Hoover Dreaming...

Credit McDonald’s and its local boosterism for this one: if one peers closely at the port window, you’ll see Hoover standing, dignified, between two other personages. As anyone who visits West Branch and the Hoover presidential library knows, McDonald’s is one of its few reliable dining options (yes, Reid’s Beans, you are a local treasure!). On the right, are some of our ex-president’s choice words. Really, the entire display brightened my day as a victory for public history.

The words I like most: “ordered freedom.” Now, if only we all thought about those words carefully each time we munched on our Big Mac ‘n Fries….

But the other words, at least, are heartening to see above dozens of locals, scrambling kids, and devoted visitors to this humble little town.