Saturday, February 24, 2007

Abraham Lincoln

On February 22, 2007 guests of Hopewell Public Library gathered to hear a presentation by the 16th President of the United States of America.
Nearly 60 children and adults were riveted to the voice, story and appearance of Nicholas Androfsky, an historian and guru of Lincoln's life. Mr. Androfsky appeared in the familiar garb of Lincoln; he is tall in stature, wore a black beard, black suit and the stove top hat we all have come to expect.
Mr. Androfsky told his story from a first person perspective making all who witnessed believe, he WAS President Lincoln. He told of his challenging childhood. He worked hard, very hard to help his family, especially his father who insisted he worked hard. At age 7, Lincoln chopped stacks of wood to supply to fire for warmth and cooking. He walked 4 miles to school and regularly walked to sell the dry goods his family had raised for money. We also heard that Lincoln's mother died of something called "milk sickness"; she drank milk from a cow that had eaten poisonous weeds! President Lincoln could have spoken about his life all afternoon and into the evening. We were all fascinated by his story.