TitleRonald Reagan Visit to Eureka College for the 1947 Pumpkin Festival (12)
Inventory Number1947.012
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.
In this black and white photograph, Ronald Reagan stands at left shaking the hand of a young boy while several people stand around them. Reagan wears a light colored suit with a dark tie and white handkerchief. In this left hand, he looks as if he holds a pipe. The young boy's identity is unknown, but he wears a light colored button up shirt, a white t-shirt under, and dark pants. The two men look at each other and smile. The circumstances which brought this picture to fruition is unknown.
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