This program will feature B.F. and Dorothy McClerren, who are well-known Lincoln presenters, in character as the 16th president and his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln. While bringing the Lincolns to life, the McClerrens use wit and wisdom. They have found that when history is presented in a first-person manner and accompanied by humor, children and adults alike remember this history more readily. In addition to this program, the public is invited to have free photographs taken with the Lincolns from 3 to 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9, at the library, an activity presented as part of EIU’s Family Weekend.
B.F. McClerren is a historian and a professor emeritus of history at Eastern, where he taught for 30 years. He was named “The Lincoln Presenter of the Year” by The Association of Lincoln Presenters in 1994, the same year that he portrayed Lincoln for the C-Span re-enactment of the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debate in Charleston. Dorothy McClerren is a retired elementary school teacher. In 1995 she received the “Best Mary Todd Lincoln Presenter of the Year Award” from The Association of Lincoln Presenters. That same year, she won first place in the Mary Lincoln Look-Alike Contest in Kentucky, reclaiming the title in 2002. In April 2002 the McClerrens were named “Best Lincoln Team of the Year” by The Association of Lincoln Presenters
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