Exclusive Report by Larry Greenfield, Executive Director, Reagan Legacy Foundation

Part 1: Eureka !

To celebrate the 99th birthday of his father, Ronald Reagan, Michael Reagan and the Reagan Legacy Foundation decided to return to the very special birthplace, Tampico, Dixon (boyhood hometown), and beloved college of our nation's only President born in Illinois.

On Friday, February 5, Michael, Reagan Legacy Foundation board member Jay Hoffman and his wife Dulce, and I flew on American Airlines from Los Angeles to Chicago, and were efficiently whisked through a short two hour drive in a light snowfall to Eureka College, the alma mater of President Reagan.

That lovely white cold dusting on the ground is not sand, we were told...they call it snow! Fun for Southern Californians to see!

Eureka College was a fabulous first stop on our two day Illinois tour. Established on February 6,1855 (ironically the same birthday as Ronald Reagan), Eureka College is the idyllic liberal arts college.  Founded by Christian abolitionists, it was one of the first U.S. colleges warmly to welcome women and African Americans.  

The only living classmate of Ronald Reagan, in fact, is a fondly remembered woman named Willie Sue Smith, 99, who stayed in touch with Dutch Reagan long after their graduation in 1932.

Eureka College celebrates many stories of young Ronald Reagan: his girlfriend, the lovely Margaret Cleaver, (daughter of the Pastor who was very close to young Ronald Reagan), coach McKinzie who inspired young Dutch Reagan to stay in school and keep at his studies and sports, and Ronald Reagan as Teke fraternity brother, Alpha Epsilon Sigma drama society member, and popular President of the student body, who graduated with dual economics and sociology degrees.

We drove up College Drive and saw the wonderful sites....the Reagan Trail, the slanted football field where right guard Reagan played hard with a leather helmet, the impressive and charming Reagan Museum, (lovingly curated by Dr. Brian Sajko), the Reagan Peace Garden, and the Church / Hall on campus where Ronald Reagan, at age 17, gave his first speech as a freshman, and gained the confidence as a leader that would serve him throughout his life as broadcaster, actor, spokesman, leader, Governor, and President.

Ronald Reagan, who arrived to campus in 1928 as a modest means boy in a modest time for a nation heading into the Great Depression, often shared his love of his Eureka College years....stating "everything that was good in my life began here."

Noteworthy, Eureka, which means Moment of Discovery, is also the motto of the Golden State of California, Reagan's beloved adult home state.

Ronald Reagan at Eureka College took advantage of the opportunity for a journey of self discovery and leadership, and he remains an inspiration to the school's current students, especially the Reagan Fellows.

Many of these students, beginning their intellectual lives in science, history, and the arts, are acutely aware that they are at a special place.

Eureka College is the only school to host Abraham Lincoln, who spoke there in 1856, campaigning for the first Republican national Presidential candidate, Californian John C. Fremont, as well as Ronald Reagan, who returned to Eureka College several times for major celebrations and Presidential addresses.

Special kudos to John Morris, the indefatigable head of the Ronald W. Reagan Society, his associates and staff, especially Kelly Gschwend, and to College President Dr. J. David Arnold, student body President and Ronald Reagan Day Dinner speaker Elizabeth Hoff, a Reagan Fellow and Senior in Pre-Med, and to Mike Murtagh, VP of Development, and Michael Thurwanger, Ph.D., Reagan Leadership Program Director.

What a day.  Michael Reagan spoke privately to the Eureka College Reagan Fellows, movingly addressed the Reagan Day Dinner of Eureka College, (which included the honorable Dan Rutherford, local State Senator and candidate for Illiois State Treasurer), participated in the Founders Day Formal Convocation, and mingled with the special guests and supporters of Eureka College.

Ronald Reagan was adoring of his four years at Eureka College.  This beautiful small-town Illinois college, home today to 767 very special, bright, close-knit students, hosted Presidents Lincoln and Reagan, modeled integration and pluralism in its student body, and remains loyal to Ronald Reagan and the principles that inspired him....love of America, love of humankind, intellectual discovery, and pure mid-western good-natured, down-to-earth optimism in all things.

Not as famous as our nation's fancy elite universities,

'Neath the Elms upon the campus,
Glorious to view,
Stands Eureka Alma Mater
Faithful, tried and true

Praise to thee, o fair Eureka.