On March 12 , 1984 , President Ronald Reagan was chatting with students at Congress Heights Elementary when he all of a sudden foretell that he had take one of them to become his pen pal . The prosperous winner was six - year - old Rudy Hines , who was pick because he had proven himself to be a good reviewer and author .
The two write back and onward with surprising frequency , exchanging century of letters until the end of Reagan ’s administration in 1989 . They cover topics you would anticipate , like reading ( " Rudolph , if you get in the substance abuse of read stories for pleasure you ’ll never be lonesome " ) , but also subject typically reserved for the political arena ( Reagan bewail not getting to have a personal schmoose with Mikhail Gorbachev ) . The Gipper at times included some of the scrabble for which he later on became notorious and sent moving-picture show of himself and the First Lady from their travels , always including a handwritten note on the back .
Rudy and his mum even had the Reagans over for dinner party in their one - sleeping accommodation apartment on September 21 , 1984 ( pictured ) . Rudy told his pal Ron he could get over as long as he gave some monition first , so Rudy ’s ma had clock time to peck the laundry up off the floor . The Reagans were thrilled to take , but had a condition of their own : that they eat the way Rudy and his female parent eat every Nox . They ended up dining on fried chicken , Elmer Leopold Rice , and salad in the living room while watching telly .
After Reagan passed aside in 2004 , Rudy recalled how impressed he was with the president for giving personal attention to a young nipper : " I figured I will get just a generic response that distinctive politicians give when multitude write missive to them . But he was not a typical politico . He actually sat down and take the sentence and carefully thought out his responses to my letters . And I really appreciated that . "
Here ’s a video of Rudyand his mother onThe too soon Showthe daytime after Reagan die .
See Also:
19 photograph of Ronald Reagan With Various Celebrities
This post in the beginning come out in 2011 .
