Colorado-based historian & Theodore Roosevelt re-enactor Kurt Skinner takes audiences of all ages back to a time when Theodore Roosevelt embodied all the promise of the new American century. Kurt captures the vigor, energy, and enthusiasm of the Spanish-American War hero that became America’s youngest President. Hear Kurt's story, find out about his passion for Teddy Roosevelt’s history and even listen to parts of his re-enactment performed in Monte Vista.
If ever there was a President that could be described as a “life-long learner” it was Teddy Roosevelt! As an educator, I delight in bringing TR to life in classrooms and school programs. TR was arguably America’s most intellectually-curious President; he wrote dozens of books, on average read a book a day, and could speak as an equal with experts in countless fields of study. Yet he also enjoyed the company of children and he never lost his child-like fascination with the natural world.
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are!” “If you think you can, you are half way there!” “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.”
TR still has the power to inspire kids—to dream big and “work hard at work worth doing”, to serve in our communities, to work towards a “square deal” for all citizens, to protect the natural environment. TR’s life example demonstrates that a determined individual can make lasting contributions that positively influence generations.
All of my TR programs can be tailored to specific grade levels and topics of interest such as: US history & geography, government & citizenship, character & values, conservation & the natural world.
Watch Kurt Skinner’s video presentation of “I So Declare It,” performed at the Vali-3 Theater in Monte Vista!
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About Kurt Skinner:
As an ICBM launch officer stationed at Minot AFB, North Dakota in the late 1990s, my unit, the 91st Missile Wing, was preparing to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Colonel Roosevelt’s “Rough Riders” victorious capture of San Juan Hill in the 1898 Spanish American War. The 91st MW nickname of “Rough Riders” was in honor of North Dakota’s proud Badlands connection to Theodore Roosevelt (he famously declared that he would “never have became President were it not for his time spent in North Dakota.”) I met Roosevelt’s great-grandson, Tweed Roosevelt, during his visit to our unit that year and I was hooked. I decided to win the 91MW Teddy Roosevelt trivia contest and commenced on a study of this great American life that, 20+ years on, has led to a bookshelf full of TR writings and biographies, and a fascination with his “strenuous life” well lived that has continued to inspire me to this day. With the encouragement from a few of the nation’s finest TR “reprisers”, Joe Wiegand, Larry Marple, & Gib Young, I decided to finally pursue this avocation of TR living history.
A retired military officer-turned high school U.S. history teacher in Colorado Springs, I’m a life-long student of history. My own students would testify to the fact that it’s important for me to “get it right” as regards historical accuracy. Theodore Roosevelt’s presence looms large in my classroom curriculum and my daily thoughts; in my performances as TR, I want to honor this man that I so admire. My goal in the persona of TR is to engage, entertain, and enlighten audiences, and remind us, speaking TR’s own words, what has always been great about Teddy Roosevelt’s America. I am a member of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, the American Legion, the American Association of Educators, and the Colorado Humanities Speakers Bureau.
CREDITS: Pictures are graphics are courtesy of Kurt Skinner and SLVoices. All used by permission. Music-Public Domain. (prior to 1922).
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