Tampico to be featured on Bulgarian National Television

BNT Correspondent Simeon Gasparov was in Tampico on Thursday for a tour of the birthplace and to interview Museum Curator Joan Johnson.

“I’m working on a story of how the world would be like if Ronald Reagan was still alive,” Gasparov said. “Would we have the war in Ukraine? Would we have the problems with the economy? How the Democratic party would look like, how the Republican party would look like? Who would Ronald Reagan vote for, for example? … If there was a political debate, how would Ronald Reagan act? He never insulted his opponents, no matter if they were from the same party or the other party.”

Johnson started with the museum in 2005 and said she gave herself the title of volunteer coordinator. She occasionally gets visits such as this one, but said Gasparov was the museum’s first visitor from Bulgaria that she recalls.

“Our local people are not aware of the significance of this and then we have people from all over the world stop in who are just overly amazed and thrilled,” Johnson said. “The people from … eastern Europe – they have tears in their eyes when they come in.”

Gasparov, who currently resides in Chicago, said there is good reason for the area’s love for Reagan. Bulgaria was under Communist rule from 1946 until 1989.

“For us in Eastern Europe, Ronald Reagan is still very big. We have monuments erected for him because we all struggled. I’m part of this generation that was in the streets fighting for our democracy and freedom,” Gasparov said. “And for us, Ronald Reagan was a symbol of this freedom.”

“Speak Now” is a program about the economy, culture, and politics on BNT. Gasparov said Bulgarians, and eastern Europeans in general, follow American politics closely because they feel that U.S. presidents have a lot of power outside of the United States.

“With the war in Ukraine, this uncertainty with the future of NATO, this kind of constant pressure from Russia … these are serious threats for our democracies, and this will also be reflecting in the United States,” Gasparov said.

BNT is available in English online at https://bnt.bg/en (AroundPtown will update this story with an exact link to the episode when it becomes available).

Reagan, the only U.S. president born in Illinois, was born Feb. 6, 1911, in an upstairs apartment in the middle of Main Street in Tampico. The apartment has been restored to depict what it was like when the Reagans lived there. It was designated a National Historic Site in 2002.

The Ronald Reagan Birthplace and Museum, which has been owned by WPW Partners of Chicago for the past 20 years, was transferred in late August to Young America’s Foundation (YAF), according to Whiteside County property records. YAF took ownership of the Reagan Boyhood Home and Visitors Center in Dixon in December 2020; and has owned the Reagan Ranch in California since 1998.

Reagan became a member of YAF’s National Advisory Board in 1962, two years after the organization’s founding, eventually being named its honorary national chairman. For information on YAF, visit yaf.org.

The Birthplace and Museum, 111-113 S. Main St. in Tampico, is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 1-4 p.m. Sundays, with other times available by appointment by calling 815-622-8705. Large groups should schedule a time in advance. There is no formal charge to tour, but donations are encouraged, and various items are available for purchase in the gift shop.