We started our celebration early this year with the visit of a colonial statesman...
Ben Franklin stopped by the band shell in Ashland’s Brookside Park one recent evening and thrilled an audience of some 500 historically curious folks with his perspective on colonial America.
He reminded us of his admonition “We must all hang together or, assuredly, we shall all hang separately,” given to his fellow signers of the Declaration of Independence as they participated in that act of revolution against England and her despotic king.
He told us about young Tom Jefferson and his eloquence with words in the halls of debate after the Revolutionary War where the framework of what was to become our nation was hammered into shape. We now know that instrument as the US Constitution.
He often punctuated his delivery with quips like, “Why is it the golden years do not appear to ever be the present years?”
Franklin was actually an actor named Chris Lowell from Colorado Springs who taught French and chaired a language department for 35 years before teaching drama at the University of Colorado.
The notion of taking on an historical presentation came to Lowell a couple of years ago according to a March 2007 article in the Colorado Gazette.
Deciding which historical personage to play was a different matter -- although being of average height, bald and perhaps a little paunchy did point in Franklin's direction Lowell explained.
Lowell concludes his performances by taking questions from the audience.
"The funniest question that I ever got was, 'Dr. Franklin, is it true that you really did chop down the cherry tree?'" Lowell said.
Lowell’s performance was the concluding event in Ashland’s popular, 10th annual Chautauqua series.
Ed. Note: Chautauqua is an annual educational meeting, like one originating in an upstate NY village of the same name in 1874, providing public lectures, concerts, and dramatic performances during the summer months, usually in an outdoor setting.
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