Pilgrims and Pioneers: Happy Belated Birthday Mr. President

Welcome To Pilgrims and Pioneers!

After many years of researching my family geneaology I have been lucky enough to discover actual information about my relatives that lived in the Pilgrim Era and the Pioneer Era- while many people also have realtives from those eras- many do not know their names or where they lived- actually seeing the proof in print makes you much more aware of who they really were.
After discovering these relatives it of course made me curious to learn more about the eras that they lived in and what their lives were like as, the history I learned in grade school had long since been forgotten.
I decided to start this blog for others who are also interested in these eras.
Some of the information here will be actual facts about my realtives and some will be information about the eras in general that I have found on the web.
I hope you will enjoy traveling back in time with me!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Happy Belated Birthday Mr. President

Tonight I watched a program on the History channel about Ronald Reagen.
As I watched it brought back to me how in awe I am of this man.
I am not very politically oriented so I can not tell you that he was the best president nor can I tell you he was the worst. Just the fact that he was the president is enough.
He was born Feb. 6, 1911 to Jack and Nell Reagen in Tampico, IL

Tampico is where most of my relatives were from and where my father was born- almost 10 years after Ronald Reagen. It is about 15 miles to the South of me. Tampico is defintely podunk America- a blink your eye and it is gone kind of town. It has not gained much by being his hometown and still remains very small.
Ronald Reagen was not born into a prosperous life. His home in Tampico was an upstairs apartment with an alchoholic father and a religious mother.
His father could not hold a job due to his drinking and the family moved from small Illinois town to small Illinois town so his father could get work.

Dixon, Il ( 15 miles to the East of me) seemed to be a better place for the Reagen's. In high school he worked at Lowell Park - a park along the Rock River- working at the concession stand and as a lifeguard saving many lives from the mighty Rock!

He left Dixon and became a radio announcer in Des Moines, IA and then onto Hollywood! His dashing good looks and his talent soon made him a famous actor.
He also hosted a tv program for General Electric for many years.
In 1966 he beacame Governor of California and was Governor until 1975.

Of course the rest is History as he served two terms as President of the United States.
It is sad that this man was afflicated by Alzhiemer's diesease but the accomplishements he nade in his lifetime are nothing short of amazing.
To think that he was born in such a small town in a one room apartment over a tavern to parents who had huge financial struggles is a tribute to his greatness.
And so I wish a Happy 100th birthday Mr. President- may you always rest in peace.