Agreed. Incredible state - born and raised there. I was 7 years old in 1968 when our first grade teacher gave us an assignment - write a letter to a public official and get a response.
So my dad tells me to write the Governor, a guy named Ronald Reagan, and ask him if he was planning on running for President some day. I write the letter, explain I am 7 years old and have a class project, and ask him about his plans to run for President. I get a response within 4 days - letter states that the Governor is occupied with the business of the people of California, and that is keeping him busy, but he very much appreciated my inquiry. He thanked me for the letter.
The letter has Reagan's signature. Probably from a form or template of some type, but I have a letter from Ronald Reagan in 1968, talking about running for President some day. That's the California I grew up with and loved