Ronald Reagan and Knott's

In honor of what would’ve been former President Ronald Reagan’s 100th birthday, February 6. Here’s a photo of then California Governor Ronald Reagan presiding over Mr. & Mrs. Knott’s 60th wedding anniversary and the grand opening of the John Wayne Theatre at Knott's Berry Farm on June 11, 1971. Also, present in the photo is John Wayne who had presented Mrs. Knott with the bouquet of pink roses. This was also the premiere of John Wayne's movie "Big Jake" but more on that in the next post.

Here are a couple of quotes from Reagan about the Knott’s:

In 1968, as Governor of California, Reagan presented Walter Knott with the Free Enterprise Man of the Year Award and said this of him: 

“Walter Knott is one of America’s great patriots; one who has successfully climbed to the very top rung of the ladder of success, as few Americans have; yet one who has always been careful to see that he left each rung of that ladder in good repair so those who followed after would have less trouble in climbing life’s ladder than he, Walter Knott, California’s and America’s Great Pioneer/Patriot.”

Ronald Reagan often sat with the Knott’s during locally held political dinners and commented on these meeting thusly:

“Let me just say Nancy and I have never failed to come away from one of our not too frequent meetings without a good feeling of warmth and renewed faith. The bond between the Knott’s and the strength Walter gets from that bond is so apparent to see, it is an inspiration.”