Samantha Pryor
Communications Director
Abilene, Kan. - The Eisenhower Presidential Library will host the Lunch & Learn program, "Ike and Oveta," on April 23, 2026, at 12 p.m. CDT. The hybrid program will take place in the Library building indoor courtyard and will be available online via YouTube Livestream. Guests attending in person should arrive by 11:45 a.m. The library will provide a light box-lunch on a first-come, first-served basis.
Dr. Don Carleton, founding Executive Director of the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin, will discuss the historically important relationship between President Dwight Eisenhower and Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby.
Carleton's discussion will trace the close bond forged between the two native-born Texans, beginning during World War II when Hobby served as the founding commander of the Women’s Army Corps. Their friendship continued through the postwar years. Hobby later led the Democrats for Eisenhower organization in 1952. She became the second woman in a presidential cabinet as Secretary of the new Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW). In her role at HEW, she oversaw the development of the polio vaccine. Hobby retired in 1955 due to her husband's failing health and later returned to her journalism career as the Houston Post newspaper publisher. She continued to serve as an informal adviser to Eisenhower until 1961.
Carleton, a historian with a doctorate in U.S. history, is the founding Executive Director of the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History. He is the author of 15 books, including Red Scare, Conversations with Cronkite, and The Governor and the Colonel: A Dual Biography of William P. Hobby and Oveta Culp Hobby. He has also produced two PBS documentaries and served as a historical consultant to figures such as Walter Cronkite and U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen.
The 2026 programming season is dedicated to celebrating America's 250th anniversary.
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