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Abraham Lincoln visits Poland students
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Richard Wottingham, the actor playing Abraham Lincoln, spoke to the kindergarten and first-grade classes, then to the second-grade classes.
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Neighbors | Submitted.Four Poland Union students stood with Abraham Lincoln when he came to visit. Pictured, from left, are Jordan Fitts, Kennedy Henderson, Julia Snyder and Brooklyn Bilkie.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Abraham Lincoln visited Poland Union on Feb. 19 and spent the day visiting students. Lincoln gave a presentation about his life at the end of the day to the students.
By ALEXIS BARTOLOMUCCI
Poland Union students got a visit from the sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln, on Feb. 19.
Lincoln, played by actor Richard Wottingham, visited the students in their classrooms in the morning. The students were able to spend time with him, ask him questions and get pictures taken with him. In the afternoon, Wottingham gave a presentation to the kindergarten and first-grade students, then another to the second-grade students.
Wottingham told the story of Abraham Lincoln from the perspective of Abraham Lincoln. He talked about his childhood and what it was like growing up, how he became a political figure, his presidency and finally his assassination.
During the presentations, Wottingham was very engaging with the students. He stopped several times during his story to ask the students questions about Lincoln.
Wottingham has been doing this consistently for the last three years, but has been pursuing acting for a long time. He previously moved to New York City to become an actor.
“Seeing the looks of amazement and being able to captivate 200 kindergartners or young kids with a single story telling, without any flashing lights or anything, that’s probably the most rewarding part is seeing the kids and their reactions,” said Wottingham.
With the students having Feb. 15 off school due to President’s Day and Lincoln’s birthday on Feb. 12, the visit gave the students the opportunity to learn more about Lincoln. The students interacted with Lincoln and learned about his personal life, not just what he did as president. Having a “Living Lincoln” walking around Union and talking about his life made this students more interested in learning rather than reading information from a book.