TitleRonald Reagan Visit to Eureka College for the 1947 Pumpkin Festival (11)

Inventory Number1947.011

Full CollectionRonald Reagan Collection - Reagan Image Collection - 5x7 Images

Object Description

In 1947, Eureka, Illinois hosted their annual Pumpkin Festival. This particular year had the largest attendance - while most years would see an average of 40-50,000 attendees, 1947 would see nearly 100,000 attend over the two day celebration. The significant rise in attendees was in large part due to the appearance of Ronald Reagan, a Hollywood film actor who was a student at Eureka College between 1928-1932. As an honored guest of the festival, Reagan was given several prominent roles including crowning the festival queen, opening the annual Pumpkin Bowl football game, and leading the parade on horseback. The Governor of Illinois, Dwight H. Green was also in attendance and rode on the coronation float with Reagan. 

This black and white photograph shows Ronald Reagan standing behind a car with 3 other men who either stand by or sit in the car. The car has attached to it a white sign with black writing which reads: "WYMAN and REAGAN Speech Building". This car was likely part of the parade which took place as part of the Pumpkin Festival. The Wyman and Reagan Speech Building was a jointly funded project by Actress Jane Wyman and Actor Ronald Reagan, who were married to one another. The actors met in Hollywood and married in 1940. They had one daughter, Maureen, in 1941 and adopted a son, Michael in 1945. Another daughter, Christine, would be born in 1947 but passed away the same day. In 1948, Wyman filed for divorce and it was official in 1949. It was due to the divorce that the Wyman and Reagan Speech Building project would be abandoned. Later, Neil and Ronald Reagan would jointly fund a gymnasium in their honor. 

Object Date1947

Object StatusCurrent

Object TypePhotographs

Country OriginUnited States

Credit LineEureka College

Full LocationEureka College Archives - Digital Archive

SubjectRonald Reagan, Actor Ronald Reagan, Eureka College Visit, 1947 Pumpkin Festival

Inventory Contact NameBouslog, Katelynn - Ronald Reagan Museum - Eureka College