5 Things To Do in the Sauk Valley: Reagan’s 111th birthday party, and other ways to learn about US presidents with Illinois ties

Ronald Reagan’s 111th birthday celebration will be Feb. 6 and President’s Day will be Feb. 21.

Illinois is considered the home state of four U.S. presidents, though only Reagan, born in 1911 in Tampico, has the birthright.

Abraham Lincoln was born Feb. 12, 1809, in Kentucky, but moved to Illinois, later residing near Decatur, then New Salem and Springfield. Ulysses S. Grant was born April 27, 1822, in Ohio and moved to Galena with his family after his initial military career ended in 1860. Barack Obama was born Aug. 4, 1961, in Hawaii, then attended college in Chicago and served as a U.S. senator from Illinois.

So this week’s 5 Things to do in the Sauk Valley will commemorate presidents with Illinois ties — but especially the youth with the Dutch-boy haircut who would become the nation’s 40th president.

1. Attend an eleventy-first birthday party!

Here are two events at Reagan sites. The Ronald Reagan Birthplace Museum at 111/113 Main Street in Tampico will have an open house from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Tours will be conducted of the birthplace, which is part of the Main Street Historic District and on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. For inquiries, contact Joan Johnson at 815-622-8705. The Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home, 810 S. Hennepin Avenue in Dixon will celebrate Reagan’s birthday with free admission for a docent-guided tour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Young America’s Foundation will have free cupcakes — while supplies last.

2. Connect with the past

The Northwest Territory Historic Center, 205 West Fifth Street in Dixon offers many exhibits about Reagan’s life, including the President Reagan History Room, the restored “Dutch” Reagan Classroom and a selection of Reagan Movie Posters. The center also includes the Abraham Lincoln History Room. The center is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Call 815-288-5508 for information.

3. Presidential road trip

Start with a visit to the Grant home in Galena, which is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. The Lincoln-Manahan House — where Lincoln slept in 1856 — is a museum at 607 E. Third Street in Sterling operated by the Sterling Rock Falls Historical Society. It opens by appointment (815-622-6215). Swing by 115 Lincoln Statue Drive in Dixon and take a gander at the outside of the Old Settler’s Log Cabin, formerly the site of Fort Dixon. The sculpture of Abraham Lincoln commemorates his time as a volunteer in the Black Hawk War of 1832. Then it’s back in the car to the Ronald Reagan Museum and Peace Garden at Eureka College in Eureka. It’s open late, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday, then 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday.

4 Enjoy a page-turner

We asked librarians for worthy presidential titles that can be checked out (a big chore because they have extensive collections on the subject). Here are their recommendations:

Rock Falls Public Library

“I Love You Ronnie: The Letters of Ronald Reagan to Nancy Reagan” by Nancy Reagan

“Ronald Reagan: A Life in Photographs” by Peter Robinson

“Reagan the Hollywood Years” by Marc Eliot

“Lincoln and Grace: Why Abraham Lincoln Grew A Beard” by Steve Metzker

“Lincoln: The Presidential Archives” by Charles Wills

Sterling Public Library

“Vicksburg : Grant’s campaign that broke the Confederacy” by Donald L. Miller

“An American Life : An autobiography” by Ronald Reagan

“Lincoln in Private: What His Most Personal Reflections Tell Us About Our Greatest President” by Roland C. White

“The President and the Freedom Fighter: Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglas & Their Battle to Save America’s Soul” by Brian Kilmeade

“Promised Land” by Barack Obama

Dixon Public Library

“Presidential Courage” by Michael Beschloss

“The Reagan Diaries” by Ronald Reagan

“Abe: Abraham Lincoln In His Times” by David S. Reynolds

“Washington: A Life” by Ron Chernow

“Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America” by Douglas Brinkley

5. Presidential cinema

We’re still waiting for the pending release of “Reagan,” featuring Dennis Quaid with Guthrie, Oklahoma, standing in for 1920s Dixon. Until then, check out:

“The Conspirator (2010).” Director Robert Redford’s film examines the trial against Mary Surratt, who is portrayed by Robin Wright, who owned the boarding house where John Wilkes Booth plotted the assassination of President Lincoln. James McAvoy plays Frederick Aiken, her lawyer, and Kevin Kline is Secretary of State Edwin Stanton.

“Ulysses S. Grant (2002).” This TV documentary in two parts was produced for PBS in its American Experience series. It is narrated by Liev Schreiber and examines the life of the general and president.

“Southside With You (2016).” Film looks back on a sunny summer afternoon in 1989 Chicago. Tika Sumpter plays Michelle Robinson and Parker Sawyers is Barack Obama on their first date.

“Young Mr. Lincoln (1939).” The biographical look at the early life of President Lincoln was directed by John Ford and stars Henry Fonda. The screenplay was nominated for an Academy Award and the film was selected in 2003 for preservation by the United States National Film Registry for its cultural and historical significance.

“Lincoln (2012).” Biographical film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Daniel Day-Lewis and includes Sally Field, David Strathairn and Tommy Lee Jones in the cast. It is based loosely on “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln” by Doris Kearns Goodwin and covers the final four months of Lincoln’s life and the efforts to abolish slavery through the 13th Amendment. It was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and won two