Libertas (Issue 44.1 - Summer 2023)

Dear Friends,

On April 21, 1998, the leadership and supporters of Young America’s Foundation took a leap of faith to save President Ronald Reagan’s beloved Rancho del Cielo.

When the state of California and the Clinton administration refused to protect the Reagan Ranch—the historic mountaintop home of the 20th century’s most successful President—YAF saw an extraordinary opportunity to preserve an important piece of American history and, at the same time, exponentially grow our ability to fulfill our mission.

Generous citizens and families from across America raised their hands—in many cases, for the first time—providing transformational, sacrificial gifts to preserve Ronald Reagan’s legacy for the benefit of future generations.

Today, each time a college, high school, or middle school student visits Rancho del Cielo, we pass on the legacy of our 40th President.

YAF’s programs train young leaders how to advance the ideas and ideals Ronald Reagan fought for throughout his life. Students come away ready to defend conservative values at their schools by hosting campus lectures and engaging in activism. YAF then broadcasts these activities online, drawing more than one billion views on YouTube (YouTube.com/YAFTV)—the most popular platform among young people.

Patriotic Americans nationwide joined our effort to save the Ranch because they knew that YAF had been the most effective conservative youth organization for nearly four decades. They trusted our leadership, which had remained true to Ronald Reagan’s freedom philosophy. They were also reassured in YAF’s independence because we had never accepted government funding—and we never will.

This leap of faith paid off. Countless students, like Katie Pavlich (see page 34), came to Santa Barbara and left inspired and equipped to help lead the Conservative Movement. Today, Katie advances our values as a bestselling author and journalist.

This issue of Libertas appropriately celebrates YAF’s 25th anniversary of saving Rancho del Cielo.

Looking ahead, we need to take another leap of faith. Instead of a plan to save a Presidential property, YAF now has a plan to save America. We look forward to sharing more and ask for your continued support to win this effort to preserve our republic. Thank you.

Keep fighting for freedom,

Governor Scott Walker President

LIBERTAS

25th

4 A Letter from the Editor: Celebrating History and Looking to the Future

By Raj Kannappan, Editor

10 Preserving My Father’s Ranch, 25 Years Later

By Michael Reagan, Author

13 The Ranch: An Excerpt from When Character Was King

By Peggy Noonan,

Opinion Columnist, Wall Street Journal

21 Educating Future Generations on Reagan’s Economic Legacy

By Dr. Arthur Laffer, Founder & Chairman, Laffer Associates

24 Ronald Reagan’s Open Cathedral

By Dr. Paul Kengor, Professor of

Political Science, Grove City College

28 The Reagan Ranch Center: A Schoolhouse for Reaganism

By Andrew Coffin, Vice President & Director of the Reagan Ranch

By Katie Pavlich, Editor, Townhall

By Brent Kilpper, Associate Director of the Reagan Ranch

By John Barletta, United States Secret Service Agent

By Matt Cutler, Senior Development Officer

Libertas, the Latin word for liberty, is a publication of Young America’s Foundation which highlights the programs, events, students, alumni, supporters, and staff of the Foundation. You may contact Libertas and Young America’s Foundation by writing to: Young America’s Foundation, National Headquarters, 11480 Commerce Park Drive, Sixth Floor, Reston, Virginia 20191; calling 800-USA-1776; or visiting yaf.org.

Editor: Raj Kannappan; Publisher: Governor Scott Walker; Publication Design: Jonathan Briggs; Assistant Editors: Jason Barbour, Cheri Cerame, Kelleigh Clarke, Andrew Coffin, Patrick X. Coyle, Matt Cutler, Madison Habersetzer, Madison Hahn, Clare Hinshaw, Caroline Howerton, Jessica Jensen, Charlie Jones, Breana Marsh, Hayden Martin, Michael Mastrianna, Kody McLain, Tom Robinson; Washington, D.C., event photographers: David Keith and Bob Updegrove; California event photographer: Jacqueline Pilar; Illinois event photographer: Alex Rodriquez. This document and all herein contents, images, stories, graphics, and design, fall unto copyright © 2005 to 2023 Young America’s Foundation, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Any use of Libertas’ content without the written permission of Young America’s Foundation is prohibited.

Young America’s Foundation Board Of Directors

Governor Scott Walker

President

Ronald Pearson

Vice President

Frank Donatelli

Secretary and Treasurer

Kimberly Begg

T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr.

Wynton C. Hall

Nicole Hoplin

Kate Obenshain Keeler

Peter Schweizer

Thomas L. Phillips

Director Emeritus Reagan Ranch Board Of Governors

Frank Donatelli Chairman

Edwin Meese

Co-Chairman

Robert F. Agostinelli

Governor George Allen

Candee Arndt

Dr. Suzanne Becker

Lisa M. Buestrin

George & Becky Norton Dunlop

Bruce & Kathi Eberle

Richard Gaby & Barbara Van Andel-Gaby

Robert Giuffra, Jr.

Timothy S. Goeglein

Michael W. Grebe

Ambassador Patricia L. Herbold

Eric & Nicole Hoplin

Ann Knapheide

Mark Larson

Rebekah Mercer

Dennis & Nancy Moore

Doug & Pat Perry

Thomas L. Phillips

Rear Admiral JJ Quinn

Ruppert & Cheryl Reinstadler

Richard & Jane Schwartz

Bernadette Casey Smith

Tonette Walker

Jay Webber

National Journalism Center Board Of Governors

T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr. Chairman

Chris Bedford

Elizabeth Donatelli

John Gizzi

Emily Jashinsky

Rich Lowry

Alex Marlow

The Honorable Alex Mooney

Larry O’Connor

Gabby Orr

Katie Pavlich

Ronald Pearson

Sarah Westwood

Thomas L. Phillips

Chairman Emeritus

Celebrating History and Looking to the Future

Dear Readers,

This special edition of Libertas highlights the journey that Young America’s Foundation’s leadership, loyal supporters, and close Reagan associates have taken to steward the Reagan Ranch and transform it into the premier Conservative Movement site in the country.

The benefits of saving Rancho del Cielo go far beyond the preservation of a historic site, as is evidenced by the impact on young people since YAF’s acquisition of the property in 1998. With the significant growth in financial support that followed the acquisition, the scale and scope of YAF’s programs also increased exponentially. Our impact grew even more after the completion of the Reagan Ranch Center, our Schoolhouse for Reaganism, in Santa Barbara in 2006 (see page 28).

YAF is now the leading conservative outreach organization in the country, with Rancho del Cielo fitting squarely within this broader mission. In addition to the Reagan Ranch and Reagan Ranch Center, YAF’s programs and initiatives take place on 2,000 college campuses, at hundreds of high schools, and at our educational facilities across the country—including our headquarters in Reston, Virginia; the William & Berniece Grewcock Capitol Hill Townhouse in Washington, D.C.; and our newest location, the Reagan Boyhood Home in Dixon, Illinois.

YAF’s conferences and seminars—ranging from our annual National Conservative Student Conference in the nation’s capital to our High School Conferences at the Reagan Ranch—teach thousands of young people the foundational principles of freedom and equip them with the tools to advance these ideas throughout their lives.

Importantly, YAF has also become a leader in reaching young people online, drawing hundreds of millions of views each year across YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and other digital platforms. The Foundation’s digital presence allows us to connect with young people, regardless of where they are, with timely lessons on the First Amendment, the case for freedom over socialism, and more.

Yet, you are likely well aware that we face an uphill battle today—a moment of crisis in America. A lack of understanding and respect for our founding values, civil intolerance, and unrestrained government control are tearing our country apart.

The need to prepare the young people of today and tomorrow to love America, fight for freedom, and effectively engage their peers is a defining challenge of our time.

To that end, YAF is embarking on an ambitious plan, under the leadership of Governor Scott Walker, to educate and inspire significantly more young people, at earlier ages, and more effectively with conservative ideas. Our core priorities include:

1. Strengthening YAF’s essential programs

These programs include our conferences and seminars; campus lectures and initiatives; Young Americans for Freedom chapters; digital outreach; Reagan Ranch, Reagan Ranch Center, and Reagan Boyhood Home activities; National Journalism Center internships; Center for Entrepreneurship & Free Enterprise programs; free speech protection; and more.

YAF’s premier campus lectures, like this one featuring commentator Ben Shapiro at Texas A&M University in 2022, draw large audiences of young people eager to hear conservative ideas.

2. Expanding YAF’s life-changing outreach

We seek to grow YAF’s presence to more than 4,000 college campuses, in all 50 states, and at our forthcoming educational facility at the Reagan Boyhood Home. Through the development of middle school programs and continued investment in YAF’s digital platforms, we will also be at the forefront of growing the Conservative Movement’s demographic reach.

3. Ensuring the permanence of our values

To give young people long-term access to YAF’s transformative education and training, we will establish permanent funds to support our core programs and activities, historic Presidential sites, internships, and more.

Young America’s Foundation is ideally positioned to persuade and influence the next generation. Our proven record of undertaking an ambitious plan and honoring our promise—to Ronald Reagan and the Reagan family, to the loyal supporters of YAF, and to the young people who are beneficiaries of our programs—should offer confidence to those wondering whether they should join this effort.

While following the journey of the Reagan Ranch project throughout this edition of Libertas, please view this effort through a historic lens and as a model for the future.

Gratefully,

Raj Kannappan Editor

With campuses on the East Coast, the West Coast, and now in the Midwest, Young America’s Foundation seeks to educate and train more students than ever before in our history.

Students of All Ages Learn American Values

In hIs prescIent 1989 farewell address, presIdent ronald reagan told the natIon, “Younger parents aren’t sure that an unambivalent appreciation of America is the right thing to teach modern children…Our spirit is back, but we haven’t reinstitutionalized it.”

Since its founding, Young America’s Foundation has sought to “reinstitutionalize” the spirit of patriotism by teaching the ideas of individual freedom, a strong national defense, free enterprise, and traditional values to increasing numbers of students.

Unique among conservative youth organizations, YAF has ensured the permanence of its mission by preserving and using key historic sites to reach young people.

In 1998, YAF took the bold step of saving the Reagan Ranch, President Ronald Reagan’s Western White House in the Santa Ynez Mountains. The Foundation subsequently established the 22,000-square-foot Reagan Ranch Center in 2006 as a Schoolhouse for Reaganism in downtown Santa Barbara, California—offering dynamic, interactive exhibits, a library of conservative resources, and dedicated conference space (see page 28). Together, these facilities constitute the premier site in the country to educate and inspire young people of all ages with Reagan’s freedom philosophy.

This expansion on the West Coast made possible a key moment in the Foundation’s growth. Based on demand from concerned parents and grandparents who felt the need to teach younger audiences—in addition to college students—the importance of freedom, YAF launched programs to educate

high school students. This included the first High School Conference at the Reagan Ranch in 2007, a program that now attracts lengthy waiting lists of young people eager to participate.

In recent years, many radical activists, government bureaucrats, and media organizations have expanded their efforts to indoctrinate students at even younger ages. This led to the Foundation’s latest milestone at the Reagan Ranch in 2022—the launch of YAF’s middle school programs.

As a recent Middle School Retreat participant from St. Paschal Baylon School in Thousand Oaks, California, remarked,

I learned many new things about our country and one of our most influential Presidents. In leaving this retreat, I will not leave its message. I will strive to be more like President Reagan, especially now in our country’s time of need.

Contrary to media reports and claims from leftist activists about the rising popularity of anti-Americanism and socialism among young people, the growth in demand for YAF’s programs demonstrates that students are more eager to learn about America’s founding values than ever before.

Solomon Lee from Calvary Christian Academy participates in a question-andanswer session during YAF’s first-ever middle school program at the Reagan Ranch Center in 2022.

Young people from across the country gather at the Reagan Ranch Center in 2007 for YAF’s inaugural High School Conference in Santa Barbara, California.

NegarJadidicametoAmericaasanIranianrefuge.Afterbecomingdiscouragedby theleftismrunningrampantonhercampus, shejoinedYAF. Negarwas strengthenedbyherfellowconservativestudentsandreceivedpracticalactivism trainingthatempoweredhertochangeheartsandmindsonhercampus.

PresidentReaganbelieved,“Thereisaflickeringsparkinallofuswhich,ifstruckat justtherightage,canlighttherestofourlives.”Youcanensurethatsparkislitfor generationsofyoungpeople, likeNegar,bycreatinganestategifttoYoung America’sFoundation.YourgiftsupportstheFoundation’spremierconferences, seminars,campuslectures,activisminitiatives,andtheReaganRanchand RonaldReaganBoyhoodHome.

ToreceiveafreeEstatePlanningGuideortolearnabouttheexcitingbenefitsofmembership inYoungAmerica'sFoundation's RanchintheSkyLegacySociety, pleasecallClareHinshawat 1-800-USA-1776orvisitwww.yaf.org/legacy

YAF Alumnus Mark Levin Hosts Talk Radio Show from the Reagan Ranch Center

durIng the celebratIon weekend for Young amerIca’s foundatIon’s 25th annIversarY of savIng rancho del cIelo (see page 43), YAF alumnus Mark Levin hosted his top-rated talk show, The Mark Levin Show, live from the Reagan Ranch Center.

On his program that reaches millions of listeners and 400 radio stations each week, Levin discussed the dangers of radical climate alarmism, uncontrolled government spending, and the absence of the Biden administration’s leadership abroad, among other issues. He also hosted YAF Vice President and Chief of Staff Jessica Jensen on air to update his audience on the Foundation’s Reagan Ranch anniversary celebration.

In addition to serving as the keynote speaker for the Reagan Ranch 25th Anniversary Gala, Levin toured the Reagan Ranch Center galleries with Andrew Coffin, YAF vice

president and director of the Reagan Ranch, and Jensen. Later in the day, he was moved by his first-ever visit to Rancho del Cielo, where he was hosted by YAF’s president, Governor Scott Walker, and Coffin.

Following his memorable trip, Levin remarked on his show,

Young America’s Foundation…hosted me, and I was nearly moved to tears at Reagan’s ranch. You see, YAF saved President Reagan’s ranch home so future generations could discover his and your conservative ideas. YAF is the leading conservative organization teaching college, high school, and now middle school students your conservative beliefs!

My visit to the Reagan Ranch was spectacular—I can see why there is no better place for a student to learn your conservative ideas than at the Reagan Ranch and YAF’s…Reagan Ranch Center, called a Schoolhouse for Reaganism.

(Back row) Jessica Jensen, YAF vice president and chief of staff, and Andrew Coffin, YAF vice president and director of the Reagan Ranch, join Mark Levin on set at the Reagan Ranch Center following his live radio program.

(From left) YAF President Governor Scott Walker, Mark Levin, and YAF Vice President and Director of the Reagan Ranch Andrew Coffin tour President Reagan’s home at Rancho del Cielo.

Young America’s Foundation

Honors Attorney General Ed Meese

In a specIal ceremonY at the reagan ranch, leaders and frIends of Young amerIca’s foundatIon dedIcated a “Defender of Freedom” plaque honoring 75th U.S. Attorney General Ed Meese.

Attendees at the unveiling ceremony included YAF President Governor Scott Walker; talk radio host and YAF alumnus Mark Levin; former YAF President Ron Robinson; Reagan Ranch Board of Governors Chairman Frank Donatelli; Ed and Ursula Meese’s daughter, Dana Mlikotin; President Reagan’s granddaughter, Ashley Reagan; and Barb Kenney, sister of longtime Reagan Secret Service Agent John Barletta.

Walker, Donatelli, and Levin—the latter of whom served under Attorney General Meese in the Reagan administration—paid tribute to Meese, recognizing his years of distinguished service to President Ronald Reagan and leadership with the Reagan Ranch project.

Serving as co-chairman of the Reagan Ranch Board of Governors, Meese has guided important decisions related to the preservation of this priceless Presidential site since 1998.

Under Meese’s tenure and that of Chairman Frank Donatelli, the Board of Governors authorized the creation of Freedom Wall and Freedom Sanctuary to recognize the patriots who have contributed to this effort. Their leadership also helped YAF acquire and build the state-of-the-art Reagan Ranch Center in downtown Santa Barbara; secure

the property from fire and other threats; make critical policy decisions, including the rejection of all taxpayer dollars; and establish transformative student conferences at the Reagan Ranch.

In addition to helping preserve Rancho del Cielo, Meese— in partnership with his wife, Ursula—has loyally served YAF in several respects, including speaking on the Foundation’s annual cruises. Importantly, he has crisscrossed America to give YAF lectures to student audiences at more than 50 colleges and universities and at national conferences, addressing topics such as the leadership lessons of Ronald Reagan, originalism, and the U.S. Constitution, among others.

Just as Ronald Reagan recognized, “There is no better way to establish hope for the future than to enlighten young minds,” so too has Attorney General Meese.

YAF’s plaque honoring Meese appropriately begins with the following words:

When asked who he would first turn to in a crisis, Ronald Reagan answered quickly, “Ed Meese.” Young America’s Foundation followed President Reagan’s lead and has frequently turned to Mr. Meese for leadership, counsel, and friendship. Whether he is co-chairing the Reagan Ranch Board of Governors, speaking at student programs, or representing Young America’s Foundation at important meetings and events, Ed Meese works tirelessly to strengthen our cause.

YAF has been privileged to work alongside Attorney General Meese to pass on the Reagan legacy to future generations.

Ed and Ursula Meese (right) visit the Reagan Ranch with their daughter, Dana Mlikotin, son-in-law, Marko, and grandchildren, Olivia and Alec.

YAF’s “Defender of Freedom” plaque honoring Attorney General Meese stands at the edge of Freedom Lake at Rancho del Cielo.

Preserving My Father’s Ranch, 25 Years Later

By Michael Reagan, Author

As my daughter, Ashley, and I celebrate Young America’s Foundation’s 25th anniversary of preserving our beloved Ronald Reagan’s Rancho del Cielo, we would like to express our deepest gratitude and appreciation. We are filled with immense pride and joy as we reflect on the incredible journey that led to the preservation of this historic site and the important work YAF continues to do to keep Ronald Reagan’s legacy alive.

The preservation of the Ranch holds deep personal significance for our family. It is a place where memories were made, including countless birthday celebrations, endless games of bumper pool, and many Thanksgiving dinners.

My father found solace and inspiration at the Ranch, which is evident every time we visit. Indeed, all who visit can feel his presence. The Ranch represents my father’s vision for our country—a place that champions freedom, hard work, opportunity, and the pursuit of the American Dream.

Without YAF’s dedicated preservation efforts, our nation would have lost one of our greatest Presidential sites, and younger generations would not have been afforded the opportunity to walk in my father’s footsteps to gain a better understanding of his life and lasting accomplishments.

Young America’s Foundation is committed to teaching young people about the ideas that my father held dear: individual freedom, a strong national defense, free enterprise,

and traditional values. The Ranch and nearby Reagan Ranch Center in Santa Barbara are places where thousands of students have access to these ideas that are sadly absent from their own classrooms. In settings that reinforce rather than undermine conservative values, our young people are given the training and tools they need to protect liberty and lead our country.

Over the past 25 years, YAF has not only preserved the physical beauty and historical integrity of the Ranch, but it has also created an educational hub where young minds can learn about Ronald Reagan’s transformative Presidency and his unwavering belief in the greatness of America.

Importantly, the Ranch project has succeeded because

“The Ranch represents my father’s vision for our country—a place that champions freedom, hard work, opportunity, and the pursuit of the American Dream.”

mIchael reagan

Michael Reagan meets with students attending YAF’s High School Conference at the Reagan Ranch.

of the generous, voluntary support of countless Americans, as YAF accepts no coerced tax dollars for any part of its operations. While I cannot possibly thank everyone who has helped to make this effort successful, I would be remiss if I did not point out the commitment of several key leaders in YAF’s work to preserve and protect Rancho del Cielo. Attorney General Ed Meese, Judge William Clark, Ron Robinson, Frank Donatelli, Al and Bette Moore, Rich and Helen DeVos, and John Barletta have dedicated their time, resources, support, leadership, and knowledge to this cause. We have been blessed by their steadfast partnership in this project.

Ashley and I also wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to Young America’s Foundation for allowing us, Ronald Reagan’s family, to be an integral part of the YAF family.

I have spoken at countless YAF student conferences and shared inspirational, as well as humorous, stories of my dad. Ashley has become closely involved as an active member of the advisory committee for the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home in Dixon, Illinois, which YAF also preserves (see page 27).

In a speech to YAF’s students at the Reagan Ranch Center, Michael Reagan tells inspirational and humorous stories of his father.

A young Ashley Reagan joins her grandfather, Ronald Reagan, on the dock at Rancho del Cielo’s Lake Lucky.

In 2006, Michael Reagan (left) and his wife, Colleen (second from right), join YAF President Ron Robinson (right) and Reagan Ranch Board of Governors members Al and Bette Moore as the Moores cut the ribbon to open the Reagan Ranch Center.

(From left) Attorney General Ed Meese, Secret Service Agent John Barletta, and Judge Bill Clark serve as early leaders of the Reagan Ranch project.

We recently visited my father’s boyhood home, learning about YAF’s vision for the property and the educational programs that will take place there. The home allows visitors to step back in time and gain a unique glimpse into the place and formative years that shaped my dad. The sense of history and reverence that permeates every corner of this remarkable home is awe-inspiring. The place truly captures his character, charisma, and values.

YAF also made it possible for us to honor my father’s legacy by inviting Ashley and her husband, Joe, to host their wedding reception at the Reagan Ranch Center. We ate Jelly Bellys and Chasen’s chili, my dad’s favorites, and danced the night away surrounded by memories of a beloved man.

Looking ahead, we remain committed to working handin-hand with Young America’s Foundation to ensure the continued preservation and celebration of Ronald Reagan’s legacy. Together, we have an opportunity to inspire future generations to uphold the values and principles that my father held dear, fostering a brighter future for our great nation.

Michael Reagan and his daughter, Ashley, visit Rancho del Cielo.

Joe Dunster and Ashley Reagan celebrate during their wedding reception at the Reagan Ranch Center in 2023.

During a YAF High School Conference session at the Reagan Ranch Center, author Michael Reagan greets student Max Winn in front of the Berlin Wall exhibit.

“YAF has not only preserved the physical beauty and historical integrity of the Ranch, but it has also created an educational hub where young minds can learn about Ronald Reagan’s transformative Presidency and his unwavering belief in the greatness of America.”

mIchael reagan

THE RANCH

By Peggy Noonan

An Excerpt From When Character Was King

Ronald Reagan’s ranch was the place he went for peace, physical movement and thoughtfulness. It was where he daydreamed, let his thoughts go where they wanted. The renter’s son who’d hop-scotched through Illinois had a place of his own rooted in the earth. In the last decades of his life it was his favorite place to be of anywhere on earth. It’s also where he decided his future, during those days in the midseventies when he had to decide whether to move forward or stay-put . . . This is what it’s like.

You leave the highway and go up Refugio Road, passing little lemon ranches and avocado ranches. You’re on a onelane blacktop, you see California live oaks and scrub and grass and wildflowers and telephone poles. You pass little trailers, little avocado trees with their shiny light-green leaves. You pass a little stream with rocks and boulders. Now the blacktop is canopied by live oaks, but it’s still a narrow old one-lane beat-up road . . . You ford a little stream, pass a few little houses and some more pickup trucks. None of it but the little ranches makes you think of California. Everything else makes you think of how you imagine West Virginia . . .

Suddenly you’re up high enough to see that you’re in a fabulous mountain range, you’re up going toward two

thousand feet above sea level and suddenly you’re in the Santa Ynez Mountains, in a big rolling range. In late April the mountains are a beautiful lush green and if you look down one way you’re looking into a beautiful valley, and on the other side you look toward the light blue ocean, and the Channel Islands just beyond . . .

It’s like what a settler would have seen from these hills long ago, and you understand for the first time why the Spanish named everything they saw here for saints. That’s Saint Barbara below and Saint Monica beyond, near the place of the Angels.

Reagan later said that when he would ride in this area he would, inevitably, think of scripture. “It casts a spell. There’s such a sense of seclusion, and I suppose—I think of the scriptural line, ‘I look to the hills from whence cometh my strength.’” Judge William Clark told me Reagan called it “an open cathedral.”

The ranch also made him think, irresistibly, of his oft-stated views on American exceptionalism, the idea that America was created in a way unlike other countries, deliberately and for an exceptional purpose. In a videotape he made about the ranch after his presidency he said, “I’ve always believed that there was some plan that put this

President Ronald Reagan spent 349 days of his Presidency at Rancho del Cielo.

the ranch bY peggY noonan

An Excerpt From When Character Was King

continent here, to be found by people from every corner of the world who had the courage and the love of freedom enough to uproot themselves, leave family and friends and homeland, to come here and develop a whole new breed of people called American. You look at the beauty of it. God really did shed his grace on America, as the song says.”

It’s a half hour trip up the road from the highway. You can’t go more than about twenty miles an hour most of the way.

There is a point on the road—within range of mountains, the ocean, the fogbank, the Channel Islands, Santa Barbara—where you can see the coastline below running

Young America’s Foundation preserves the Western White House to ensure future generations understand and are inspired by Ronald Reagan’s lasting accomplishments and

the ranch bY peggY noonan

An Excerpt From When Character Was King

as you drive along you hear rocks crackling and sticks snapping.

You pass horses, Arabian and quarter, and a few Texas longhorns, and an old gray burro named Wendy, who lived here when the president did.

Now there’s a wooden sign hanging from a wooden bar on a wooden fence. It reads RANCHO DEL CIELO, R. REAGAN. He built the fence.

You can imagine the expectations of Gorbachev as he was driven up this road. He knew about capitalism and how capitalists and powerful men live in America. And the expectations of the queen of England, who knew something of how the famous in America lived.

east and west. The sun rises on one end of the beach and sets on the other. You are stunned with the beauty of the place, and now you know why they called it Rancho del Cielo, ranch in the sky.

It’s a section of land, 688 acres, right on the top of the mountain. You enter a gate and there is a dirt road, and

And they saw: a shack.

And they thought: This is how staff lives! This was nothing like his dacha, her castle.

It is a little one story house with stucco and adobe walls. They are painted white. There’s a red tile roof.

There’s a little patio; Reagan tore out an old aluminumenclosed porch and put in an overhang, tiled it beneath. Within the overhang there’s a little entry door with an Irish tile on it that says O’REGAN. And an official-looking sign that says ON THIS SITE IN 1897, NOTHING HAPPENED.

When you open the door you enter a porch room. To the right there’s a hat stand with his favorite baseball cap, “United States Mounted Secret Service,” blue and gold. He wore it all the time. There’s a cowboy hat too, and Indian memorabilia. The room smells cool, like wood. There is a vinyl floor. On the wall an Indian blanket, and mounted near it the horns of Old Duke, his favorite bull. There’s a sombrero, Indian peace pipes, Indian portraits, a potbellied stove, which provided the only heat in the house when he bought it.

His books are still on the shelves: Odyssey of a Friend by Whittaker Chambers, A Very Strange Society by Allen Drury,

values.

“The ranch also made him think, irresistibly, of his oft-stated views on American exceptionalism, the idea that America was created in a way unlike other countries, deliberately and for an exceptional purpose.”

the ranch bY peggY noonan An Excerpt From When Character Was King

The furniture is modest brown wicker, and scattered about are collections of things— little elephants, kachina dolls from the Hopi tribe of Arizona, little Indian spirits from the spirit world. There’s a painting on the wall called The Lame Horse—a cowboy walking next to a horse in the rain, holding the bridle.

To the right there’s an eating area, a plain wooden table that seats six. For Thanksgiving they would move young Ron’s bumper pool table next to the wooden one to make enough room.

a first edition of Witness by Chambers, Poverty Is Where the Money Is by Shirley Scheibla, Drury’s Advise and Consent, The Kennedy Promise by Henry Fairlie. Inside Football bears an inscription: “To Ronald Reagan, a great governor, George Allen.” Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry, The Book of the American West, edited by James Monaghan, four volumes of Arizona Highways, The Great Democracies by Winston Churchill. A book of Irish traditions, a history of U.S. Cavalry, a book about Indians and horses. Jeb Stuart: The Last Cavalier by Burke Davis, The Treasury of Modern Humor, edited by Martha Lupton, Practical Horse Breeding and Training, by Jack Widmer, a book called Only an Irish Boy by Horatio Alger. He read up here. He’d be out all day and come in at five, before dinner, and sit in his favorite chair in the porch room.

Move deeper into the house. A chain of titles is framed on the wall. In August 1898, José Jesus Pico owned this land, in 1900 José Jesus Romero, in 1902 Belasano Robles, all Latino American ownership until the 1940s . . .

In the living room there’s a Sharps rifle, and other firearms in a firearm cabinet.

The kitchen is small, with GE appliances, a GE stove circa 1974 and a refrigerator in the light mustard color GE called Harvest Gold. A small Formica sink area, a spice rack, a small little window overlooking the pond and a trailer. He built the pond, and built the dock that leads to the water.

It looks like a little kitchen in Indiana in 1950.

Turn from the kitchen and you see the famous jackalopes on the wall. You take a jackrabbit’s head and ears and glue on vicious looking fangs and glue little antelope antlers on

The wooden fence built by Ronald Reagan greets visitors at the entrance to the Ranch.

A White House rotary dial telephone sits by the entryway.

The President’s hat stand has its place at the entrance to the adobe ranch home.

The President’s and First Lady’s riding boots share a space in the master bedroom of the main ranch house.

the ranch bY peggY noonan An Excerpt From When Character Was King

the head, and you mount them on the wall and tell your city friends, your eastern friends, the tale of the jackalopes, which roamed the mountains terrorizing all with their legendary speed and ferocity. Reagan had two on the wall. He liked to tell the press about them and once The New York Times is said to have almost run a piece on their existence. Reagan staffers stopped them, sadly enough.

In a tiny wet bar area there’s a framed copy of the front page of The New York Times for February 6, 1911, his birthday. It headlines the latest in the Mexican Revolution, a rebel victory near Jurez. There’s a turn-of-the-century U.S. Cavalry recruitment poster, and a beer stein with U.S. Grant on one side and Robert E. Lee on the other.

There’s a private family room that only family was allowed into. Years later, after the presidency, Ed Meese went into it for the first time and saw that a painting Meese and the staff had given him had the honored place on the wall.

bed posts tied to each other by rubber bands. A patchwork quilt on the bed, a little table with a rotary dial phone, a Westinghouse transistor radio, and a music box that plays “California Here I Come.” It’s odd to stand in this room years later, with it empty and no one living here, and wind up the little box and hear it play its tinny song. It sounds so old.

It was where they watched TV after dinner, Jeopardy!, and Murder, She Wrote. He would always try to stay awake through the latter, and almost always fell asleep twenty minutes in. There’s a longhorn steer hide on the wall . . .

The master bedroom is small, yellow walled—bright soft yellow was his favorite color. A modest old bathroom with a shower; the shower head is a liberty bell. There’s a vanity for Mrs. Reagan, a small sink. There are a few religious icons on the wall, delicate icons of the Virgin and Child; there are others scattered through the house, mostly gifts from Bill Wilson, who along with Judge Clark was always trying to convert Reagan to Catholicism. Reagan would listen politely and ask questions, but he’d already made his decision on that long ago.

The Reagans’ bedroom is about twelve by eighteen feet, big for this house. Their bed was two twin beds pushed together, the

There’s a small walk-in closet that was also turned into the safe room, with armored walls, when he was president. This is where the Secret Service would have secured the president if he came under attack. A few old work shirts hang inside, riding britches, Stetsons, cowboy hats and cowboy boots; Nancy’s slacks and jeans and shirts. Her red robe and sun hats. Here’s his membership patch from the Rancheros, a local riding group. And here’s a beautiful silver spur with a

President Reagan’s favorite books—from classic Westerns to books on public policy—fill the shelves inside the ranch home.

The exterior of the main ranch house features an overhang and patio, both constructed by President Reagan.

“He read up here. He’d be out all day and come in at five, before dinner, and sit in his favorite chair in the porch room.”

the ranch bY peggY noonan

An Excerpt From When Character Was King

His favorite horse when he was president was El Alamein, a white Arabian stallion, hard to control, given to him by President Portillo of Mexico before Reagan was elected president of the United States. His Secret Service men hated that horse. You had to be really good to ride him. Agent John Barletta would come up to the ranch a few days before the president visited and ride El Alamein to get the wildness out. Nancy’s favorite horse was a handsome sorrel quarter horse called No Strings.

To get to the Tack Barn you walk past fences that Reagan made out of telephone poles, and up a few dozen graded wood and dirt steps. The Tack Barn is where he kept his saddles and spurs, the English saddles he favored and the western saddles Nancy used . . .

It was in the Tack Barn that Reagan would saddle

small plaque. THIS WAS FLOWN ABOARD THE STS7 CHALLENGER, JUNE 18-24, 1983. PRESENTED TO RONALD REAGAN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. The Challenger, on its first flight.

The people who came to this house always described it the same way: humble, basic, simple, plain, unpretentious. And then they’d always say: Like him.

When he was president they had to add another little house on the property, a small stucco guest house—two bedrooms, two baths, and a small kitchen/sitting area. The ladies’ guest room looks like a 1970s teenager’s bedroom—nothing fancy, a wooden bed painted white. The gentlemen’s guest room has a handsome antique bed and a Virgin of Guadalupe on the wall. The Gorbachevs, the queen, Mrs. Thatcher all used these rooms, but each stayed only for the day. There were never overnight guests at the ranch except for the Reagan children, and they were not often . . .

The stucco and adobe of the house hold whatever environment there is outside, and when it’s cool it holds the cool. But like old houses its windows aren’t big, and so it isn’t a bright house, and when you walk out and step past the porch and into the sun, its force can startle you . . .

Clockwise from left: The decor in the wet bar area adds to the Western theme of the home. The shower head is modeled after the Liberty Bell. Reagan’s jackalopes, with faux fangs and antlers, often fool ranch visitors.

The main fireplace room provided a private retreat for the President and First Lady. Here they relaxed, read, and watched their favorite television programs.

the ranch bY peggY noonan

An Excerpt From When Character Was King

his horse and Nancy’s. He didn’t like anyone else to do it, liked to do it himself. When he was done he’d ring the bell, an old railroad locomotive bell, to tell her to come up from the house, and they’d go riding.

On the wall of the Tack Barn there’s a big map that shows all the trails on the land, trails that wind through meadow and brush, ridge and gully, and have names like Sunrise and Hanging Tree and Rock Main, Snake Lake Trail and Valley Trail. They crisscross the property. He cut a lot of them. All those vacations past, during the eighties, when you heard on the news, “The president cleared brush today,” that’s what he was doing. I was a writer at CBS then and after a few years I thought, Isn’t he done yet? How the heck much brush is there? And when you see it you realize: 688 acres.

Snake Lake was where they put the snakes that had hatched in profusion when they were building things up in the early days. Dennis Le Blanc, who also worked with

Reagan on the ranch, told me, “One year we transplanted over a hundred eighty snakes from the house pond to another pond because they’d hatched underneath the trailer I lived in next to the house. The snakes were going from the trailer to the pond, so we’d go into the pond and have to grab them out of the water. And I hate snakes! But he wouldn’t kill a thing. We’d put ‘em in a gunny-sack and take them to the other pond . . .”

There’s a gas pump outside for the farm and ranch equipment, and for the Secret Service vehicles and jeeps. There are no gas stations nearby, and when Gorbachev saw it, he finally saw an opening. “Does every American have his own gas pump?” Farmers and ranchers do, Reagan said amiably. It’s hard to drive a tractor to the local gas station.

The ranch was a place not only where he did hard physical work, but the place where he could see the results of his efforts. In other parts of his life it was hard to do that, but here he could see the fence go up sturdy and do what fences do.

He liked his guns. He liked his

“The people who came to this house always described it the same way: humble, basic, simple, plain, unpretentious. And then they’d always say: Like him.”

Sunshine yellow walls and a large window give the President and First Lady’s bedroom a warm glow.

In the quiet privacy of the fireplace room, President Reagan would enjoy watching vintage movies. The painting above the sofa is titled “The Golden State” and was gifted to Governor Reagan upon his leaving office in 1975.

An Excerpt From When Character Was King

one side and the ranges and towns on another. He would ride the trails up there, but when he left the presidency he told them to pull it all out, the concrete landing pad and the hangar. It’s empty now, the trappings of power are gone and the field is covered with wildflowers, which is the way he wanted it.

horses. He liked his rails, his bells, his dogs and cattle. He was a movie star and he was born in Illinois but he was a westerner at heart.

There was a small olive orchard.

There were Secret Service shacks but he had them taken out, all but one, when he left the White House.

He would ride the trails.

When he was president he would ride up to the helicopter pad, where Marine One landed. The helicopter pad was twenty-six hundred feet high and you could see the ocean on

About Peggy Noonan

Peggy Noonan is among the most prolific writers of our time. Her gift for weaving words together led her to the White House, where she served as a special assistant and speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan from 1984 to 1986. Among other important addresses, Noonan was responsible for writing the President’s memorable speech, “The Boys of Pointe du Hoc,” commemorating the 40th anniversary of D-Day. Later, Noonan returned to the White House to help write the President’s 1989 farewell address.

Noonan is currently an opinion columnist at the Wall Street Journal, where her column, “Declarations,” has run since 2000. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 2017. She is also the author of nine books on American politics, history, and culture, including the New York Times bestsellers What I Saw at the Revolution: A Political Life in the Reagan Era and When Character Was King: A Story of Ronald Reagan

A spellbinding biography of Ronald Reagan, When Character Was King captures the spirit of the 20th century’s greatest President. Young America’s Foundation is pleased to feature an excerpt from this book’s chapter on Rancho del Cielo—“The Ranch”—in Libertas. Many have written about the Western White House, but few describe this historic Presidential property with Noonan’s beautiful observations and profound simplicity. We are grateful to Peggy Noonan for permitting a reproduction of her text.

Source: Noonan, Peggy. When Character Was King. New York: The Penguin Group, 2001.

“The ranch was a place not only where he did hard physical work, but the place where he could see the results of his efforts. In other parts of his life it was hard to do that, but here he could see the fence go up sturdy and do what fences do.”

A row of saddles remain in Rancho del Cielo’s Tack Room—a reminder of President Reagan’s love of horseback riding.

Educating Future Generations on Reagan’s Economic Legacy

By Dr. Arthur Laffer, Founder & Chairman, Laffer Associates

From the very outset of my adult life, I’ve been fascinated by the persona of Ronald Reagan. In his first Economic Report of the Governor, in 1967, I was cited by Governor Reagan as one of the authors of a study on California’s growth prospects (my forecast was way off).

Much later (1976 onwards), I was privileged to be a part of the Reagan/ Kitchen Cabinet social set in California. My godfather, Justin Dart, was one of Reagan’s best friends. As a result, I was able to be up close and personal with this special person 29 years my senior. And as a member of President Reagan’s 12-person Economic Policy Advisory Board, I was able to observe carefully

During one of his several addresses to YAF audiences at the Reagan Ranch Center, Dr. Laffer makes the case for lower taxes, spending restraint, sound money, deregulation, and free trade.

President Ronald Reagan meets with economist Dr. Arthur Laffer during the mid-1970s.

“To Reagan, facts— versus self-serving recollections—mattered more than to anyone I’ve ever met. And this is why he became the best U.S. President ever and why I am involved with Young America’s Foundation and Reagan’s legacy.”

— DR. ARTHUR LAFFER

what Reagan actually did during his eight years in the White House.

What made him so special?

In my mind, he was, above all else, special because he learned from his experiences—mistakes and successes. And how he learned is classic. He kept a daily, detailed diary and wrote letters prolifically. By writing everything down in lengthy prose, Reagan set his experiences in stone.

To Reagan, facts—versus self-serving recollections—mattered more than to anyone I’ve ever met. And this is why he became the best U.S. President ever and why I am involved with Young America’s Foundation and Reagan’s legacy.

On a number of occasions, I’ve keynoted the anniversary of the President’s signing the 1981 Economic Recovery Tax Act (ERTA) at the Reagan Ranch, where history did a

“Starting on January 1, 1983, the results and effects of the Reagan Revolution were simply amazing. U.S. employment grew by 20.5 million jobs—or 23%—by the time Reagan left office.”

180-degree pivot from failed tax-andspend economics to pro-growth tax cuts, spending restraint, sound money, deregulation, and free trade. What a “Morning in America” it was and how special it was that the President signed the bill atop Rancho del Cielo, which later became Young America’s Foundation’s most hallowed site.

What followed the signing was epic. Save for its tax cut phase-in, the ERTA

President Reagan addresses the press after signing the Economic Recovery Tax Act on August 13, 1981, at Rancho del Cielo.

Photo courtesy of Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

The Laffer Curve, which shows the relationship between tax rates and tax revenues, served as a model for President Reagan to implement a series of tax cuts that jumpstarted the American economy.

— DR. ARTHUR LAFFER

bill was as close to perfect as possible during that time. From when the tax cut took full effect on January 1, 1983, through June 30, 1984, the U.S. economy grew by 12%—or at an 8% per annum rate reminiscent of the greatest growth surges in U.S. history.

Next up, the 1986 Tax Reform Act starkly revealed Reagan’s powers of persuasion and his clear vision as to what needed to be done. In that bill, the highest marginal personal income tax rate was dropped from 50% to 28% and the corporate rate from 46% to 34%, while the lowest personal income tax rate went up from 11% to 15%. Eleven tax brackets fell into two—15% and 28%.

Today, that bill wouldn’t find any support in Congress, yet in 1986, the bill passed the Senate by a vote of 97 to three, all because of Ronald Reagan. Here was a man who tirelessly bettered himself day in and day out into becoming the most consequential President in a century. And he was loved. In the 1984 Presidential race, he won 49 of 50 states.

Starting on January 1, 1983, the results and effects of the Reagan Revolution were simply amazing. U.S. employment grew by 20.5 million

jobs—or 23%—by the time Reagan left office. Inflation collapsed, the stock market soared, and the enemies of our way of life withered. In every sense, Reagan’s repository of collective wisdom propelled an era of U.S. greatness—as that “shining city on a hill.”

As if more were needed, Reagan was a nice, witty, kind man.

Both before he took office and after he left office, he was on several occasions a guest at our home. He really did hug

babies (mine) and entertain one and all with his stories and humor. He and his wife actually loved each other, he was never even accused of inappropriately accepting favors, and, to my knowledge, never put his thumb on the scale to favor political allies.

For all of those traits and accomplishments, I salute Young America’s Foundation for preserving and passing on to future generations this unique moment in history.

U.S. Representative Kevin Brady (second from right) and his colleagues address a national C-SPAN audience from the Reagan Ranch, making the final push for what became the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

College students from across the country join Dr. Laffer at Rancho del Cielo during YAF’s 40th anniversary celebration of the 1981 Reagan tax cuts.

Ronald Reagan’s Open Cathedral

By Dr. Paul Kengor, Professor of Political Science, Grove City College

Ronald Reagan connected to God in many ways, particularly through nature. This was evident early in his childhood, when one day in 1916, the lonely boy had an epiphany in the attic of his home in Galesburg, Illinois.

The previous resident had left behind a collection of bird eggs and butterflies encased in glass. For hours at a time, the curious five-year-old escaped into the attic, “marveling at the rich colors of the eggs and the intricate and fragile wings of the butterflies.”

“The experience,” Reagan remembered, “left me with a reverence for the handiwork of God.” The notion of a Creator was etched into the boy’s consciousness.

That sense only intensified as the adult Reagan gathered strength through frequent trips to Rancho del Cielo. It was during jaunts on horseback—again in moments of quiet isolation—that Ronald Reagan the man and the President felt closer to his Creator.

Reagan and his faithful friends, such as Judge Bill Clark, often rode together in silence, observing the majesty of God’s creation, contemplating life and the issues of the day, discussing the “Divine Plan”—the “DP,” as they called it—and, at times, reciting the Prayer of Saint Francis.

Amid the majestic perfection of that place high above the Pacific Ocean, Reagan could not help but feel nearer to God, implicitly acknowledging and appreciating the landscape laid before him. His son, Michael, recalls walks on which his dad pointed to the wondrous surroundings and commented on how they revealed God’s handiwork.

As Judge Clark observed, Rancho del Cielo served as Ronald Reagan’s “Open Cathedral.” The President himself reflected about the Ranch, “It casts a spell. There’s such a sense of seclusion. I suppose it’s the scriptural line, ‘I look to the hills from whence cometh my strength.’ I understand it a little better when I’m up here.”

President Reagan remarked that if not Heaven itself, Rancho del Cielo “probably has the same ZIP code.”

“It casts a spell. There’s such a sense of seclusion. I suppose it’s the scriptural line, ‘I look to the hills from whence cometh my strength.’” ronald reagan

While the Open Cathedral brought Reagan closer to God, there were moments at Rancho del Cielo when the President sought out a more formal cathedral. One such moment came on March 30, 1986, Easter Sunday.

The President and Mrs. Reagan made a last-minute appearance at the Santa Ynez Valley Presbyterian Church, arriving in an eight-car motorcade. Inside, the senior pastor expounded upon I Corinthians 15:20-26 and repeatedly acknowledged the Reagans. He gave thanks that their attendance “gave the news media the chance to be in church.”

The 250 congregants applauded when the Reagans entered and left. As Ronald Reagan departed, he refused press questions, saying only “Happy Easter” to reporters.

What was clear about the visit was Reagan’s discomfort at being the center of attention on a day about Jesus Christ. Throughout his life, Reagan attended church. The exception was his Presidential years.

Reagan found that when he attended church as President, all eyes were on him. He was a distraction. The problem worsened after the assassination attempt on him in 1981, as all

During frequent rides on horseback at his ranch, President Reagan often contemplated the great challenges facing America.

The original Bible given to Ronald Reagan by the Cowboy Chapter Fellowship of Christian Athletes sits today in the Reagan Ranch home’s master bedroom.

congregants had to be frisked, particularly as terrorism reared its ugly head in the early 1980s.

“I pose a threat to several hundred people if I go to church,” Reagan lamented. “I don’t feel that I have a right to go to church, knowing that my being there could cause something of the kind that we have seen in other places, in Beirut, for example…And I miss going to church, but I think the Lord understands.”

Reagan reiterated these concerns in a February 13, 1984, letter to pen pal and longtime friend Lorraine Wagner, adding, “I pray we can help bring back a more civilized world one day.”

Still today, on the nightstand at Reagan’s bedside in his ranch home, sits a special Bible given to the President by the Cowboy Chapter Fellowship of Christian Athletes. The inside cover is engraved with an inscription of II Chronicles 7:14, one of Reagan’s favorite Bible verses. “When you go out across the country and meet people,” said Reagan on the campaign trail in 1976, “you can’t help but pray and remind them of II Chronicles 7:14.”

The verse reads,

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their

wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Reagan reminded the world of that verse when he was sworn in as President on January 20, 1981—just as he had been reminded by his late beloved mother, Nelle. As Chief Justice Warren E. Burger administered the oath of office, the President-elect’s hand rested atop his mother’s old, well-worn Bible, opened to Nelle’s favorite verse, also II Chronicles 7:14, next to which she had inscribed, “A wonderful verse for the healing of a nation.”

And it was that—healing—which Nelle’s son prescribed for his country. “We’re not, as some would have us believe, doomed to an inevitable decline,” said Reagan. “[L]et us begin an era of national renewal.” The new President pledged to heal America, to restore the nation to greatness, and prayed for a spiritual revival for his country.

“We’re not, as some would have us believe, doomed to an inevitable decline... [L]et us begin an era of national renewal.”

ronald reagan

Students attending YAF’s High School Conference at the Reagan Ranch enjoy the views from the Psalm 121 Overlook at Rancho del Cielo.

YAF’s Open Cathedral Exhibit includes an original bench pew from Bel Air Presbyterian Church near Los Angeles, which Ronald Reagan attended starting in 1963.

— Ronald Reagan

The Reagan Ranch Center: A Schoolhouse for Reaganism

By Andrew Coffin, Vice President & Director of the Reagan Ranch

Twenty-five years ago, Young America’s Foundation stepped forward to save the Reagan Ranch. Since then, we have often been asked why we talk about “saving” the Ranch. Why did the Ranch need to be “saved”?

The Ranch was “saved” because YAF acted when others failed to act. So many great Americans across the country answered the call when YAF President Ron Robinson and the Foundation’s Board of Directors took a leap of faith in 1998.

We were not just committed to saving a place or an important piece of history. We knew then, and still know today, that what was truly at stake was the future of our country: preserving the timeless values that the Reagan Ranch

represents and ensuring that future generations are inspired by these very ideas.

Complementing the transformative impact of the Reagan Ranch, the Reagan Ranch Center serves as YAF’s Schoolhouse for Reaganism.

The Reagan Ranch Center stands tall on State Street—the busiest road in Santa Barbara—adjacent to the much-traveled Highway 101, next door to the Santa Barbara train station, just two short blocks from the beach, and in the shadow of the Reagan Ranch. There could not be a more ideal location to draw young people to learn about the conservative ideas championed by Ronald Reagan.

The Reagan Ranch Center serves as Young America’s Foundation’s Schoolhouse for Reaganism, welcoming thousands of students to Santa Barbara, California, each year to learn about Ronald Reagan’s life and values.

SCHOOLHOUSE FOR REAGANISM

With four floors of classrooms, conference space, an elegant boardroom, a movie theater, the Exhibit Gallery, extensive archives, and a library of conservative resources, the Reagan Ranch Center is a state-of-the-art facility that brings conservative ideas to life.

This is where students have access to the education and training that are sadly too often absent from their own campuses and classrooms. In a setting that reinforces—rather than undermines—conservative values, students are given the tools they need to protect liberty and lead our country.

A Tribute to Ronald Wilson Reagan

The Reagan Ranch Center serves as an important tribute to the life and leadership of Ronald Reagan. This facility in the heart of Santa Barbara would not have been realized if not for the vision of generous, patriotic Americans who gave key gifts

to ensure that the Reagan Ranch Center was completed. Many stepped forward, but there are a handful of leadership gifts that came at critical moments for the project and merit special recognition.

In the early stages of development, a gift from Lee and Helen Lovaas to establish the David Louis Bartlett Outreach Center helped YAF get the project off the ground. Named in honor of Helen’s beloved brother, the Outreach Center is at the heart of YAF’s educational programs, allowing young people to gather year-round for conferences, seminars, and other activities.

Two years after YAF acquired the building that would become the Reagan Ranch Center, Al and Bette Moore stepped forward to become the primary building sponsors. Al and Bette made this heartfelt decision while spending a weekend with more than 500 energetic young people at one of

Supporters of the Reagan Ranch Center

Former YAF President Ron Robinson (left) hosts Rich and Helen DeVos at the Reagan Ranch Center, which the DeVoses helped to complete with a generous gift.

Lee and Helen Lovaas, who established the Outreach Center at the Reagan Ranch Center in honor of Helen’s brother, tour the building in 2008.

Al and Bette Moore (left), lead sponsors of the Reagan Ranch Center building, meet with U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld at the Center during YAF’s 2011 Rawhide Circle Retreat.

Longtime Foundation supporter Wendy McCaw (second from left), who sponsored the Welcome Center in YAF’s Schoolhouse for Reaganism, enjoys meeting with students at a Foundation program in Santa Barbara.

YAF’s life-changing college conferences in Santa Barbara.

Rich and Helen DeVos then took us into the home stretch with a magnificent gift, helping to complete the final construction phases of the Reagan Ranch Center.

Once the building was occupied and the infrastructure investments made, it was essential that the Reagan Ranch Center be opened and outfitted for student and public outreach.

Fortunately, a new friend in the Santa Barbara community emerged—someone captured by the unique role the Center could play on California’s Central Coast. Wendy McCaw, owner and publisher of the Santa Barbara News-Press, stepped forward to sponsor the Welcome Center—an important component of the Reagan Ranch Center that serves as a visitor’s first experience with the Reagan Ranch.

Training Tomorrow’s Leaders

Today, Young America’s Foundation is the largest conservative student outreach organization in the country and the only such organization with offices on both the East and West Coasts, along with a new physical site in America’s

heartland—the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home in Dixon, Illinois.

Week after week, high school and college students from across the country visit the Reagan Ranch Center to participate in educational programs, training seminars, and leadership retreats. They are eager to learn more about conservative ideas, as evidenced by the lengthy waiting lists for YAF’s programs.

YAF’s student programs address the most pressing topics of the day and introduce young people to conservative solutions. Students are presented with ideas and values absent from typical classroom discussions, biased textbooks, and woke lesson plans. Seminars introduce young people to the great conservative thinkers who influenced Ronald Reagan, including William F. Buckley, Jr., Russell Kirk, Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek, and more.

Importantly, YAF’s programs also offer training on campus activism, giving students the tools needed to influence their peers and hold effective events on their own campuses.

Since YAF opened the doors of the Reagan Ranch Center on July 4, 2006, thousands of college and high school students

“Since YAF opened the doors of the Reagan Ranch Center on July 4, 2006, thousands of college and high school students have been trained and inspired here, drawn by the legacy of Ronald Reagan, the promise of unparalleled educational programs, and access to conservative leaders.”

andrew coffIn

A striking Berlin Wall exhibit greets visitors as they enter the Reagan Ranch Center, reminding them of Ronald Reagan’s role in defeating global communism.

An interactive timeline display, the centerpiece of the Exhibit Gallery, allows young people to explore the history of Ronald Reagan at Rancho del Cielo.

have been trained and inspired here, drawn by the legacy of Ronald Reagan, the promise of unparalleled educational programs, and access to conservative leaders. Most recently, in the latest development of the Foundation’s mission under the leadership of YAF President Governor Scott Walker, middle school students are now also welcomed to the Center for programs designed specifically for this audience.

YAF’s conferences and seminars in Santa Barbara feature some of the brightest minds and leaders of the Conservative Movement, including elected officials, bestselling authors, distinguished academics, journalists, media personalities, and many others.

Holly Burwell was just a high school student when she attended her first Young America’s Foundation conference in Santa Barbara. Her words speak volumes:

I have always been taught to measure a lifetime by the number of lives that have been changed because of it. Young America’s Foundation can add one more life to their count: mine.

The Reagan Ranch Center provides YAF and the broader Conservative Movement with unique opportunities to reach young people like Holly and activate them for decades of leadership.

Many Reagan Ranch Center programs are also open to general community audiences. For instance, the monthly Reagan Ranch Roundtable luncheon series welcomes prominent conservative leaders to address the Central Coast community, advancing the principles that Ronald Reagan championed and exposing new audiences to YAF’s mission.

Sharing the History of the Reagan Ranch

While Rancho del Cielo—President Reagan’s home for 25 years and the Western White House during the height of the Cold War—embodies the life and ideas of our 40th President, the Reagan Ranch Center’s Exhibit Gallery shares the important lessons about Ronald Reagan’s life and character found at the Ranch.

The gallery features original Reagan Ranch artifacts matched with state-of-the-art exhibits that highlight the history of Ronald Reagan’s quarter-century at Rancho del Cielo and the accomplishments of his Presidency.

A massive, 5,000-pound section of the Berlin Wall greets visitors as they enter the Reagan Ranch Center, reminding them of Ronald Reagan’s role in eliminating this symbol of oppression. This iconic piece of the Wall stands next to a monument gifted by freedom-loving patriots from Bulgaria, demonstrating their gratitude for what Ronald Reagan did to free the people of their country from the tyranny of communist totalitarianism.

A focal point of the gallery is the President’s famous blue Jeep Scrambler—complete with the “Gipper” license plate— which is flanked by a selection of Ronald Reagan’s favorite books, an original saddle, and a chainsaw owned and used by the President.

More than six hours of dynamic multimedia exhibits provide access to exclusive speeches by Reagan, interviews, radio addresses, and original video presentations.

The centerpiece of the gallery is an interactive timeline that gives visitors the ability to explore Rancho del Cielo during the more than two decades that Ronald Reagan called it home.

The gallery also displays several unique collections,

Students Abigail Chou (left) and Adeline Moberg (right) enjoy participating in one of YAF’s high school programs at the Reagan Ranch Center.

YAF’s 22,000-square-foot conference and museum facility in Santa Barbara is the Conservative Movement’s premier youth outreach venue on the West Coast.

including the Lorraine Wagner and Zelda Multz Letters Collections—containing more than 400 letters written by Ronald Reagan over a 50-year period—and the Russell D. Sibert Collection, featuring rare Reagan-related memorabilia and commemorative items.

Another moving special exhibit chronicles the life and career of John Barletta, Ronald Reagan’s protector and friend. John served on Reagan’s Secret Service detail for 17 years and became particularly close to Reagan as his trusted riding partner, later authoring the definitive book on the President’s life at the Ranch, Riding With Reagan (see page 40).

The Reagan Ranch Center is designed to engage visitors of all ages. By spending time here, students better understand the context and significance of the historic sites they see at the Ranch itself. Young children can even earn their “Junior Secret Service Clearance” by completing an entertaining and educational scavenger hunt. Older visitors are reminded about how their lives were impacted by Ronald Reagan’s leadership.

A Hub of Conservative Activity

The Reagan Ranch Center has become a hub of conservative activity on the West Coast. Not only home to Young America’s Foundation’s staff and programs in Santa Barbara, the Center is also used by countless like-minded organizations, private foundations, and educational institutions as a place to meet, share ideas, and gain inspiration.

Since 2006, the Reagan Ranch Center has welcomed the Heritage Foundation, Citizens United Foundation, Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women, Phillips Foundation, Bradley Foundation, Eagle Publishing, National Right to Work Foundation, The Fund for American Studies,

David Horowitz Freedom Center, Media Research Center, Liberty Fund, and American Legislative Exchange Council, among many other groups, for board meetings, events, and conferences.

Groups from Grove City College, Hillsdale College, and Eureka College (Ronald Reagan’s alma mater)—as well as international groups, such as the Young Britons’ Foundation and International Young Democrat Union, founded by President Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s—have also used the Reagan Ranch Center.

Hope for the Future

The Berlin Wall exhibit in the atrium of the Reagan Ranch Center features Ronald Reagan’s immortalized words from his speech at the Brandenburg Gate in 1987: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” Importantly, the video display also includes another key line from that timeless address: “There is no better way to establish hope for the future than to enlighten young minds.”

Ronald Reagan knew then a lesson that we must embrace today and in the years ahead. The only way to preserve freedom for future generations in America, “the last best hope for man on earth,” is to inspire young people with the principles and values that will commit each of them to nourishing and protecting this freedom.

The Reagan Ranch and Reagan Ranch Center are now an established, proven campus for sharing President Reagan’s ideas with future generations. Much more than encounters with history alone, Young America’s Foundation’s programs here strike a spark in the lives of young people and prepare them for decades of conservative leadership.

Members of the Reagan Ranch Board of Governors and YAF’s leadership team visit Freedom Wall at Rancho del Cielo during the Foundation’s annual Rawhide Circle Retreat.

Sponsor a Student to Attend a Young America’s Foundation Conference at the Reagan Ranch

When students participate in one of Young America’s Foundation’s life-changing conferences at the Reagan Ranch, they:

• Expand their knowledge of economics, American history, personal responsibility, and President Ronald Reagan’s freedom philosophy

• Walk in Reagan’s footsteps at his beloved Santa Barbara ranch that served as the “Western White House” during his Presidency

• Learn from top leaders in the Conservative Movement about how to effectively champion your values at their schools and beyond

• Make new friends their age who love America and care about freedom’s future

You can make this transformative experience possible for a young person with your tax-deductible sponsorship gift.

Pursuing Our Rendezvous with Destiny

By Katie Pavlich, Editor, Townhall

There are moments in a young person’s life that define their future path. My first visit to the Reagan Ranch, made possible by Young America’s Foundation, set me on a path to pursue my dreams in defense of the country I love.

As President Ronald Reagan said, “If we lose freedom here, there’s no place to escape to. This is the last stand on earth.”

There are endless lessons to be learned at Rancho del Cielo—the “ranch in the heavens”—about individual ability, hard work, and the burdensome size of government.

Upon arrival at the Ranch, you’ll notice a telephone pole fence that Reagan himself built over the course of 11 years. When others offered to finish it for him, he insisted they work side by side to put every last post into the ground.

Sitting right outside the front door of the humble ranch home is a replica of the round wooden table where Reagan signed the largest tax cut in American

history (the original is on display at the Reagan Ranch Center in downtown Santa Barbara).

Inside, you’ll find artwork by the Sisco sisters, who asked Reagan for assistance during his time as governor of California. They had a brother with special needs and were having trouble making ends meet. Reagan commissioned their leatherwork as gifts for Christmas, birthdays, and other special occasions. Other prospective customers quickly noticed their talent, and their business thrived.

In the kitchen area is a wooden wine cabinet. Reagan himself completed the warranty card after the purchase, writing “public employee” when asked for his occupation. He was the President of the United States at the time.

When you walk into the barn, you’ll see Reagan’s famous Willys Jeep. Even less glamorous, in the back of the barn, you’ll find a lawnmower with the Presidential seal and a photo of the President mowing his own lawn.

While it’s tough to choose a favorite aspect of the Reagan Ranch and the Presidential legacy it reflects, walking in the footsteps of so many leaders who made and changed the course of history ranks highly.

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who worked with Reagan to

During the Reagan Ranch 25th Anniversary Gala weekend, Foundation alumna and Townhall Editor Katie Pavlich tours Rancho del Cielo with YAF’s president, Governor Scott Walker (left), and fellow YAF alumnus Mark Levin (middle).

At the Foundation’s 2008 West Coast Leadership Conference, Pavlich meets Andrew Breitbart, who inspires her to pursue a career in journalism.

“My first visit to the Reagan Ranch, made possible by Young America’s Foundation, set me on a path to pursue my dreams in defense of the country I love.”

— KATIE PAVLICH

overcome the evils of the Soviet Union, was one of several dignitaries to visit. Queen Elizabeth was driven up to the Ranch after inclement weather prevented a helicopter landing. Mikhail Gorbachev, the man Reagan famously told to “tear down this wall,” wore a cowboy hat backwards when he visited the Ranch.

This walk back in time, with thoughtful application to the present and the future, has been made possible thanks to the foresight of Young America’s Foundation in purchasing the Ranch 25 years ago.

My recent trip to Rancho del Cielo for this 25th anniversary celebration (see page 43), up the rocky mountain road with a view of the Pacific Ocean, was a reminder that I’ve taken these lessons with me throughout my career and back to college campuses as a YAF speaker. Additionally, as a board member of YAF’s National Journalism Center, I’m able to mentor the next generation to find their own passions.

Like me, students influenced by the Reagan Ranch and YAF carry lessons about liberty and American history with them for a lifetime. They make it a priority to share these principles, bringing them into their professional careers in government and media. From Capitol Hill and the White House to local school board and city council

meetings, YAF’s critical work and influence extend well beyond college graduations and campus borders.

YAF has successfully preserved Ronald Reagan’s legacy and is committed to his steadfast, conservative principles of limited government and freedom that he promoted from the Western White House and the Oval Office to better the lives of Americans. His philosophy has endured and will continue to be a guide for generations to come.

This is not only crucial for the future

of the country, but it will also allow young Americans to take control of their own lives and pursue their unique “rendezvous with destiny” that Reagan described.

President Reagan presciently said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”

This is YAF’s unwavering mission.

Katie Pavlich returns as an alumna to address hundreds of college students at YAF’s 38th annual National Conservative Student Conference in Washington, D.C.

The Responsibility and Reward of Protecting the Western White House

By Brent Kilpper, Associate Director of the Reagan Ranch

President Ronald Reagan loved Rancho del Cielo—his rugged 688-acre ranch perched atop the Santa Ynez Mountains—and took great pride in stewarding and shaping the property.

The land and weather along the coastal Santa Ynez Mountain range is wild, varied, intense, and beautiful. Clear days afford spectacular views of the Channel Islands and the Santa Ynez Valley.

Access to the Reagan Ranch is limited by the steep, narrow, and winding Refugio Road, which crisscrosses streambeds that rage—and are sometimes uncrossable—during winter storms. High winds whip along the range, felling oaks in the winter and fanning the flames of wildfires that threaten from June through October.

It was this remote location and these conditions that the 40th President found alluring and inspirational. He embraced them and referred to the Ranch as his “Open Cathedral” (see page 24).

Since 1998, Young America’s Foundation has taken up the 40th President’s mantle. The preservation and protection of Rancho del Cielo is a central animating principle guiding our efforts to share and pass on conservative ideas to future generations.

The President’s Work at Rancho del Cielo

President Reagan completed an extraordinary array of projects at the Ranch with his own hands, from fencing and paving to enclosing a screened-in porch and enlarging the simple adobe home’s master bedroom. He also added a small guest house and a modest home for the Ranch caretaker.

The Navy Seabees pitched in as Reagan began his Presidency, hurriedly installing communications, transportation, and aviation support infrastructure to transform the Ranch into the Western White House. Many of these above-ground improvements were ultimately removed at the conclusion of the Presidency, save for the Secret Service Command Post building—which continued to support the President’s small, post-White House security detail and remains standing today.

The Historic Ranch Home

One of the President’s earliest projects was converting a wraparound screened porch surrounding the Ranch home, originally built in 1872, into a living and dining room. The President added a small portico and paved the area underneath with stones he gathered from the property during his many horseback rides. Reagan, along with close

United States Secret Service agents protect the President on his 688-acre ranch after the installation of communications, transportation, and aviation support infrastructure.

Ronald Reagan works in Rancho del Cielo’s Hay Barn, which was used by the Secret Service during the Presidential years for the feeding and upkeep of their horses.

Before the Western White House

José Jesus Pico, a Spanish settler who established his homestead in the Santa Ynez Mountains after leaving Mexico, built the original adobe home on this property in 1872. Rancho de los Picos provided sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ynez Valley below. It also supplied ample land for growing crops, including beans, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, and watermelons—even producing grapes that were made into 900 gallons of wine annually—and for raising hogs, chickens, cattle, and horses. The property remained in the Pico family for 70 years until 1941, when José Pico’s son, Joe, sold the ranch to Santa Barbara County surveyor Frank Flournoy for $6,000. Tip Top Ranch, as Flournoy then renamed it, transferred hands only one other time, to Raymond and Rosalie Cornelius in 1955, before Ronald Reagan’s close friend, Bill Wilson, showed Governor Reagan the property in 1974. Governor Reagan purchased Tip Top Ranch in 1974 for $527,000. In his biography, Ronald Reagan wrote, “From the first day we saw it, Rancho del Cielo cast a spell over us. No place before or since has ever given Nancy and me the joy and serenity it does.” Reagan so admired the Ranch that he found it appropriate to rename it for the third time. Rancho del Cielo, or “Ranch in the Sky,” became a private haven for Governor and later President Reagan—a retreat for contemplative study and reflection during some of the nation’s most difficult times.

Young America’s Foundation completes a critical preservation project to protect the Reagan Ranch’s historic adobe home from a large oak tree’s growing roots.

Following significant repairs, the Secret Service Command Post offers young visitors a window into the challenges the Secret Service faced in protecting President Reagan on his ranch.

friends and dignitaries from around the world, then enjoyed meals at a simple table under the portico. It was here that the President signed the 1981 tax cuts that launched a period of extraordinary economic prosperity (see page 21), and where thousands of students today learn about the impact and legacy of Reagan’s free enterprise philosophy.

Although it is beautiful and charming, a large oak tree directly abutting the home presented a significant historic preservation challenge. In recent years, the mighty oak’s roots spread in all directions, eventually overpowering the home’s footings, front door, concrete floors, and the surrounding pavers. Adding to the issues, the home was built at the base of a gentle sloping hillside, effectively channeling rain runoff under the structure to nourish the oak’s roots.

After wrestling with the options provided by expert consultations and studies, YAF implemented a major preservation intervention. The home’s pavers were carefully mapped, removed, and precisely reset. Undersized footings were excavated, reinforced, and enlarged. The damaged interior concrete flooring of the home was removed and repoured. The intruding tree roots were severed, and root barriers were installed. Importantly, an extensive hillside drainage system was added to route runoff and underground water around the home, rather than beneath it.

Best of all, the iconic, aged oak tree miraculously survived and continues to offer its beauty and shade to visitors.

Fire Protection

California’s wildfires have been the greatest catastrophic threat to the Ranch throughout its history.

The Refugio Fire of 1955—sparked by faulty electrical equipment on the nearby La Sherpa property—engulfed the coastal mountain range and consumed more than 80,000 acres before it was extinguished. In fact, burn scars are still

evident on some of the older oak trees at Rancho del Cielo.

Understanding this threat, fire protection has been a top priority since YAF acquired the Ranch from the Reagan family. Our efforts initially focused on protecting the exterior of the Ranch home. Later, the home’s lawn and adjacent horse paddock were irrigated, providing critical fire-resistant open space around the home. Additionally, YAF installed sprinklers and standpipes around the home for firehose access.

A reliable water supply is crucial to protecting the Ranch from fire, a task made difficult by the fact that the property falls outside the scope of the municipal water supply system. As such, the Ranch relies entirely on well water.

An extended drought starting in 2012 lowered the well water level significantly. With the Ranch perched at roughly 2,200 feet above sea level, even the last remaining historic water source—an 800-foot-deep well drilled by the Navy Seabees in 1981—was in danger.

Partnering with technical experts, engineers, and generous supporters of the Foundation, YAF embarked on a significant upgrade to the Ranch’s water supply, water storage, and fire suppression resources and infrastructure.

That effort culminated in the establishment of Freedom Lake and installation of a new well, multiple submerged fire pumps, backup generator power, fire hydrants, fire supply cabinets, and a ring of dedicated fire sprinklers around each historic structure at the Ranch.

Providentially, this new system was completed just prior to the massive 2016 Sherpa Fire that consumed more than 7,000 acres in the Santa Ynez Mountains. From the vantage point of the Reagan Ranch, the massive smoke plume rising up to the clear blue skies provided evidence of the fire’s power. Though helicopters drew water from Freedom Lake to douse the nearby flames, strong winds whipped the fire’s leading edge six miles down the mountainside to U.S. Highway 101.

During the Alisal Fire, a firefighting helicopter draws water from Rancho del Cielo’s Freedom Lake to extinguish the flames on nearby properties.

In 2021, the Alisal Fire rages for weeks in the Santa Ynez Mountains, coming within half a mile of Rancho del Cielo.

Fortunately, those winds blew favorably, keeping the flames from the Ranch.

Five years later, in 2021, dry, hot winds likely ignited a smoldering lightning strike just west of the Reagan Ranch and started the Alisal Fire. The blaze ran down the mountain and across Rancho del Cielo’s southern border, consuming nearly 17,000 acres before burning out. Again, fire crews in helicopters scooped water from Freedom Lake to extinguish the fire.

Along Refugio Road, the only access to the Ranch, the Alisal Fire consumed nearly everything down to the rocks and dirt. Only larger trees stood, though as charred black scarecrows. Pennsylvania Avenue, the Ranch’s main paved road, was also damaged from fire crews’ heavy truck traffic and the work of large bulldozers brought in to cut firebreaks.

Ultimately, Rancho del Cielo withstood the threat of the Alisal Fire. YAF’s years of preventative maintenance and proactive planning have helped to protect the integrity of the Reagan Ranch—as it was when the President and Mrs. Reagan lived there—to ensure it stands for future generations.

Erosion Control

While wildfires rage on one hand, heavy rains present another challenge.

In 2004, for instance, winter rainfall at Rancho del Cielo exceeded 72 inches—more than three times the average— and washed out a section of Pennsylvania Avenue. In 2018,

heavy rains caused significant road erosion and hillside sliding, threatening another critical section of Pennsylvania Avenue.

In anticipation of similar challenges in the future, YAF implemented several road erosion control projects. Because of these proactive steps, mudslides, erosion, and road washouts have largely been forestalled in impacting access to the Ranch for the thousands of young people and other visitors who make the journey to walk in Ronald Reagan’s footsteps.

Ongoing Preservation Projects

In recent years, additional preservation projects at the Ranch have included the installation of new roofs, gutters, an automated front entry gate to the property, and interior and exterior security measures. YAF has also carried out much-needed repairs to the historic fencing on the property, significant repairs to the Secret Service Command Post, a near-total rebuild of the Hay Barn—which still houses the President’s red 1985 Ford Ranger, blue Ford tractor skip loader, and large woodchipper—and more.

In the near future, the Foundation will construct the Operations Center to house the Ranch manager, operational equipment, and important Ranch artifacts.

Needless to say, the challenges of stewarding a historic Presidential site exposed to the elements are many. But with the wise investments of faithful supporters, Young America’s Foundation will prevail in passing on this national treasure, and the values it represents, to future generations.

“. . . [W]ith the wise investments of faithful supporters, Young America’s Foundation will prevail in passing on this national treasure, and the values it represents, to future generations.” brent kIlpper

Freedom Wall, located at the edge of Rancho del Cielo’s Freedom Lake, recognizes the patriotic Americans who have invested in the Reagan Ranch project to preserve and protect it for future generations.

An automated front entry gate serves as the Reagan Ranch’s “Gateway to Freedom” for the thousands of young people who visit this Presidential site each year.

Riding With Reagan

BY JOHN BARLETTA

About John Barletta

As President Ronald Reagan’s longest-serving Secret Service agent, John Barletta was a widely known and greatly beloved figure in the ranks of Young America’s Foundation and among those who came to know of his unique role in protecting one of the world’s greatest leaders.

John lived a life distinguished by service to his country. He first served as a member of the United States Army 1st Cavalry Division, answering the call of duty in Vietnam, and then joined the United States Secret Service as a special agent in 1978.

Following Ronald Reagan’s election in 1980, Barletta—as a Presidential Protective Detail Agent and an accomplished horseman—was placed in charge of the new President’s equestrian detail.

While John served in the White House and traveled the world with Reagan, the uniqueness of their relationship was defined by their shared love of horses. Like Reagan, John was most comfortable on an English saddle, one of many similarities that became important to forming a close, lasting bond. As John often put it, whenever the President “so much as thought about a horse,” John was there at his side.

In all, John protected Ronald Reagan for 17 years, serving alongside his friend into the twilight years of the President’s life.

John was introduced to YAF by First Lady Nancy Reagan after the Foundation stepped forward to save President Reagan’s Rancho del Cielo in 1998. Mrs. Reagan stated that no one knew the property and Ronald Reagan’s life at the Ranch like John. He became a key partner as YAF worked to preserve the 688-acre property, historic adobe home, Presidential and personal artifacts, and, most importantly, the stories that made Rancho del Cielo a national treasure.

John served as a member of the Reagan Ranch Board of Governors from its inception and inspired thousands of young people who walked in Reagan’s footsteps. Upon his passing in 2018, John left a legacy with YAF through the stories he told and by gifting his priceless and unmatched collection of Reaganrelated artifacts and mementos for display at the Reagan Ranch Center.

The excerpts featured in the following pages from John’s authoritative 2005 book, Riding With Reagan, provide a unique look at his time and relationship with Ronald Reagan.

Thanks to John Barletta’s work to preserve and protect the Reagan Ranch, generations more will have the opportunity to experience those memories.

Introduction by Andrew Coffin, Vice President & Director of the Reagan Ranch

Excerpts from Riding With Reagan

A World Away From Washington, D.C.

One reason the Ranch seemed worlds away from the White House is that while we were there, the President never talked to me about anything related to what was going on in Washington, D.C. Even though he shouldered some of the burdens of the world, he was always able to see and enjoy some of the great gifts of life. While riding, he would talk to me about the scenery. He’d say, “This is what it’s all about. Look at that tree. Look at those yellow poppy flowers. Those are the state flowers, John. That’s Santa Rosa Island out there, John.” He was always looking for places along the path where he needed to clear some brush . . . “John, see how the sunlight touches the trees,” he’d say, “and notice how the mighty oak tree bends but doesn’t break. Just hear that wind blow . . .”

Like all other Presidents, he still had to carry the weighty burdens of that office with him, but at least at the Ranch, he was in a place where he felt most comfortable. While riding his horse on the endless trails of his 688 acres, he could be alone with his thoughts and nature. Once when we were at the White House, both dressed in tuxedos, he came to me, grabbing and shaking his lapel, and said, “Well, John, in four days we can get out of these store-bought clothes, get in some boots and jeans, and we’ll be riding . . .”

Horse Jumping

One of the things he loved to do most on a horse was jump. For those of us in the Secret Service, that was a nightmare. Here you had the leader of the Free World atop an eleven hundred pound animal, flying over logs and bushes. He’d jump over logs the height of coffee tables, and while we were frightened to death that something might happen, it was obvious that he just loved to do it . . .

The President would stand up in his stirrups, put his knees into the knee roll, lean forward, get ready to jump, and take off. When the horse landed, he would ease back into the saddle. He did it with perfect rhythm. It was beautiful to watch. After each jump, he would get a big smile on his face . . .

Riding Routine

The First Couple again had a routine when the ride was over . . . He would take his right leg and throw it over the horse’s neck and jump down from a sixteen-hands-high horse. I could never do that, even on my best days. Besides, I wouldn’t want to do it. Out of the hundreds of times he jumped, only

From Ronald Reagan’s Presidency to his twilight years, United States Secret Service Agent John Barletta served as a loyal friend and protector.

In 2013, Barletta joins Foundation supporter Mary Dell Pritzlaff in front of the Hay Barn at Rancho del Cielo, which Pritzlaff sponsored with a generous gift.

Agent John Barletta’s book, Riding With Reagan, serves as an authoritative record of Ronald Reagan and his ranch.

The President signed Barletta’s favorite photograph of the two friends, “Dear John, looks like a matched pair—or 2 matched pairs.”

twice did he waver a little bit where I had to put my hands up to steady him. He would just look at me and say, “Thank you.”

Next, he would put the halter on his horse and tie him to the hitching post. Mrs. Reagan would just wait patiently atop No Strings. That was her assignment. Finally, he would walk over and help her off her horse. She would swing her right foot across the horse’s neck like he did, while he held her by the waist . . . He would still be holding her by the waist as she slid down the horse and into his arms. They would stand there kissing like two teenagers at a drive-in movie . . .

I would turn away giving them more privacy. Embracing her, he would stare at her after they kissed. It was the same after every ride . . .

Worst Day On The Job

As the [Alzheimer’s] disease continued its course, he relied on me even more. We were just about back from our ride one day when El Alamein threw a fit. There were ways to get in front of the President to try to help out, but that just made El Alamein act worse. I had to get off my horse and grab the President’s rein and walk El Alamein, otherwise he was going to dump the President. I could tell El Alamein was getting ready to explode.

He was pitching his head, dancing sideways, and crow hopping.

Earlier, the President would have been able to control El Alamein, and probably the worst thing you can do to someone who knows how to ride is to step in as I did. The President, however, didn’t say a word. We both knew he needed my help . . .

. . .[T]hings continued to deteriorate. I went to Mrs. Reagan and said, “Mrs. Reagan, he’s making too many mistakes up there. I can’t protect him from himself. He’s making rookie mistakes, and he’s been riding fifty-five years. A new rider wouldn’t make these mistakes. I don’t think he should ride anymore. It’s getting that dangerous.”

“Then you have to tell him, John.”

“I don’t want to tell him that, Mrs. Reagan. You need to tell him that.”

“No,” she said with tears in her eyes. “I can’t.” Mrs. Reagan had the wisdom always to know just what was right for the President. “John, you’ve got to talk to him and tell him, because he’ll understand, and he’ll take it better if you tell him . . .”

Tentatively, I walked down to the house, knocked on the door, and went inside. He was sitting by the fireplace, reading. He was an avid reader. He’d go to sleep with a book on his chest just about every night. “Mr. President,” I said, “we had a lot of trouble out there this morning, didn’t we?”

“Yeah, I did.” Even in the bad times, he was still polite. I wanted to make it seem like I had been the problem—but that was just not the case.

I went on, “It’s just at the point where this riding isn’t working out. Sir, I don’t think you should ride anymore.” Knowing him like I did and understanding what horseback riding meant to him, I felt like I was telling someone I don’t think he should breathe anymore. I was now practically in tears. He got up and put his hands on my shoulders and said, “It’s okay, John. I know.” That was it. We never rode again. We never talked about it. He could see how upset I was, and he was trying to make me feel okay. That was the kind of a guy he was.

Source: Barletta, John. Riding With Reagan. New York: Citadel Press, 2005.

John Barletta helps President Reagan prepare El Alamein, the President’s favorite horse, for an upcoming ride.

The President and First Lady enjoy a horseback ride on their mountaintop ranch.

During one of his many addresses in the Hay Barn at the Reagan Ranch, John Barletta entertains and inspires YAF’s students with his personal stories of Ronald Reagan.

Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Saving Ronald Reagan’s Rancho del Cielo

By Matt Cutler, Senior Development Officer

On April 21, 2023, Young America’s Foundation welcomed more than 500 students, supporters, alumni, and friends to Santa Barbara, California, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of saving and preserving President Ronald Reagan’s Rancho del Cielo.

To kick off the celebration, members of YAF’s Board of Directors and Reagan Ranch Board of Governors, key Foundation supporters, and friends of YAF traveled to Rancho del Cielo—where they helped to unveil a plaque honoring 75th U.S. Attorney General Ed Meese (see page

nine), who has served as co-chairman of the Reagan Ranch Board of Governors since its inception.

Attendees at the unveiling ceremony included YAF President Governor Scott Walker; talk radio host and YAF alumnus Mark Levin; former YAF President Ron Robinson; Reagan Ranch Board of Governors Chairman Frank Donatelli; Ed and Ursula Meese’s daughter, Dana Mlikotin; President Reagan’s granddaughter, Ashley Reagan; and Barb Kenny, the sister of longtime Reagan Secret Service Agent John Barletta.

(Continued on page 45)

Talk radio host and YAF alumnus Mark Levin delivers the keynote address during the Reagan Ranch 25th Anniversary Gala in Santa Barbara.

In his remarks, former YAF President Ron Robinson recognizes the early Foundation leaders and supporters who invested in the Reagan Ranch project.

Longtime YAF Vice President and Director of the Reagan Ranch Andrew Coffin welcomes more than 500 YAF supporters, alumni, students, and friends to the Reagan Ranch 25th Anniversary Gala.

Reagan Ranch Board of Governors member Becky Norton Dunlop leads gala attendees in the Pledge of Allegiance.

(Continued from page 43)

The celebration continued with the Reagan Ranch 25th Anniversary Gala at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront, beginning with receptions for YAF’s Rawhide Circle and President’s Club supporters. The pre-dinner gatherings featured displays of historic Ranch artifacts, photos, and timelines illustrating key milestones of the Reagan Ranch project.

The formal dinner program commenced with remarks from Governor Walker—who was welcomed to the stage by YAF Vice President and Director of the Reagan Ranch Andrew Coffin—and the invocation and Pledge of Allegiance, led by Ashley Reagan and Reagan Ranch Board of Governors member Becky Norton Dunlop, respectively.

Ron Robinson, YAF’s longtime president who led the organization when it acquired Rancho del Cielo from the Reagan family, then thanked the leaders and supporters who helped save the historic Presidential site. He introduced a

video from the early days of the Ranch project, narrated by actor Charlton Heston, who was himself an early supporter of the effort. In the video, Heston persuasively asked patriotic Americans to join the cause to preserve the “legacy and leadership” of Ronald Reagan.

Frank Donatelli then recognized Attorney General Meese on stage, describing the significance of his involvement, without which the Ranch project would not be the success that it is.

YAF alumna and New York Times bestselling author Katie Pavlich followed, reflecting on her involvement with the Foundation (see page 34)—which began with her participation in a student conference at the Reagan Ranch— and introducing keynote speaker Mark Levin.

Levin—who earlier in the day hosted his popular talk show, The Mark Levin Show, from the Reagan Ranch Center (see page eight)—shared his belief in the importance of YAF

YAF Director Ron Pearson (left) joins Reagan Ranch Board of Governors members Bruce and Kathi Eberle at Rancho del Cielo.

Reagan Ranch Board of Governors members Dennis and Nancy Moore (left) and YAF supporters Bob and Margie Niehaus (right) enjoy the Rawhide Circle Reception.

YAF alumna and Townhall Editor Katie Pavlich and her husband, Gavy Friedson, take a photo in front of President Reagan’s Willys Jeep.

After first visiting Rancho del Cielo in 2011, YAF President Governor Scott Walker and his wife, Reagan Ranch Board of Governors member Tonette Walker, lead the 25th anniversary celebration at the Ranch.

standing strong, especially in light of the Left’s agenda to tear down America’s founding values. He noted his appreciation for the mission and work of YAF to boldly advance freedom among future generations, stating,

We have a big fight ahead of us. When there are institutions like YAF that are carrying the fight to the most hostile domestic place on the face of this country—college and university campuses—the staff, the supporters, and even some professors deserve our support because nobody else is going to do it but them.

It is the ground forces like YAF—who go into the campuses, go into the classrooms—who are going to make the difference. Those of you who do this hard work, you have my greatest thanks. Those of you who provide the support, you have my greatest thanks.

Levin also reflected on his first visit to Rancho del Cielo earlier in the day, remarking, “The Reagan Ranch is spectacular. I am impressed and almost speechless… Reagan was such a hero to me…This has been an enormous experience for me.”

Governor Walker concluded the anniversary program by thanking the audience and fellow supporters nationwide for taking a “leap of faith” 25 years ago to save the Reagan Ranch when neither the administration of President Bill Clinton nor the State of California would. He left the audience with a charge for the years ahead:

We have the truth on our side. We need to scale up our outreach to schools and start reaching children younger and younger. Twenty-five years from now, it’s my hope that everyone in this room can say, I was one of the patriots who said, “We will save America.”

YAF Director Frank Donatelli, who also serves as chairman of the Reagan Ranch Board of Governors, addresses the audience during the gala.

YAF leaders and friends unveil a plaque honoring 75th U.S. Attorney General Ed Meese at the Reagan Ranch.

Libertas

Reagan Ranch Anniversary Issue

“It is the ground forces like YAF— who go into the campuses, go into the classrooms—who are going to make the difference.”

mark levIn

Forever Tie Your Name To The LegacY oF roNaLd reagaN Sponsor

an Acre at Rancho

del Cielo

“From the first day we saw it, Rancho del Cielo cast a spell over us.” — Ronald Reagan

“We hope that our ranch will be a spark for many bright young Americans in the years ahead.” — nancy Reagan

“A place to see the real Ronald Reagan” — The WashingTon PosT

“A spawning ground for young conservatives”

— Los angeLes Times

For more than 60 years, Young America’s Foundation (YAF) has worked closely with President Ronald Reagan and his family to inspire young people with the ideas of individual freedom, free enterprise, a strong national defense, and traditional values.

Since 1998, YAF has preserved Reagan’s 688-acre Rancho del Cielo in California, where thousands of young people have walked in the President’s footsteps to learn about his character, values, and vision for America.

You can permanently tie your name to America’s greatest modern champion for freedom by sponsoring one of the few remaining acres at the Reagan Ranch. Join an exclusive group of patriotic Americans by protecting this priceless national treasure for the benefit of future generations.

When you sponsor an acre at Rancho del Cielo, you will:

• Have your name permanently recognized on Rancho del Cielo’s Freedom Wall and at the Reagan Ranch Center, YAF’s Schoolhouse for Reaganism in Santa Barbara, California

• Have the opportunity to take a private, unforgettable tour of the Reagan Ranch

• And more!

To learn how you can sponsor an acre, please call a development officer or Visit YAF.org at 888-USA-1776

25th Reagan Ranch

Anniversary Issue

Volume 44 • Number 1

National Headquarters 11480 Commerce Park Drive

Sixth Floor

Reston, Virginia 20191

800-USA-1776

R ancho del Cielo serves as a training ground for the next generation of America’s leaders, welcoming thousands of young people to walk in the footsteps of President Ronald Reagan. Pictured above are Young America’s Foundation’s president, Governor Scott Walker (front row, center), and students from across the country touring the property during YAF’s High School Conference at the Reagan Ranch.