Ronald Reagan in Iowa

1932 – Future U.S. President and American Legion member Ronald Reagan graduated from Eureka College in 1932, when jobs were tight because of the Depression. Reagan, 22, breaks into the broadcasting field by announcing University of Iowa football games for WOC Radio in Davenport and, soon after, WHO Radio in Des Moines. Reagan's first assignment - for $5 and bus fare - was the University of Iowa's homecoming game against Minnesota on 22 October.  While in Iowa, he took home-study U.S. Army extension courses and joined the U.S. Cavalry Reserves at Fort Des Moines in 1937 where in one month, he was promoted from private to second lieutenant.