Description:

Reagan Ronald 1911 - 2004 Typed Letter Signed “Dutch” as President, 1 page, 6.75” x 9”. The White House, Washington, June 7, 1983. To Mrs. Peter MacArthur, Lake Worth, Florida. Blind embossed presidential seal at top center. With original 7.25” x 4.75” postmarked White House envelope slit open at top. Fine condition.

Mrs. Peter MacArthur was 89-year-old Lydia Hupfer “Hup” McArthur (1893-1995), widow of the man who had given Reagan his first job after college. Peter MacArthur was the program director at radio station WOC in Davenport, Iowa, which shared its frequency with WHO Des Moines. In 1932, MacArthur gave 21-year-old recent Eureka College grad Ronald “Dutch” Reagan a sports announcer’s job at WOC. In 1937, sportscaster Reagan went to the Chicago Cubs spring training camp in southern California to do play-by-play for WHO Des Moines. Impressed by his confidence and good looks, an agent arranged a screen test for the 26-year-old sports announcer at Warner Bros. Reagan signed a seven-year contract and moved to California. But he never forgot Pete and Hup MacArthur whom he affectionately called “Ma” and “Pa” (“Maw & Paw,” “Mom & Pop”). He sent Christmas cards and letters to them on a regular basis from 1938 until 1948 when Pete died, continuing to correspond with Hup until she died in 1995 at 101.

In full, “Dear Hup: Nancy and I want to be the first to wish you a very happy birthday. You’ll be the loveliest nonagenarian we know! We’re glad you sent the photo. As someone very wise once said, ‘Youth is a gift of nature, but age is a work of art.’ With our love and warmest wishes…”

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