It’s not every day you see Abraham Lincoln in town.
Mahomet students have only seen images and statues of America’s 16th President.
But as the Museum of the Grand Prairie celebrates President’s Day with its “Schools Out” program, youth and adults alike may believe they are seeing the ghost of Abraham Lincoln.
For 20 years, Kevin Wood has traveled through the Midwest portraying the man he resembles.
The Metamora native took an interest in Lincoln as a child. The local Metamora courthouse, which was built in 1845, was frequented by Lincoln as he practiced law.
Through his continuous research, Wood has developed a Lincoln character that tells a first-hand account of the history of the USA from our establishment in 1776 through the end of the Civil War in 1865.
“Mr. Lincoln is one of our nation’s most beloved and esteemed historical figures, as the president who ably led our nation through its darkest days, when brother fought against brother, and the fabric of our “more perfect Union” was nearly torn asunder,” Wood said.
“Perhaps the most surprising thing I have come to appreciate is the complexity of the man and of his times. We tend to simplify things, especially when looking back at historical characters and events. But they were human beings just as we are, and subject to the same complex web of feelings, thoughts, motives and attitudes as we are.”
Wood will take the show to over 200 venues in 2018, including performances at the Museum of the Grand Prairie at 11 a.m., at the Clark-Lindsey Village in Urbana and at the Tolono Public Library from 6 to 7 p.m.
The event at the Museum of the Grand Prairie is free and open to all ages.
