FDR to entertain, educate tonight
John Huthmacher
johnh@hastingstribune.com
Unlike his father, Chautauqua scholar Patrick McGinnis doesn’t think Franklin Delano Roosevelt was “ ‘just lower than the angels.’ ”
An Arkansas farmer during the 1930s, John McGinnis was able to rise above his humble roots to achieve an advanced education and become a chemistry professor. For that, he credited FDR for affording him his opportunity to pursue his dream in the face of perhaps the most oppressive conditions ever known in this country.
But as he portrays the author of the New Deal at tonight’s Chautauqua event at 7 at Chautauqua Pavilion, Patrick will do so based on decades of research over sentiment. And for that reason, his depiction will be of a man more human than divine.
Even so, he doesn’t pretend to know everything there is to know about the complex former president, who has been presented as both a hero and villain by historians eager to earmark his role during The Depression. He will, nevertheless, endeavor to present the iconic president in a manner befitting his charismatic persona.
“I’ve been studying FDR and 20th century history for a long time,” the University of Central Oklahoma professor emeritus said. “But there’s always more to know. There must be thousands of books written about FDR and the New Deal, and you can never read them all. But I’m always learning something new.”
For the Oklahoma native, tonight’s performance represents his first go-around as FDR. He previously portrayed William Clark of Lewis and Clark fame in 2005 and 2006 for the Great Plains Chautauqua event.
For those who — like McGinnis’ father — hold FDR in the highest regard, his portrayal will likely satisfy. Enlighten, perhaps, but satisfy. That’s because in spite of his well-documented flaws, Patrick still considers FDR a man worthy of eulogization.
“Of course, he was very controversial,” he said. “A great many people today disparage FDR and say he did far more harm than good. I happen not to agree with them, although I certainly don’t go so as far as my father did.
“I’m not a hero worshiper in any particular sense. FDR is a very complicated personality. There’s nothing simple about the man. Even his wife said, ‘I don’t think anyone really got to know him.’ ”

For more on this story, see Thursday's edition of the Hastings Tribune.

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