by Bob Spitz
“It deals with the Ku Klux Klan”: WTROM, p. 8.
“There was no more grievous”: AAL, p. 30.
While barnstorming as a traveling: Jack is reputed to have said, “I’m a Catholic, and if it’s come to the point where you won’t take Jews, you won’t take me, either.” WTROM, p. 9; AAL, p. 30.
“ultra-ultra-conservative”: Greg Langan, interview with author, Oct. 7, 2013.
Let us not be weary: II Corinthians 6:9.
Be kindly affectioned: Romans 12:10.
God loveth a cheerful giver: I Corinthians 9:7.
“for the benefit of the American Public”: Afterhours Inspirational Stories (inspirationalstories.com).
started for the Whiffle Poofs: “Haymakers Manage to Change Luck and Win,” DET, Dec. 15, 1924, p. 7.
“he was very slow of foot”: “Remembering Ronald Reagan,” p. 11.
and played outfield: Dutch had a hit and scored a run. “North Central Team Is Winner of Tournament,” DET, May 7, 1924, p. 2.
“worshipped football more”: AAL, p. 38.
He was good at it: “Or maybe my father was simply blessed by genetics.” Ron Reagan, My Father at 100 (New York: Viking, 2011), p. 129.
he would spring high: Waldman, “Ronald Reagan’s America.”
“a better than ordinary student”: “Remembering Ronald Reagan,” p. 11.
“just an average student”: “His real interest was in dramatics and sport.” Freya Lazier quoted in Ibid., p. 10.
“She was very pretty”: Esther Haack, interview with author, Jan. 28, 2014.
Her name first started: “Prosperous Year Christian Church Shows in Reports,” DET, Jan. 17, 1924.
often opposite Nelle Reagan: They first appeared together in “The Pill Bottle” (May 6, 1924), during a recital (June 10, 1925), and in a church program (May 3, 1926).
“The King’s Birthday”: DET, Dec. 22, 1924.
“They’d walk along the street”: Esther Haack, interview with author, Jan. 28, 2014.
Chautauquas were the most popular: Ibid.
“for money is power”: Smith Zimmerman Heritage Museum, Dakota State University, Madison, South Dakota, Chautauqua files.
“in the 1920s”: AAL, p. 44.
“Dutch and his brother”: In a Mar. 2, 1985, interview with Anne Edwards, Bill Thompson says: “Dutch and Moon used to get their bits by carrying water to the elephants . . . and following the parade path.” Original transcript provided to the author by John Thompson.
paying eighteen dollars: RR remembers it as $15 in his memoir, WTROM, p. 27; but in many interviews Ruth Graybill insists that $18 is accurate (for example Wills, Reagan’s America, p. 32); and insists $16 in “Remembering Ronald Reagan,” p. 7.
Charles Russell Lowell: A plaque at the beach says “Charles Russell Lowell, Colonel of Second Massachusetts Cavalry, Brigadier General United States Volunteers, Killed at Cedar Creek, Virginia, October 19, 1864.”
“Lowell Park was a great”: Greg Langan, interview with author, Oct. 7, 2013.
And he’d even been invited: Brandi Lagner, interview with author, Oct. 7, 2013.
“You’re pretty young”: Ruth Graybill, quoted in “Remembering Ronald Reagan,” p. 7; Dan Miller, “Reagan Legend at Lowell Park,” DET, Feb. 4, 1984.
their old Dodge truck: James M. Perry, “Reagan’s Roots: Illinois Boyhood Meant Football, Swimming and Falling in Love,” Wall Street Journal, Oct. 8, 1980; Wills, Reagan’s America, p. 31; Beier’s Bakery and Hartzell & Hartzell, Polk’s Dixon City Directory, 1926–1927.
“Dutch was no-nonsense”: Esther Haack, interview with author, Jan. 28, 2014.
“a mob of water-seeking humans”: Ronald Reagan, “Meditations of a Lifeguard,” The Dixonian, 1928.
“He was the perfect specimen”: Dan Miller, “Friends Take Pride in Dutch Reagan,” DET, Feb. 4, 1984, p. 4.
“I had a friend”: Anonymous source, quoted in “Remembering Ronald Reagan,” p. 8.
“At the first hint”: “Superman Reagan Saved Our Lives,” National Enquirer, June 25, 1985.
“look over his glasses”: Bill Thompson, interview with Anne Edwards, Mar. 2, 1985, original transcript.
“The drowning person invariably”: “You Saved My Life,” DET, undated, Sept. 1941.
“I sank under the water”: “Superman Reagan Saved Our Lives.”
“One second he was on a raft”: Ibid.
“He was unconscious”: “Bert Whitcombe Was Near Death Saturday,” DET, undated.
“He started for a float”: “The one time I was really scared was about a blind man.” “Superman Reagan Saved Our Lives.”
“a right cross to the jaw”: Ron Reagan, My Father at 100, p. 124.
“I had to be pulled out”: The Unfinished Oral History of District Judge James Benton Parsons, p. 127, Ib7.uscourts.gov/oralHistories/parsonsJames.pdf [inactive].
“Dutch Reagan Has Made”: DET, July 23, 1932.
“When the beach was not busy”: Ruth Graybill, quoted in “Remembering Ronald Reagan,” p. 7.
Dutch would perform graceful: “He was a beautiful diver.” Miller, “Reagan Legend at Lowell Park.”
Dutch set a record: “Water Carnival Monday Proved Great Success,” DET, Sept. 4, 1928.
“He was everyone’s hero”: “Remembering Ronald Reagan,” p. 11.
“All the young teacher”: Ibid.
“every girl talked about”: Esther Haack, interview with author, Jan. 28, 2014.
“Me—I was in love!”: WTROM, p. 22.
“Somebody,” Dutch said: AAL, p. 41.
“I thought I was going”: Ibid.
Helen Cleaver, Margaret’s sister: “Reagan was in our house all the time.” Wills, Reagan’s America, p. 18.
He even taught Dutch: Ibid.
More than likely, he counseled: Records of the First Christian Church, Dixon, IL.
For the Indian Ritual: Original program, Jr. and Sr. Powwow, June 2, 1927.
“Everybody was a little scared”: Esther Haack, interview with author, Jan. 28, 2014.
Nov. 11, 1918: RRPL, PPP 1918–80, Series II, Handwriting File, Box 49, date.
Yale Comes Through: Ibid., Nov. 17, 1927.
heading “School Spirit”: Ibid., Nov. 4, 1927.
“to get under the skin”: AAL, p. 42.
“He fit into almost any”: Bernard Frazer, quoted in “Reagan’s Dixon,” pamphlet (Dixon, IL: Official Dixon Press, 1980).
“He never forgot his lines”: Bernard J. Frazer, quoted in Waldman, “Ronald Reagan’s America.”
Dutch talked incessantly: “He was always talking about being in plays. I remember he said he’d love to be an actor when we grew up. When the talkies came in, he’d do imitations.” Esther Haack, interview with author, Jan. 28, 2014.
Radio came to Dixon: Greg Langan, interview with author, Jan. 6, 2016.
KDKA—the country’s first: “I remember sitting with a dozen others in a little room with breathless attention, a pair of earphones attached tightly to my head, scratching a crystal with a wire.” WTROM, p. 17.
The Reagans didn’t have: Brandi Lagner, interview with author, Oct. 7, 2013.
“To hear the chimes”: Gladys Shippert, quoted in Waldman, “Ronald Reagan’s America.”
“severed his connection”: DET, April 3, 1928, p. 7.
Going to college was: AAL, p. 44.
“an almost mystical allure”: Ibid., p. 45.
“It was even lovelier”: Ibid.
SIX: “LIVING THE GOSPEL”
The Bible was the essential: “The Bible is a regular textbook and every student may prepare and recite a lesson in it at least once a week.” From an 1871 catalog, in Harold Adams, The History of Eureka College, 1885–1982 (Eureka, IL: Eureka College, 1982).
Alva Wilmot Tay
lor: Dr. Junius Rodriguez, interview with May 4, 2015.
Irwin St. John Tucker: Ibid.
Samuel Glen Harrod: “He was an imposing bear of a man.” Anthony Glass, interview with author, May 4, 2015.
Dutch’s “inflated tales”: Ron Reagan, My Father at 100 (New York: Viking, 2011), p. 147; “Coach didn’t like the way Reagan claimed to be the star of Dixon High.” Unnamed source, quoted in Edmund Morris, Dutch (New York: Random House, 1999), p. 67.
“Dutch Reagan took care”: The Dixonian, 1928.
“created on the fly”: Anthony Glass, interview with author, May 4, 2015.
The $270 board would: “In 1928 Ronald Reagan Embarked for College,” DET, Presidential Edition, Feb. 28, 1981.
Dutch made it a point: “Ben Radford was one of the first people that Reagan met at Eureka.” Dr. Junius Rodriguez, interview with author, May 4, 2015.
Social reform . . . social justice: “His lectures . . . were calculated to social justice.” And: “His viewpoint was that what was needed was social reform.” Burrus Dickenson, quoted in Myron S. Waldman, “Ronald Reagan’s America,” Newsday, Jan. 18, 1981.
“He couldn’t stand the rampant”: Sam Harrod Jr., quoted in “In 1928 Ronald Reagan Embarked for College.”
Even so, Dutch got C’s: RR’s Eureka transcript provided by a confidential source.
“The practice might be compared”: Raymond Holmes, Raymond Holmes: His Family and Research with a Bang (Richmond, VA, 1998), p. 78.
“a sizable pool of shadow”: WTROM, p. 33.
one of the TKE fraters: “In 1928 Ronald Reagan Embarked for College”; “It was wonderful to hear the response from all parts of the cemetery.” WTROM, p. 34.
There was a dress code: AE, p. 84.
“took a head count”: Sam Harrod Jr., quoted in “In 1928 Ronald Reagan Embarked for College.”
“slow afoot, average”: Ralph McKinzie, quoted in Dennis L. Breo, “Eureka! At 90, Reagan’s Coach Still Calling Signals,” Chicago Tribune, Sept. 7, 1985.
“an austere, flinty”: Morris, Dutch, p. 67.
“revered and loved”: AE, p. 86.
“Dutch—I put him”: Ibid., p. 87.
“You played offense”: Edwin Wilson, quoted in “In 1928 Ronald Reagan Embarked for College.”
“I told everyone”: WTROM, p. 25.
“was already known”: Burrus Dickenson, quoted in “In 1928 Ronald Reagan Embarked for College.”
“Domineering” and “driven”: Thomas F. Driscoll, “Memories of a Student Rebel,” Peoria [IL] Evening Star, Mar. 8, 1981.
He was so dead-set: Peoria [IL] Evening Star, Mar. 8, 1981.
Committee of 21: Dr. Junius Rodriguez, interview with author, May 4, 2015.
It took less than a week: “Students Ask Resignation of Eureka Prexy,” Champaign [IL] News-Gazette, Nov. 20, 1928.
“cutting out the heart”: WTROM, p. 26.
“The board was outgunned”: Dr. Junius Rodriguez, interview with author, May 4, 2015.
On November 23, The Pegasus: The Pegasus, Nov. 23, 1928.
Dutch recalled looking: “Everyone was hidden by a newspaper.” WTROM, p. 27.
doubled as a common room: Anthony Glass, interview with author, May 4, 2015.
“I’d been told that I”: WTROM, p. 28.
“We the students of Eureka”: Daily Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL), Nov. 29, 1928.
“they came to their feet”: WTROM, p. 28.
“heady wine”: Ibid., p. 29.
“We put Reagan on”: Garry Wills, Reagan’s America: Innocents at Home (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1987), p. 48.
He was exhilarated: “For the first time in my life, I felt my words reach out and grab an audience, and it was exhilarating.” AAL, p. 48.
“Neighbors and relatives”: Mildred Neer, quoted in AE, p. 92.
“In some strange way”: WTROM, p. 29.
Dutch for the Brat: Jean George Nathan, The Popular Theater (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1918), p. 187.
“I’d tolerated Mac”: AAL, p. 48.
a “strong Republican”: “My husband was a strong Republican. Reagan was only a kid, so he thought the Democrats were the best ones.” Ruth Graybill, quoted in Myron S. Waldman, “Ronald Reagan’s America,” Newsday, Jan. 18, 1981.
“an offer too good”: AAL, p. 49.
“Mr. Kennedy says if”: Neil Reagan, interview, UCLA Center for Oral History Research, June 25, 1981, p. 7.
“It was about three-quarters”: Dr. Junius Rodriguez, interview with author, May 4, 2015.
“If it was twenty below”: Samuel Harrod Jr., quoted in “In 1928 Ronald Reagan Embarked for College.”
“Ronald very seldom cracked”: “Ronald actually has a photographic memory that’s pretty phenomenal.” Neil Reagan, interview, LCA, undated 1968, p. 6.
“And yet I have”: Ibid.
“a good plugger”: Ralph McKinzie, quoted in “In 1928 Ronald Reagan Embarked for College.”
“He’d sit in front of a radio”: Neil Reagan, interview, LCA, undated 1968, p. 6.
“O, we’ll whoop ’em up”: “Eureka College Songs” handbook, Eureka College, courtesy of Anthony Glass.
“They ran down the floor”: Samuel Harrod Jr., quoted in “In 1928 Ronald Reagan Embarked for College.”
he was the swim team: “In the beginning, Reagan was the swim team.” Anthony Glass, interview with author, May 4, 2015; “If we had other swimmers, OK. If not, Dutch was it.” Samuel Harrod Jr., quoted in “In 1928 Ronald Reagan Embarked for College.”
He wasn’t a giant-killer: “At Saint Victor on March 22 [1930], he . . . got two fourths.” Ron Reagan, My Father at 100, p. 126.
evident the following year: “His 51 seconds for the 100-yard free-style was a state time.” Samuel Harrod Jr., quoted in “In 1928 Ronald Reagan Embarked for College.”
The Dover Road: “Dutch and Mugs: College Sweethearts,” Peoria [IL] Journal Star, Mar. 8, 1981.
“In those days”: Mark Shields, “A Sporting Interview with the President,” Washington Post, Mar. 2, 1981.
SEVEN: “THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MARGARET”
In March, they were inducted: “The pledges included Margaret Cleaver and Ronald Reagan.” The Pegasus, Jan. 8, 1929.
a profusion of social: The Pegasus, May 28, 1929; story headlineas before, The Pegasus, Nov. 9, 1929; The Pegasus, Nov. 23, 1929; AE, p. 107.
He’d never considered: “I discovered that in addition to athletics, the other thing that had gotten under my skin was show business.” Mark Shields, “A Sporting Interview with the President,” Washington Post, Mar. 2, 1981.
especially after Dutch’s: WTROM, p. 44.
“He was an indifferent student”: “Dutch and Mugs: College Sweethearts,” Peoria [IL] Journal Star, Mar. 8, 1981.
“wanted more than he had”: Motion Picture, November 1939.
Rumors persisted of another woman: “There were rumors of another woman, perhaps a professional.” Ron Reagan, My Father at 100 (New York: Viking, 2011), p. 182.
“near starvation stalked”: “City Wages War on Hard Times,” DET, clip found in Anne Edwards’s research files, undated 1932, p. 158.
“always well dressed”: Mary Emmert, quoted in Garry Wills, Reagan’s America: Innocents at Home (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1987), p. 58.
During 1931, foreclosures hit: Time, Jan. 4, 1932.
The John Deere Company: Greg Langan, interview with Oct. 7, 2013.
The Reynolds Wire factory: Ibid.
Like Dutch, Margaret required: From artifacts provided to the author by Eureka College.
There is a transcript: Anthony Glass, email to Junius Rodriguez, May 1, 2015, provided to author.
The University of Illinois: Scott Krinninger, University of Illinois, interview with author, May 29, 2015. “There i
s no matriculation record that [Margaret Cleaver] ever enrolled at the University of Illinois.” When the author inquired if her record might be elsewhere or misplaced, he responded, “Not a chance.” The university’s morgue [obit] files, student files, and microfilm collection of transcripts were all examined by the university archivist.
“she could have gone away”: Dr. Junius Rodriguez, interview with author, May 4, 2015.
the Baby Fold: Greg Langan, interview with author, Oct. 7, 2013.
taken this “for fun”: Anthony Glass, email to Junius Rodriguez, May 1, 2015, provided to author.
with “absurdly handsome”: “He was, granted, absurdly, handsome—though in a boyish, wholesome sort of way.” Ron Reagan, My Father at 100, p. 180.
Dutch’s grades junior year: RR’s college transcript, Eureka College archives.
“This Younger Generation”: Written Oct. 27, 1931. RRPL, Pre-Presidential Papers 1918–80, Series II Handwriting File, Box 49.
“Sweet Young Things”: Written Dec. 6, 1927, Ibid.
“He was no star”: Ralph McKinzie quoted in “In 1928 Ronald Reagan Embarked for College,” DET, Presidential Edition, Feb. 28, 1981.
“Elmhurst hadn’t lost a game”: Henry Allen, “The Saga of Burgie and Dutch,” Washington Post, Mar. 7, 1981.
“There were many towns”: Raymond Holmes, Raymond Holmes: His Family and Research with a Bang (Richmond, VA, 1998), p. 36.
“Klansman, Klanswomen, Kiddies”: From a 1924 Labor Day advertisement in the Kewanee Daily Star, Eureka College archives.
“your two colored boys”: “I can take everybody but your two colored boys.” AAL, p. 52.
“Mac, if you do that”: Shields, “A Sporting Interview with the President.”
“‘We can’t serve you here’”: “I’m telling you how difficult it was in the Midwest.” Allen, “The Saga of Burgie and Dutch.”
“took an awful lot”: “In those days if you had a black playing on your team. . . .” Shields, “A Sporting Interview with the President.”
a tuba player in the college: “Neil was playing the tuba in the band.” Griff Lathrop quoted in Harold Adams, “Reagan’s College Years Recalled by Fellow Students,” Woodford [IL] County Journal, Oct. 16, 1980.
“On campus, he was”: Mary Eleanor Harrod, quoted in Myron S. Waldman, “Ronald Reagan’s America,” Newsday, Jan. 18, 1981.
