Tampico, Illinois : Birthplace of President Ronald Reagan
Having driven through Illinois many times during road trips across the United States, I'd seen signs indicating "Ronald Reagan's birthplace ahead" several times while driving along the main roads. However, I always told myself, "I'll skip it this time; I'll visit next time."
In June 2018, while on a road trip through the Midwestern United States, I had a sudden thought as I crossed from Iowa into neighboring Illinois: "That's it! This time, I'll definitely visit President Reagan's birthplace."
I headed towards a town called Tampico.
After driving along a rather bleak country road, I arrived at a truly tiny rural town with a population of less than 800. A large sign at the point where I entered Tampico read "Birthplace of Ronald Reagan." Furthermore, a short drive away, there was a large painting of President Reagan and his wife Nancy on the side of a building. It was a rather lovely mural, instantly recognizable as depicting the Reagans.
The apartment where President Reagan was born was on the second floor of a two-story building facing the city's main thoroughfare, and next to that building was a museum dedicated to President Reagan. I decided to start by going into the museum.
Inside, there were a middle-aged woman and an elderly man who appeared to be staff members. Both were incredibly kind and wonderful people; when I told them I had come from Tokyo, Japan, they were both surprised and deeply moved, and they treated me with great kindness.
They gave me a detailed tour of the museum. There were many exhibits, including photographs of President Reagan's childhood, his acting career, his presidency, photographs tracing the family history, photographs of his parents, and even a photograph of his older brother, Neil, who was two years his senior.
After receiving a thorough explanation and tour, I had a question for the two of them.....
In the 1930s, the young Ronald Reagan worked for WHO Radio in Des Moines, Iowa, as a broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs. However, his broadcasting method was astonishing by today's standards. He didn't actually watch the game while broadcasting; instead, he relied solely on simple telegraph information sent from the news agency—such as "home run," "strikeout," or "foul"—to continue broadcasting from the studio as if he were watching the game live. Based solely on the simple information gleaned from the paper tapes of the ticker (an automatic receiver that prints telegraph information onto paper tape), the young Reagan broadcast the progress of the game in a vivid and immersive style. ...I can't help but be amazed and impressed by the talent, wit, and courage of a person who could do something like this. When I was younger, I saw and heard President Reagan's speeches on Japanese television news, and I was impressed by his fluent and easy-to-understand speaking style. Years later, upon learning about his background in broadcasting Major League Baseball games in the unexpected way, I found it entirely plausible that he would have been capable of such work in his youth.
At the Reagan Museum in Tampico, I asked a question to a middle-aged woman and an elderly man:
"It is well known that before becoming an actor, President Reagan broadcast Major League Baseball games on the radio. Are there any photos of him doing that here?"
The elderly man said,
"There aren't any photos here of him broadcasting Major League games. But I think this is a photo of him from that time."
The photo the elderly man pointed to showed a very handsome young Reagan.
Aside from that one photograph, there were no other pictures related to President Reagan broadcasting Major League Baseball games, but that's understandable considering his time as a broadcaster was shorter and less glamorous compared to his later acting and presidency.
After finishing my museum visit, I decided to visit the apartment where President Reagan was born.
A middle-aged woman unlocked the red door leading to the second floor of the adjacent building and gave me a detailed tour of the apartment. In other words, you can't enter the apartment without visiting the museum first, so my initial visit to the museum was absolutely the right decision.
The apartment was quite spacious, well-maintained, and clean. There were three bedrooms, one of which was said to be the room where President Reagan was born.
I parted ways with the two wonderful people—a middle-aged woman and an elderly man—who had been so kind to me, after expressing my heartfelt thanks.
They had told me that the house where President Reagan spent his boyhood—after moving from the apartment where he was born—was nearby, so I visited the place and took a photograph from the outside.
Before leaving Tampico, I drove slowly around the town, looking at the sights. It's a small town, but I thought it was a pleasant place with a quiet and peaceful atmosphere, where well-maintained and clean houses were noticeable. There were three churches, suggesting the residents' deep faith.
I don't have any particular likes or dislikes for past US presidents (whether I like or dislike American presidents is irrelevant to the people of the United States!), but I feel a sense of kinship with presidents who have some connection to Major League Baseball or are big fans of the league. President Reagan is one such president, but others include President John F. Kennedy, who loved baseball and threw the ceremonial first pitch at the opening game every year during his presidency (a total of three times), and was also the first president to throw the first pitch at the All-Star Game after World War II; President George W. Bush, who was a co-owner of the Texas Rangers; and President Barack Obama, who openly declared himself a fervent Chicago White Sox fan and often wore a White Sox cap.....
(If I've made a mistake or left out something important, please let me know. I'll try to make corrections or additions.)