Reagan Library to Host Exhibit of Presidential Gifts

SIMI VALLEY — It could be someone’s attic, a jumble of clothes, souvenirs, weird art and weirder furnishings.

Except that scattered throughout--next to faded flags, old quilts and woodcarvings--lie precious stones and crowns of gold.

Every object, from gilded treasure to oddball junk, was given as a gift to a president of the United States. And for the next six months, this mismatched collection of presidential presents will stay on display at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum.

Although the National Archives did the actual work on the exhibit--combing the country’s presidential libraries for the best gifts and then mounting the show last year in Washington--acquisition of the collection represents a coup for the library near Simi Valley.

No other museum will host the exhibit. When it closes in November, the gifts will be returned to their home libraries, to be tucked back into display cases or packed into storage.

“In order to see what you’re going to see here, you’d have to visit all of the other presidential libraries,” said Mark Hunt, Reagan library director. “And even then, that wouldn’t be a guarantee, since a lot of this stuff hasn’t been out in awhile.”

Lisa Auel, who spent more than two years assembling the exhibit for the National Archives, said other libraries would like to host the exhibit but can’t due to limited space, finances or staffing.

“It takes a lot of effort and time,” she said.

Indeed, Reagan library staff members were still swarming over the collection Friday morning, scant hours before the opening reception. The day’s first tourists trickling into the library found themselves wandering through a half-ready exhibit as workers fitted glass cases over the knickknacks and aimed lights at the precious jewels.

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Hunt had the look of someone short on sleep after an entire night working on the displays. But he still showed a look of puzzled wonder for some of the gifts in his hands.

The first display case held a simple present, a small model tank given by an Army sergeant to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt at Ft. Knox. A few feet away stood an elaborate, brightly glazed peace dove with a Soviet flag on one wing and American flag on the other--a gift to Reagan from Mikhail Gorbachev.

Perhaps the most elaborate gift came from the president of Pakistan: a portrait of Reagan done entirely in shades of the stone lapis lazuli, save for the ruby on his tie tack and the diamonds glinting from his eyes.

Although heads of state accounted for the more lavish gifts, many of the items on display came from ordinary American citizens. Cowboy boots for Dwight Eisenhower. An Eskimo carving for Lyndon Johnson. A fishing rod for George Bush.

What struck Hunt as he walked through the collection was the amount of care and sentiment behind the gifts.

“People put a lot of thought into what to give their president,” he said.

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Several of the pieces are pointedly political. A woodcarving of Nixon, for instance, shows the president with his hand and hind end caught in hunting traps, one labeled “Vietnam,” the other “Laos.” The piece is titled “OOPS!?”

Still, for visitors taking a quick preview peek Friday morning, the sentimental pieces had the most effect. Carol Odell of Albuquerque was struck by a simple flag made by an American soldier while held captive in Vietnam.

“It’s just one man and his patriotism,” she said. “It’s poignant.”

FYI

The exhibit, Tokens & Treasures: Gifts to Twelve Presidents, will be on display through November at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library near Simi Valley. Admission is free today. On other days, admission costs $4 for adults, $2 for senior citizens, and free for children younger than 16 years old. The library is open seven days a week and is at 40 Presidential Drive.