8:15 AM
Lawrence Bruckner, Republican candidate for the 71st State Representative seat, held an event at Hampton which featured none other than Theodore Roosevelt! President Roosevelt is played by Joe Wiegand, who is a professional member of the National Association for Interpretation.
Joe did a marvelous job and I was really pleased with the historical content he had in his presentation. Mr. Roosevelt was responsible for setting aside 230 million acres of land for the national parks. He also fought corruption and political greed in New York City and the New York State Legislature. He mentioned Lawrence and myself and admired our willingness to serve in the Illinois Legislature. I was very pleased with that!
Mr. Wiegand will continue his tour through October 27, 2008, T.R.'s 150th birthday. That will conclude at Oyster Bay, NY, where the Roosevelt home and family cemetery are. By the way, my aunt and uncle, Sam and Carol Rausch live in Oyster Bay! They have been there since 1978. My aunt is a teacher and private tutor and my uncle (Uncle Sam) works in the fur business in Manhattan. During the 2004 Republican National Convention, his firm took the week off. His office building is only two blocks from Madison Square Garden where the convention was held.
Joe said he will try his best to personally visit Carol and Sam or give them a call! I was particularly honored by that. Sam and Carol have been to the Roosevelt historical site several times.
The event was held at the Heritage Center in Hampton. A fantastic facility for Teddy to take the stage! The pictures include Lawrence, Mr. Roosevelt and myself. The bumper sticker reads: "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." A quote from T.R. Look for more pictures from this event in the future.