Raised With Quaker Values

In this meetinghouse, the Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers, practiced principles of simplicity, honesty, equality, peace, and service to others. These values shaped young Hoover's character and were evident in his humanitarian endeavors and interest in public service. The Quakers worshiped in silence until the "spirit" moved someone to speak. To encourage individual worship and female participation, men sat on one side of the partition and women and children on the other. Herbert's mother, Hulda, was an inspired speaker who sat with the elders in the front on raised benches, opposite the congregation. She conducted revivals, young people's prayer meetings, and temperance campaigns. The primitive furnishing of the Quaker meetinghouse and the solemnity of the long hours of meeting while awaiting the spirit to move someone were strong training in patience.

West Branch, Iowa · United States