Somerset — He’s tall and slender, face slightly aged, with windswept dark hair and a short, bushy beard.
Whether he’s strolling the streets in his suit and tie or strolling the cereal aisle in his sweatpants and T-shirt, he catches the eye of old and young alike — and they all seem to ask him the same thing:
“Has anyone ever told you that you look like Abraham Lincoln?”
Dennis Boggs does look remarkably like the 16th President, but it’s no coincidence. He’s made a career out of looking and acting like Honest Abe as one of about 181 “Lincoln presenters” in the world.
“It helps that I’m married to a hairstylist and makeup artist,” Boggs admits.
The Nashville native spent most of this week in Pulaski County, speaking to several groups — not just about his life and his role in the Civil War, but about the importance of education, the dangers of guns, and the end of racism.
“My war and every war since then has been fought with way too many guns,” Boggs, as Lincoln, said to a group of Northern Middle School students Thursday.
“Now we must fight wars with knowledge, and knowledge comes from education.”
Boggs has intently studied Abraham Lincoln’s 56 years, from his humble birth in Kentucky to his early years in Illinois, from his stint as an attorney to his election to the highest office in the United States — to his assassination in Ford’s Theater just five days after the Civil War had ended. He can not only give a detailed monologue-style presentation of Lincoln’s life, including a word-by-word rendition of the Gettysburg Address, but he can also answer most of his listeners’ questions without hesitation.
“How did your face end up on the penny? ... Why did John Wilkes Booth shoot you? ... How old were you when you got married? ... What happened to your wife after you died? ... What size shoe do you wear? ... Why did you always wear black?”
“Being a Lincoln presenter is very rewarding,” Boggs later explained, “but it also comes with much responsibility. When people see me, they don’t see Dennis Boggs. They see Abraham Lincoln, and they will almost inevitably ask me questions. That means I need to do my homework. I’ve been studying Lincoln’s life for 15 years, but there is still so much to know.”
Boggs says he occasionally gets asked a question to which he doesn’t know the answer. Like Lincoln himself, Boggs has to give an “honest” answer.
“I tell them I don’t know,” he said.
“But that will be the first thing that I look up when I get home.”
While Boggs’ imitation of the former President is convincing, he plans to never let it go to his head.
“People sometimes ask me if I ever find myself thinking that I actually am Abraham Lincoln,” Boggs said.
“I hope not. If I ever start to feel that way, my ego has gotten out of hand.”
Boggs tailors his presentations to suit age groups from preschool to adult.
“I’ll talk to any group that needs a speaker who is just a little out of the ordinary,” he said.
“You never know where I’ll be.”
During his visit here this week, Boggs not only spoke to several Somerset and Pulaski County school students, but also to residents in a nursing home, and, naturally, to members of the Lincoln Club.
More about Dennis Boggs can be seen online at: www.meetmrlincoln.com.
Local News
Related Photos
A visit from President Lincoln
- Local News
-
- Trial delayed for parents charged with trafficking daughters
-
Wolf Creek Dam renovation on target for Summer 2014 completion date
-
Burnisde may soon move to fourth-class status
-
McGaha didn’t approve farewell letter
-
Refinery to re-open in early summer
- Downtown road work running ahead of schedule
-
Board upholds principal’s demotion
-
Fast-moving blaze guts mobile home off Slate Branch Road
-
Big Bang Theory
Pulaski County is not at war. The booming you may hear at dusk is mock cannon fire to scare away birds.
Stuart Spillman, environmental director for the Lake Cumberland Health Department, said at least three cannons are on loan from the department to residents who want to scare away swarms of starlings and blackbirds settling in to roost.
He said a cannon is being used by a resident on Laura Lane off Ky. 39; another is in the Oak Hill Road area and a third is on Ashurst Street in the eastern part of Somerset.
Spillman said a timer on each cannon allows it to “fire” at whatever frequency is desired. The cannons must be used as the birds circle before going to roost. “After they settle in, nothing will chase them out,” Spillman said.
The Health Department doesn’t operate the cannons unless there is a specific complaint in an area where there are lots of birds, Spillman noted. He said so far this year the birds are not as bad as in the past. -
Boil water advisory is lifted countywide
The water controversy that Pulaski County has been boiling over — so to speak — for the last week is finally over.
At 10 minutes after noon Wednesday, the “boil water” advisory for the Western Pulaski Water District was lifted — almost a full week after the problems began around 1 p.m. last Thursday.
Prior to that, the Somerset Water Service — along with the other water providers in its system, including Science Hill Water, Southeastern Water, and Eubank Water — lifted their advisories, with Somerset on Saturday afternoon and the last, Southeastern, by Monday morning. Western Pulaski was the last in the system to complete sample testing for potential contaminants, due to not being able to access its Pikeville-based testing lab until Monday.
Somerset Mayor Eddie Girdler thanked the public for its patience and understanding during the duration of the boil water advisory — put in place to keep citizens from drinking water that could have been contaminated after an accident last Thursday at the water plant site — and also thanked all the city employees for their hard work during this time.
“The boil water advisory went about as well as would be expected,” said Girdler.
- More Local News Headlines
Worker Tells 911: Powell 'exploded the House'
Triple Win: Santorum Takes Minn., Mo., Colo.
Injured Marine Inspired by Homecoming
No Rape Charges Against Son of NYPD Commissioner
Romney Congratulates Santorum, Focuses on Obama
Paul Says Results Help Him Rack Up Delegates
Egypt's Ruling Generals Play Risky Game With US
Former Komen Exec Defends Funding Cut
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
Calif. Gay Marriage Ban Ruled Unconstitutional
Jury Selection for Ex-UVa Athlete Enters 2nd Day
Raw Video: Giants Celebrate Another Super Bowl
Cab Driver Helps Wis. Family Escape House Fire
Greek Leaders Seek Deal As Bankruptcy Looms
Bernanke: Recovery Depends on Consumer Spending
Staff Removed at LA School During Abuse Probe
Eastwood in Super Bowl Ad 'Compassionate'
Stranded Fishermen Rescued From Bay of Green Bay
Analyst: Outside Troops Won't Intervene in Syria
Police: Father Planned Deadly Fire for Some Time
