The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum is the “largest and most-visited” of all the Presidential libraries and was the destination for Pages and their families for an Alumni Association signature event on March 25, 2017. The magnificent structure in Simi Valley, Calif. houses 93 million documents and 1.5 million photographs – not to mention a decommissioned Air Force One jet and Marine One chopper used by Presidents and their entourages.
Pages representing six decades of service were treated to a welcome from R. Duke Blackwood, Director of the Museum. He noted that the museum has hosted four Presidential debates, including one in the 2016 election cycle, when the stage was quite crowded. He recalled fielding a request from Nancy Reagan, who wished to invite Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) to speak at the library. She knew that the Senator and her husband were frequent opponents and that the invitation would be controversial. But she also knew that the two men had “reached across the aisle” politically to work on common interests. 800 guests attended Kennedy’s speech in which he quoted a statesman’s message that “it is okay to disagree in politics – but not to be disagreeable.”
During the day, Pages self-toured the library, sat for lunch and viewed the new Page television documentary, “Democracy’s Messengers.”
A sample of the terrific photos are posted here. All photos, taken by Joel Zink, can be viewed and downloaded here.
The next Page event will be at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the Senate in Boston on June 10.
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