Leslie Goddard, PhD and Laura F. Keyes, MLS
Mrs. Lincoln and Mrs. Kennedy
If Mary Todd Lincoln and Jacqueline Kennedy met, what would they discuss? Join Laura F. Keyes, MLS, and Leslie Goddard, PhD, for this first-person portrayal that brings Mrs. Lincoln and Mrs. Kennedy to life in an imagined meeting of these two powerful women at the Smithsonian Institution’s First Ladies exhibition. As they reminisce, they share stories about life in the White House, balancing motherhood with the role of First Lady, and the challenges they endured after their husbands’ deaths.
Laura F. Keyes, MLS, (laurafkeyes.com) is a Library Director in Central Illinois. Laura enjoys sharing little-known stories from history, and has been portraying women from history and lecturing on historic topics since 2008. Her recent living history programs include a station operator on the Illinois Underground Railroad; Mary Harlan Lincoln’s reaction to the death of her Mother-in-Law Mary Todd Lincoln; and Elizabeth Parsons Ware Packard, who was unjustly (though legally) imprisoned in an insane asylum by her husband for three years.
Leslie Goddard, PhD, (lesliegoddardpresents.com) is an award-winning historian and actress who has been presenting programs on topics in 20th century American history and women’s history for more than twenty years. She holds an interdisciplinary PhD from Northwestern University as well as master’s degrees in both museum studies and in theater. A former museum director, she is the author of three books on Chicago history and currently works full-time as a public speaker, actress, and scholar. Her presentations have been seen by audiences in more than thirty-five states, including scores of universities, museums, libraries, festivals, and civic organizations.
