A year ago, I wrote my first blog post.
So it is fitting that this one will be about not just one Theodore Roosevelt – but several of them. Last weekend was the second annual gathering of TR re-enactors in Medora, North Dakota. I was invited to do a book talk as part of the program, and didn’t have to think too long about an answer.
Larry and Julia Marple, of South Charleston, Ohio, as Theodore and Edith Roosevelt. Mrs. Roosevelt served tea and lemonade to guests in front of the Von Hoffman House, explaining etiquette of the day.
It was “dee-lightful” from beginning to end. We learned more about phases of the twenty-sixth president’s life with enthusiasts who traveled from eight states. The re-enactors themselves were treated to a class given by Martin Jonason, acting studio director from Fargo, North Dakota. He designed the session to strengthen their Theodore voices, gestures, and personas.
Mike Thompson, of San Angelo, Texas, as TR in the Badlands. With a stunningly realistic collection of western clothing and tools, he is the author of a book about the Maltese Cross cabin.
Adam Lindquist of Lonsdale, Minnesota, as the conservationist president who toured Yellowstone and Yosemite in 1903.
Derek Evans, of Wilmette, Illinois, performed “Do What You Can, With What You Have, Where You Are.” He began as himself, in a white shirt and dark pants, and gradually transformed into the president.
My book talk helped bolster what they already knew about TR’s childhood. They asked good questions; it was gratifying to have my opinions of his early years valued.
Theodore Roosevelts, standing: Joe Wiegand (Solana Beach, California, the resident Theodore Roosevelt at the TRMF in Medora), Arch Ellwein (Sidney, Montana), Larry Marple, Brian Haggard (Flint, Michigan), Adam Lindquist, Steve Stark (Fargo, North Dakota), and Gregg Harris (Portland, Oregon).
In the coming year they will bring back Theodore Roosevelt for the young and old at schools, clubs, and special venues. Audiences will get to know an American who once enlivened the country and the world, and with every performance a little more of the efforts he made to improve their lives today.
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If you missed reading some of the blogs from the last fifty-two weeks, I’ll tell my favorites. Go to http://www.amazingbirdcollection.wordpress.com or click on “View all posts by Margaret” at the bottom of this page, and the format I recently switched to will allow you to click on a picture and its title for easy access.
- Edwardian – 6.7.15
- Unshelved – 6.2.15
- “What Do You Think?” – 4.2.15
- Sunday Dinner – 1.26.15
- The Morrises – 10.28.14
- Fleet – 10.21.14
- Finding Freddie – 10.9.14
- 1861 Day – 9.26.14
- There Were Never Such Devoted Sisters – 9.24.14
- Reading, Writing, and Roosevelt – 8.28.14
The Amazing Bird Collection 