A Face In The Crowd
"Of all of Abraham Lincoln’s personal attributes,” Dennis Boggs says, “his perseverance stands out. He was a man who failed in many areas of his life, but he was determined to succeed. He saw the job through. He was the right man in the right spot at the right time.” After some 30 years in the grocery business, Boggs became a Lincoln impersonator in 1997, and his life changed dramatically. He’s been Honest Abe full-time now for two years, logging 30,000 miles on his car this year alone and making 127 appearances in Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana and Florida, promoting Lincolnian integrity and honesty to elementary schools, universities and colleges, senior citizens’ groups and church assemblies. Boggs is a member of the Association of Lincoln Presenters, which numbers 140 nationwide. “Some Lincolns don’t speak at all, others are musicians, some work with puppets,” Boggs says. “My style is first-person storytelling. I cover his life story up until his assassination.” Maybe this gig was in the stars for Boggs. At 6-foot-4 and 185 pounds, he grew up in Lincoln County. And when he was 10 years old, his family lived on Lincoln Avenue. “I’ve always admired Lincoln,” says Boggs, who most enjoys fielding questions from the youngsters. “A sixth-grader recently asked me why I wouldn’t leave the South alone. I answered as Lincoln would have: that I had to uphold my pledge to keep the Union together.” Boggs doesn’t do much marketing, as that seems to be taking care of itself. “I turn down a lot of work,” he says. “Commercials and hokey stuff—I won’t do that.” Spoken like the Great Emancipator himself. Visit the simple, honest and straightforward Web site at www.meetmrlincoln.com.
—By Martin Brady
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