Ground Breaks on Ronald Reagan Monument

Volunteers and city officials broke ground on a monument to Ronald Reagan in a Temecula park.

A lifesize bronze statue of the former president will be installed at the Ronald Reagan Sports park as part of the first phase of a monument donated to the park by the Friends of Ronald Reagan, a not-for-profit volunteer group.

The monument is being billed as a "can do" fixture at the park to honor and celebrate the volunteers who helped build the park in the late 1970's before Temecula was a bustling city.

Ronald Reagan spoke of the volunteers' can-do spirit in a speech to the U.S. Olympic Committee in 1983.

"The folks in a rather small town, Temecula, they got together and built themselves a sports park, held fundraising barbecues and dinners. And those that didn't have money, volunteered the time and energy," Reagan said. "And now the young people of that community have baseball diamonds for little league and other sports events, just due to what's traditional Americanism."

The former actor and California governor owned 771 acres of land in Tenaja near Temecula where he considered building a ranch before selling the property in 1979, the Press Enterprise reported.

Due to tight city regulations, some feel a park of this size would not be nearly as easy to build these days.

"Some people here today remember when this park was all dirt. Back in the day, there weren't nearly as many regulations, which made it easier to get this done," Councilwoman Maryann Edwards said to the crowd.

"The volunteers built this park so there would be a place for kids to play," she said, echoing Reagan's words.

The monument was designed by sculptor Christopher Pardell and depicts Reagan at his happiest, said Friends of Ronald Reagan Vice President Jeff Minkler.

"The statue shows Reagan in jeans, boots and a western shirt holding a cowboy hat," Minkler said.

The monument will also have a granite walls and professional landscaping including a Crape Myrtle tree at the base.

In addition to the Reagan statue, Christopher Pardell is designing bronze statues depicting a family of four helping to build the park.