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In 1957, General Electric brought the future President to the Roanoke Valley.
In 1954, Ronald Reagan got just what he needed most at the time…a job. Having been released by Warner Brothers, the Hollywood actor and future President was trying to make ends meet by emceeing a nightclub act in Las Vegas, a gig he despised. General Electric needed a national spokesperson to host the popular CBS primetime television program “General Electric Theater” that aired on Sunday nights. It was tailor-made for Reagan, who hosted and occasionally acted in the half-hour episodes for eight years. At its peak, the show was the third most-watched program in the nation.
Reagan, who’s starting salary with GE in 1954 was $125,000 ($1.4 million today), had more obligations than just hosting the electronics giant’s television series. Reagan quickly became the corporate face of GE, traveling the US to speak at factories, conventions and ribbon-cuttings. Reagan’s persona and GE’s marketing were so intertwined that GE outfitted Reagan’s home with the latest appliances and electronics so that even the actor’s ranch served as a showcase for the latest GE had to offer, even down to his toaster.
In March of 1957, GE sent Reagan to Roanoke to help celebrate the operations of the new $10 million GE industry control plant near Salem that had opened in 1955. By the time of Reagan’s visit, the plant was a muscular presence in the valley. Within two years of opening, the facility was fully operational with nearly 2,000 employees and a payroll near $8 million ($87.4 million today). By the end of the decade, GE would be the valley’s second largest employer behind the Norfolk & Western Railway. Many of the plant officials and initial employee base had been transferred from another GE plant in Schenectady, New York.
Like most of Reagan’s visits to communities, his schedule was rigorous. Reagan’s day began at sunrise with a press breakfast at the Hotel Roanoke, where he recognized Roanoke Times reporter Melville Carico. He and Carico had served in the same Army unit during World War II. An ardent anti-Communist, Reagan’s speech decried the prevalence of gossip magazines and alleged cells of Communist sympathizers as plagues upon Hollywood, both observations born from his recent service as president of the Screen Actors Guild. He told the audience that he was constantly asked questions about Hollywood scandals and the political leanings of movie moguls as he toured the country.
After breakfast, Reagan toured the GE plant, speaking to the workforce and commenting on the latest advancements being made by GE, all aligned with the company’s slogan, “Progress is our most important product.” His tour guides were plant manager B. F. Mahoney and personnel manager Paul Thomson. Following lunch, Reagan went to the nearby Veterans Administration Hospital and then to the television studios of WDBJ appearing on “The Anne Howard Show” and Irv Sharp’s “6 O’clock Show,” where he received the key to the City of Roanoke from Mayor Walter Young.
Reagan’s evening in Roanoke was busier than his morning. There was a GE banquet at 6:45 and then an appearance at the Patrick Henry Hotel during the opening reception of the annual Secretarial Workshop, an event that had drawn women from five states. The Roanoke Times reported that the handsome actor caused quite a stir. “He met some 275 misses – all of them gorgeous – at the reception. The secretaries all insisted on calling him ‘Ronnie’ when he appeared in the ballroom. He had the apparently pleasant sensation of being engulfed by swarms of women…All the girls wanted to do was smile brilliantly and say hello. At length, Reagan got on a speaking platform, took another look at the assembled pulchritude, and said, ‘Hello. Wow.’”
Reagan’s last stop on his whirlwind tour of the valley was a 9 p.m. appearance at a meeting promoting Roanoke’s Soap Box Derby. Boys had gathered in the auditorium of the Times-World Building to learn the rules and qualifications for entering their racers in the annual event. They casually mixed with the actor, perhaps having seen him in a Western, as Reagan made informal comments. The future President left the next morning to tour a GE plant in Hickory, North Carolina.
While Reagan’s time as the GE spokesperson ended in 1962, he estimated that during his tenure with the company he visited 135 GE plants and met over 250,000 people. Those visits were much like his one to the Roanoke Valley, packed days of glad-handing and speaking. Scholars have suggested that had it not been for his time with GE, Reagan might not have become President, for during his high-profile time touring America, Reagan honed his extemporaneous speaking abilities and interpersonal skills and recalibrated his political philosophy that was possibly influenced by the pro-business, anti-regulation culture of GE’s executives. During those eight years, Reagan shifted from being a New Deal Democrat to a Barry Goldwater Republican.
The 1957 visit of Reagan to Roanoke would not be his last. Reagan returned to Roanoke in 1979, again staying at the Hotel Roanoke, to address the Virginia Republican convention. Reagan’s political stature had increased, as he was governor of California at the time and seeking the Republican nomination for President.
The story above is from our March/April 2024 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
