PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 07/03/1967 - HFSID 45829

RONALD REAGAN
The new Governor thanks another new Governor for fish he caught and wonders when he had time to fish.
Draft Autograph Letter Signed: "Ron" as Governor of California, 1p, 8½x11 lined sheet. To Claude R. Kirk, Jr., Governor of Florida, Tallahassee, Florida. No place, "7/3/67" in another hand at top. In full: "Just a line to thank you for that 'finny' sample of fishing in Fla. We haven't served it yet but that happens tonight. What I want to know is how in h-l you can have time to fish? I cant even get far enough away from the chores to dig up a worm for bait. Nancy sends her thanks & best regards & please give our greetings to your bride." Reagan would handwrite his letters for his secretary to type for his signature. CLAUDE R. KIRK, JR. switched from the Democratic to the Republican Party and led the Floridians for Nixon campaign in 1960. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 1964 and then ran for Governor in 1966. When Florida voters elected him that year, Kirk became the first Republican to win the governorship since 1872. Defeated for reelection in 1970, Kirk served as Governor from January 3, 1967 to January 5, 1971. Reagan had switched from the Democratic to the Republican Party in 1962 and had become Governor of California on January 2, 1967, serving until January 6, 1975. In 1966, as an ex-officio member of the University Of California Board Of Regents, Reagan had led the move to oust Clark Kerr as President of the University for not dealing harshly enough with student demonstrators on the Berkeley campus. This was a factor in his successful 1966 campaign for Governor. With students in Florida colleges following the lead of California, Claude Kirk ran his 1966 Florida gubernatorial campaign with promises to "break the University of California" over 3,000 miles away. The day after Kirk and Reagan were elected, they met for lunch in Los Angeles. On the following day, University of California President Clark Kerr was fired, without even a day's notice. Lightly creased. Fine condition.