PRESIDENT HERBERT HOOVER - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 08/17/1936 - HFSID 5928

HERBERT HOOVER
The former President thanks a Virginia woman for birthday greetings in the year in which he endorsed Republican Presidential candidate Alf Landon.
Typed Letter Signed: "Herbert Hoover", 1p, 7¼x7¼. No place, 1936 August 17. On sheet imprinted with his name to Mrs. Frank Wadleigh, Alexandria, Virginia. In full: "It was good of you to send me the birthday greetings. I greatly appreciate the friendship of which it is such evidence. Yours faithfully". Hoover had celebrated his 62nd birthday on August 10. In the year of this letter, Hoover had entertained thoughts of becoming the Republican Party's nomination for President. When Kansas Governor Alf Landon was nominated, Hoover actively supported Landon in his unsuccessful bid to defeat FDR, Hoover's successor. We have found reference to a Frank Wadleigh who was passenger traffic manager for the Denver and Rio Grand Western Railroad. This Frank Wadleigh was responsible for bringing the Arches in Utah to the attention of Stephen T. Mather, the first director of the National Park Service. In 1929, Hoover signed an executive order that made the Arches a national park. After the Hoovers had left the White House (March 4, 1933), they returned to Palo Alto, California, where Mrs. Hoover designed their home on a hill overlooking the Stanford University campus, where they had met while students. Herbert Clark Hoover (1874-1964) served as the 31st U.S. President from 1929-1933. Blamed by many voters for the Great Depression, he had been defeated in his bid for re-election by Franklin D. Roosevelt. Hoover, a capable administrator, had headed the Food Administration to provide relief to Europe and Russia during and after WWI and served as Secretary of Commerce under Presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge (1921-1928). The second President to attain the age of 90 years (John Adams was the first), Hoover lived a record 31 years after leaving the presidency. During his "retirement", he was appointed to commissions to oversee government agencies by Presidents Harry S Truman (1947) and Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953). Hoover also wrote a number of books and articles. Encapsulated. Lightly creased with folds, not at signature. Fine condition.