President's Day with Theodore Roosevelt

Mark Glenn Studio

Joe Wiegand as Theodore Roosevelt

Date: January 27, 2012
Contact: Gabe Laster, 229-824-4104
Contact: Kevin Alexander, 229-824-4104

The Jimmy Carter National Historic Site invites you to a Presidents' Day Weekend Celebration full of history, artifacts, and a visit from the great Rough Rider President, Theodore Roosevelt.

On February 18, 2012, we will begin our Presidents' Day Celebration with a discussion of presidential memorabilia by Dr. Laurence Cook of Cook and Cook Antiques and Home Furnishings, Inc. and Cook and Cook Estate Liquidators of Plains, Pennsylvania. Dr. Cook organized and conducted the Plains Helping Plains Auction to benefit the Plains Better Hometown Program in the hometown of President Jimmy Carter in April 2011. He has been invited to lecture several groups on the various aspects of presidential history.

Dr. Cook has been a lifelong collector of presidential memorabilia and a subsequent presidential historian with an expansive collection of Theodore Roosevelt campaign and presidential material. Some of those items will be on display in the lobby of the Plains High School during his visit. His wife, Diane, is an avid collector of memorabilia on Rosalynn Carter. The lecture entitled Amazing Presidential Facts, Coincidences and Unique Relationships will begin at 1:00pm in the auditorium. It will cover interesting facts on each President from George Washington to Barack Obama. After the lecture, Dr. Cook will be on hand to answer questions on his collection.

Along with having these items on display, we will also have as our very special guest, the Rough Rider President, Theodore Roosevelt. Joe Wiegand is regarded by many as the nation's premiere Theodore Roosevelt reprisor. He brings T.R. to life with an unparalleled grasp of history and an uncanny way of quickly convincing the audience that they are in the company of Theodore Roosevelt. As Theodore Roosevelt, Wiegand shares stories from a lifetime of service and adventure, ranging from cowboy excitement in the Dakotas to the charge of the cavalry up the heights of Santiago de Cuba. The audience can join T.R. on an African safari and an exploration of Amazon River jungles and hear tales of building the Panama Canal, a modern Navy and a vibrant conservation movement.

Joe Wiegand is a graduate of political science from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, and a former graduate assistant at the Center for Governmental Studies at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. He is a Harry S. Truman Scholar, a Thomas Watson Fellow and an active member of the National Association for Interpretation and Rotary International. In 2008, he celebrated Theodore Roosevelt's 150^th birthday with a national tour that was highlighted by performances at the White House and T.R.'s birthplace in New York City. Mr. Wiegand completed a fifty state itinerary entertaining thousands and visiting hundreds of places associated with Theodore Roosevelt's life and legacy. More information about Wiegand and the T.R. Tour is available at www.teddyrooseveltshow.com.