REAGAN ADDRESSES CROWD OF 6,000

Alison Sorenson, president of the Student Government Association, presented President Ronald Reagan with a Southeast Missouri State University jacket from the student body. Reagan spoke at the Show Me Center on the Southeast campus during his 1988 visit.

Amid much pomp and circumstance, President Ronald Reagan came to the city on Sept. 14, 1988 -- making him only the second sitting president to visit Cape Girardeau. The first was William Howard Taft in 1909.

After weeks of planning for the president's visit, Reagan arrived at the airport aboard Air Force One at 11:35 a.m. and was taken in a 25- car motorcade to the Show Me Center, where about 6,000 people had received free tickets for his speech.

Reagan, who was finishing up his second term as president, came to Cape Girardeau on a campaign swing for Vice President George Bush, the Republican nominee for president.

The president was warmly received, not only at the Show Me Center, but also along the motorcade route of William Street and Sprigg. Hundreds gathered, including large groups of school children with flags and signs, hoping to catch a glimpse of the 40th president. Kindergarten classes in the Cape Girardeau Public Schools were canceled for the day because of concern that buses might not be able to get to them with streets closed for security purposes along the route.

Security for the president's visit was tight, with about 250 area and federal law enforcement officers -- including about 90 Secret Service agents -- involved in protecting Reagan. Cape Girardeau County Sheriff Norman Copeland drove the lead car in the motorcade, and was accompanied in his car by Scott County Sheriff Bill Ferrell and Cape Girardeau Police Chief Howard Boyd.

Reagan, joined at the Show Me Center by just about all state Republican officials and candidates in Missouri, attacked the Democratic leadership as a "Nightmare on Elm Street," a reference to a popular horror film. Reagan declared that the national economy was strong and that "what we have seen the last eight years is only the beginning.

"We intend to ensure this kind of economic prosperity right through the '90s and into the next century by guaranteeing the federal government can never again spend and tax the American people into another economic nightmare."

After his speech, Reagan was showered with 9,000 balloons and confetti and then attended a reception with supporters of the SEMO University Foundation and area Republicans, who had contributed money to pay for the visit.