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Bringing history
alive
Dick Cheatham lives in the past. Not all the time, but
maybe 75 to 100 times per year.
He
travels back in time to the early 1600s and becomes
John Rolfe, his great, great, great ... grandfather.
He talks about his hopes for the Virginia Colony. He
expounds upon the virtues of representative government,
free enterprise and entrepreneurial spirit. And then
he returns to the present day – usually within
an hour or two.
Cheatham
is the driving force behind Living History Associates
Ltd., a Richmond-based company that portrays historical
figures for audiences that range from grade-school children
to high-level executives. He started the company –
with three silent partners – as a part-time endeavor
in 1986, and he has turned it into a full-time business
for himself and other historic impersonators. “Our
mission is to help Americans learn more about themselves,”
he says.
In
addition to John Rolfe, Cheatham can become Richard
Henry Lee or President John Tyler, and he is preparing
to portray Meriwether Lewis for the 200th anniversary
of the Lewis and Clark expedition. “I focus on
people who were pivotal in American history who have
not been brought to light,” he explains. “Richard
Henry Lee made our first declaration of independence”
– not the written declaration, but the motion that
was ultimately carried by the Second Continental Congress.
“I also focus on things from the past that we can
learn from, and there are some mighty important lessons
we can learn from John Tyler’s presidency.”
Still, Cheatham’s best-known character remains
John Rolfe, his ancestor from 14 generations past.
Cheatham
is a stickler for historical accuracy in his speeches
and costumes. His attention to detail boosts his prices,
which run about $1,000 plus expenses. Cheatham also
is the booking agent for 20 other historical impersonators
who portray figures such as George Washington, Thomas
Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee and Douglas
MacArthur. Business dipped after last year’s terrorist
attacks, but is now up. “People are looking for
a positive American focus,” he says.
—
Karl Rhodes
Return
to Virginia Business - November 2002
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