Neil Heads to College

After Ronald Reagan's first year at Eureka, he returned to Dixon and worked as a lifeguard. He considered dropping out and working as a surveyor. A talk with his girlfriend, Margaret, and a visit to school changed his mind. He called home and told his mother. She said that was what his brother said he would do, that Neil wished he could join him. Surprised, Reagan got his brother a football scholarship and left his steamer trunk for him. Neil packed it and went. Later, Ronald Reagan told the story that an old immigrant at the cement plant where Neil worked convinced his brother to go to college, saying they would always work together and someday Neil would be like him. Though a good story, Neil says it isn't true.

Make Believe, p. 80-81.

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