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Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home
Dixon, Illinois |
I associate Ronald Reagan so much with the glamour of Hollywood, it's easy to forget he actually had Midwestern roots. As a boy, he moved around pretty frequently, but he considered Dixon to be his hometown.
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| Bedroom Reagan shared with his older brother |
The people of Dixon are very proud of their connection to the president. A private commission funded by citizens bought the "Sears catalogue house" that the Reagan's lived in when Reagan was president, and fixed it up to the way it was when he was a boy.
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| Table where the president ate during his visit |
Part of the fun of the tour was hearing about the tour Reagan took of the house after it was restored. He apparently found the loose tile in the fireplace where he used to hide pennies from his brother, and stuck a few pennies back under it for good measure.
President Reagan, his brother Moon, and Nancy all had lunch in the house as well, prepared by a White House Chef in the house's working kitchen. The chef was going to use the White House China, but when Reagan heard the china in the house was donated by his former 5th grade teacher, he insisted on using her china.
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| Statue of Reagan at the riverfront in Dixon |
Like the people of Georgetown's devotion to Grant, the people of Dixon have an incredibly sweet relationship with Ronald Reagan. He returned their affection and returned to Dixon even after his presidency, not for the good press, but simply to come home.
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