2018 Association of Lincoln Presenters

By Professor Earnest Veritas · Originally published July 2018 · p. 25

FREEPORT, Ill.—May 19–22. Abraham Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln, and Abraham Lincoln, ad infinitum, met for a weekend of humor (LOTS of humor), history, sightseeing, entertainment, and insightful presentations to enhance their own presentations as the national organization: The Association of Lincoln Presenters held its annual conference in Freeport, Ill., in May. They were joined by others portraying Mary Todd Lincoln, Stephen Douglass, Frederick Douglass, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jackie Kennedy, Ulysses S. Grant, and even Jefferson Davis. A total of 88 registered for the event; 56 were Living Historians doing presentations regularly. It should be noted that 40 attendees were non-members who wanted to come and learn. The group meets annually at various locations to see the places related to A. Lincoln, and grow professionally in their respective portrayals. The organization is a far-flung entity, indeed. Attendees were from: California, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Ohio, Tennessee, Wisconsin and West Virginia! Getting underway was excellent when the group met Thursday evening in a local theater hosted by the resident theater group: The Winneshiek Players. Presentations were given to a full house by FDR and A. Lincoln discussing who was the better war-time President; Mary Todd Lincoln and Jackie Kennedy talking about their similarities and differences. The finale was Stephen Douglas and Lincoln revisiting their famous series of debates. Quite likely the most famous and, too, most important, of those debates, the one when the ‘Little Giant’ (Douglas) met ‘Honest Abe’ and stated his support of ‘Popular Sovereignty’ which quickly became known as the ‘Freeport Doctrine,’ was held in Freeport, Ill. After Lincoln pushed Douglas on the subject of admitting slave states as opposed to free states, Douglas suggested that each state could decide on its own whether to be admitted to the Union as a slave or free state. The Freeport Doctrine virtually assured Douglas’s re-election to United States Senate, but killed his chance of being elected President in 1860. The six Living Historians performing that evening donated their efforts so this evening was not only time well-spent but money well-spent; since the $650 raised went to the fund supporting the conference expenses and surplus to future conferences. Friday was spent on tours to various locations of Lincoln interest in Freeport. Historic sites visited were: the Civil War Monument in downtown Freeport; (which is most impressive, rising some 70 feet in the air with four larger-than-life-figures representing Cavalry, Artillery, Infantry and Navy); Debate square where the actual debate occurred (which is now a public ‘pocket park’ and has life size statues of a seated Lincoln and a standing Douglas); the Lincoln statue in Taylor park, an excellent likeness. There was also a program for children at the Freeport public library “Reading’ with Lincoln.” Saturday was busy with lectures and presentations in the public room of the Freeport library. The presentations were: Ira Ford by Alice Schmidt; Frederick Douglass by Steve Cole; Cordelia Harvey; Wisconsin Angel by Mary Kababick; Lincoln’s Playlist, Songs of Mary and Abraham by John and Elaine Masciale; Lincoln and the Germans by Kevin Wood. These programs were excellent and most absorbing. The evening was capped with a silent auction and dinner at the Freeport Club with a treat appearance by the Living Historian group: The Galena Generals. They are a group of men portraying the nine Federal Generals who were from Galena. All were nattily uniformed and added quite a bit to the evening. The Lincoln-Douglas Society sponsored a dinner and evening event at the Freeport Cub. Sunday was a travel day to the Blackhawk War monument (when Lincoln was a militia captain) and nearby Galena, to attend a service in the Galena Methodist church, the church General, Julia, and the children attended. The church held a potluck luncheon for the ALP after the service. The Desoto Hotel was the group’s gathering place for the day’s meeting. An unusual part of the conference was setting a Guinness World Record. Many of the Lincolns went to the local little league baseball field: Little Cubs Field and set a record for the most Abraham Lincolns on a baseball field simultaneously (probably). Little Cubs Field is a miniature of Chicago’s Wrigley Field. For a news video of that event, go to 23WIFR (Facebook) for April 21, 2018. VICE News Tonight covered the weekend for VICE News and had a video on HBO on April 24, 2018.

The weekend was full and busy. It was most productive for all who attended and many good memories and lessons were taken home. For more information about this conference, please contact: Laura Keyes (organizer) at: [email protected] Sponsors for the event were: The Freeport Public Library, the Lincoln-Douglas Society, and The Freeport Community Foundation. Professor Veritas wishes to thank Laura Keyes for her help and contribution to this article.