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Waxing Historic: Children Will Bring Famous People To Life

Hernando Today photo by TONY MARRERO

Cast members of Pine Grove Elementary School’s annual Wax Museum of Famous People show off their costumes. From left: Dallas Stremensky as Helen Keller; Cameron Bayko as Abraham Lincoln; Damian Tedesco as Neil Armstrong; and Cheyanne Nelson as Red Cross founder Clara Barton.

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By TONY MARRERO

Hernando Today

Published: February 14, 2009

Updated: 02/14/2009 07:42 pm

BROOKSVILLE - Little Abe Lincoln tugged at his fuzz and made a confession.

"This beard hurts," said Lincoln, also known as 7-year-old Pine Grove Elementary student Cameron Bayko.

But Bayko, who also sported a tuxedo jacket from Goodwill and a top hat, seemed quite willing to sacrifice a little comfort for a different kind of history lesson. The fake follicles didn't get in the way of a flawless delivery.

"My name is Abraham Lincoln," Bayko began. "I was born February 12, 1809. I was the 16th President of the United States. I issued the Emancipation Proclamation that freed all the slaves within the Confederacy."

Bayko is one of 17 students in Josephine Maher's second-grade class who will perform for this year's installment of "Mrs. Maher's Star Wax Museum of Famous People," slated for two showings on Tuesday.

"Maher," in case you had a hunch, rhymes with "star." And Maher's students are the stars of the show each year.

With the help of their families, the students select a figure born after 1880 who made a significant impact on American history. They research the person and write a short, first-person script based on their accomplishments. And no, Brittany Spears doesn't qualify, though students have tried, Maher said.

On show day, they stand still like wax statues until a visitor presses a "button," triggering the student to launch into the script.

Maher, who earned teacher of the year honors at Pine Grove in 2008, came up with the idea as an alternative to the dry history lessons and dull book reports she remembers suffering through as a child.

"I got up in front of the class and watched them sleeping, then sat down and tuned out," Maher recalls. "I didn't learn a thing."

Because of the diversity of the famous figures, science inevitably comes up, Maher said. Think Benjamin Franklin and the lightning rod. The kids also learn how to speak clearly for an audience.

Dallas Stremensky and her mom rounded up a checkered print dress with a lacey collar for something that Helen Keller might wear.

"My name is Helen Keller," Stremensky rehearsed. "I was born June 27, 1880. I could not see words or hear them spoken, yet I still learned to talk, read, write and make friends. I went to college, and met 12 United States presidents. I lived to be 87 years old."

"She was an amazing person," Stremensky said.

Damian Tedesco said he thinks the same of Neil Armstrong. Since bright orange nylon flight suits are hard to come by at Goodwill, Tedesco's mother ordered his.

After learning more about Armstrong and his giant leap for mankind, Tedesco is considering a career path.

"I really got interested in being an astronaut," he said.

Maher beamed at that.

"If you just inspire one to be something...," she said, trailing off and thinking of the possibilities.

The wax museum shows will run from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.

The rest of the cast:

Gabriel Chambers as Benjamin Franklin.

Skylar Charron as Betsy Ross.

Jasmine Clemens as Elizabeth Blackwell.

Felicity Cox as Hillary Clinton.

Shayla Hanna as Christa McAuliffe.

Alexis Hobbs as Amelia Earhart.

Cheyanne Nelson as Clara Barton.

Malik Norton as George Washington Carver.

Joseph Scudder as Theodore Roosevelt.

Dominick Sim as Alexander Graham Bell.

Bianca Soler as Sally Ride.

Daylon Stark as George Washington.

Rachel Young as Rachel Carson.

Julianna Davis as Susan B. Anthony.

Reporter Tony Marrero can be reached at 352-544-5286 or lmarrero@mediageneral.com.

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