'Belle and the Backwoodsman' Comes to Springfield Library

Bob Gleason and Pat Jordan of the American Historical Theater (AHS) will bring the stories of Abraham Lincoln, and his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, to life at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Springfield Library.

The duo will present 'Belle and the Backwoodsman,' described by AHS as a collection of humorous and touching stories about the couple's early family life, years of political struggle, the Presidential years, and the War Between the States.

Born into two very different Kentucky families and coming from two very different backgrounds, the future president worked hard to rise above childhood poverty and lack of education in Hodgenville, while Mary Todd was born into a world of wealth and privilege in Lexington.

"When they met, however, Mary recognized Abraham as the man who would bring to fruition her childhood dream of living in the White House," the AHS website states. "And Abraham saw in Mary a woman whose drive and energy might take him there as well. Abraham and Mary’s stories will touch, enchant and inform you as they reminisce about their lives."

The performance closes the traveling exhibit: Lincoln: The Constitution and The Civil War, which began June 16. The National Constitution Center and the American Library Association Public Programs Office organized the traveling exhibition. This exhibition and related programs were made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities, according to the library.