April 29, 2024
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Celebrate President Reagan’s Feb. 6 birthday at Dixon event

By Charlene Bielema
Former President Ronald Reagan waves during a 1990 visit to Dixon; it was his final trip to his hometown. Reading books such as "That Printer of Udell's" as a youth exposed Reagan to role models that he later recalled after his rise to the White House, a Sauk Valley Media editorial noted on June 5, 2006 – two years after Reagan’s death on June 5, 2004, at age 93.

Former President Ronald Reagan waves during a 1990 visit to Dixon; it was his final trip to his hometown. Reading books such as "That Printer of Udell's" as a youth exposed Reagan to role models that he later recalled after his rise to the White House, a Sauk Valley Media editorial noted on June 5, 2006 – two years after Reagan’s death on June 5, 2004, at age 93. (Shaw Local File Photo)

On this date in 1911, a baby boy was born in Tampico. He would attend high school in Dixon, work his way through Eureka College, become a movie star and, in 1980, be elected president of the United States.

Today is a day to remember and celebrate that hometown boy – Ronald Reagan, or Dutch as he was known by many – on the anniversary of his birth. That’s what will happen tonight at 6:30 at the Northwest Territory Historic Center, where residents are invited to gather and celebrate Reagan’s birthday.

The Reagan Boyhood Home and Northwest Territory Museum have partnered to offer this celebration, during which historian Tom Wadsworth in a presentation titled “The Reagan Brothers’ Story”, will share how Neil Reagan helped to shape his brother, Ronald, into one of our nation’s most beloved presidents. Neil, who went by the nickname Moon, was the powerful force driving his younger brother to the presidency.

As a native of Fulton, I am very eager to see this presentation. That’s because Fulton also has ties to the Reagan family.

Ronald and Neil’s father, John (Jack) Edward Reagan, was born July 13, 1883, in Fulton, according to the city of Fulton website. John lived with his Aunt Margaret in Bennett, Iowa, after the death of his parents. On his return to Fulton as a young adult, he worked as a clerk in J.W. Broadhead’s dry goods store. He was a salesman with particular success in the shoe business. He lived in Tampico, Dixon, Chicago, Galesburg and Monmouth.

Ronald Reagan’s mother, Nellie Clyde Wilson Reagan, was born July 21, 1883, in Fulton, the youngest of seven children of Mary Ann Elsey and Thomas Wilson. Nellie’s father left them when Nellie was 7 and her mother died when Nellie was 17. Nellie worked as a milliner in Fulton.

On Nov. 8, 1904, when Jack and Nellie were 19 years old, they married at Fulton’s Immaculate Conception Church and for a time lived at 907 12th Ave. Their son John Neil was born in 1908; son Ronald Wilson was born three years later. Both were born in Tampico. Two of the boys’ great aunts, Mary and Margaret, ran a millinery shop in downtown Fulton.

Among the Fulton sites with ties to the Reagans is the Fulton Catholic Cemetery on North Fourth Street, which contains the Reagan family plot. I grew up just a couple blocks from that cemetery, not knowing until years later that several of the former President’s relatives, including grandparents and aunts and uncles, are buried there.

Tonight’s presentation will be a great way to learn more about the Reagan family. The event is free and open to the public at the Northwest Territory Historic Center, 205 W Fifth St., Dixon.

Oh... and there will be birthday cake! So come on over and celebrate!

Charlene Bielema is the editor of the Dixon Telegraph and the Sterling Gazette.

Dixon City CouncilHistoryRonald Reagan Boyhood Home
Charlene Bielema

Charlene Bielema

Charlene Bielema is the editor of Sauk Valley Media.