The Landmark’s coverage area is full of interesting people. In fact, when I began interviewing John A. Wagner, he humbly tried to point me toward some of the other interesting people in the area-many of whom I hope to include here later.
But Wagner is no slouch himself. From his work as president of Save the Prairie, his impersonation of evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin, his reenactments of French voyages, and his work as an entomologist (a specialist in insects), there was a lot of ground to cover in our discussion. Wagner is a longtime area resident, formerly of Riverside and currently of Brookfield. In fact, he says he has put a canoe in Salt Creek near his current house and paddled to his childhood home.
“I’m a river rat,” he said.
His interests in insects and the prairies can both be traced back to his childhood in the area.
“I grew up in Riverside, so I had prairie in my backyard,” he said. And he and a friend would collect butterflies and moths near Brookfield Zoo.
But although he was initially most interested in butterflies, a professor when he was studying biology at Northwestern University in Evanston got him interested in beetles.
“If people knew more about them, everybody would have a coffee table book about them. They’re that cool!” he said.
He elaborated by saying there are more than 600 species in the United States and several thousand worldwide. He said that some cave dwellers don’t have eyes, and other species develop elaborate antennae in order to find each other. “They are also predators that contribute to the ecological balance.”
While living in Evanston, he also became involved with a group that reenacted French canoe voyages.
“The thing about paddling is that it’s hard work, and, of course, you sang songs,” he said, adding that the group sang French voyage songs and “anything with a good rhythm for rowing.
“It was a real bonding experience,” he said. “And you can really go back in time, when there’s no sight of land.”
Wagner worked as a teacher for 27 years, and eventually landed at the education department at the Field Museum. There he was able to further explore his fascination with beetles.
“I was able to work with some specimens that were collected before I was born in 1935,” he said. “It was kind of a kick.”
Another interest also evolved out of his work there. In a meeting, he suggested the museum cover evolution. When asked who could impersonate Charles Darwin, he volunteered.
“I had the biology background, and the reenactment experience, so why not?” He said he enjoyed it from his first experience with it. “It was great and everybody had a fine time with it.”
From there, he invested in a costume, began promoting himself, and became a road scholar as part of the Illinois Humanities Council. He had eight or nine appearances a year (throughout the state at churches, civic groups, and libraries) for 14 years.
“When I’m doing it, I am Darwin. I let my beard grow out, put in contacts, and growl a little bit.” He even invites audience participation, although he won’t answer questions about anything that has come about since Darwin’s time.
And he said some “charming” things have come out of the reenactments. At an overnight event, he confessed to the children that he had died some time ago and told the children that he was buried at Westminster Abbey. One child piped up and said that if he was that important, they should have put him in a pyramid in Egypt.
Wagner enjoys memories such as that, but said that he doesn’t plan on impersonating Darwin forever. He added that a “good time to bow out” might be in 2009-the bicentennial anniversary of Darwin’s birth.
He said he appreciates the challenges as Darwin, as well as in the other components of his life. “There’s certain liberating things think about taking on challenges,” he said. “These things are fleeting, they’re part of your life and you cherish them.”
Do you have any column ideas or suggestions? Please write me at lindazid@yahoo.com. I’ll look forward to hearing from you.