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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.