tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64246859098767752682024-03-13T05:02:26.759-07:00Friends of President Reagan's Chicago HomeMary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6424685909876775268.post-33277648760272072922017-01-27T08:08:00.002-08:002017-01-27T08:08:14.971-08:00Corporation DissolutionPlease note, Friends of President Reagan's Chicago Home dissolved the corporation in 2016.<br />
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Thank you for your support.<br />
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Mary Claire KendallMary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6424685909876775268.post-78713297572433757652015-05-12T06:03:00.001-07:002016-03-18T06:37:38.651-07:00South Side of Chicago: Great President Gets Short Shrift<h3 class="post-title" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #434649; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">Today
came the <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/obamalibrary/ct-obama-library-site-announcement-20150512-story.html">news
that the Obama Library</a> will, in fact, be located within a few blocks
of President Reagan’s Chicago Home, demolished on April 2-4, 2013, to make room
for the legacy of a president rated mediocre at best. But
then history will be the ultimate judge. What we do know, however, is this: Ronald Reagan was a <a href="http://millercenter.org/president/biography/reagan-impact-and-legacy">great president</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">Below is
the article my colleague Nick Hahn III and I wrote for the <i>Chicago Sun-Times </i>as the Reagan
home lay in the balance in March 2013; as well as an earlier draft that
tells the story of just how much this home meant to President Reagan, the only
president born and bred in Illinois. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">When I
reflect on how the memory of President Reagan was destroyed with such
callousness and, by extension, on how so much has been destroyed the last 6
years, I recall the words of another great president, associated with Illinois,
Abe Lincoln, during similarly high times of peril for the nation: “This too
shall pass.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">*******</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 20pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">Save the Chicago home of Ronald
Reagan </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; line-height: 107%;"><i>Chicago Sun-Times</i></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; line-height: 107%;"><i> </i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">March 22, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">By Mary
Claire Kendall and Nicholas Hahn III<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;"><br />
The only Chicago home of the only president born and bred in Illinois is poised
for demolition when the city’s 90-day administrative hold expires on March
29. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">The home
will not be granted landmark status, we’ve already been told.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">That we
even know where Reagan lived in Chicago, for about a year when he was 4, is due
to the dogged determination of the late Sun-Times columnist Thomas F. Roeser.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">The
minute Ronald Reagan was sworn in as 40th president of the United States,
Roesser went to work. Candidate Reagan had mentioned to him in passing as the
two scurried through Chicago’s O’Hare airport in 1979 that he had lived in the
city of “I Will” as a young child. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">After the
Inauguration, Roeser discovered through police records, on a tip from the
president that his father’s drinking often landed him in the pokey, that the
Reagans had lived at 832 East 57th Street on the edge of the University of
Chicago campus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">When
Reagan made it back to Chicago for the centennial observance of the United
Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners in September 1981, Roeser arranged to
have a photo of the home taken and framed for Mayor Jane Byrne to give him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">“Mr.
President,” Mayor Byrne ceremoniously said, “on your return to Chicago, I
hereby present you a photo of your Chicago home.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;"><br />
Looking at the photo, the President became misty-eyed as all the memories
welled up inside of him. This son of an itinerant and frequently unemployed
shoe salesman living in a poor, rough-and-tumble Irish working-class city had
come a long way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">Today,
that once-photographed building Reagan called home stands alone. It’s all
that’s left of an entire block between Maryland and Drexel streets on East 57th
Street, all else demolished by the University of Chicago to make way for a
hospital and research facility.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">Ironically
enough, it sits across from the university’s newly inaugurated Center for Care
and Discovery, which conducts state-of-the-art Alzheimer’s research.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">The
90-day review of Reagan’s Chicago home — an essential slice of his Midwestern
character — is winding down. An informed source at the city’s Department of
Housing and Economic Development told us it does not meet the criteria of being
associated with Reagan’s productive years, which is just as spurious a claim
now as it was in 2012 when landmark status first was denied. Reagan’s
productive years were made possible only because he survived near-fatal
pneumonia in that home. Furthermore, the Dixon Boyhood Home, where President
Reagan lived from 1920-1924 (ages 9-13), was landmarked by the federal Park
Service, which sets the criteria.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">That
inconsistency notwithstanding, Reagan’s Chicago home will not be preserved
unless the University of Chicago has a change of heart. Only the university can
save it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">The
Friends of President Reagan’s Chicago home proposes transforming 832 E. 57th
Street into a museum and center. All the university needs to do is amend their
Planned Development #43. The museum would replicate the flat as it looked in
1915 when young “Dutch” Reagan, age 4, would gaze out the window to the
excitement outside. The center would celebrate Reagan’s historic presidency and
his diverse and inclusive background.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">The
ordinariness of it all — where one of our most extraordinary presidents once lived
— is worth preserving.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Mary Claire Kendall, a Washington-based
writer who contributes a regular column to Forbes.com, is president of the
Friends of President Reagan’s Chicago Home. Nicholas G. Hahn III is deputy
editor of RealClearReligion.org and a member of the Friends board of directors. </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , serif; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Chicago’s Mayor Brought Ronald Reagan to Brink
of Tears – Then and Now</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">By Mary Claire Kendall and Nicholas Hahn III</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">The
minute Ronald Reagan was sworn-in as 40th President of the United States, the
late Sun-Times columnist Thomas F. Roeser was a man on a mission.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">Candidate
Reagan had mentioned to him in passing, as the two scurried through Chicago's
O'Hare airport in 1979 that he had once lived in the city of “I Will” as a boy.
Roeser thought it might be worthwhile to know exactly where Reagan had laid his
head. After the inauguration, Roeser phoned the White House and through some
channels, he got his answer: Jack Reagan was a common drunk. Look it up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">Sure
enough, Roeser discovered through police records that the Reagans had lived at
832 East 57th Street on the edge of the University of Chicago campus. “What
struck me about that experience was the comfort that Reagan had living in his
own skin, the son of an alcoholic, who suggested that his father's detention
records be looked up,” Roeser later <a href="http://blog.tomroeser.com/2005/12/how-i-discovered-where-reagan-lived-in.html" target="_blank">wrote</a>. “Not many successful men – much less the president
of the United States –<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">would so
voluntarily give out that information.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">When
Reagan made it back to Chicago for the Centennial Observance of the United
Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners in September 1981, Roeser arranged to
have a photo of the home taken and framed for Mayor Jane Byrne to give him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">“Mr.
President,” Mayor Byrne ceremoniously said, “on your return to Chicago, I
hereby present you a photo of your Chicago home.” Looking at the photo, the
President became misty-eyed as all the memories welled up inside of him. This
son of an itinerant and frequently unemployed shoe salesman living in a poor,
rough-and-tumble Irish working-class city had come a long way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">Today,
that once-photographed building Reagan once called home stands alone. It’s all
that’s left of an entire block between Maryland and Drexel on East 57th Street,
demolished by the University of Chicago to make way for a hospital and research
facility. Ironically enough, it sits across from the newly inaugurated Center
for Care and Discovery which features state-of-the-art Alzheimer's research.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">Reagan’s
Chicago home – the essential slice of his Midwestern character – is currently
undergoing a 90-day review set to expire on March 29. But according to Eleanor
Gorski, Assistant Commissioner for Historic Preservation at the Department of
Housing and Economic Development, it does not meet the standard of having been
the home of a famous person when that person was famous. And so, Reagan's
Chicago home will not be landmarked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">Friends
of President Reagan’s Chicago Home, of which we are both board members, is
working to begin negotiations with the University to stop the demolition and
transform the building into a museum and center. It would replicate the flat as
it looked in 1915 when young “Dutch” Reagan, age 4, would look out the window
to the excitement outside. The center would celebrate Reagan's historic
presidency and his diverse and inclusive background.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">The
ordinariness of it all – where one of our most extraordinary presidents once
lived -- is worth preserving.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;"><i>Mary
Claire Kendall, a Washington based writer, is the President of the
Friends of President Reagan’s Chicago Home. Nicholas G. Hahn III is Deputy
Editor of <a href="http://www.realclearreligion.org/" target="_blank">RealClearReligion.org</a> and
a member of the Friends Board of Directors. Follow him on Twitter <a href="http://www.twitter.com/NGHahn3" target="_blank">@NGHahn3</a>.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</h3>
Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6424685909876775268.post-58540589429290769292013-04-04T02:58:00.002-07:002014-02-02T16:45:26.420-08:00Reagan Chicago Home Epitaph: "The Hearts Got Small"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">By Mary Claire Kendall</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5hF2BySfsKU/UWA0PQMrZeI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/SFoK1AFvgqs/s1600/Reagan+age+3+with+family.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5hF2BySfsKU/UWA0PQMrZeI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/SFoK1AFvgqs/s320/Reagan+age+3+with+family.jpg" height="320" width="246" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, Times, serif; font-size: x-small;">Photograph of Ronald "Dutch" Reagan (with "Dutch boy" haircut), </span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, Times, serif; font-size: x-small;">Neil Reagan (brother) and parents Jack and Nelle Reagan, ca. 1914, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, Times, serif; font-size: x-small;">shortly before the family moved to the Chicago home at 832 E. 57th Street, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, Times, serif; font-size: x-small;">which was callously demolished by the University of Chicago, April 2-4, 2013. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">The Reagan Chicago flat will be demolished today. Thus will the last remnants
of the building, in which God was cultivating the soul of a president and that
uniquely winning personality, be decimated. Young Ronald “Dutch” Reagan
developed memories there, which, as </span><a href="http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20130403/hyde-park/ronald-reagans-boyhood-home-being-demolished-by-university-of-chicago" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">DNAinfo.com
reported yesterday</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">, and </span><a href="http://www.drudgereport.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Drudge</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> re-posted,
he wrote about in his 1990 autobiography, </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">An American Life</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When I was
(three), we moved to Chicago where my father had gotten a promising job selling
shoes at the Marshall Field’s department store. We moved into a small flat near
the University of Chicago that was lighted by a single gas jet brought to life
with the deposit of a quarter in a slot down the hall. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Jack’s job
didn’t pay as well as he had hoped, and that meant Nelle had to make a soup
bone last several days and be creative in other ways with her cooking. On
Saturdays, she usually sent my brother to the butcher with a request for some
liver (liver wasn’t very popular in those days) to feed our family at—which
didn’t exist. The liver became our Sunday dinner. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In Chicago I
got a serious case of bronchial pneumonia and while I was recuperating one of
our neighbors brought me several of his son’s lead soldiers. I spent hours
standing them up on the bed covers and pushing them back and forth in mock
combat. To this day I get a little thrill out of seeing a cabinet full of toy
soldiers. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Our stay in
Chicago introduced me to a congested urban world of gas-lit sidewalks and
streets alive with people, carriages, trolley cars, and occasional automobiles.
Once, while watching a clanging horse-drawn fire engine race past me with a
cloud of steam rising behind it, I decided that it was my intention in life to
become a fireman. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After we’d
been in Chicago for less than two years, Jack was offered a job at O.T.
Johnson’s, a big department store in Galesburg 140 miles to the west of
Chicago, and we moved again, this time to a completely different world. Instead
of noisy streets and crowds of people, it consisted of meadows and caves, trees
and streams, and the joys of small-town life. From that time onward, I guess
I’ve always been partial to small towns and the outdoors.</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">On this morning, I guess I’m partial to small towns and the outdoors, too, Dutch. And, while I encountered wonderful-hearted folks on my visits to Chicago—I’ve never gotten more compliments on my hat!—as I told Lee Bey, “To paraphrase Billy Wilder’s classic line in <i>Sunset Boulevard</i>, in the end, Reagan is still big. It’s the hearts that got small.” —“</span><a href="http://www.wbez.org/blogs/lee-bey/2013-04/bulldozers-roll-ronald-reagans-boyhood-home-hyde-park-106438" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Bulldozers roll on Ronald Reagan's boyhood home in Hyde Park</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">,” </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Beyond the Boat Tour. </i><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">As President of the Friends of President
Reagan’s Chicago Home, I want to thank my wonderfully supportive board, including founding
members Peter Hannaford and Matthew A. Rarey, and permanent members Don
Totten, Dan Proft, Nicholas Hahn III and Matt. I also want to thank other members of my marvelous </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> “</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">core team</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">”</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> including true friends like </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Fr. C. John McCloskey, Dick Vie, Jeff Phillips,</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Paul Fisher, Joe Morris, John Ruberry, Sam Guard, Ann Lewis, Robert Russell, <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/maryclairekendall/2013/10/01/a-c-lyles-wonderful-life/">A.C. Lyles</a>, Craig Shirley, Diana Banister</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">—and, of course, the irrepressible late <a href="http://ehfop.typepad.com/the_ernest_hemingway_foun/2012/11/redd-griffin-1938-2012.html">Redd Griffin</a>, on whose behalf I took up this cause</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">—</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">and so many others, some of whom had to work under the radar, given the </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">“Chicago Way.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">” Some of my team provided only moral support, which was worth its weight in gold.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> We worked hard to advance a </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">“</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">just cause,</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">” as Fr. C. John described it</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">. But, it was not to be.</span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gz2oTR_cKd4/UV1L1lcVkhI/AAAAAAAAAds/qAhEkF3hiY0/s1600/Reagan+Hyde+Park+Home+-+MCK+in+front+-+November+30%252C+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gz2oTR_cKd4/UV1L1lcVkhI/AAAAAAAAAds/qAhEkF3hiY0/s320/Reagan+Hyde+Park+Home+-+MCK+in+front+-+November+30%252C+2012.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-align: start;">In front of President Reagan's Chicago home, </span><br style="text-align: start;" /><span style="text-align: start;">832 E. 57th Street, Friday, November 30, wearing that hat that won so many compliments!</span><br style="text-align: start;" /><span style="text-align: start;">Credit: Matthew A. Rarey</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">And, so I
return full-time to my first love—writing. As my friend Charles
Scribner III wrote me last night in this stress-melting classic line,
“Monuments in words such as yours will always outlast bricks and mortar!” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">So, too, the
monument Reagan constructed in </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">An American Life</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> has outlasted
the home in which those memories about which he wrote were formed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 17px;">Mary Claire Kendall is a Washington-based writer, who was elected on March 4, 2013 to serve as president of the Friends of President Reagan’s Chicago Home by the Board of Directors</span></i><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 17px;">. She had been informally serving in that capacity since Friends incorporated </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 17px;">in the State of Illinois</span></i><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 17px;"> on January 16, 2013</span></i><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 17px;">. She began spearheading the initiative on November 30, 2012.</span></i></div>
</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qiItcMqsmLo/UXRDDzH47KI/AAAAAAAAAmg/Q_WXH01d7hY/s1600/Mary+Claire+Kendall+(Google+profile+photo).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qiItcMqsmLo/UXRDDzH47KI/AAAAAAAAAmg/Q_WXH01d7hY/s1600/Mary+Claire+Kendall+(Google+profile+photo).JPG" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: #666666; color: #f3f3f3;">LINKS TO ARTICLES</span></b><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><b>Articles in bold italics were either written (one co-written) by, or quote, </b></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><b>Mary Claire Kendall, President, Friends of President Reagan's Chicago Home:</b></i></span><br />
<a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/reagan-big-hearts-small_720609.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/reagan-big-hearts-small_720609.html</i></b></span></a></div>
<a href="http://www.chicagomag.com/Radar/Deal-Estate/April-2013/Tearing-Down-Ronald-Reagans-Boyhood-Apartment-Was-Just-Wrong/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">http://www.chicagomag.com/Radar/Deal-Estate/April-2013/Tearing-Down-Ronald-Reagans-Boyhood-Apartment-Was-Just-Wrong/</a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><a href="http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20130403/hyde-park/ronald-reagans-boyhood-home-being-demolished-by-university-of-chicago">http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20130403/hyde-park/ronald-reagans-boyhood-home-being-demolished-by-university-of-chicago</a></i></b></span><br />
<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2303589/President-Reagans-childhood-Chicago-home-demolished-University-Chicago-turns-parking-lot.html?ito=feeds-newsxml"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2303589/President-Reagans-childhood-Chicago-home-demolished-University-Chicago-turns-parking-lot.html?ito=feeds-newsxml</span></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/keyword/Reagan's-Home-in-Chicago"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>http://www.weeklystandard.com/keyword/Reagan's-Home-in-Chicago</i></b></span></a><br />
<a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ct-oped-0401-reagan-20130401,0,3481356.story"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ct-oped-0401-reagan-20130401,0,3481356.story</i></b></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.suntimes.com/news/otherviews/19033975-452/mary-claire-kendall-and-nicholas-hahn-iii-save-the-chicago-home-of-ronald-reagan.html"><b><i>http://www.suntimes.com/news/otherviews/19033975-452/mary-claire-kendall-and-nicholas-hahn-iii-save-the-chicago-home-of-ronald-reagan.html</i></b></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.realclearreligion.org/articles/2013/02/06/win_one_more_for_the_gipper.html">http://www.realclearreligion.org/articles/2013/02/06/win_one_more_for_the_gipper.html</a></span><br />
<a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/maryclairekendall/2013/02/06/ronald-reagans-heart-two-emotional-landmarks/"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>http://www.forbes.com/sites/maryclairekendall/2013/02/06/ronald-reagans-heart-two-emotional-landmarks/</i></b></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://washingtonexaminer.com/op-ed-the-real-story-on-ronald-reagans-childhood-home/article/2520514"><b><i>http://washingtonexaminer.com/op-ed-the-real-story-on-ronald-reagans-childhood-home/article/2520514</i></b></a></span><br />
<a href="http://spectator.org/archives/2012/12/11/historic-home-or-grassy-strip"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">http://spectator.org/archives/2012/12/11/historic-home-or-grassy-strip</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><a href="http://washingtonexaminer.com/hyde-park-showdown-over-reagans-childhood-home/article/2515272">http://washingtonexaminer.com/hyde-park-showdown-over-reagans-childhood-home/article/2515272</a></i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<b style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="background-color: black; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 107%;">April 6, 2013—Correspondence with
financial supporter: </span></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“You fought hard Mary Claire. You did your best and will be
remembered for that.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“Thank you, Ed. And, thank you for your
support. This week’s events cast a big neon light on the fissure in America
today. Of course, Reagan’s Chicago home should have be saved—that was a
no-brainer. That it wasn’t says nothing about Reagan but about how
small the hearts have become, as I commented in my summary statement to Lee
Bey in<a href="http://www.wbez.org/blogs/lee-bey/2013-04/bulldozers-roll-ronald-reagans-boyhood-home-hyde-park-106438"> this
piece</a>. On the other hand, as one distinguished friend commented, it showed
how much we cared. And if our effort accomplished anything, it accomplished that. Now we just need to translate that passion into winning the
battles Ronald Reagan cared so deeply about.”</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 17px;">And, finally, here</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">’s</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 17px;"> the <a href="http://maryclairecinema.blogspot.com/">link to our first blog</a>, December 14-January 19.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #f9cb9c; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://friendsofpresreaganschicagohome.blogspot.com/2013/01/corporate-purpose-statement.html" style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">CORPORATE PURPOSE STATEMENT</a></span></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<img src="http://www.wbez.org/system/files/styles/original_image/llo/insert-images/P4029930.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div>
</div>
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Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6424685909876775268.post-76736674913052975102013-04-01T05:34:00.005-07:002013-04-03T07:24:11.013-07:00Chicago Tribune op-ed: "Save Reagan's Chicago Home"<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Time is short... only a miracle will save President Reagan's Chicago home... the same kind of miracle that saved Reagan when an assassin's bullet felled and nearly killed him 32 years ago Saturday, when wrecking and demolition equipment showed up on the site of Reagan's Chicago home... and the same kind of miracle that saved him when he survived near-fatal pneumonia at the very home that is now poised to be demolished... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ct-oped-0401-reagan-20130401,0,3481356.story">http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ct-oped-0401-reagan-20130401,0,3481356.story</a></span><br />
<a href="http://eedition.chicagotribune.com/Olive/ODE/ChicagoTribune/LandingPage/LandingPage.aspx?href=Q1RDLzIwMTMvMDQvMDE.&pageno=MTU.&entity=QXIwMTUwMQ..&view=ZW50aXR5"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">http://eedition.chicagotribune.com/Olive/ODE/ChicagoTribune/LandingPage/LandingPage.aspx?href=Q1RDLzIwMTMvMDQvMDE.&pageno=MTU.&entity=QXIwMTUwMQ..&view=ZW50aXR5</span></a><br />
<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 24pt;">chicagotribune.com</span></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;"><a href="http://eedition.chicagotribune.com/Olive/ODE/ChicagoTribune/LandingPage/LandingPage.aspx?href=Q1RDLzIwMTMvMDQvMDE.&pageno=MTU.&entity=QXIwMTUwMQ..&view=ZW50aXR5">Save Reagan's Chicago home</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">By Mary Claire Kendall<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">April 1, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-50OL7uqbH_Q/UVl-j-886JI/AAAAAAAAAdY/BUBFAOx42IQ/s1600/hc-1985-reagan-sworn-in-20130121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-50OL7uqbH_Q/UVl-j-886JI/AAAAAAAAAdY/BUBFAOx42IQ/s320/hc-1985-reagan-sworn-in-20130121.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">President Reagan is publicly sworn in for his second presidential term by Supreme Court Justice Warren Burger on January 21, 1985. Since January 20 was a Sunday that year, the official swearing in of Ronald Reagan took place privately in the White House. (Mike Sargent/AFP/Getty Images/January 21, 2013)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Here's a portion of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ahRnIXZCLM">President Reagan's speech that historic day</a>.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The city of Chicago has
given the go-ahead to Heneghan Wrecking and Excavating Co. to demolish, on
behalf of the University of Chicago and its medical center, President Ronald
Reagan's boyhood home on the South Side at 832 E. 57th St.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">He lived there the year
of the Eastland disaster. Occurring July 24, 1915, it was Chicago's most lethal
calamity — deadlier than the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 — killing some 844
people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Word has it that Reagan
reminisced about this steamship catastrophe on the Chicago River as a vivid
early memory, recounting how he was left home when his father took his older
brother "Moon" across town to see it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">While a source recently
declined to "confirm or deny" this reminiscence, one thing's certain:
Ronald Reagan, at age 4, lived in Chicago the day of the Eastland disaster. And
it's good bet he didn't witness it since, if he had, that memory would surely
have figured into his writings and speeches. Little Ronald "Dutch"
Reagan must have resolved then to never again to be far from the scene of the
action.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Right now, the action is
at the home where Reagan once lived. It's all that's left of the entire block
between Maryland and Drexel avenues on East 57th Street. The rest of the block
was demolished in early January to make way for a hospital and research
facility, across the street from the recently inaugurated University of Chicago
Medicine's new Center for Care and Discovery. In the ultimate irony of history,
these facilities will feature state-of-the-art Alzheimer's research.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">That the Reagan home is
still standing is a bit of a miracle. We all know the "Chicago Way."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The Friends of President
Reagan's Chicago Home has worked doggedly to save it, agreeing with the
Commission of Chicago Landmarks in 1986 that it is "noteworthy due to
historical associations," which gives it "landmark potential."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">While the current crop
of Chicago bureaucrats couldn't find it in their hearts to landmark the home,
make no mistake, this home where Reagan lived is a landmark, which completes
the Ronald Reagan Trail in Illinois, including the landmarked Ronald Reagan
Boyhood Home in Dixon (1920-23).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Later, Reagan had
long-distance ties to Chicago. He broadcast Cubs games for WHO-AM in Des Moines
and courted and married Nancy Davis, who hailed from the Near North Side.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">One of Reagan's biggest
successes as president was the 1986 tax bill, a product of an after-hours
friendship with Chicago's principal ambassador to Washington, House Ways and
Means Chairman Dan Rostenkowski. They knew each other as fellow Chicagoans.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">All of that was
inconceivable when little "Dutch" looked out his window on East 57th,
after surviving near-fatal pneumonia, longing to be at the center of the
action.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">If we demolish the
physical context of his formative years, we extinguish an essential part of
Reagan's story — a youngster who despite being the child of an itinerant,
alcoholic, frequently unemployed shoe salesman, grew up to become the global
symbol of freedom from tyranny and triumph over communism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">President Barack Obama,
the second U.S. commander in chief with a home on Chicago's South Side, is
likely justly proud of the improbability of his own story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The two homes, blocks
apart on different sides of the University of Chicago — one a spacious Kenwood
home, the other a humble Irish working-class flat near Washington Park — work
together to tell all Americans who we are now — and who any one of us might
become.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">It's the story of
America. Reagan's boyhood home is worth preserving.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Mary Claire Kendall is
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Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6424685909876775268.post-18014293062642166062013-03-25T05:44:00.000-07:002013-03-26T18:04:32.427-07:00"Razing Reagan" v. 'Saving Reagan'<span style="background-color: #444444; color: #f9cb9c; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Dear Friends of President Reagan's Chicago Home:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We're in the endgame on the Reagan Chicago home, as these two articles in the <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/razing-reagan_708847.html">Weekly Standard</a> and <a href="http://www.suntimes.com/news/otherviews/19033975-452/mary-claire-kendall-and-nicholas-hahn-iii-save-the-chicago-home-of-ronald-reagan.html">Chicago Sun-Times</a> make clear.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Please know, even though the City of Chicago refuses to landmark this home where Reagan lived when he was four, it is not over yet. Frankly, the land-marking charade was always just a sideshow and only serves to reveal the 'small-mindedness' of the bureaucrats, as underscored in the </span><a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/razing-reagan_708847.html" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Weekly Standard's "Razing Reagan."</a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We are working diligently to affect a change of heart at the University of Chicago, which owns the property and wants to demolish the Reagan home. It's the only entity with the power to save this South Side Chicago home that had such emotional resonance for Reagan, about which Nick Hahn and I wrote in </span><a href="http://www.suntimes.com/news/otherviews/19033975-452/mary-claire-kendall-and-nicholas-hahn-iii-save-the-chicago-home-of-ronald-reagan.html" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"Save the Chicago Home of Ronald Reagan."</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black;"><img alt="Robert J. Zimmer" src="http://president.uchicago.edu/sites/president.uchicago.edu/files/styles/columnwidth/public/uploads/images/robert_zimmer.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: #6fa8dc;">University of Chicago President Robert J. Zimmer -</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #444444; color: #6fa8dc;">the only one with the power to save the Reagan Chicago home</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: #f9cb9c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As Reagan always said, "It Can Be Done." But, time is short, and, frankly, it will take a miracle to affect a change of heart in </span><a href="http://president.uchicago.edu/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">University of Chicago President Robert Zimmer</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - the kind of miracle that saved four-year-old "Dutch" Reagan's life when he survived near-fatal pneumonia while living in the Chicago home we are now trying to save. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: #f9cb9c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Thanks for your support... and your prayers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Best,</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #444444; color: #f9cb9c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Mary Claire Kendall, President</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #444444; color: #f9cb9c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Friends of President Reagan's Chicago Home</span><br />
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<span style="color: #f9cb9c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://friendsofpresreaganschicagohome.blogspot.com/2013/01/corporate-purpose-statement.html"><b style="background-color: #666666;">CORPORATE PURPOSE STATEMENT</b></a></span></div>
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Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6424685909876775268.post-42560793487942409582013-03-12T18:21:00.000-07:002016-02-16T19:07:42.711-08:00Who Will Be Our Ace in the Hole?Dear Friends of President Reagan's Chicago Home:<br />
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On Saturday, November 17, 2012, less than three days before Redd Griffin died, he called to update me on developments in the efforts to save the Reagan Chicago home. I was too busy to talk - it was 5:45 p.m. (EST) and I was getting ready to go out. I told him I would need to call him back. But before we concluded our unusually brief, and what I would soon learn was our last, I asked him, "Redd, what's the bottom line? Who's the point person?" He gave me a name.<br />
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I had planned to call Redd Monday, November 19, but then when he sent me an email with all the Reagan residences that day, I used the opportunity to communicate via email, telling him how important it was to save the Chicago home because President Reagan had lived there at such a formative time. I fully intended to call Redd the next day. The next day was too late. Redd died of a massive heart attack early the morning of Tuesday, November 20.</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DkoSGWux5A0/VsPj5wxKd4I/AAAAAAAABjo/OLLe7uA--KI/s1600/Redd%2BGriffin%2Bphoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DkoSGWux5A0/VsPj5wxKd4I/AAAAAAAABjo/OLLe7uA--KI/s1600/Redd%2BGriffin%2Bphoto.jpg" /></a>On Wednesday, November 21, I called this "point person" and we developed a marvelous rapport when I traveled to Chicago on Friday, November 30 to Sunday, December 2 for a previously scheduled Hemingway-focused weekend Redd had invited me to. But, alas, given the reality of "The Chicago Way," this "point person" has had to stay basically neutral. I know if he could do more, he would; so I recently sent him the following letter, which I post as a way of presenting our approach to selling the powers-that-be on saving the Reagan Chicago home.<br />
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Let's hope someone will step up to the plate soon who will, indeed, be our "ace in the hole" - someone with the clout to convince the powers-that-be that preserving the Reagan home would be a 'win, win' for the University of Chicago and the City. We are certainly doing all we can to make this happen and have a follow-up call tomorrow morning.<br />
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God bless! Let's win one more for the Gipper. <br />
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And again, for those who are just tuning in, here's <a href="http://friendsofpresidentreaganschicagohome.blogspot.com/2013/01/progress-report-little-picture-big.html">background on this national initiative</a>, as well as our <a href="http://friendsofpresreaganschicagohome.blogspot.com/2013/01/corporate-purpose-statement.html">corporate purpose statement</a>. <br />
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Finally, remember, we can't do this without your support. No donation is too small!<br />
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Best,</div>
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Mary Claire Kendall, President</div>
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<a href="http://friendsofpresidentreaganschicagohome.blogspot.com/">Friends of President Reagan's Chicago Home</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt;">Dear XXX,</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt;">I wanted to give you an update on the Friends of President Reagan’s Chicago Home, which had its inaugural board meeting on Monday, March 4. Our board now consists of... Don Totten, Dan Proft, Nicholas Hahn, Matt Rarey (Secretary) and myself (President).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt;">As you know, we are seeking to preserve Reagan’s home on the Southside—the only Chicago home of the only President born and bred in Illinois.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt;">A key part of our strategy is to help key officials at the University of Chicago, as well as in the City, understand the tremendous upside to saving this home. The goal is to develop it, in partnership with the university, into a museum and center, thereby completing the Reagan Trail, which starts in Tampico, immediately followed by Chicago. The museum would restore the home to its original 1915 splendor, showing what it was like back then when children such as Dutch Reagan, age 4, would look out their big windows—the equivalent of TV back then—and take in a whole bustling world that brightened their little lives. The center would celebrate Reagan’s historic presidency and acknowledge his end of life struggle with Alzheimer’s that ironically the Center for Care and Discovery is now seeking a cure for.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt;">Barring a miracle, we can’t possibly achieve our goal of raising $5-10 million by March 29, when the administrative hold on demolishing the building is lifted. These funds would allow us to develop a plan to transform the home as outlined above and put it on the table for the university’s consideration. We would need an extension of 60-90 days and would like to know if the university is amenable to this.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt;">Given that... Chicago ranked #4 in the Forbes list of most miserable cities to live in, our efforts are very timely. And, while this is no doubt a temporary condition—and I, for one, love Chicago—I can’t think of a better person than Mr. Sunshine and Optimism himself—Ronald Reagan—to help ensure it is more temporary than permanent.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt;">Besides infusing the city with that Reagan magic, the Reagan Museum and Center would produce substantial travel and tourism dollars. If folks travel from around the world and across the fruited plain to visit tiny Tampico and small Dixon, they would surely travel to Chicago. This, of course, means jobs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt;">And, while everyone says, well the Reagan Boyhood Home in Dixon</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 15px;">—along with the Birthplace in Tampico</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 15px;">—</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt;">is the place to go if you want to visit a Reagan home, </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt;">the fact is, as our friend Redd Griffin made clear in this <a href="http://www.dixonhistoriccenter.org/ronald_reagan_oral_history_project/ronald_reagan_oral_history_project.html">oral history</a>, the whole reason for establishing the Dixon Boyhood Home was none other than economic development.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt;">Now, I understand you are in a delicate position and I’m not asking you to go to bat to save the Chicago home and win one more for the Gipper. But, what I thought would make sense is to ask you to go to bat to win one more for Chicago by making clear the potency of the Reagan Museum and Center for growth and jobs. Just like William Butler Ogden, Chicago’s first mayor, who thought he had been victim of the worst swindle when his brother-in-law bought Chicago land in the early 1830s, only to discover the goldmine he was sitting on, it is my hope that the University of Chicago and City will understand, before it’s too late, what a goldmine they are sitting on with the Reagan Chicago home.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt;">Thanks, XXX for anything you might do to gently bring this point home... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt;">Best,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt;">Mary Claire Kendall, President</span></div>
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Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6424685909876775268.post-60289069187386134972013-02-23T18:43:00.001-08:002013-02-27T07:30:32.709-08:00Money, Big & Small: Sine Qua Non* of Saving Reagan's Chicago HomeDear Friends of President Reagan's Chicago Home:<br />
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I'll make this brief and to the point.<br />
<br />
Major players are coming on board to help with fundraising, especially the overarching goal of raising significant funds needed to open negotiations with the University of Chicago to save President Reagan's Chicago home at 832 E. 57th Street and transform it into a museum and center.<br />
<br />
Meantime, we are doing the final work of building the non-profit vehicle, the sine qua non, which takes much smaller funds. But, it does take funds - not just high-fives and 'atta boys and girls.' Our goal by the end of February is to raise $2000 more. Thus far, we have raised nearly $2000 over the last two months, including commitments to send money. (And, we will need to raise $2000 more in March and April each.) We are deeply grateful to all those who have contributed thus far. Every little bit helps. No amount is too small. (See right for information on donating.)<br />
<br />
For those who are just tuning in, here's <a href="http://friendsofpresidentreaganschicagohome.blogspot.com/2013/01/progress-report-little-picture-big.html">background on this national initiative</a>, as well as our <a href="http://friendsofpresreaganschicagohome.blogspot.com/2013/01/corporate-purpose-statement.html">corporate purpose statement</a>.<br />
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Finally, below are two photos, taken this week, showing the stately building where Reagan lived when he was four, now standing alone, like Reagan, himself, when he was a lone voice arguing for the defeat of Soviet Communism and the Liberal Welfare State. But, he believed "It Can Be Done." The same exact spirit with which we are pursuing this mission to save Reagan's Chicago home. Recently I have been encountering many who, in essence, tell me "It Can't Be Done." With that defeatist spirit, it surely will not be done. But, I remain convinced "It Can Be Done." Yet, time is short. As the gentleman who took these photos, a key preservationist in Hyde Park told me, "Please remind your stalwarts that the Demolition Permit's administrative hold will expire in five weeks."<br />
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Let's win one more for the Gipper!<br />
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And, remember, no amount is too small.<br />
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Sincerely yours,<br />
Mary Claire Kendall<br />
Acting President/CEO<br />
Friends of President Reagan's Chicago Home<br />
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* For those who are rusty on their Latin, "sine qua non" means "without which, nothing," which is to say, "the indispensable condition."<br />
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<br />Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6424685909876775268.post-5641378876120347292013-02-09T07:05:00.002-08:002013-02-09T08:14:27.277-08:00"Win One More for the Gipper" and other pressDear Friends of President Reagan's Chicago Home:<br />
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For anyone who's been paying attention, we've been in the news a bit the last two weeks.<br />
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Just this past week, our newest board member <a href="http://marathonpundit.blogspot.com/2013/02/proft-on-air-today-obama-parking-lot.html">Dan Proft, mentioned</a> the whole effort to save President Reagan's Chicago home on the air on Wednesday, February 6, during his regular morning radio show on WLS, an ABC affiliate in Chicago.<br />
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Plus, we had a few pieces out in print this week, as we celebrated Ronald Reagan's 102nd birthday, including:<br />
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<a href="http://www.realclearreligion.org/articles/2013/02/06/win_one_more_for_the_gipper.html">"Win One More for the Gipper," </a>by Nicholas Hahn.<br />
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<a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/maryclairekendall/2013/02/06/ronald-reagans-heart-two-emotional-landmarks/">"Ronald Reagan's Heart: Two Emotional Landmarks," </a>by Mary Claire Kendall<br />
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<a href="http://washingtonexaminer.com/op-ed-the-real-story-on-ronald-reagans-childhood-home/article/2520514">"The real story on Ronald Reagan's childhood home,"</a> by Mary Claire Kendall<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vXDXKuRnTms/URZtoLb5b5I/AAAAAAAAAbo/xGrP_dL8FsY/s1600/POSTCARD_Double_Rainbow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vXDXKuRnTms/URZtoLb5b5I/AAAAAAAAAbo/xGrP_dL8FsY/s1600/POSTCARD_Double_Rainbow.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Double rainbow that appeared over the birthplace of Ronald Reagan <br />
the night before his election as President in November 1981. <br />
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Also, I appeared on the Teri O'Brien radio show on Sunday, February 3. <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/teri-obrien/2013/02/03/larry-pratt-gun-owners-of-america-reacts-to-skeetgate">Here's the link</a>. For my appearance, go to 90:00 mins. in to about 102:00. (A little feedback issue 91:00-94:00)<br />
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For those who are tuning in for the first time, here's <a href="http://friendsofpresidentreaganschicagohome.blogspot.com/2013/01/progress-report-little-picture-big.html">background on this national initiative</a>, as well as our <a href="http://friendsofpresreaganschicagohome.blogspot.com/2013/01/corporate-purpose-statement.html">corporate purpose statement</a>. And, please note, if we do not succeed in our main mission, net donations will go to the other homes on "The Ronald Reagan Trail" in Illinois.<br />
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Thanks for all your generous support. Every little bit helps. Quite simply this initiative would not exist <i>but for your donations</i>. (See information to the right on how to contribute. And, for those who would like to wire funds, I would be pleased to facilitate this. Just give me a call.)<br />
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Sincerely yours,<br />
Mary Claire Kendall<br />
Acting President/CEO<br />
Friends of President Reagan's Chicago Home, Inc.<br />
<br />Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6424685909876775268.post-23063291508920802792013-02-01T17:55:00.002-08:002013-02-04T17:31:51.074-08:00Preservation Chicago Nomination & Donations UpdateDear Friends of President Reagan's Chicago Home:<br />
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Mr. Sam Guard of Hyde Park has nominated President Reagan's Chicago Home at 832 E. 57th Street for Preservation Chicago's annual "Chicago 7" list of endangered buildings. (See nomination along with accompanying photos below.)<br />
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Also, you may now make donations to Friends of President Reagan's Chicago Home via credit card. (See secure USA E-Pay Donate portal at right.)<br />
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For those who are tuning in for the first time, here's <a href="http://friendsofpresidentreaganschicagohome.blogspot.com/2013/01/progress-report-little-picture-big.html">background on this national initiative</a> as well as our <a href="http://friendsofpresreaganschicagohome.blogspot.com/2013/01/corporate-purpose-statement.html">corporate purpose statement</a>.<br />
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Thanks for all your support. Have a great weekend. <br />
<br />
Please note, I'll be on the <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/search/teri-obrien">Teri O'Brien Show</a> at 6:30 p.m. (EST) on Sunday, February 3, just as the Super Bowl kicks off, to talk about our national initiative. [2/3 update: Here's <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/teri-obrien/2013/02/03/larry-pratt-gun-owners-of-america-reacts-to-skeetgate">my appearance</a> - 90 minutes in to about 102 minutes. (A little feedback problem 91:00-94:00)]<br />
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Best,<br />
Mary Claire<br />
Acting President/CEO<br />
Friends of President Reagan's Chicago Home<br />
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<span style="font-family: bookman old style, new york, times, serif; font-size: small;"><u>Nomination:</u> 832-34 East 57th St., a 1900s 3-story, apartment building of architectural and historic significance; rated orange by Chicago Historic Resources Survey. Demolition permit filed 12/27/12 by Heneghan Wrecking; currently on 90-day hold.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"><u>Architectural Merit:</u> A superior example of masonry construction designed to optimize a small corner lot (40'x50'), yet provide attractive housing by means of the skillful use of a variety of materials and decorative detailing. I find the spirit of Burnham-era Chicago embodied in this vernacular yellow-brick six-flat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"> The first photo shows the triple-arched entrance trimmed in limestone set flush against the sidewalk with overhanging corner bays. Sideview in 2d photo shows spacious windows accented with stone keys, springline, and belt-course sills. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"> Image 3557 shows pressed-metal ornamentation of overscale tourelle with Classic leaf festoons. In Image 3560 a corbelled brick frieze can be seen beneath the projecting cornice supported by brachiolia. I think this building spoke to tenants with aspirations ! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"> Attachment 5 is the building's Data Form documenting its listing in the seminal Chicago Historic Resources Survey. Please observe the entry: "Noteworthy due to historical associations." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"><u>Historic Association:</u> From 1914 to 1915 (possibly 1917) this building was the Chicago home of Ronald Reagan. He mentioned it in his autobiography, letters, and conversations. He recalled the Eastland capsizing, Cottage Grove streetcars, friendly neighbors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"> ... (President Reagan's) first trip away from Washington (after the assassination attempt) was to a Labor Conference in Chicago where (Mayor Jane) Byrne presented him with a framed picture of his Chicago childhood home. The 5th photo (below), devoid of construction fencing, shows to us the stately & dignified & stately quality of this structure. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"><u>Endangerment:</u> 832-34 E. 57th now has been absorbed into a 217-acre Planned Development (#43 as amended Jan. 10, 2013). The site is scheduled for a future medical research center. A recent newspaper article attached here. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"> An affinity group with headquarters in Washington wants to save the building for Adaptive Re-use as a medical conference center, or administration offices, classrooms, etc. They are interested especially in Alzheimer education & research. I have told them that the excellent condition of the building will assure another 100 years of re-useful life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"> They incorporated Jan. 16th as Friends of President Reagan's Chicago Home, Inc.; PO box 3772, Washington DC 20027-3772; Telephone 301/625-4123.</span><span style="font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"> They see this issue as one of national concern and, presently, are not affiliated with any local group.</span></div>
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<br />Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6424685909876775268.post-78717743915881920692013-01-30T18:57:00.001-08:002013-01-30T20:04:00.294-08:00Newsmax and Washington Times stories inaccurateDear Friends of President Reagan's Chicago Home:<br />
<br />
The claim published in <a href="http://www.newsmax.com/US/reagan-obama-library-demolition/2013/01/30/id/488082?s=al&promo_code=123D9-1">Newsmax</a> today and the <a href="http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/bill-kellys-truth-squad/">Washington Times</a> on Friday, re-posted in Drudge, that the University of Chicago is planning to demolish the Reagan home at 832 E. 57th Street to make way for a parking lot for the Obama Presidential Library is utterly inaccurate, according to informed sources in Hyde Park. <br />
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We will be responding at more length in the coming days leading up to the Gipper's birthday on February 6.<br />
<br />
Meantime, please refer to our <a href="http://friendsofpresidentreaganschicagohome.blogspot.com/2013/01/progress-report-little-picture-big.html">latest post</a> for more information about the constructive steps Friends is taking to save the Reagan home and work with the university to transform it into a museum and center.<br />
<br />
As always, thank you for your financial support. Every dollar helps at this critical juncture! We will have the credit card portal up shortly. Meantime, you may use PayPal to make a donation or send a check to our P.O. Box. For those who would like to wire funds, I am pleased to facilitate this. Just give me a call. (Information on the right.)<br />
<br />
Good night and God bless!<br />
<br />
Sincerely yours,<br />
Mary Claire Kendall<br />
Acting President/CEO<br />
Friends of President Reagan's Chicago Home, Inc.Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6424685909876775268.post-57460365013804380282013-01-25T17:00:00.005-08:002013-08-03T06:27:09.749-07:00Progress Report: Little Picture & Big Picture<div class="MsoNormal">
Dear Friends of President Reagan's
Chicago Home:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Two months ago today, on Friday, November 30, I stopped by President Reagan’s Chicago home, then poised for demolition, on my from Midway to the Palmer House, and decided it was a no-brainer it should be saved. That day, Jack Spicer, Hyde Park
Historical Society Preservation Committee Chair, told me that the property at 832 E. 57th Street, where President Reagan lived when he was four, would most likely be demolished by January 1, 2013. The same day, the
Landmarks Commission told me that, in spite of <a href="http://ehfop.typepad.com/the_ernest_hemingway_foun/2012/11/redd-griffin-1938-2012.html">Redd Griffin</a>’s compelling submission (below), the home was not deemed worthy of landmark status.</div>
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I was soon joined by Peter Hannaford, Richard Allen and other key Reagan insiders and preservation devotees in this quest. Since then, we’ve made significant progress. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HTrJfpkfUSY/UQMoSWerD8I/AAAAAAAAAYw/mX84HCpAp7I/s1600/MCK+in+front+of+Reagan+Chicago+Home+-+Nov.+30,+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HTrJfpkfUSY/UQMoSWerD8I/AAAAAAAAAYw/mX84HCpAp7I/s320/MCK+in+front+of+Reagan+Chicago+Home+-+Nov.+30,+2012.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In front of President Reagan's Chicago home, <br />
832 E. 57th Street, Friday, November 30. <br />
Credit: Matthew A. Rarey</td></tr>
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After building our core team, including Shirley Banister Public Affairs, we began
to publicize this national initiative to save President Reagan’s <st1:city w:st="on">Chicago</st1:city> home starting with my <a href="http://washingtonexaminer.com/hyde-park-showdown-over-reagans-childhood-home/article/2515272">“Hyde Park Showdown over Reagan's childhood home”</a> in the <i>Washington Examiner</i>, followed by Peter
Hannaford’s<a href="http://spectator.org/archives/2012/12/11/historic-home-or-grassy-strip"><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>“Historic Home or Grassy Strip?”</a> published in<i> The American Spectator </i>and posted on Drudge. </div>
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Over the holidays, when the demolition
and wrecking equipment showed up on site, we sprang into action and, after lots
of behind-the-scenes work from Tuesday, January 1 to Wednesday, January 9, we
discerned a palpable shift in the winds. </div>
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On Friday, January 11,
Eleanor Gorski, Assistant Commissioner for Historic Preservation at the
Department of Housing and Economic Development in Chicago,
who approves demolition permits, affirmed that she fully expects the review
process will take the full 90 days—until March 29—and that granting the
Reagan home landmark status, after all, is one of the possibilities they are
considering. The day before, I called the department and was told by
a staff person that there had been “a lot of back and forth” vis-à-vis the home
at “higher levels” and someone would be contacting me. Only two days
before the department spokesperson, Pete Strazzobosco, was downplaying the
worth of the Reagan home. As he told the <i>Hyde Park Herald</i>, “It’s
a pretty modest apartment building for its style and age. It doesn’t have very
much style, at least not enough for the Landmarks Commission to consider a
possible landmark for it.” (January 9 issue) But, the next day at 8 p.m., the University of Chicago’s student newspaper,<i> <a href="http://chicagomaroon.com/2013/01/11/former-reagan-home-stays-for-now/">The Chicago Maroon</a> </i>reported that, according to Strazzobosco, “the City of<span class="apple-converted-space"> Chicago</span>’s Historic Preservation Division will use this time to ‘reach out to the property
owner and discuss alternatives to demolition.’” </div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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On Wednesday, January 16, the
Friends of President Reagan's Chicago Home incorporated in the State of <st1:state w:st="on">Illinois</st1:state> and this week we added two new board members—<a href="http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=44099">Don Totten</a>, the most prominent early Illinois Republican support of President Reagan, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Proft">Dan Proft</a>, a rising star in the
Illinois Republican Party and political commentator for WLS in <st1:city w:st="on">Chicago</st1:city>. </div>
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<b><span style="color: #ffe599;">The little picture in this initiative is our current effort to raise seed money to pay for the costs of incorporating as a non-profit and other incidentals. We are on our way to achieving our goal of raising the
initial $10,000 and appreciate your support, either by check, sent to <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on">P.O. Box 3772</st1:street>, <st1:city w:st="on">Washington</st1:city>,
<st1:state w:st="on">D.C.</st1:state> <st1:postalcode w:st="on">20027-3772,</st1:postalcode></st1:address>
or credit card via the Pay Pal portal to the right. And, for those who would like to wire funds, just give me a call and I'll be pleased to facilitate this. </span></b></div>
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The big picture, of course, is the significant funds we are raising to work with the University of Chicago to transform the home into a <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Reagan</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Museum</st1:placetype></st1:place>
and Center. More about that soon.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Thanks for all your support.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Let’s win one more for the Gipper!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sincerely yours,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mary Claire Kendall<o:p></o:p></div>
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Acting President/CEO<o:p></o:p></div>
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Friends of President Reagan’s
Chicago Home, Inc.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #d0e0e3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://friendsofpresreaganschicagohome.blogspot.com/2013/01/corporate-purpose-statement.html">Corporate Purpose Statement</a></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #d0e0e3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia;">Submitted to </span></b><b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia;">Commission on <st1:city w:st="on">Chicago</st1:city>
Landmarks </span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia;">by Redd <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Griffin</st1:place></st1:city>,
May 17, 2011</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">Suggestion for Chicago Landmark</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">Suggested Building: 832 E. 57<sup>th</sup> Street</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">Additional Background Information</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">The 832 E. 57<sup>th</sup> Street Building in Hyde Park meets Criterion 3 (Significant Person) as it was the childhood home of Ronald Reagan from 1914 to 1915. Though Reagan spent just a year in the six-flat building as a three- to four-year-old and most of his youth in western Illinois, he wrote fondly of the gas-lit first-floor apartment where his family resided in the building. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">In a 1988 letter, he described watching horse-drawn firefighters “come down the street at full gallop… the sight made me decide I wanted to be a fireman.” He described surviving a near-fatal bout of pneumonia, playing with a neighbor’s set of lead soldiers, how his older brother was run over by a beer wagon and how they both panicked while his parents went out for groceries, left the house, and got lost across the Midway. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">The former Reagan home is adjacent to the University of Chicago campus, the school that provided the intellectual force behind “Reaganomics” and is a few blocks from its new Milton Friedman Institute—named in tribute to the architect of Reagan’s free market policies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">The 832 E. 57<sup>th</sup> Street Building also meets Criterion 4 (Important Architecture) as an excellent example of a six-flat building, a general building type of significance to the historic visual character of Chicago’s neighborhoods. When the Hyde Park area began to be developed as a more densely populated urban neighborhood in the 1890s, small apartment buildings containing a variety of units were becoming common in new middle- and working-class neighborhoods. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">These include the City’s ubiquitous “two-flats” and “three-flats,” as well as larger “six-flats” and “corner” apartment buildings. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">The 832 E. 57<sup>th</sup> Street Building is an excellent example of the type of six-flat buildings scattered throughout the Hyde Park community and is noteworthy for its quality use of traditional building materials, including brick cladding with detailing in stone, wood and decorative metal. The building features elements from the Classical and Queen Anne styles. Notable ornamentation includes the two-story metal window bays featuring panels with festoons, a pressed metal cornice, and an arched front entrance trimmed in stone. The building is prominently located on a corner lot and features excellent architectural integrity in terms of its design, materials and decorative detailing. </span></div>
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Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6424685909876775268.post-21471250826037524262013-01-21T07:56:00.002-08:002013-01-23T18:56:50.709-08:00Reagan, Giant of American History, Once a Tike in ChicagoDear Friends of President Reagan's Chicago Home:<br />
<br />
Today, as America witnesses another peaceful transfer of power, on this the 57th Presidential Inauguration Day since 1789, giving Barack Obama his last four-year lease on power, it's instructive to listen to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LToM9bAnsyM&feature=player_embedded">newly minted President Ronald Reagan's Inaugural Address</a>, preceded by his swearing in, on January 20, 1981. <br />
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In retrospect, now more than ever, it's clear President Reagan was one of the giants of American history, about whom he spoke that day, choking up when he recounted the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQYJHx9eKuM">story of one brave American soldier</a>.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is the first time in our history that this ceremony has been held, as you’ve been told, on the West Front of the Capitol.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Standing here, one faces a magnificent vista, opening up on this city’s special beauty and history. At the end of this open mall are those shrines to the giants on whose shoulders we stand. Directly in front of me, the monument to a monumental man. George Washington, father of our country. A man of humility who came to greatness reluctantly. He led America out of revolutionary victory into infant nationhood. Off to one side, the stately memorial to Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration of Independence flames with his eloquence. And then beyond the Reflecting Pool, the dignified columns of the Lincoln Memorial. Whoever would understand in his heart the meaning of America will find it in the life of Abraham Lincoln.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beyond those moments -- those monuments to heroism is the Potomac River, and on the far shore the sloping hills of Arlington National Cemetery, with its row upon row of simple white markers bearing crosses or Stars of David. They add up to only a tiny fraction of the price that has been paid for our freedom.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each one of those markers is a monument to the kind of hero I spoke of earlier. Their lives ended in places called Belleau Wood, the Argonne, Omaha Beach, Salerno, and halfway around the world on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Pork Chop Hill, the Chosin Reservoir, and in a hundred rice paddies and jungles of a place called Vietnam.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Under one such a marker lies a young man, Martin Treptow, who left his job in a small town barber shop in 1917 to go to France with the famed Rainbow Division. There, on the Western front, he was killed trying to carry a message between battalions under heavy fire. We’re told that on his body was found a diary. On the flyleaf under the heading, “My Pledge,” he had written these words: "America must win this war. Therefore, I will work; I will save; I will sacrifice; I will endure; I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone."</span></blockquote>
But, President Reagan wasn't born a giant. He started out, like all of us, as a little tike, first in Tampico, Illinois (est. pop: 900), where he was born on February 6, 1911, and lived until age three.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rzn7-_JVohU/UP1fXwBJDGI/AAAAAAAAAYg/sh2q-6yull8/s1600/Dutch+age+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rzn7-_JVohU/UP1fXwBJDGI/AAAAAAAAAYg/sh2q-6yull8/s320/Dutch+age+3.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Dutch" Reagan circa 1914. Photo of photo taken at<br />
Birthplace of President Ronald Reagan Museum.</td></tr>
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Not long after the above photo was taken, his father Jack would lose his job as general manager at Pitney's General Store, after it was sold. So he packed up and moved his family to Chicago (est. pop. 2.2 million) on December 15, 1914, where he got a job at Marshall Field and the Mayfair annex on the South Side.<br />
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It was in Chicago that Reagan's first and strongest memories were formed and his winning personality shaped more definitively. He survived near-fatal pneumonia and decided he would be a fire-fighter, by golly, as he looked out his big front window and watched the horse-drawn fire engines galloping furiously down the street. Unbeknownst to his neighbors on E. 57th Street, he <i><b>was</b></i> being formed to fight fires, only the fires he would put out were of a bigger, geopolitical nature.<br />
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Friends of President Reagan's Chicago Home continues to work vigorously according to our corporate purpose statement, included in the <a href="http://friendsofpresidentreaganschicagohome.blogspot.com/2013/01/it-can-be-done.html">"It Can Be Done"</a> post.<br />
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God Bless America!<br />
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Sincerely yours,<br />
Mary Claire Kendall<br />
Acting President/CEO<br />
Friends of President Reagan's Chicago<br />
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********** </div>
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<a href="http://friendsofpresreaganschicagohome.blogspot.com/2013/01/corporate-purpose-statement.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Corporate Purpose Statement</span></a></div>
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<br />Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6424685909876775268.post-13116612719430859032013-01-18T18:43:00.000-08:002013-01-23T08:44:33.691-08:00"It Can Be Done"<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Dear
Friends of President Reagan</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 21px;">’</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">s Chicago Home:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We
did it! We incorporated in the State of Illinois on Wednesday, January 16,
2013. Here’s our corporate purpose statement:</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Friends
of President Reagan’s Chicago Home (the Corporation) is organized and
operated exclusively for charitable purposes in accordance with section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (or a corresponding provision of any
future United States Internal Revenue law). More specifically, the
Corporation is organized to develop and operate a museum and center located at
832 E. 57th Street, in partnership with home’s current owner, reflecting
the historical relevance of Reagan’s life growing up there and elsewhere in
Illinois. The museum and center will also celebrate President Reagan’s historic
accomplishments, highlight his suffering with Alzheimer’s, complementing
mission of nearby Center for Care and Discovery, and provide educational and
community-enriching opportunities. Friends also intends to make a
contribution each year to the other Reagan homes in Illinois underscoring that
“The Ronald Reagan Trail” is one, with Chicago home enhancing the whole.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">And, the good news is, we raised our
first seed money today to cover initial costs of incorporation and other
incidentals, but have several hundred dollars more to go.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span> If you wish to help the cause,
you may send your tax-deductible contributions made payable to </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 21px;">“</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Friends of Pres. Reagan</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 21px;">’</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">s Chicago Home</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 21px;">”</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> to P.O. Box 3772,
Washington, DC 20027-3772. Or for those who wish to make a contribution that
will arrive more speedily, you may use PayPal by using donate button in the upper right.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V3QBwovoFBo/UPoIAU_AW9I/AAAAAAAAAXY/DrDFy7ty7Kg/s1600/It+can+be+done.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V3QBwovoFBo/UPoIAU_AW9I/AAAAAAAAAXY/DrDFy7ty7Kg/s320/It+can+be+done.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">President Reagan talking to Senator Alphonse D'Amato, with the <br />
"It Can Be Done" gold inscribed dark red leatherette placard in the foreground.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">With your support, we’re on our way to
winning one more for the Gipper!<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">As Ronald Reagan always said, “It can be
done.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Thank you.<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Sincerely yours,<u2:p></u2:p><u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Mary Claire Kendall<u2:p></u2:p><u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Acting President/CEO<u2:p></u2:p><u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Friends of President Reagan</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 21px;">’</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">s Chicago Home</span></div>
<u2:p></u2:p><br />Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6424685909876775268.post-57300537531249795132013-01-15T18:15:00.000-08:002013-01-23T08:44:58.007-08:00Friends Poised to Incorporate<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Dear Friends of President Reagan's Chicago Home:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tomorrow, the Friends of President Reagan's Chicago Home will incorporate in Illinois.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We will be blogging here at </span><a href="http://friendsofpresidentreaganschicagohome.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">http://friendsofpresidentreaganschicagohome.blogspot.com/</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For information on the early stages of this national initiative, December 14, 2012 to January 13, 2013, see <a href="http://maryclairecinema.blogspot.com/">"Mary Claire's Pearl's of Wisdom."</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This initiative came about when I visited Chicago on November 30, for a Hemingway-focused weekend after my mentor on Hemingway, <a href="http://ehfop.typepad.com/the_ernest_hemingway_foun/2012/11/redd-griffin-1938-2012.html">Redd Griffin of Oak Park</a>, suddenly and unexpectedly died on November 20. He was the main person championing the cause of saving Reagan's South Side Chicago home on the edge of the University of Chicago campus. Little Dutch Reagan lived there in that home with his family in 1915.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VQCb6sIH4MQ/UPbDmBliOkI/AAAAAAAAAXI/zxqyWMEpzGI/s1600/Reagan+Hyde+Park+home+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VQCb6sIH4MQ/UPbDmBliOkI/AAAAAAAAAXI/zxqyWMEpzGI/s320/Reagan+Hyde+Park+home+%25282%2529.jpg" width="264" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little Ronald "Dutch" Reagan, standing next to his mother Nelle, <br />
just before moving to Chicago. To his right is his brother Neil, <br />
nicknamed "Moon," and his father Jack.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When I stopped by the home on my way from Midway into town, it was a no-brainer it should be saved. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A week later, </span><a href="http://washingtonexaminer.com/hyde-park-showdown-over-reagans-childhood-home/article/2515272" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I wrote about it in the Washington Examiner</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> and two days later </span><a href="http://spectator.org/archives/2012/12/11/historic-home-or-grassy-strip" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Peter Hannaford penned a piece for the American Spectator</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let's win one more for the Gipper and save the <b>only Chicago home of the only president born and bred in Illinois</b>. To support the cause, you may send tax-deductible contributions to:</span><br />
<b style="color: #e69138; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></b><b style="color: #e69138; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: large;">Friends of President Reagan's Chicago Home </b><br />
<b style="color: #e69138; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: large;">P.O. Box 3772</b><br />
<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: medium;"><b>Washington, DC 20027-3772</b></span><span style="background-color: #1f1605; color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: medium;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thank you for your support.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sincerely yours,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mary Claire Kendall</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Acting President/CEO</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Friends of President Reagan's Chicago Home</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VXH93DvJJ00/UPa9HNhAneI/AAAAAAAAAWw/QYzUx2l_-Bg/s1600/Reagan+Hyde+Park+Home+-+MCK+in+front+-+November+30,+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VXH93DvJJ00/UPa9HNhAneI/AAAAAAAAAWw/QYzUx2l_-Bg/s320/Reagan+Hyde+Park+Home+-+MCK+in+front+-+November+30,+2012.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary Claire Kendall in front of the Reagan home at <br />
832 E. 57th Street, Chicago, IL, on Friday, November 30, 2012. <br />
Credit: Matthew A. Rarey</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0