Nelle Wilson Reagan,
The President’s Mother
Nelle Wilson Reagan was a devoted believer in Jesus Christ. She was a loving mother to her two sons and loving wife to her alcoholic husband. Nelle served in her church and in her community. Her youngest son watched the life of his godly mother, took her lessons to heart, and became the President of the United States.
On our way back from the Minnesota homeschool convention, we stopped off in Dixon, Illinois, to tour President Reagan’s childhood home. I was impressed again and again by how Reagan’s mother shaped his life.
First, we headed to the top of the stairs of their rented home and looked in the guest room. Nelle visited inmates in the local jail and read the Bible to them. When they were released, she invited them to spend their first night of freedom in this guest room, believing they would more likely find a job if they had a chance to get cleaned up.
Nelle Reagan was a member of Dixon’s First Christian Church. Both of her sons were baptized there on the day that the church was dedicated. Nell was involved in church programs and taught Sunday School.
Years later the Reagan family’s furniture burned up in storage after the widowed Mrs. Reagan grew ill and moved in with her son Neil. When Dixon residents began to prepare the home as an historic site, President Reagan and his brother chose similar pieces from catalogs to show how the home looked when they lived there. This was their parents’ bedroom. Ladies from First Christian Church made the quilt. Many years before, three of them had been girls in her Sunday School class.
Near the foot of the bed an open Bible lay on a dresser. I am not sure that this is the Bible that actually belonged to Nelle Reagan, but twice her son Ronald took the presidential oath of office with his hand resting on her Bible.
In the evenings the family gathered in the living room for reading and storytelling. Mrs. Reagan encouraged her sons’ reading. Younger son Ronald went to the library about three times a week, checking out hundreds of books during the seven years or so that he lived in Dixon.
The last room on the tour was the kitchen. Here the family kept their ice box. It was young Ron’s job to empty the tray which caught melting ice. When he forgot, his mother required him to mop up not only the spill, but to mop the entire kitchen on his hands and knees.
When our tour guide (a former homeschooling mom, by the way) told this story, I was struck by how this simple act of discipline helped to shape the man that President Ronald Reagan became.
My son, observe the commandment of your father
And do not forsake the teaching of your mother;
Bind them continually on your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
When you walk about, they will guide you;
When you sleep, they will watch over you;
And when you awake, they will talk to you.
Proverbs 6:20-22, NASB
President Reagan lived his life guided by his mother’s teaching. What a privilege it is to guide young hearts.
This was really neat. I can’t wait to share this with my daughters as part of our history lessons. Thanks for sharing this. I love to hear the “behind the scenes” stories like these, the history and the photos.
Great article, I will share with my 9 years old grandson Andrew, which he loves to read.
Thank you so much for your kind comment. I hope your grandson enjoyed the article. I so appreciate your reminding me of this article, because I decided to include it as part of the post for tomorrow!