DISHONESTLY ABE : Lincoln Look-a-Like Contest at St. Stan's

This year, it seems like everyone wants to be Abraham Lincoln—from the former Illinois Senator recently inaugurated with the man’s bible to local sixth grader Thomas Raszkiewicz. Last week at St. Stanislaus Kostka’s first ever Abraham Lincoln Look-A-Like contest, Raszkiewicz volunteered to participate, he said, because the grim, 19th century president “is cool.”
As with all historical figures, Lincoln is simply a composite of who we want him to be. The seven who volunteered made this truth evident, as they not only dressed like Lincoln—in castoffs and old confirmation suits—but also read a small tidbit about the life of the man in the stovepipe hat. The most petite contestant, third grader Adaycia Bowden, recited—“Abraham Lincoln was the tallest president”—but had to bend down the microphone to say it. Elizabeth Pinzel, the only other female in a pool that included four sixth grade boys, said “This little kid wrote to me and said I should grow out my beard. And I did.” Out of construction paper, Pinzel had constructed a masculine beard—an inventive detail that earned her the winning spot, as voted on by the teaching staff that bestowed upon her a gift certificate to Barnes & Noble.

To research his outfit Raszkiewicz explained, “You can just google Lincoln.” That’s a bit less mental effort than the log-cabin raised, self-educated lawyer expended in the days of his youth, but he would still have been pleased to look upon his acolytes—eager kids, excited to dress up like everyone’s hero these days. Most agreed that the toughest part of the costuming was getting the hat to stand upright, a task that prompted the contestants to wonder at the purpose of the hat at all: Raszkiewicz posited, “It’s so he could look more serious.”
“I read about Lincoln in a book,” said Nicolas Gangone. “He kept his official papers inside.”
At the introduction to the festivities, Sister Dorothea Jurkowski asked students to join her in prayer on this symbolic bicentennial, “For our new president Obama.” A student in a Metallica t-shirt read a short speech. “Americans have always believed a child can become whoever they want,” he said. “And this is what Lincoln believed.” “I would also want to do George Washington,” said sixth-grader Raszkiewicz after the assembly. “The hair would be fun.”