COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio is being transformed into the Land of Lincoln this weekend. The 19th annual convention of the Association of Lincoln Presenters has attracted about three dozen Abes in chin beards and full regalia, along with 30 or so Mary Todd Lincolns.
“I tell people I think we hold this convention just so we can run around in our costumes all weekend,” says John Cooper, a retired Defense Department parts manager who resembles the Rail Splitter.
The Lincolns have a certain spring in their step this year thanks to attention brought by the Steven Spielberg movie “Lincoln,” which earned an Oscar for Daniel Day-Lewis.
The Abes in Columbus range from well under 6 feet tall to Lincoln’s actual height of 6-foot-4. There are gray beards and black beards, and even a beardless Lincoln.
“We’re presenters. We’re not impersonators, necessarily,” says Robert Broski, 60, of California. “You don’t have to look like Mr. Lincoln. But if you take a beard, a top hat and a frock coat and put it on, people instantly know who you are. What’s important is getting across his character, his honesty, his integrity.”
