© 2024 Ideastream Public Media

1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115
(216) 916-6100 | (877) 399-3307

WKSU is a public media service licensed to Kent State University and operated by Ideastream Public Media.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Weather-Related Closings and Delays
News
To contact us with news tips, story ideas or other related information, e-mail newsstaff@ideastream.org.

Lincoln Re-Enactors Visit Ohio Statehouse

The chamber of the Ohio House of Representatives was just one stop on a tour by participants in this year’s national convention of Lincoln re-enactors. They all wore the traditional black suit and black stove-pipe hat that Lincoln was known for.

Among the impersonators was Chester Damron of North Carolina. The 78-year old, who is also a minister, has been portraying Lincoln for nearly 39 years, mostly at schools.

DAMRON: "I teach Abraham Lincoln's values: honesty, integrity, compassion."

Accompanying Damron and the other Abraham Lincoln re-enactors at the Ohio statehouse today were a couple dozen women, also dressed in the style of the mid-1800s. Many of them portrayed the president’s wife, Mary Todd Lincoln.

Nick Castele was a senior reporter covering politics and government for Ideastream Public Media. He worked as a reporter for Ideastream from 2012-2022.