Perham man transforms into President Lincoln

By Tom Hintgen

Otter Tail County Correspondent

The evening of Wednesday, Nov. 13, was a special time when Abraham Lincoln, portrayed by Chuck Johnson of Perham, entered the community room at the Fergus Falls Public Library. Next was a 45-minute one-act play titled, “The Night Before Gettysburg.”

The Gettysburg Address was a speech given by Lincoln on Nov. 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers National Cemetery (now called the Gettysburg National Cemetery) at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. 

Earlier, in July 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg was one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. The cemetery was planned as the final resting place for more than 3,500 Union soldiers who lost their lives at Gettysburg.

Johnson, in his role of Lincoln, referred to the words spoken by the 16th president of the United States, “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” 

A score is another way of saying 20, so Lincoln was referring to 1776, which was 87 years before 1863. It was in 1776 when the Founding Fathers of the United States wrote the Declaration of Independence.

Lincoln arrived in Gettysburg the day before delivering his famous address at the National Cemetery. Johnson’s one-act play is about Lincoln writing the speech in his bedroom the night before his famous address.

Johnson not only wrote his own play about Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address. He also won a regional theater competition. The town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, heard about Johnson and invited him to perform his work in Gettysburg.

“The Night Before Gettysburg” provides insight into Lincoln as he asks himself, “What is slavery?  Why is slavery?  Why are men enslaved.”  As he answers those questions, people see Lincoln the man, what he stood for and the burdens he carried.

The war had not been going well, and Lincoln was mentally drained. Gettysburg was the turning point because of the tremendous loss of life.

Johnson, through Minnesota’s Legacy grant, is able to bring the Abe Lincoln show “on the road” to area schools and libraries. He formerly worked as editor of the newspaper in Perham and in economic development for the city of Perham.