By Seth Boyes - News Editor
No notable photograph exists of President Abraham Lincoln giving his famous Gettysburg Address — it's said the speech was so brief that the photographer hadn't finished setting up his camera before its conclusion. But a number of folks lined up to have their photos taken with "Mr. Lincoln" following his recital of the well-known speech Monday afternoon at the Milford Community Center.
Kevin Wood of Adrian, Michigan, has been portraying the old rail-splitter for about the past 20 years — billing himself as Mr. Lincoln.
Wood said he has long enjoyed the subject of history, and the performances began as something of a hobby. His love of Lincoln was kindled while living in Illinois — the land of Lincoln, of course. Wood said his former high school was not far from one of the few remaining courthouses in which Lincoln is known to have practiced law. Today, Wood plies his skill at school programs, living history events and even Civil War reenactments. He travels all over the U.S. and, as of this week, he'll be approaching his 100th program in the state of Iowa. Monday's visit in Milford was the first of 11 he had scheduled for this week — he headed to West Bend from Milford for another event that evening.
The Lincoln-look-a-like has 14 presentations under his belt — or under his stovepipe hat if you prefer — ranging in subject from the former president's speeches and the Emancipation Proclamation to Lincoln's legal career and political campaigns. Wood is even prepared to speak on the topic of Thanksgiving, as it was President Lincoln who made the occasion a national holiday. Monday's performance in Milford focused on the development of the Gettysburg Address over the course of several weeks. Wood pointed out at least two undated drafts of the iconic speech still exist today. He said the drafts not only give clues as to how the 16th president chose his words, but they also debunk the myth that Lincoln penned the entire speech while on the train to Gettysburg.
Wood said his Gettysburg program draws from approximately four major witness accounts, which together provide a general picture of the events unfolding at that time.
"This is all based on historical documents," Wood said. "It's not all cut and dried, but it's my feeling of how it might have come about."
Wood took the local audience through his hypothetical timeline, starting with the arrival of a telegram inviting the president to say "a few appropriate words" at the now-famous cemetery's dedication. Wood said Lincoln likely knew to prepare the speech some time before the formal invitation arrived in early November of 1863. He was able to demonstrate to the audience where Lincoln may have pulled inspiration for the speech from biblical passages and even some of his earlier writings as he crafted what would become his most famous speech — Wood even noted records show that Lincoln checked Roget's Thesaurus out of the Library of Congress during his presidency, though it may not have necessarily been related to the Gettysburg Address.
"A president can still learn new things," Wood said in character.
The performance ended with the day after Lincoln's address, as the president read some actual newspaper reviews of his speech — some praising it as one of the most moving and eloquent orations and others saying the president's words were silly and could be forever veiled from history. Wood highlighted a letter from the day's intended keynote speaker, Edward Everett, which read, "I should be glad, if I could flatter myself, that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion in two hours as you did in two minutes."
Monday's performance also wove several historical happenings into the narrative for context — official functions that would have been happening at the time, the famed photo of the president taken by Alexander Gardner, family happenings and his interest in upcoming performances at Ford's Theatre, where President Lincoln would ultimately be assassinated less than two years after delivering the Gettysburg address. All in all, Wood said he hopes his work sparks a greater appreciation for U.S. history — perhaps adding the color of life to an era often glimpsed through still, sepia-tone photographs by those who already know the end of the story.
"When we think about history, so often it's dried, it's facts, it's names, it's places and it just doesn't seem very alive," Wood said. "But we all know that history is about living people. The people who fought at Gettysburg — or were civilians — were just as alive as we are. They had the same kind of thoughts and emotions and things. So I just try to convey that. These are people's stories."
Monday's event was sponsored by the Friends of the Milford Memorial Library, Friends of the Spirit Lake Library and Friends of the Arnolds Park Library. Wood's tour of the Midwest will run through Oct. 9 this year, according to information provided by the libraries.
