Kansas Day celebrated at the Nova
Abraham Lincoln makes an appearance
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BRIAN NELSON, Steve Burns (Abraham Lincoln), and Aidan Nelson brought history to life during the Kansas Day Celebration at the Nova Theatre on Sunday, January 29th. -
BRIAN AND AIDAN NELSON gave a PowerPoint presentation about their grandfather and great-grandfather, Jacob Nelson, a Union Civil War veteran and an honor guard on President Lincoln’s funeral train. In this photo, Brian is standing in front of Lincoln’s burial site in Springfield, Illinois. -
STEVE BURNS portrayed our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, during the Kansas Day Celebration at the Nova Theatre on Sunday, January 29th. He spoke of Lincoln’s life and his presidency. The Rooks County Historical Society and Museum hosted the event.
The Rooks County Historical Society hosted a Kansas Day Celebration at the Nova Theatre on Sunday, January 29th. The event consisted of a Lincoln presentation by Steve Burns and a PowerPoint talk from SHS alumnus Brian Nelson and his son, Aidan, about their grandfather and greatgrandfather, Jacob Nelson.
The crowd, who braved the bitter cold to attend the afternoon affair, was met by the 16th President of the United States when Steve Burns donned his costume and walked onto the stage.
He spoke eloquently about Lincoln’s humble beginnings and family life and how he became the first Republican elected to the presidency. He talked about his passion for saving the Union during the Civil War and how Lincoln brought about the Emancipation Proclamation. His speech ended with the Gettysburg Address.
During the intermission, Burns kept in character and spoke with many people in attendance. He also displayed Civil War memorabilia, historical facts, and information about Lincoln’s life.
Next on the program was Nelson and his son, Aidan, who took turns talking about Jacob Nelson, a Union Civil War veteran, and his connection with Lincoln from the time he enlisted in the 150th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry (Bucktails) until he served as an honor guard on Lincoln’s funeral train. Jacob was wounded in the Battle of Gettysburg and was transferred to the 9th Veteran’s Reserve in Washington, D. C., serving there until Lincoln’s assassination on April 15th, 1865. The train traveled through 150 communities until it reached its final resting place in Springfield, Illinois. The two men also had many interesting anecdotes and facts about Jacob’s life outside of his military service and answered questions from the crowd after their presentation.
The Historical Society also had Rooks County memorabilia for sale at the event. The organization is now looking forward to its next collaboration with the Nova Theatre, which will be the 50th-year celebration of “Paper Moon,” a movie filmed in and around this area of Kansas.
