Locals’ Day at Library : Reagan Salutes County and Community Officials

Instead of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sonny Bono, there were Ventura County Supervisor Vicky Howard and Simi Valley Mayor Greg Stratton.

Unlike the celebrity-studded dedication ceremonies the day before, county and state officials were the stars Tuesday of what was billed as Community Appreciation Day at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

Also on hand at Tuesday’s event were friends and relatives of the officials, who received allotments of tickets to distribute as they wished. Other county residents won tickets in special lotteries held in some cities.

Reagan and his wife, Nancy, welcomed about 1,500 guests to the special event in which the former President paid tribute to those who made his $57-million hilltop library possible. The library officially opens to the public today.

“While I love my home in Los Angeles, I can’t help but be struck by the peaceful beauty of this very special part of our state,” Reagan said in a short speech.

“There’s just something about the Simi Valley that makes me feel good,” he said. “I consider it an honor to be a part of your community. Thank you for welcoming us into the neighborhood.”

Attending the daylong festivities were the city councils of Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks and Moorpark, along with all five members of the Board of Supervisors. Assemblywoman Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley), Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) and state Sen. Gary Hart (D-Santa Barbara) also were present.

Supervisor Maggie Erickson Kildee, one of several speakers, talked about how the board had debated what to give the former President as a welcoming gift to Ventura County.

“We came up with something that is not expensive--and probably has no use--but that is something nobody else can give you,” she said. “We would like to present you with a framed copy of the final building permit for the Ronald Reagan library.”

Simi Valley Mayor Stratton presented Reagan with the key to the city, officially declaring him a “citizen of Simi Valley.”

“Mr. Reagan was drawn to this site by the open spaces and the beautiful hillsides, the same reason that brought many of the citizens of our city to Simi Valley,” said Stratton, whose wife, Ede, is a docent at the library.

Supervisor Howard, who was instrumental in bringing the library to Ventura County, spoke about how she and her husband kept a copy of a speech that Reagan had given 30 years ago because they had been so inspired by it. She credited Reagan with helping to end the Cold War.

“You challenged the Berlin Wall, that onerous symbol of tyranny and repression, as no one had before,” she said. “And the wall came tumbling down.”

Howard pointed out how a 6,000-pound slab of the wall is on display at the library.

“It is fitting that a fragment of that wall stands in this magnificent setting overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the golden hills of our beloved California, a beacon of freedom for all to see,” she said.

One top official who was absent from the event was Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), who lives about a mile from the library site. Gallegly issued a statement earlier blasting the Democratic leadership in the House for “its haphazard, slipshod and biased scheduling” of congressional meetings that prevented him from attending the library’s dedication ceremonies on Monday, which included the historic gathering of five Presidents.

“Obviously I will be in Washington as is my duty, even though I had looked forward for years to the chance to stand shoulder to shoulder with five U.S. Presidents,” Gallegly said in the statement. “Had this been a Democrat’s library, I suspect I would have gotten that chance.”

Simi Valley resident Katherine Flook said Howard, a longtime friend, had given tickets to her and her husband. Flook said she became a Republican to help elect Reagan governor of California in 1966.

“I thought he was presidential material when he became governor,” Flook said. “He just seemed so all-American. He represented everything a mother would want to see in her boy. I have two boys. I want them to be like Ronald Reagan.”