Eureka College

Ralph 'Mac' McKinzie, Ronald Reagan's football coach at Eureka College in Illinois, died at age 96. McKinzie coached for nearly 35 years at Eureka College, Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, and at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.

Ralph 'Mac' McKinzie, Ronald Reagan's football coach at Eureka College in Illinois, died at age 96. McKinzie coached for nearly 35 years at Eureka College, Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, and at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.

They are all here. The footballs autographed "for the Gipper," cowboy boots bearing the presidential seal, T-shirts emblazoned with "Daffy Kadaffy" and "Hugs Not Drugs," books on topics as obscure as chiropractic ethics and baseball caps from the Hoboken Democrats. These are among the hundreds, perhaps thousands of gifts that Ronald and Nancy Reagan have received during two presidential terms.

They are all here. The footballs autographed "for the Gipper," cowboy boots bearing the presidential seal, T-shirts emblazoned with "Daffy Kadaffy" and "Hugs Not Drugs," books on topics as obscure as chiropractic ethics and baseball caps from the Hoboken Democrats. These are among the hundreds, perhaps thousands of gifts that Ronald and Nancy Reagan have received during two presidential terms.

Former President Ronald Reagan was given the International Swimming Hall of Fame's gold medallion achievement award at his office in Century City. Reagan is a former pool lifeguard and swimmer at Eureka College in Eureka, Ill.

The Ronald Reagan Peace Garden, which was built to mark the end of the Cold War and memorialize its threat to the nation's security, became a place of mourning in Eureka as that security was shattered by terrorism. Candles burned at the base of the monument built by Eureka College, where Reagan graduated in 1932. The retaining wall is plastered with notes students and others wrote about the attacks.

The record company executives loved it. Tom Vaughn had just cut his first album and was headlining at the Newport Jazz Festival. The beauty of it was that this pianist was also an honest-to-God Episcopalian priest. Father Tom Vaughn. A man of the cloth in a world of smoky clubs and street slang. A gimmick like that sells records like you wouldn't believe. The executives had Vaughn booked for club dates and television appearances a year in advance. Then he screwed it all up.

Former President Ronald Reagan, his hair as closely cropped as that of the cadets he was addressing, told America's future military leaders at the U.S. Military Academy today that they "are keepers of the peace." "My service record certainly can't explain my presence here," Reagan said prior to receiving the Sylvanus Thayer Award before the academy's 4,400 cadets, West Point staff and others.

President Reagan and his wife, Nancy, paid $123,517 in taxes on an adjusted gross income of $336,640 in 1986, according to a copy of the pair's tax return. The Reagans' tax form, which they signed Monday and which the White House press office made available to reporters today, shows the Reagans got a tax refund of about $31,000. They set aside $15,000 of the refund to apply to 1987, the forms showed.

Max Boot and Michael Ramirez (June 10 commentary and editorial cartoon) both try to draw comparisons between Ronald Reagan and George Bush, based largely on some policy similarities. But they are ignoring a crucial aspect of Reagan's personal appeal over the years, even to those who disagreed with his politics: He was honest and humble about himself. Reagan connected with the common man because that's what he was. He was born poor but built a decades-long career in entertainment and politics.

Neil Reagan, a communications executive who was the only sibling of former President Ronald Reagan, has died. He was 88. He died Wednesday of heart failure at Scripps Memorial Hospital in San Diego, the former president's Los Angeles office announced Thursday. The statement from Ronald and Nancy Reagan said they will "miss him terribly."

A 20-acre site adjoining the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University has been selected by the university's trustees for the proposed Reagan Presidential Library. The site decision has been forwarded to President Reagan for his approval and a "fairly expeditious decision" is expected, according to Robert Freelen, Stanford vice president for public affairs and head of the university committee planning for the library.