Visit with Mrs. Lincoln at Dundee library

Celebrate Lincoln's birthday on Tuesday, when the Dundee Township Public Library hosts "A Visit with Mrs. Lincoln" with first-person historical presenter Valerie Gugala.

The presentation will begin at 7 p.m. as Gugala portrays the life of Mary Todd Lincoln from her childhood in Kentucky, her fateful meeting with young Abe Lincoln and her path to the White House. The visit takes place on a day in April 1865, before Lincoln's assassination.

A member of the Association of Lincoln Presenters since the mid-1990s, the Bartlett resident has been studying Abraham and Mary Lincoln for as long as she can remember. When she was a small child, she could recite the Gettysburg Address from memory.

At age 5, her parents took her on a visit to Springfield and the Lincoln Home National Historic Site. On that trip they bought her a Lincoln biography that has become the centerpiece of her large Lincoln collection, including books, audio and video tapes, statues, knick-knacks, and even a portrait made out of a maple leaf.

As a teen and young adult, Gugala continued her interest in the Lincolns, but it wasn't until she read the book "Mary Todd Lincoln: Her Life and Letters" by Linda and Justin Turner that she became fascinated with Mary's troubled life.

Gugala is a popular performer for schools, churches, senior groups and park districts throughout the Chicago area. She has spent 30-plus years researching the Lincoln family, and has been performing as Mrs. Lincoln for more than 10. She is a member of the Association of Lincoln Presenters, a national organization of men and women who portray the Lincolns, and a board member of a newly-formed Mary Lincoln Society based in Springfield, Ill.

Recently, she was nominated for "The Best of the Best" 2008 Showcase by the Library Administrators Conference of Northern Illinois.

Gugala is also the theater coordinator for the Bartlett Park District community theater. She appears on stage throughout the Chicago area as part of the acting troupe of The Mystery Shop, a traveling interactive murder mystery theater company, and is in the process of starting her own theater group.

The free program will be held in the library's meeting room, 555 Barrington Ave., East Dundee. Visit the Web site at www.dundeelibrary.info.