Billings Heights dedicates Reagan Post Office (Good news)

Helenair.com ^ | 2/14/2004 | Diane Cochran

[PeteFromMontana]

Billings Heights dedicates Reagan Post Office

By DIANE COCHRAN - Billings Gazette - 2/14/04

The Heights post office has become the first building in Montana to be named for former President Ronald Reagan.

The naming came, in part, from legislation sponsored by Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont.

‘‘Remember the character and the resolve of this man, and apply it to our life, no matter your political persuasion,'' Burns said during a dedication ceremony on Friday. ‘‘He was a guy who inspired a lot of us to do good things. ''

Burns was joined by Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont.; Bob Klein, U.S. Postal Service Big Sky District manager; and Billings Postmaster Dennis Kautz for the ceremony in the post-office parking lot at 710 Wicks Lane. About 75 people watched as they unveiled a plaque designating the building as the Ronald Reagan Post Office.

‘‘The attachment to Ronald Reagan is significant in our country,'' Klein said. ‘‘I'm proud to be able to say we have a post office in Billings, Montana, named after Ronald Reagan. It means a lot to all of us to be able to recognize patriots as we go through life.''

Burns sponsored the bill to rename the 4-year-old post office, and President Bush signed it into law in December. Burns wanted a building in Billings to be named after Reagan and chose the post office because it will probably be around for a long time, he has said.

During his remarks on Friday, Burns recalled meeting Reagan for the first time in 1982 when the president visited Billings. As a member of the Al Bedoo Shrine Black Horse Patrol, it was Burns'

job to help escort Reagan from the airport to the fairgrounds.

‘‘The president walked up to me, stuck out his hand and said, ‘Hi, I'm Ronald Reagan,' '' Burns said. ‘‘I gave him a good old Montana answer. I won' t tell you what it was, but he turned around and said, ‘By God, we're in Montana.' ''

Rehberg was fund-raising for Rep. Ron Marlenee, R-Mont., when he met Reagan.

‘‘I am probably standing here today because of Ronald Reagan,'' Rehberg said.

The Heights post office is the second of Montana' s 320 post offices to be renamed. Rehberg sponsored legislation in 2002 that named the Harlem post office for the late state Rep. Francis Bardanouve, D-Harlem. Rehberg said it takes an act of Congress to give a post office a new name.

‘‘This is no small event,'' Klein agreed. ‘‘You can't just go around renaming post offices wherever you feel like it.''

During the ceremony, Billings residents Charmaine Fisher and Tillie Pierce were honored with framed copies of Burns' bill and other memorabilia. Fisher and Pierce worked on the Reagan Steering Committee during his campaign for the presidency.

‘‘I heard him speak at the Goldwater Convention,'' Fisher said. ‘‘He was such a powerful speaker and a powerful man. Naturally, I was for him. He was wonderful. It's all coming out now how wonderful he was.''

Heights resident Julie Schopp attended the ceremony with her 10-year-old son, Zach, because she liked Reagan when he was president.

‘‘He was my favorite president, the first one I voted for,'' Schopp said.

She said Zach recently learned about Congress in his fourth-grade class, and he was excited to have his picture taken with Burns and Rehberg.

‘‘We even went home and changed shirts so he could,'' she said.

Representatives of the Alzheimer's Association also attended the event. Reagan, 93, suffers from the disease and has not been seen in public for 10 years.

‘‘It really removed a lot of the stigma,'' said Karen Fried, director of the Montana Alzheimer's Association. ‘‘People didn't want to talk about a family member with Alzheimer' s until he wrote that letter and told the whole world what was happening to him.''

Diane Cochran may be reached at 657-1287 or Diane.Cochran(at)lee.net.

[PeteFromMontana]

One for the Gipper

I checked for a post of this article and did not find one.