Bruce Chapman
Deputy Assistant to the President

I learned to my surprise that President Reagan had spent a year of his childhood in Monmouth, Illinois, where I, too, had grown up--a block away from his house and 30 years later. One day in the Cabinet Room with Ed Meese and the President I mentioned this discovery, and the Preesident said that he remembered only a bit about Monmouth, since he was only seven at the time. But he did have a vivid recollection of a big spring storm that came through town, knocking down tree limbs and even whole trees.

"Early the next day," he said, "I decided to walk over to the campus of Monmouth College (a block away) and inspect the damage. And there on the ground by a big tree I found a robin's nest with three small blue eggs in it, completely intact. So I shinnied up the tree with that nest and put it in a notch of the tree. That was all I thought about it.

"Well, someone apparently saw me do this and mentioned it to an official of the local chapter of the Audubon Society. And later on, they actually gave me an award for it."

"Wow, Mr. President," I said, "that must have been the first award you ever received."

"Well," he replied with a chuckle, tilting his chin, "you know that's right..Ed, why didn't we ever make anything of that?"

It's a true story about his character development at an early age, and his wit as an adult.