VERDUGO VIEWS

Katherine Yamada

The “show must go on” is Lincoln re-enactor H.M. Wammack’s theme this

month.

Wammack, who was portrayed our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, for

school children at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills every February for the

past 13 years, will be back this year, even though he is still recovering

from a stroke he suffered last fall.

“Hundreds of kids are signed up to come,” Wammack said. He walks a

couple of miles each day to rebuild his strength before his appearance on

Feb. 12 and 13.

Wammack was stricken on a Sunday morning in November as he went into

the den to answer a phone call. While setting up a tennis date with a

friend, he realized his words were coming out in big slurs. When he tried

to get out of his easy chair and failed, he called his wife, Beth, for

help.

Paramedics who responded to their 911 call diagnosed a stroke. At

Glendale Adventist Medical Center, he was given blood thinner and more

tests to determine the location of the problem. Four days later, he

transferred to the hospital’s rehabilitation center.

“It’s wonderful what they can do there,” Wammack said, as he recalled

the therapists who helped him regain his speaking and walking skills and

taught him how to brush his teeth, comb his hair, button his shirt, “a

hard job,” and tie his shoes, “now, that’s not easy.”

The indefatigable 75-year-old said he has those skills down cold.

“I’m beyond the walker and I skipped the cane. I’m walking just on my

own,” he said.

Although he still gets tired, he walks a mile or two every day, often

at Glendale’s newly refurbished transportation center.

“It’s nice and flat down there, and I can watch the trains come in,”

he said. “My doctor told me I was the least likely person he knew to have

a stroke. I don’t have high blood pressure. I don’t have high

cholesterol. I play tennis several times a week.”

As he recovers (he’s taking aspirin and other medication as a

preventive measure), Wammack is preparing for his two-day appearance as

Lincoln, who served from 1861 to 1865.

“It all started when my wife, Teby, was dying of cancer,” he said.

He began memorizing poems to occupy his mind as he sat with her, and

he also learned Lincoln’s farewell speech.

After performing the speech at his Kiwanis Club, a fellow member, the

Rev. Ron Beams of the pastoral relations staff at Forest Lawn, asked if

he would perform it for school children.

Wammack went out, bought a hat and beard, had a frock coat made, got

himself made up by someone at Forest Lawn and did his first show.

Over the years, other early American historic figures, including Betsy

Ross and George Washington, were added and now more than 3,900 school

children from all over greater Los Angeles arrive over a two-day period

to hear Lincoln and the others speak.

This year, Wammack has shortened his presentation to 12 minutes from

his normal 25 and added a new story about Lincoln pardoning the first

turkey. Seems a huge, live turkey was delivered to the White House just

in time for Thanksgiving one year. Lincoln’s 8-year-old son, Tad, was at

first frightened by the turkey, then began playing with it.

When someone warned the young Lincoln not to get too attached -- since

it would be eaten in a couple of days -- he interrupted his dad’s meeting

and begged him to save the turkey. Lincoln did so, issuing a presidential

pardon, and since then, each president has followed his example.

In previous years, Wammack has performed his Lincoln routine many

times each February for church and civic groups and retirement homes.

Now, at the insistence of his wife, Beth, he has eliminated nearly all of

his performances -- except for the one for the school children.

“The kids may not see me at my best this year,” Wammack said. “I may

even sit down, but I’m not going to miss a year.”

KATHERINE YAMADA writes about people and events in the community every

other Tuesday. Contact her by leaving a message at 637-3241.