ROCHELLE — The year 1913: Albert Einstein was working on his theory of gravity; Houdini began performing straitjacket escapes upside-down; Richard Nixon was born; and Woodrow Wilson was inaugurated for his first term in office.

The community can now get a glimpse into the life of Pres. and Mrs. Woodrow Wilson at the 7th Annual Presidents’ Luncheon and Drama on Feb. 8 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.
“The First Lady President,” presented by Rochelle Woman’s Club and VCCT, allows the audience to travel back to the time when the 28th president of the U.S. was in office. Ranked by historians as one of the nation’s greatest presidents, Pres. Wilson led the country through World War I and was responsible for the establishment of the Federal Reserve and Federal Trade Commission.
What many might not know is that his wife, Edith, became a behind-the-scenes acting president after Pres. Wilson suffered a series of strokes, essentially becoming the “First Lady President.”
Writer, director, and Rochelle Woman’s Club member Dianne Jenner explained she chose to write the readers theater in 2016 when the nation might have had a woman president for the first time. The show was cancelled when Jenner could not secure seven cast members.
“I chose Mrs. Wilson at a time that it seemed we might have our first lady president. Obviously that didn’t happen,” Jenner said. “History has hinted that perhaps Mrs. Reagan was in the same position. Can you imagine keeping that kind of secret in today’s world of instant news and cell phones?”

The cast
Members of the cast have been busy rehearsing for the upcoming readers theater. Carol Weidman will read the part of Mrs. Wilson along with Jim Mitchell as Pres. Wilson. Kimberly Ekes as daughter, Margaret Wilson, Terry Dickow as press secretary Joe Tumulty, Dean Wren as Sen. Gilbert Hitchcock, and Robert Sabin as Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge and Zackery Crabtree as Dr. Grayson.
Jenner has written or adapted and directed all of the presidents’ readers theater events.
“I started out writing them from scratch, spending a lot of time reading books and online history. I found two of them as full length plays and received permission from the authors to cut them down and adapt them to a readers theater,” Jenner said. “It’s been a real life learning experience for me.”
Previous readers theaters showcased the lives of Pres. Lincoln, Pres. Jefferson and Pres. Adams, Pres. Washington, Pres. Franklin Roosevelt, and Pres. Teddy Roosevelt.
The club
Rochelle Woman’s Club is the second oldest continuing organization in Rochelle after the Masonic Lodge, beginning in 1898.
“Our emphasis has always been on the arts. We have sponsored an RTHS art student to go to art camp at NIU for over 60 years,” said Jenner. “Several have gone on to professional arts careers. We meet once a month for lunch from September through May. Attendees can expect a buffet soup/sandwich lunch followed by a very interesting presentation of history.”
The event will be held at the Hickory Grove Civic Center inside Paddock Hall.
The luncheon begins at 12 p.m. followed by the readers theater. Cost is $20 per person and includes lunch. Reservations are due by Monday, Feb. 5 and can be made by calling 815-975-1643 or by email: dianne@jennerranch.com. Proceeds will go to the Rochelle Woman’s Club art scholarship and VCCT.