Special Lincoln Presentations Lead Up to March 23 Grayslake Exhibit Opening

Remembering the challenging life and conflicted times of Abraham Lincoln are the goals of special events as the Grayslake Heritage Center and Museum prepares to host the Lincoln traveling exhibition that opens March 23.

The Grayslake Heritage Center & Museum is one of just 11 museums nationwide to be selected to host a traveling exhibition from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, according to Dave Oberg, executive director.

The exhibition, Abraham Lincoln: Self-Made in America opens later this month at the . According to their website, the show "features high quality reproductions related to the life of our 16th President, with proceeds aiding in the preservation and restoration of the originals. These precious artifacts range from Lincoln’s surveying instruments to the kid gloves he wore on that fateful night at Ford’s theater." The show will run March 23 to June 16, 2013. 

Leading up to traveling exhibit, there will be several other special events:

Wednesday March 13, 2013 at 7:30 p.m., The Grayslake Historical Society hosts Douglas Stiles, who will present Lincoln's Watch. This spellbinding program has a surprise ending sure to delight and amaze.

Wednesday, March 20 at 7:30 p.m., Doug Dammann, Curator of the Kenosha Civil War Museum will present The Most Talked about Man in America, Elmer Ellsworth, 1860.

Saturday, March 23, Noon-4 p.m. Grand opening of the exhibition, Abraham Lincoln: Self-Made in America. Michael Krebs and Debra Ann Miller will appear as Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln at 2 p.m.

Saturday, April 6 at 2 p.m. Actor R. J. Lindsay will portray poet and Civil War nurse Walt Whitman. This program includes a dramatic reading of O Captain! My Captain!, Whitman’s ode to the fallen President.

Wednesday, April 10 at 7:30 p.m. The Grayslake Historical Society hosts Ty Rohrer, Director of the Waukegan Historical Society. Rohrer will discuss Abraham Lincoln’s visit to Waukegan in April of 1860.

Sunday, April 14 at 2 p.m. Actors George Buss and Timothy Connors will portray Abraham Lincoln and his political opponent, Stephen A. Douglas.

Tuesday, April 16, 7 p.m., Grayslake Area Public Library. Dave Oberg, Executive Director of the Heritage Center will present, Five Must Read Books about Abraham Lincoln.

Thursday, April 18, 7 p.m., Grayslake Area Public Library. The public is invited to a book discussion of the novel, The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln, by Stephen L. Carter.

Sunday, April 21 at 2 p.m.  Dave Oberg will present The Brothers' War, a program which examines the lives of local Civil War veterans in story and song.

Saturday, April 27 at 2 p.m. Professor and former Illinois Humanities Council scholar Sharon Z. Alter will present, Mary Todd Lincoln and Varina Howell Davis: Civil War and its Aftermath.

Saturday, May 4 at 2 p.m. Actor Steve Cole will portray Abolitionist and escaped slave Frederick Douglass. Douglass is famous today for his oratorical skills and for advocating for the use of African-American troops to turn the tide of war.

Saturday, May 11 at 2 p.m. Historian and re-enactor Ray James will appear in 19th century costume and demonstrate historic surveying techniques. Lincoln worked as a surveyor early in his career.

Friday, May 17 at 7 p.m. Actress Lynn Rymarz will perform her one-woman show, The Trials of Mary Todd Lincoln.

Saturday, June 1 at 2 p.m. Folk musician and storyteller Lee Murdock will perform Thunder in the Distance: Illinois in the Civil War, an engaging musical program exploring the stories of soldiers from the Prairie State.

Thursday, June 6 at 7:30 p.m. Dave Oberg will present, Sons of Thunder:  A History of Battery H, First Illinois Light Artillery.  Learn the fascinating story of this famed Civil War battery, comprised mostly of recent immigrants.

Saturday and Sunday, June 15 and 16. Last weekend to catch the exhibition, Abraham Lincoln: Self-Made in America.

Sponsorship opportunities are available. Click here for a sponsor packet. For more information, contact Executive Director Dave Oberg at 847-543-1745 or doberg@villageofgrayslake.com.