We here at Beaufort Books are saddened to learn of the passing of former First Lady Nancy Reagan. As a small tribute, we would like to share a personal story, as told by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, a Reagan speech writer from 1981-1988, in the book Reagan Remembered.
…A year and a half later, Reagan was running for the Republican California gubernatorial nomination… and I was the Los Angeles County high school chairman of “Youth for Reagan.” We had hundreds of young people who walked the precincts, knocking on doors, handing out flyers, and talking up “Reagan.”
All was not smooth, however… After the primary (which Reagan won handily) we were told that “Youth for Reagan” was to be disbanded and would not as a group participate in the general election—in which Reagan would be challenging the incumbent Governor Pat Brown.
I was crestfallen. We had put in so much effort—which I believed, of course, had been of great value—and now “Youth for Reagan” was being, well, demoted, treated as if it was insignificant. Well, I decided to make a plea to Ronald Reagan, himself. I found out where he lived—his home was in Pacific Palisades—and, lugging my sleeping bag, went out there at 2 o’clock in the morning, so I would be ready whenever he might arise. I walked up the long driveway, around to the back of the house—there was absolutely no security, which amazed me—and camped out on the lawn with a little sign that said, “Mr. Reagan, please speak to me.”
So here I was about 6:30 or 7 in the morning when the lights started coming on—and Nancy Reagan stuck her head out the door and said. “Who are you?”
I said, “Well I’m with ‘Youth for Reagan’ and they are going to eliminate us and I need to talk to him for just 120 seconds, two minutes and that’s it.”
Ok, if that was the best I could do, but as I was walking back down the driveway I hear footsteps coming up from behind. I turn around to see Ronald Reagan, his shirt hanging out and shaving cream on his face. He said, “If you can spend the night in my backyard, I can certainly spend a few minutes with you. What’s the problem?”
Sure enough, he spent 20 minutes with me—just as his wife had predicted—and in the event, “Youth for Reagan” was not disbanded, but remained active as a unit while Ronald Reagan went on to win the election by almost exactly one million votes.
Image courtesy Ronald Reagan
Presidential Library/Getty Images