As the 2012 Presidential election approaches, we are reminded of a time when the State, Federal, and Local Governments came to a halt, and Loara High School found itself in the national spotlight.

On October 20, 1970, Ronald Reagan, then Governor of California, made a memorable campaign stop at Loara High School’s practice field. He delivered his famous “Win One for the Gipper” speech to the Saxon football players. (Reagan had played the role of George Gipp in the 1940 film Knute Rockne: All American.) Head coach Herb Hill took a photograph with the future President, caught a few of his football passes, and led the Saxon football team in a cheer for the Governor. The Saxons won their game that week.

Twenty years later, on October 31, 1986, Reagan returned to Loara High School as the President of the United States for a special speaking engagement at the Anaheim Hilton Towers. According to the *Orange County Register* archives from November 1, 1986, the Loara football field provided a convenient landing area for his Marine One helicopter. The landing occurred on a Saturday, and students and parents lined both sides of Euclid Street to catch a glimpse of the President, who was surrounded by numerous Secret Service agents.

“It was supposed to be a secret, but the band found out,” said Becky Hannum, Loara’s student body president, as she waited for the President’s arrival on Saturday morning. “It was easy to guess; there were Secret Service guys all over the place since Monday.”

The Anaheim Bulletin reported the landing on November 3, 1986, and published impressive pictures of the helicopter on the Varsity Baseball field.

This historic event, sourced from the November 4, 1970 issue of the “Saxon Shield,” the November 1, 1986 issue of the Register, the November 3, 1986 article in the *Anaheim Bulletin*, and a first-hand account, remains a proud moment in Loara High School’s history.