Monday, January 14, 2019

Letters to Governor Reagan, 1967

I’ve been reading through the letters that Californians wrote to their governor (Ronald Reagan) in 1967—52 years ago.  I remember that year well—it’s the year I met accidentally the personnel librarian from OSU on the fourth floor of the University of Illinois Library, in Urbana, Illinois, and he offered me a job in Columbus, Ohio.  But my husband would need a job, I responded, and he said there was a guy in his Sunday school class that needed a draftsman.  And the rest is history. Every time I drive by that church on Bethel Road I think of that, and say a little praise, because our lives changed completely that year.

https://reagan.blogs.archives.gov/2017/10/19/1960s-student-movement/

The blogger’s comments (seems to be an employee/intern of the Reagan library) are not helpful, but the letters and news clippings are fascinating.  A college was giving credit for attending a protest (against the Viet Nam war). The Bolsheviks at UC Irvine were sponsoring a dance.  A 21 year old wants Reagan to get with the times and be more progressive.

By putting these letters on the internet with names and addresses where they can be copied or used, I’m wondering if they violated copyright law.  In the U.S.  the physical piece belongs to the receiver (addressed person), but the information belongs to the writer.  Since the one writer gave his age, and company name, I was able to look him up.  Makes me wonder what has happened to the hundreds of letters to editors, writers, and politicians I have written over the last 60 years!!

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