Early South Coast Conservationist: Theodore Hoover (3)

He may have been Theodore to the world, but when they were alone Mildred affectionately called him “Tad.”

The young Iowa-bred couple had much in common. Similiar childhood experiences gave them a special understanding of each other. Tad knew how to comfort Mildred, emotionally scarred by the loss of her mother, who died of complications during Mildred’s birth. He had suffered similar grief losing his parents as a small child. They thought of themselves as “orphans,” providing inner strength for these “soul mates.”

It was not radom choice that led Theodore to Stanford. He had joined his younger and more ambitious brother, Herbert, also enrolled as an engineering student. Herbert excelled in the fields of geology and mining, and, like his older brother, he too fell in love with and married a gal from their home state of Iowa.

….to be continued…