Representatives from the Ronald Reagan Birthplace Museum and Mayor Kristine Hill of Tampico, Illinois, will welcome Mayor Graham Jeal, of former U. K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s birth town, Grantham, England.
The Reagan Birthplace will hold a ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday to mark the recent announcement
that the two towns and museums have created a new pairing relationship.
The Mayor of Grantham, Graham Jeal, said: “I am really looking forward to visiting Tampico to meet Mayor Hill,” Jeal said. “We have spoken about the pairing of Grantham and Tampico for many months. It will be good to talk about how we can develop this further.”
Mayor Kristine Hill, of Tampico, said: “We are delighted that Mayor Jeal is making this trip on behalf of the people of Grantham. The pairing of Tampico and Grantham has been received very positively in the town and I am sure Tampico will leave a positive impression on Mayor Jeal,” Hill said.
The ceremony will be held directly in front of the Reagan Birthplace in Tampico, with a special plaque dedication, speeches from Jeal, Hill, Sean Sandrock of Reagan Birthplace, and Joan Johnson, curator of the Reagan Birthplace.
A reception will be held afterward. The public is welcome.
The pairing relationship will include an exchange of gifts between the two mayors and increased cooperation between the Ronald Reagan Birthplace and Museum and the Grantham Museum to increase visitors. Grantham Community Heritage Association (GCHA), the educational charity that manages Grantham Museum, and the Ronald Reagan Birthplace Museum have confirmed their participation in the exchange.
“At the Grantham Museum, we have an extensive collection of items in our Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher exhibition,” said Malcolm Robbins, chair of the GCHA. “I hope we can develop our relationship with the Ronald Reagan Birthplace Museum to tell the story about the warm professional relationship that the president and the prime minister clearly benefited from.”
Sean Sandrock, of the Ronald Reagan Birthplace and Museum, said: “The Reagan Birthplace and Village of Tampico are honored to welcome Mayor Jeal from the UK. This new relationship between the two museums and communities of President Reagan and Prime Minister Thatcher will showcase their connection during the 1980’s as world leaders,” said Sean Sandrock, of the Ronald Reagan Birthplace and Museum.
Ronald Reagan was born in Tampico on Feb. 6, 1911. He graduated from Eureka College in 1932. He served as the governor of California from 1967–1975 after a successful career in Hollywood, and was the 40th President of the United States from 1981–1989.
Margaret Thatcher was born and raised in Grantham and attended Kesteven and Grantham Girls’ School before studying at Oxford University. Her father Alfred was mayor from 1945 to 1946. She was prime minister from 1979 to 1990 and was the United Kingdom’s longest serving prime minister of the 20th century. She entered the House of Lords in 1992.
For more information about Tampico, visit here. For more information about the Reagan birthplace, email sandrock.sean29@gmail.com.
