Jim Rubin strikes a pose as President Abraham Lincoln.
Without Abraham Lincoln, West Virginia might not have become
the Union's 35th state in 1863. Without a West Virginia, no WVU.
People in the Mountain State and beyond owe a lot to the 16th
president of the United States.
Jim Rubin, a WVU alumnus who lives in Prosperity, was always told that he looked a lot like Lincoln. Rubin, who has a well developed sense of history, felt that obligated him in some way. He felt he should remind people of the greatness of the man he resembles so closely.
And it is a remarkable resemblance. Standing before you in his authentically tailored dark suit and top hat, perhaps reciting Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, the six-foot three-inch, bearded Jim Rubin strikes an impressive figure of the man. He makes you feel the presence of history.
Rubin, like others who belong to the 100-member Association of Lincoln Presenters, views his hobby seriously. Indeed, many of the places he goes and events he attends in the role of Lincoln are quite serious: anniversaries of Civil War battles, the inauguration of Governor Underwood, the WVU Children's Hospital.
The Coal City native whose father was an immigrant miner says he feels a connection to Lincoln that goes beyond physical appearance: "I lived my early life similar to his. No indoor plumbing. No electricity. I ran around barefoot in the summer. I didn't live in a log cabin, but I did live in a house made of unfinished lumber."
At parades and other festive occasions, Rubin hands out uncirculated
pennies. He is a retired psychiatric social worker, and his concern
for others is evident in the pleasure he takes from their pleasure
at meeting Abraham Lincoln.
On July 2, Rubin attended the reenactment of the Battle of
Gettysburg. "I went to walk where Lincoln walked, to stand
where he stood," he says. The response was overwhelming.
He posed for more than a thousand photographs, meeting visitors
from all over the United States and from Japan, Germany, Australia,
and other countries.
Earlier that day, a story about Rubin in his Lincoln presenter's
role ran on NBC's Today show. Viewers nationwide enjoyed the
grace, wit, and charm of this West Virginian who portrays one
of America's most revered public figures.
—Tony Cook