Reagan's letters brought history to young pen pal

WASHINGTON - Rudy Hines was born and raised in Southeast Washington and hasn't ventured far afield.

He lives a half-mile from where he grew up, and he works two part-time jobs in his neighborhood, at a store catty-corner from the elementary school he attended and at a soul food lounge about two blocks away.

But it was here, as a child in Congress Heights, that Rudy got a view of high-level diplomacy, national politics and international history -- and a bit of grandfatherly counsel.

Rudy was President Ronald Reagan's official pen pal for almost five years, and some of their correspondence is included in the just-published collection "Reagan: A Life in Letters."

Along with letters on Reagan's desire to end the Cold War or the rationale for limiting the free speech of a communist are nuggets of advice he gave to the Congress Heights Elementary School student.

"I know you work very hard. I do too, but we have a lot of fun writing each other," Rudy, 6, wrote on April 3, 1984. "My hobbies are painting and watching golf. I like to read and write too. At recreational reading time, the children pull out the rugs and read the newspaper."

On April 9, 1984, Reagan responded: "You ... mentioned reading and that is good. Rudolph, if you get in the habit of reading stories for pleasure you'll never be lonely. Sometimes I worry that TV is going to rob young people of the great pleasure there is in a good book."

Hines, a high school graduate who didn't go on to college, is now a strapping 6-foot, 280-pound man with the same sweet smile he had as a child. He recalls taking the relationship in stride, and he is shy and not eager to step into the spotlight, despite his friendship with the president.

"I didn't think it was a real big thing at the time. ... I just put down anything that was on my mind. I would ask him questions, ask him what were some of the major details of what he did as president or that I got an 'A' on something," said Hines, 26.

But there were glimpses into some momentous events, like the president's first visit to a communist country:

"On Wednesday the 18th of April, Mrs. Reagan and I have to start on our trip to China. ... The trip is to meet with the government leaders of China and see how our two countries can become better friends," Reagan wrote in 1984.

On April 22, 1986, Reagan wrote his young pen pal: "From there (South Asia), we'll go to Tokyo for the annual economic summit with the leaders of England, France, Italy, West Germany, Canada and Japan. It will be a busy time. We have a lot to talk about, including terrorism and what we can do about it."

Known as the Great Communicator, Reagan was a prolific letter writer from age 11 to 83, when he wrote his famous "My Fellow Americans" letter to the nation revealing that doctors had found that he had an incurable brain disease, Alzheimer's.

Now 92 and living with his wife, Nancy, in California, Reagan has been out of the spotlight for almost a decade.

"Reagan: A Life in Letters" was released Sept. 23 by Free Press of New York and contains more than 1,000 letters written before, during and after Reagan's two terms in the White House.

The collection was culled from some 6,500 letters found at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, in private collections across the country and in other presidential libraries.

It includes correspondence to heads of state Leonid Brezhnev and Margaret Thatcher and to media magnate Walter Annenberg, National Review founder William F. Buckley Jr., former President Nixon, advice columnist Ann Landers, California real estate developer Paul Trousdale, actor Mickey Rooney, Playboy magazine publisher Hugh Hefner and Reagan's children, Patti and Ron Jr.

Reagan's letters, most of them originally written in ink on a yellow legal pad and then typed by secretaries, spanned the gamut, from his thoughts on a space-based missile defense program to the virtue in telling the truth.

It is in the chapter titled "Pen Pals" that the relationship between Reagan and Rudy Hines emerges, an association that particularly interested Skinner.

"What really struck me was a picture of a little black boy (that Rudy included in his first letter to Reagan) -- that this was the president's official pen pal -- because I couldn't tell from the letters initially the race of the child," Skinner said.

(Rudy makes only one reference in his letters to race, after Reagan visited his school in January 1986 to commemorate the Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday that he signed into law. Reagan told the story of his black college football teammate who was maliciously injured on the field by a white player from the opposing team. "I hope I never meet anyone who would hurt me just because I am a different color," Rudy subsequently wrote Reagan.)

In an interview Monday, Skinner said she believes that Rudy's relationship with Reagan is noteworthy.

"For me, as a black American, the story took on a special meaning. It defied expectations, and the relationship went beyond correspondence. ... Yes, they were from different backgrounds, difference races and different ages. But it's just a real conversation."

Hines became the president's pen pal in March 1984 when Reagan visited Congress Heights Elementary, since renamed Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School.

The White House had decided to adopt the school in 1983 as part of the National Partnerships in Education program. Students got special privileges, such as visiting Air Force One, the Rose Garden and the Roosevelt Room in the White House.

In March 1984, Reagan visited Congress Heights Elementary to announce a new twist.

"There has to be some kind of personal relationship when you're doing this," Reagan told the children and teachers. "I want to have a student from here be a pen pal, and we'll exchange letters."

That student was Hines, chosen by Principal William Dalton for his reading and writing skills.

"He was a low-key, very intelligent kid," said Dalton, who retired as principal in 1990. "He was just a normal child who happened to learn the skills we were trying to teach."

Also, Hines lived across the street from Congress Heights Elementary with his mother, Stephanie Lee, who was willing to become an active participant in the relationship. Rudy's father, Chett Hines, also lived close by and was very involved in his son's life.

Now living in Lorton, Va., and working as a nurse in the admissions testing center of Washington Hospital Center, Lee has preserved the more than 175 Reagan letters and photographs -- as well as a $50 check from his personal checking account in Beverly Hills that Reagan sent to Rudy as a Christmas present in 1985.

And there are the White House photographs from the September 1984 visit the Reagans made to Lee's one-bedroom apartment in Southeast, where Rudy lived.

The White House contacted Lee and asked her to host the president and first lady for dinner and to keep it a surprise for Rudy.

Rudy had invited the Reagans for dinner, writing: "You have to let us know in advance so my mom can pick up the laundry off the floor."

When the Reagans arrived, they asked to eat just like Rudy and his mom would have, Lee recalled, and they did. A photograph shows the Reagans sitting on the sofa across from the television, eating homemade fried chicken, wild rice and salad off of TV trays.

In a statement Monday, Nancy Reagan remembered that night as "a wonderful evening."

The Reagans also brought a present for Rudy, some of his classmates and the school principal: front-row tickets for a Michael Jackson concert at RFK Stadium scheduled for that night.

"I want to thank you for the visit to my house and the jar of jelly beans," Rudy wrote to Reagan. "The Michael Jackson concert was great! Tell Mrs. Reagan I think she would have jumped when they shot off the fireworks. She would have liked Michael Jackson's singing too. I enjoyed the show."

Seven months later, Reagan invited Rudy and several hundred schoolmates to "The Greatest Show On Earth," seating his pen pal next to him and giving him the whistle he used as honorary ringmaster of the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey circus.

Rudy got a special invitation to attend Reagan's second inauguration in 1985 but couldn't attend because cold weather forced the ceremony into the Capitol Rotunda, where there was little room for spectators.

Lee keeps the scrapbooks with all the Reagan mementos in a bank safety deposit box and said neither she nor her son plans to cash in on the collection.

"The fact we never capitalized on (the relationship or letters), I think that's what made it work," Lee said.

Here is some more info, an interview with Paula Zahn:

ZAHN (voice-over): President Reagan was unquestionably a man of words, writing more than 5,000 personal letters in his lifetime, letters to his loving wife, his famous Hollywood friends, influential world leaders, and Rudy. It began in 1984 with this letter from President Reagan. "I was delighted," Reagan wrote, "to see your letter on my desk today. I am proud to have you as my pal." President Reagan had visited a local elementary school that his White House was adopting. The principal selected one very lucky first grader, Rudy Hines, to be the president's pen pal. You might think a couple of letters would be exchanged and then it would be over.

But in this case, something quite extraordinary happened. Ronald Reagan and Rudy Hines exchanged letters, hundreds of letters, for more than seven years. For this inner city boy, it was an education. Rudy got a glimpse of politics, history and diplomacy through the prism of his pen pal, the president. But perhaps more importantly, Rudy gained an adviser, a mentor, a lifelong friend.

Reagan gave him advice on everything from homework to friendships. These letters were filled with stories about the president's dogs, his hobbies, even the doodles he made in high-level meetings. And it wasn't just letters. President Reagan often sent photographs as well, the president and the first lady at the Great Wall of China, the president at the ranch, the president with world leaders.

And on the back of each picture, a handwritten note from Reagan to his friend Rudy. Through the years, Rudy and the family made dozens of trips to the White House, including one to celebrate the president's birthday. Rudy came with balloons and cupcakes in hand for his friend.

And then, in 1984, the president and first lady turned the tables when he and Nancy stopped by Rudy's home for dinner, a little different from the state dinners Nancy became famous for.

STEPHANIE LEE, MOTHER OF RUDY: Fried chicken and rice and salad. And they seemed to enjoy it.

ZAHN: A quiet fried chicken dinner on the living room couch in front of the TV. Now 20 years after the correspondence first began, these letters and photos are not just keepsakes, but cherished memories of a young boy and his very devoted pen pal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN: Joining us now, all grown up, is Rudolph Hines, along with his mother, Stephanie Lee.

Great to have both of you with us tonight.

RUDOLPH HINES, FORMER PEN PAL OF PRESIDENT REAGAN: Thank you.

LEE: Thank you.

ZAHN: What a piece of history. I've been looking through this book and you have not only pictures that the president took the time to sign on the back and tell you who was in the pictures, but dozens and dozens of letters that he wrote to you over the years. We want to look at an excerpt right now from the first letter that he wrote to you dated, March 20, 1984. And the handwriting in the P.S. at the bottom reads: "I was so pleased to get your letter, I got excited and started to sign my name in the wrong place." Clearly, the president was trying to have fun with you. You were only 6 years old at the time.

HINES: Correct.

ZAHN: Were you surprised at how he was able to connect with you?

HINES: I was surprised that he took the time to sit down and write a letter. I was just a 6-year-old kid, really.

ZAHN: He was a good letter writer, wasn't he?

HINES: Yes, he was. Yes, he was.

ZAHN: I want to share with our audience another letter that was dated April 9, 1984, where the president said: "You said that one of your hobbies was painting. That's fine. And it's something you can get a lot of pleasure from throughout your life. I didn't paint when I was your age, but I liked to draw cartoons and still do. What I do is called doodling and usually is done when I'm in a meeting of some kind. I've enclosed a few from a recent meeting."

What did you think of his doodles?

HINES: They were pretty good, actually. Unfortunately, I was never as good an artist as he was, but the doodles he sent, he sent me, I think there were four, four different ones on one page, they were quite good, quite good.

ZAHN: Did you have any idea at that stage in your life -- because you're basically a little kid -- what the impact of his communication meant?

HINES: I didn't really make a big deal of it at the time. I knew who he was, that he was president. But he was just a friend I wrote letters to. He just happened to be the president.

ZAHN: Just happened to be the president.

Now, mom, you had to know what a big deal this was, that a president that had so much to do would take time out of his day to, in many cases, personally hand-write the letter?

LEE: Well, the grownups around Rudolph at that time were quite flabbergasted. They were totally impressed and just gaga with the fact he was signing them and writing them and sending him pictures and everything.

ZAHN: And it obviously was something that the president did because he wanted to do it. He wasn't doing this for show.

LEE: Right. ZAHN: That had to get you right here.

LEE: It did. It probably had more of an impact on us as the months passed and we saw exactly what was coming. They were quite prolific in their writing to each other. And we were very amazed at what was coming, what was coming in the ordinary mail for Rudolph.

The mailman would just get a real kick out of delivering the mail and leaning it up against the door and says, got another letter from the president today. The mailman was a trip, but the neighbors and the family clearly enjoyed the whole process.

ZAHN: So the president not only sent you letters. There was one Christmas where he sent you a check. But you never cashed it, did you?

HINES: No, I did not. No, I did not. We still have it.

ZAHN: And we have a picture of it. Why didn't you cash it?

LEE: Actually, he got the money.

ZAHN: He did get the money.

LEE: His dad and I gave him the money, but we kept the check. The accountant, I think, called about six months later and said, are you guys going to cash the check? And we said, no.

ZAHN: And I don't blame you. What a piece of history you have.

Rudolph Hines and Stephanie Lee, please stay tuned. We're going to take a short break here.

When we come back, we're going to hear about your invitation to the president to dine at your home with the first lady. That story when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ZAHN: We're back with Rudolph Hines and his mother, Stephanie Lee, talking about his childhood memory of President Reagan, who adopted him as a pen pal.

Welcome back.

HINES: Thank you.

LEE: Thank you.

ZAHN: Now, one of the best parts of your history is that you actually invited the president to eat at your home with the first lady. How did that come about?

LEE: Rudolph sent a letter to the president. He asked the president if he'd like to come over and have dinner. Actually, it was supposed to be at his grandmother's house because she had a vegetable garden that year and he says, but if you want to come, please call in advance so my mom can get the laundry up off the floor.

I was totally mortified by that, but I didn't -- the letter went out to the president and I didn't give it a second thought.

ZAHN: So when he arrived, what was it like?

LEE: Not when he arrived. When they called and said that, can he come? It was absolutely -- I said, well, I need a day to clean up. I need a day to kind of straighten up a little bit, borrow some furniture or cook some food. And he came. It was amazing, absolutely amazing.

ZAHN: Describe to us how the president behaved. He didn't get out of the White House all that often. In fact, he often talked about feeling imprisoned in the White House and he wished he could have had more opportunities to do what he did with the two of you. Was he relaxed?

LEE: He really was.

We had gotten some information that said, please do what you normally do in your home. And we normally ate on trays, because we lived in a small apartment. And they said, fine, just do that. And so that's what we did. We had TV trays and we served them on that. And they talked. And they were so casual. It was like bringing family over and tucking them in the sofa and letting them eat. It was great.

ZAHN: Did you dress up that night?

LEE: Are you kidding me? It was summertime and it was hot and we dressed accordingly. So it was fun.

ZAHN: So, Stephanie, do you remember what you talked about?

LEE: They actually talked about their life in the White House, what it was like to have family in the White House. They talked about their early years. Mrs. Reagan told this story about how she used to be a nurse's aide at a hospital and she was instructed to bathe this patient.

And the patient had a sheet over him. And she said she gave that patient a really, really good bath. And when the supervisor came by to her and said, well, "Why did you bathe that patient?" she said, because you told me to. And she says, no, that patient is dead. You were supposed to do the one next to it. We were on the floor. It was just totally hilarious. She was very comfortable.

She was sitting back on the sofa sort of tucked in the corner. And they were very animated about very ordinary things, about him being a lifeguard, about growing up in Illinois. We were very much enchanted, very much so.

ZAHN: How great, that they could be so at ease with all of you.

LEE: Very (CROSSTALK)

ZAHN: And, of course, meanwhile, the neighborhood is going nuts.

(LAUGHTER)

LEE: Yes.

ZAHN: Let me share with our audience another letter the president wrote to you after you asked him a number of questions about his relationship with Mikhail Gorbachev and the U.S. relationship with the Soviet Union.

The president wrote: "I don't have many answers to your questions about Gorbachev's family or his hobbies. We never got around to that kind of conversation, possibly because all our talk had to be through interpreters. You are right. It would better if he could understand our language, or of course, if I could talk Russian. Just between us, on another subject, I was rooting for the Redskins, even though, in my job, I'm not supposed to take sides. I think it's going to be quite a Super Bowl."

Did you ever think he would be a witness to history that way and have a president respond to some very specific questions you asked?

HINES: No, not in a million years. I figured I will get just a generic response that typical politicians give when people write letters to them. But he was not a typical politician. He actually sat down and took the time and carefully thought out his responses to my letters. And I really appreciated that.

ZAHN: It certainly is a measure of a man.

Just a final thought of what this relationship meant to you as a mother to watch Rudolph correspond with the president in a very meaningful way.

LEE: You know, after a while, you stopped thinking about him as president of the United States. I mean, always as adults, we knew exactly what was going on, but, clearly, it was turning into something a lot more than that. And his father and I both very much appreciated the relationship that he developed with Rudolph, because, as you can see, it turned out to be something that no one would have thought of.

ZAHN: It's a beautiful story and thank you for sharing part of your story with us tonight.

HINES: Thank you.

LEE: Thank you.

ZAHN: Good luck to you.

HINES: Thank you.

ZAHN: Rudolph and Stephanie, thanks for your time. LEE: Thank you.

ZAHN: And much of what Ronald Reagan was heard, not read. Coming up in this hour, the man and his message, a revealing look at how Reagan found the words that spoke to a nation.

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