Lincoln in 2010

As part of this summer's "History Comes Alive" program here in Springfield, we have Abraham Lincoln (portrayed by Fritz Klein) come to the Lincoln Home every Saturday evening. He gives his "Farewell Address" from the front steps of his home, and then he, the Lincoln Troubadours (our summer singing group), some costumed living history interpreters, and the public all parade over to the Old State Capitol (the parade even includes political banners!) where Lincoln gives his "First Inaugural Address" from the steps of the Old State Capitol building. It is quite the affair (one time I even ended up having to direct traffic because the parade was so big--I think that was illegal because I don't have the authority to direct traffic!). But anyway, last Saturday they experienced the complications of trying to fit 1860 Abraham Lincoln into the year 2010 with all of our modern electronic wiring, police cars, etc.

I was not here last Saturday, but my friend Melissa gave me a run-down of the funny happenings. Early last week lightning struck the now-vacant lot right next to the Lincoln Home. Ever since then, the alarm and HVAC systems throughout the park have really been acting up. So, sometimes alarms randomly go off in buildings, even when the alarm has not been set. The Springfield Police Department is wired-in to our alarm system, so they respond to any alarms here at the park. So last Saturday, Abraham Lincoln was waiting inside the home to be introduced by the Lincoln Troubadours. There was a crowd of about 100 people there in the street waiting to hear his farewell address. As the Troubadours were singing, two Springfield Police cars came roaring down the street and came to a stop right in front of the Lincoln Home. You can imagine everyone's dismay as two officers ran up to the front door, guns drawn, and knocked on the front door. (One wonders why they did not check with one of the rangers outside to see if there was a real problem before they headed up to the house.) Fritz Klein answered the door as Abraham Lincoln, and without missing a beat he said, "This is my house! I paid for it!" and slammed the door in the officers' faces. The crowd thought this was hilarious. The officers, however, were very confused, and turned around to talk with some of the rangers, only to learn that they had responded to a false "lightning-induced" alarm. They certainly weren't expecting to have Abraham Lincoln answer the door. When all was said and done, and the confusion cleared, everyone got a good laugh out of it.