those feed sacks and was bowled over. We didn’t know about his help in Russia.” Joyce added, “This is the education we hope to be supporting. Being in education for all my career, it’s just so important that we don’t lose that. The whole idea of helping the Hoover Foundation and Hoover Library and spreading that story.” Jim followed, “He was a humanitarian and had love for others. His wife did, as well.”

Herbert Hoover’s humanitarian work around the world is what has left the greatest impression on both of them about his legacy. Both of their parents took those humanitarian lessons to heart. Jim spoke of his mother, “We were raised to serve. Mother would sometimes get upset with dad. He would take a call at 8:00 pm that someone was out of gas or had a leaky faucet, and he would only charge $1, because they needed it.”

Jim reflected, “Hoover never forgot about West Branch. He was a citizen of the world and always came back.” Joyce added, “We weren’t world citizens but still have the same value system to serve. We can still help people.” To that point, Jim emphasized, “People are the greatest invention.”

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