A Trip To The Reagan Library

On Friday September 25, 2015 I was fortunate enough to go on a class fieldtrip to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library with my University 198 – intro to interdisciplinary research class. When finding out that we would be taking a trip to the library I was excited to not see anything about the Ronald Reagan but to see the baseball exhibit that is within the library. Sadly we had missed that exhibit by two weeks and so I was really bummed out by they’re being no baseball involved in this fieldtrip. Bummed out and all I still went to the Library I didn’t really know what to expect when going to the Museum because he wasn’t really talked about in most if not all the history classes I had taken. Going into the Museum I was excited by the free Wi-Fi and interactive portions of the exhibits.

Going through this whole portions I felt that the displays where pretty credible they showed the different types of backgrounds that Ronald went through. At times I felt that some portions where very dry and didn’t provide enough information on certain portions like when Regan was purposing to boycott the Olympics.

In the beginning of the tour we were shown the younger years of Ronald Regan. Displayed where his families background and how he was just an ordinary kid. Moving through to his teenage years we discovered that he was an all-star athlete through High School and College. Ronald was shown looking his best and always made sure to stand out. Displayed where some of his achievements through sports showing his letterman and other uniforms. This photo I selected was because at this time era playing football or let alone any sport meant that you were “all American” so this was just a little preparation of all the best all American president mementos to show later on in the museum.

Walking through the exhibit I was in for a major surprise. The aspiration of our former president was to become an actor and model it was something I would have never expected. Ronald Reagan was not only a movie actor but also a
cigarette model. I had found this pretty ironic because typically most politicians avoid the big screen or attention through the media until election time. The curator selected this because it shows how the start of his presidency started with a simple move to Hollywood.

 

Continuing through the exhibit we were in a group like setting that was very quiet. The lights were dim and a video had begun to play and it was a very heavy video to take in and watch. The photo shown was a very memorable moment shown where we no longer see the president almost as if he disappeared but we are clearly able to see a crowd of secret service men and policemen pile on the man who shot at Regan. After going through this experience our president was looked at as a hero for being one of the bravest presidents to go back out. Personally I felt amazed because after the video we had seen we were able to see how quickly he was able to recover and reassure the American people that he is okay.

In a lighter spirit as I finished that portion I was able to see the different types of white house celebrations that went on during Reagan’s terms. This egg roll

explained a lot to me because it is a tradition that still continues in the white house today. These traditions may not seem like much but it is often a time where both the president and first lady can be interactive on a personal level of a few children and adults. Seeing this portion made me feel elated presidents do have time to spend with their families and keep some of there traditions and often share them along with others who wish to part take in celebrations like this.

Being a president of the United States has a greater role than just being a leader. It is about being able to relate to everybody in the United States in anyway possible. Walking through the Library, I couldn’t help but think how much of Ronald Reagan’s personal life still remained during his presidency. Giving credit to the curators for selecting best possible mementos on Reagan’s presidency, I

was always on my toes. What caught my eye was Ronald’s love for jellybeans. The Love for Jellybeans was something I believe was closely thought out. It was a “pull factor” used to make him look very relatable. The Jellybeans where strategically placed throughout the museum in the oval office, Air force one, and even during his precedential meetings there was always jellybeans in the photo or display. This pull made it feel a bit more personal to me.