Thanks to local Republicans, drivers entering Hollister on Highway 25 are now greeted by the smiling face of Ronald Reagan.
The sign that’s 4 feet high and 7 1/2 feet wide sits on the property of Richard Hershey, owner of the Body Shop, who erected it with the help of county Republican Chairman Marvin Jones and an anonymous donor. The sign declares, “Welcome to Reagan Country,” and is credited to the San Benito County Republican Party.
Asked if he’s trying to send a message, Jones said, “Just that Ronald Reagan was a good president. It turns out he was one of the greatest, and history’s been kind to him.”
The claim that San Benito County is “Reagan Country” may surprise some locals, since the local electorate has far more Democrats than Republicans, according to the secretary of state. But Hershey said the late president’s appeal isn’t limited to conservatives.
“He was for the people,” Hershey said. “He went across party lines.”
He added that Reagan was beloved among the county’s traditional ranchers.
“(Reagan) was a cowboy, he really was,” Hershey said.
Election results show Reagan was, indeed, popular here, just as he was throughout California and the nation.
Hershey said he tries to visit the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley regularly, because “there’s always something happening there.” In fact, Hershey first thought of the sign during a visit earlier this year, when he saw the old advertisements stating that California and the United States are “Reagan country.”
Hershey told Jones that San Benito could use a little reminder of Reagan’s legacy, and Jones agreed. They recruited an anonymous donor to pay the costs, and hired Design Line and Granger Printing to create the sign itself.
“It’s a great picture,” Hershey said.
Jones is also pleased with the results, although he noted the sign is on the small side to avoid getting in trouble with the local “sign police” and it has a plastic covering to protect it from graffiti.
Reagan deserves to be ranked as one of the greatest American presidents, perhaps the greatest, for “winning the Cold War without firing a shot” and “restoring some pride in our country,” Jones said. Hershey added that Reagan deserves particular credit for being a man of strong moral convictions.
“He wasn’t listening to Congress or the Senate – he was listening to God,” Hershey said.
Even Supervisor Reb Monaco, a Democrat, acknowledged that “there’s no question that (Reagan) was an extremely popular president.”
But Monaco added that despite Reagan’s charisma, he made some serious errors in judgment, including the Iran-Contra scandal.
“Whether I’d personally rank him at the top, I don’t know that I would,” Monaco said.
