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About The Hood River news. (Hood River, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (July 8, 2015)
A8 Hood River News, Wednesday, July 8, 2015 Hoover Trust donation of $55,000 fuels crucial kitchen restorations at Mt. Hood Town Hall By KIRBY NEUMANN-REA THE LEGACY OF ‘HOOVER LUNCHES’ News editor The countertop re- quires a plastic covering, the dishwasher doesn’t work, and you have to lie on your back to light the pilot light to the stove. But Mt. Hood Town Hall is a venerable and popular meal site for people of all ages of the Upper Valley, especially in the summer when kids do not have ac- cess to school meals. A major donation made possible by a Mt. Hood wo m a n , wh o s e g r e a t - grandfather was Presi- dent Herbert Hoover, will improve the ef ficiency and safety of this commu- nity resource. T h e H o ove r F a m i l y Trust has given $55,000 to the Mt. Hood Towne Hall Association for its kitchen renovation project and meal programs. The Asso- ciation is the non-profit group whose mission is to restore the 101 year old school house along High- way 35 in Mt. Hood, and manage the building as a community center. T h e H o ove r F a m i l y Trust was created by de- scendants of President Herbert Hoover to contin- ue the President’s passion for ensuring everyone has a c c e s s t o fo o d . L e s l i e Hoover-Lauble is a repre- sentative of the trust and long-time Upp er Hood River Valley resident. She had this to say about the contribution to the town hall. “Many remember great-granddad (President Hoover) as the Depression President. Very few are aware of the monumental things he accomplished in Europe in 1915-1917 in feeding millions of people in Belgium and in Russia. It is such a pleasure to honor his le g acy in a small way by helping the M t . H o o d Tow n H a l l achieve its goal of re- building the existing kitchen facilities.” “We are overwhelmed by the generosity of the Hoover Family Trust and its selection of the Mt. Hood Town Hall for this f u n d i n g , ” s a i d Ke l l y Govro, the chair of the town hall association. “It’s difficult to describe how important this con- tribution is to our small non-profit group.” The trust donation will support two important ac- tivities at the town hall. A A Pilot Fund majority ($30,000) of the funds will be directed to the kitchen renovation project. The remaining funds will be used to es- tablish a special account to provide long-term fi- nancial stability to the town hall senior meals program and potentially other meal programs that the town hall could estab- lish. Town hall volunteers serve a meal to seniors every Thursday at noon. Hoover-Lauble and her husband Todd began serv- ing this weekly communi- ty meal 20 years ago. “Directing some of the funds to the kitchen reno- vation hopefully will re- sult in others donating to this critical project as well,” said Hoover-Lauble. “And creating a perpetual fund for senior meals and other potential ‘direct feeding’ prog rams is great. That most certainly follows the premise that great-granddad felt when it came to the masses hav- ing access to food.” (See sidebar for some little- known details.) Mt. Hood Towne Hall As- sociation has been restoring the town hall for nearly 30 years. The last remaining major project is to renovate the entire kitchen area. The existing facility has numer- ous significant problems that must be addressed to have a clean, functional and code compliant kitchen which would allow the com- munity center to achieve its full potential. The association hopes to raise $100,000 for the kitchen restoration. “The $30,000 contribution to the kitchen project gets us off to an amazing start with our fund-raising,” Govro com- mented. “It gives us confi- dence that we will be able to make the kitchen project happen.” When presenting the H o ove r F a m i l y T r u s t f u n d s, H o ove r- L a u b l e added, “On behalf of my- self, and the other Hoover descendants, it is my ex- treme pleasure to be able to make this donation to the Mt. Hood Town Hall. The recent members of the board and many vol- u n t e e r s h ave d o n e s o much to make the build- ing so beautiful. What good is it to our Upper Valley residents if it can- not be used because the kitchen is not functional? Please accept this dona- tion as recognition for all the good things the many volunteers have done to restore the town hall.” LONG-TIME volunteers Leslie Hoover-Lauble and Roger Nelson discuss the many needs of the Mt. Hood Town Hall kitchen: an outdated stove (top photo) and non-function- ing dishwashing machine among them. Town hall meals are a time of com- munity: by chance Hoover- Lauble and cook Heidi Hansberger discovered they have mutual family members in the valley. Hoover-Lauble tore off a section of napkin to make notes. Photos by Kirby Neumann-Rea SAFARI D E T P O D A Find the newest member of your family LINDY D E T P O A D AAD Carol Annala 2495 Cascade Ave, Hood River 541.387.6563 AVI D E T P O A D AAD Herbert Hoover (1874- 1964) served as the 31st president of the United States. Hoover lived in Newberg from 1886-1889. He is best known for bringing on the greatest economic upheaval in his- tory, the Great Depression, but according to histo- ry.com, there are two sides to his legacy. “Although is predeces- sors’ policies undoubtedly contributed to the (Depres- sion) Hoover has born much of the blame in the minds of the American people. As the Depression deepened, Hoover failed to recognize the severity of the situation or leverage the power of the federal government to squarely address it. “However, as a mining engineer by training he was a supreme logician, and was appointed by President Wilson to head efforts during World War I in Europe and afterward in Russia to channel food, medicine and other sup- plies to millions of starving people. “He earned worldwide acclaim for his humanitari- an efforts, as well as thou- sands of appreciative let- ters from people across Eu- rope who benefited from the free meals known as ‘Hoover lunches’.” Happy Tails 70 Acme Rd., White Salmon, WA 509.493.4255 PETER D E T P O D A AAD ROSAUERS 1867 12th St, on the Heights in Hood River • 541.386.1119 GUTHRIE D E T P O A D AAD ROSAUERS 1867 12th St, on the Heights in Hood River • 541.386.1119 HAL BULLET D E T P O AD HAL Cascade Pet Camp 3085 Lower Mill Dr., Hood River 541.354.2267 MYRNA D E T P O D A HAL The Tofurkey Company Hood River • www.tofurke.com 541.386.7766 ROSAUERS 1867 12th St, on the Heights in Hood River • 541.386.1119 JOSIE D E T P O A D AAD Gorge Garden Center 1203 12th St., Hood River 541.386.GROW SKY D E T P O D A PFCA ROSAUERS 1867 12th St, on the Heights in Hood River • 541.386.1119
