Thursday, June 10, 2004
San Mateo County Times Online - Local & Regional News
Teen autograph seeker became a Reagan follower
San Carlos youth inspired by her 1977 meeting became
a dedicated Republican
By Mike Meenan, STAFF WRITER
In 1977, Ronald Reagan, then ex-governor of California, received a letter from a San Carlos High School junior, inviting him to dinner at her house.
Carol Bledsoe really didn't expect him to come. One of her hobbies was collecting celebrity autographs. An invitation to dinner often prompted the target celebrity to write back, if only to say no. Instant autograph.
She didn't get a written response from Reagan, but what she did receive was a call a while later from his Los Angeles office, saying that her letter had just been found and apologizing for the delay in responding. No, Mr. Reagan couldn't come to dinner, but he would be happy to meet with Bledsoe at the office.
"I tried to be calm on the phone," Bledsoe recalled Sunday, "but I screamed and told my parents I needed to fly to L.A."
On the appointed day, Bledsoe arrived at Reagan's office on Wilshire Boulevard. "It was a small office," Bledsoe said. "There was a woman at a desk who said, 'The governor is expecting you.'"
A short time later, Reagan came out and invited Bledsoe to his inner office.
"I guess he spent about half an hour with me, Bledsoe said. "He talked about his days in Hollywood and his terms as governor. He was struggling with a decision about running for president again. He asked me about my political convictions -- which weren't very strong at the time, since I was really trying to get his autograph."
Reagan, she said, went on to tell her why he believed so strongly in America.
"He spoke to me about our great privilege of being born into freedom, and that we ought to ensure that every individual is as privileged as ourselves. He told me of de Tocqueville and his vision of the 'shining city on a hill,' an image we all later heard Mr. Reagan use on many occasions." It was a very clear day, she remembers, and they both could see the Channel Islands from his office window.
The meeting was inspirational in the political life of the spunky teenage
autograph seeker.
"I really credit him with giving me my conservative base," Bledsoe said. I became a registered Republican and started working for the party."
Bledsoe's original wish was granted, as she and Reagan exchanged about a dozen letters over the years that followed that meeting.
"At first, they were just about day-to-day things, what was going on, but after he was elected president, they were less personal and more businesslike." She especially appreciated Reagan's use of "unfussy language."
Reagan saw to it personally that Bledsoe was named an at-large California delegate to the Republican National Convention in Detroit in 1980. She was just turning 19 that summer, which made her the youngest delegate there. In November, she cast her first vote in a presidential election for Ronald Reagan.
She went on to attend balls and special events at both of Reagan's presidential inaugurations and earned an invitation to the White House.
Bledsoe also ran for office herself, serving 10 years on the San Mateo County Republican Central Committee. What was it like to be a Republican in San Mateo County in the 1980s? "Without Ronald Reagan in the White House," Bledsoe said, "it would have been a much harder position to be in."
Watching the television coverage since his death, she said Sunday, was like seeing a "scrapbook of my life in the '80s. The scenes of the conventions and the balls and the many familiar faces brought back fond memories. He had an impact on both my political and personal life."
Asked about what she considered to be Reagan's greatest accomplishments, Bledsoe mentioned the end of the Cold War, but she will remember him most, she said, for "the pride that he brought back to America.
"His humor, the twinkle in his eye, and his infectious optimism brought out the best in me," she said. "As I watch the coverage on television, it confirms what I already knew: He brought out the best in all of us."
Bledsoe, an executive at a San Carlos air conditioning company, is traveling to the East Coast on business this week, and plans to visit the Capitol rotunda in Washington, where Reagan will lie in state before making his final journey back to California.
"I certainly plan to stand in line with his other supporters," Bledsoe said, "to say good
Teen autograph seeker became a Reagan follower
San Carlos youth inspired by her 1977 meeting became
a dedicated Republican
By Mike Meenan, STAFF WRITER
In 1977, Ronald Reagan, then ex-governor of California, received a letter from a San Carlos High School junior, inviting him to dinner at her house.
Carol Bledsoe really didn't expect him to come. One of her hobbies was collecting celebrity autographs. An invitation to dinner often prompted the target celebrity to write back, if only to say no. Instant autograph.
She didn't get a written response from Reagan, but what she did receive was a call a while later from his Los Angeles office, saying that her letter had just been found and apologizing for the delay in responding. No, Mr. Reagan couldn't come to dinner, but he would be happy to meet with Bledsoe at the office.
"I tried to be calm on the phone," Bledsoe recalled Sunday, "but I screamed and told my parents I needed to fly to L.A."
On the appointed day, Bledsoe arrived at Reagan's office on Wilshire Boulevard. "It was a small office," Bledsoe said. "There was a woman at a desk who said, 'The governor is expecting you.'"
A short time later, Reagan came out and invited Bledsoe to his inner office.
"I guess he spent about half an hour with me, Bledsoe said. "He talked about his days in Hollywood and his terms as governor. He was struggling with a decision about running for president again. He asked me about my political convictions -- which weren't very strong at the time, since I was really trying to get his autograph."
Reagan, she said, went on to tell her why he believed so strongly in America.
"He spoke to me about our great privilege of being born into freedom, and that we ought to ensure that every individual is as privileged as ourselves. He told me of de Tocqueville and his vision of the 'shining city on a hill,' an image we all later heard Mr. Reagan use on many occasions." It was a very clear day, she remembers, and they both could see the Channel Islands from his office window.
The meeting was inspirational in the political life of the spunky teenage
autograph seeker.
"I really credit him with giving me my conservative base," Bledsoe said. I became a registered Republican and started working for the party."
Bledsoe's original wish was granted, as she and Reagan exchanged about a dozen letters over the years that followed that meeting.
"At first, they were just about day-to-day things, what was going on, but after he was elected president, they were less personal and more businesslike." She especially appreciated Reagan's use of "unfussy language."
Reagan saw to it personally that Bledsoe was named an at-large California delegate to the Republican National Convention in Detroit in 1980. She was just turning 19 that summer, which made her the youngest delegate there. In November, she cast her first vote in a presidential election for Ronald Reagan.
She went on to attend balls and special events at both of Reagan's presidential inaugurations and earned an invitation to the White House.
Bledsoe also ran for office herself, serving 10 years on the San Mateo County Republican Central Committee. What was it like to be a Republican in San Mateo County in the 1980s? "Without Ronald Reagan in the White House," Bledsoe said, "it would have been a much harder position to be in."
Watching the television coverage since his death, she said Sunday, was like seeing a "scrapbook of my life in the '80s. The scenes of the conventions and the balls and the many familiar faces brought back fond memories. He had an impact on both my political and personal life."
Asked about what she considered to be Reagan's greatest accomplishments, Bledsoe mentioned the end of the Cold War, but she will remember him most, she said, for "the pride that he brought back to America.
"His humor, the twinkle in his eye, and his infectious optimism brought out the best in me," she said. "As I watch the coverage on television, it confirms what I already knew: He brought out the best in all of us."
Bledsoe, an executive at a San Carlos air conditioning company, is traveling to the East Coast on business this week, and plans to visit the Capitol rotunda in Washington, where Reagan will lie in state before making his final journey back to California.
"I certainly plan to stand in line with his other supporters," Bledsoe said, "to say good
