Dylan Brogan
#26 laments that in his day, “there were special interests, developers, who worked hand-in-pocket with members of Congress.”
Theodore Roosevelt inspects the Portage High School auditorium where he’s about to speak. The former president is in town to raise funds for a pavilion at Pauquette Park. But this morning, he’s speaking to a few dozen incredulous 16-year-olds. Roosevelt assures the staff that he will not be needing “electronic amplification” during his hour-long address.
“Ah yes, yes. This will do nicely. But I advise that I make my remarks from the floor,” Roosevelt says. “The orchestra pit and that high stage — I’m afraid — will create a gulf between me and my audience.”
Spoiler alert: Roosevelt died nearly a century ago. Joe Wiegand from North Dakota is the next best thing. He travels the country giving lectures and making appearances as the former president. Wiegand isn’t one to break character as he embodies Roosevelt’s legendary dynamism.
Roosevelt greets the Portage juniors as they file into the auditorium. They don’t know quite what to make of this lively time-traveler shouting, “bully!” at them.
“Some of you and your teachers greeted me accordingly this morning saying, ‘good morning Mr. President’ or ‘hello, Teddy.’ My friends in my retirement use to call me by my old military title, colonel, from my brief time in the United States Army,” Roosevelt tells the teenagers. “All of those greetings are historically accurate and stand in such stark contrast to the one young man who spotted me in the parking lot this morning. I was so attired but I had my top hat. He pointed at me and exclaimed, ‘it’s the Monopoly dude.’”
With boundless energy, Roosevelt delivers a speedy but comprehensive review of his life. He tells the kids about the pain he felt on St. Valentine’s Day, 1884, when both his mother and first wife died. He recalls his fight to break up monopolies in the railroad and oil industries, his Square Deal, and his conservation of the nation’s natural wonders.
“I don’t mean to offend your modern sensibilities, but in my day there were special interests, developers, who worked hand-in-pocket with members of Congress,” Roosevelt says. “Can you imagine what a crime it would be today if the Grand Canyon were a giant copper mining operation? If at night, the rim of that great canyon was surrounded by the lights of hotels and casinos? By executive order, I named the entire Grand Canyon a national monument. I said Congress would eventually come to its senses.”
Some of the students are too-cool-for-school to openly show interest. But even a cadre of girls resting their eyes during the speech perk up when they hear about Roosevelt’s son, Quentin, riding a pony through the front door of the White House and up a freight elevator to pay a visit his brother, Archie, who wasn’t feeling well.
“Now, join me with strong heart and lusty voice in three cheers for Portage High School,” Roosevelt says to end his speech. “Hip-hip hooray. Mean it now! Hip-hip hooray. Hip-hip hooray. The program is over now. And not one of you fell asleep!”
After the kids file back to class, Wiegand explains how he came to this line of work. For 25 years, he worked in Illinois state politics and twice ran for office. He first took on the persona of Roosevelt to provide entertainment at party fundraisers.
“At some point I realized I could be a public servant without being in politics,” Wiegand says. “I think I’m making a bigger difference now.”
Wiegand says the nation would be wise to remember Theodore Roosevelt in these fractured political times.
Teddy can teach us today about the responsibility we all have to make this world a better place, Wiegand says. “If just one of those students becomes more interested in Teddy Roosevelt, sees his legacy of living life to the fullest even when confronted with adversity, it’s all worth it.”
Wiegand mission to bringing Roosevelt to life in the 21st century borders on obsession, a point that his spouse back in North Dakota knows well.
“I love this story. I lost my keys and asked my wife if she had seen them,” Wiegand says. “She told me, ‘you can recite every undersecretary in Roosevelt’s cabinet but you can’t remember where you left your keys?’”
Theodore facts:
• As police commissioner of New York, Roosevelt went on midnight rambles with muckraking journalist Jacob Riis to bust corrupt cops.
• In 1908, Roosevelt became blind in his left eye during a boxing match at the White House. After a blow to the head, one of his retinas detached. He took up jiu-jitsu after that.
• Roosevelt loved to skinny-dip in the Potomac river.
• Started a coup in Colombia after negotiations stalled over the Panama Canal.
Joe facts:
• Modeled for a Roosevelt statue at the American Museum of Natural History.
• Starred as Roosevelt in the IMAX movie National Parks Adventure.
• Traveling to France this summer to mark the 100th anniversary of Quentin Roosevelt’s death in World War I. The youngest son of Roosevelt was shot down by the Die Fliegertruppe during the Second Battle of the Marne.
