By Cheryl Miller, Director of the James R. Parks Library and Archives

The race for governor is well underway here in California, and it is unlikely that the winner in November 2026 will have a history of advertising soap and laundry detergent.

From Pío Pico to Leland Stanford to Pat Brown to Arnold Schwarzenegger, California governors loom large in the James R. Parks Library and Archives. And it’s probably safe to say nothing is quite as curious as Ronald Reagan pitching the cleansing power of 20 Mule Team Borax. 

With roots going back to the late 1800s, 20 Mule Team Borax is a classic American product. It’s a naturally occurring mineral (sodium borate) that’s been used for cleaning, laundry, and even some industrial purposes for well over a century. The name comes from the historic method of transporting borax out of Death Valley. Massive wagons loaded with borax were pulled by teams of twenty mules (actually eighteen mules and two horses) across harsh desert terrain to the nearest railhead. This image became iconic in American Western history. The brand was closely tied to both the Death Valley Days radio program (1930–1951) and the TV series (1952–1970), as the Borax Company originally sponsored the show.) The brand was closely tied to both the radio show (1930–1951) and the TV show (1952–1970) Death Valley Days, as the show was originally sponsored by the Borax Company. Its full early title was Death Valley Days, Brought to You by 20 Mule Team Borax. 

Death Valley Days, originally produced by Gene Autry’s Flying-A Productions, featured several well-known hosts over the years—including Ronald Reagan. Reagan hosted Death Valley Days from 1964 to 1966. During his time on the show, Reagan would introduce the episodes that dramatized “real” stories of the American Old West, often centered around pioneers, lawmen, and frontier life. Additionally, he appeared in segments promoting 20 Mule Team Borax, reinforcing that Old West image tied to borax mining. His involvement with the show is notable because it came right before his political career took off. While hosting, he delivered speeches on behalf of conservative causes, which helped build his public profile. Turns out, this was an issue of concern at the time, as we can discover in the Autry Archives. 

The Death Valley Days Radio and Television Archive was donated to the James R. Parks Library and Archives by U.S. Borax Inc., successor to U.S. Borax mining operations.  It includes scripts, photographs and negatives, promotional materials, and internal documents, such as memos about the production activities. And it is through those memos that we get a glimpse of the production company’s decision-making process regarding the renewal of Reagan’s contract. Reasons for renewal included the fact that he was an outstanding salesman as well as a proven asset, and that there might be audience blowback if he wasn’t retained. Reasons against renewal included questions about his availability, the chance that the political campaign would become malicious, and what might happen if he didn’t win. Per the handwritten note (and history), his contract was renewed for another year, to the mutual satisfaction of Reagan and the producers. In 1966, the final year of his contract, Reagan was elected governor.

“Death Valley Days was Reagan’s last TV show before he ran for governor of California. In his ads hawking Borax, he is simultaneously a character of the old West, a glamorous actor, and the father of Patty Reagan, who shows how domestic Borax can be. It’s a neat trick, and it foreshadows Reagan’s uncanny ability to evoke a mythic past with a vision of domestic tranquility for political purposes.”

-- Kim Stringfellow, artist, writer, educator, and independent curator

So, during this election season, if you choose to look backward instead of looking forward, the Autry Library and Archives might be the place for you.