In Reagan Country, Elderly Docents Feeling Snubbed

What would Ronnie say?

It’s a question being whispered these days by the GOP faithful who lead tours and greet visitors at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library near Simi Valley.

Many in a group of 27 mostly elderly volunteers are furious at the library’s decision to relieve them of active duties at an age when Reagan himself led the country.

The longtime docents were conferred “emeritus” status in July and told they can’t run tours any longer, although they will be able to fulfill other duties. Many have said they will leave instead.

The museum considers the “emeritus” designation an honorific. The volunteers have much more bitter words for it. At best, they say, it’s a demotion that that will relegate them to stuffing envelopes.

No longer are they permitted to perform a docent’s most coveted duties, giving tours of the museum and greeting visitors and answering questions from the 400,000 who visit each year.

As the nation’s oldest president, Reagan, who was 77 when he left office, would have been appalled by the action, said Norma Stafford, 75, of Thousand Oaks.

“He was so fair and square with everyone,” said Stafford, who has volunteered weekly since the library opened in 1991. “I think he would be very upset about this, especially since he was president at the same age as a lot of us docents.”

Library officials acknowledge that with the exception of one 52-year-old woman, all of those selected for emeritus status are in their 70s or older. But they deny that age was a factor.

Each case was considered individually, factoring in “physical and intellectual demands,” said Kirby Hanson, who developed the emeritus program for the library. Some of the docents, she said, failed to attend courses aimed at enhancing their knowledge of Reagan’s legacy.

The library expects throngs of visitors this fall when its Air Force One exhibit opens. It was time to revamp the docent program, Hanson said.

Air Force One, the presidential plane in which Reagan flew during his two terms in office, will be on display, as well as the late president’s Marine One helicopter and limousines.

“We have very high standards at the Reagan library,” Hanson said. “These are people who can no longer perform their duties to the fullest extent and had to be redirected.”

A council, elected by the docents, made the final decisions on who would stay on active status, Hanson said.

Retirees make up the vast majority of docents, and many of the 200 volunteers remaining are in their 60s, 70s and even 80s, she said.

But many of those relieved of active service say the process appeared arbitrary and secretive.

Bob Cooksey still hasn’t gotten over the sting. Cooksey began volunteering 12 years ago when he retired from his job as a Los Angeles County probation officer.

Once a week, he drove from his Sylmar home to the library, where for four hours he would run a film projector or answer visitors’ questions near Reagan’s grave site overlooking the rugged Simi Valley hills.

“I loved it and felt I was doing a good job,” Cooksey said. “I’d go out and stand in the sun at the memorial without any griping. You don’t donate that much time to be dumped in a letter you didn’t expect.”

The letter arrived in mid-July.

A few weeks later, the 27 docents who got the letter attended a ceremony at the library, where they were given thank-you gifts and a certificate signed by Nancy Reagan and library Executive Director Duke Blackwood.

Blackwood used the occasion to read out loud a three-page letter that attempted to quell the unrest, stating that the library had become a “destination location,” requiring a high-quality volunteer program.

Blackwood accused a “small group of individuals” of causing trouble by “rumor mongering” or holding “secret meetings,” according to several people who attended. They said he then warned the emeritus docents that if their behavior had any negative influence on the library, he would remove them. “My feelings were hurt,” said Dee Rickards, 79, of Malibu, a retired bookkeeper and lifetime member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. “It was really lousy, the way it was done.... I feel like I didn’t do anything wrong except get old.”

Hanson said library officials confronted the need for change “as best as we could.”

“We talked of all the different ways to do it, and after a lot of talk [the council] felt this was the best way to do it.”

People with experience running docent programs say they understand how difficult it can be to usher unwilling volunteers out the door.

“This is a problem in the world of docent programs,” said Joan Collignon, docent coordinator for the Oakland Museum of California. “How do you ease docents out when they should be retiring?”

Many institutions try to find less-active roles for docents, she said. If it becomes necessary, a private meeting letting the docent know that it’s time to go often does the trick, Collignon said.

“It’s always a delicate matter,” she said. “But I have to say I can’t imagine just sending a letter out of the blue to 27 volunteers.”

The Los Angeles Zoo hasn’t faced any similar difficulty with its docent programs, said docent chairwoman Maggie Connor. The zoo’s hilly terrain and rigorous training requirements make age less of an issue, she said.

“We don’t retire people involuntarily because they generally figure it out for themselves,” she said.

To be sure, not all of the docents relieved of active duties at the Reagan library are upset. Dolores Juve, 75, said she loved her years of volunteering but doesn’t mind stepping aside.

“I think it’s about time I leave,” said the Simi Valley woman. “Because I want to walk out and not be carried out.”

Cooksey was planning to retire next year anyway. But it would have been on his timetable, he said.

Last week, he handed Blackwood the 5-inch crystal globe given to each of the emeritus docents.

“There were a lot of good memories,” he said. “But every time I look at that, it reminds me of the bad ending.”