Bonne Terre author brings Mark Twain to life

An older man with bushy white hair, eyebrows and a mustache dons a white suit with an old-fashioned black tie, children might mistake him for Colonel Sanders. Most of the time the older people know him with certainty as Mark Twain.

In the spirit of the Missouri author, Jack Beahan of Bonne Terre, Mo., will act as a goodwill ambassador providing the history of the Naeter Brothers, the Daily Republican, the Southeast Missourian and Cape Girardeau at the Southeast Missourian Centennial Celebration on Oct. 1.

Few people realize that Samuel Clemens, who used the name Mark Twain, started off as a journalist with his brother's newspaper, Beahan said. He often made up stories just to generate interest in the business.

"He can get a lot said just by being sarcastic," Beahan said.

Beahan once was confronted by an angry man who was the great-great-grandson of a steamboat operator Twain had worked with. The man persisted in asking mean-spirited questions about Twain until Beahan replied in character, "Young man, you must know that I am not Mark Twain."

Channeling his wit about the world, Beahan will mingle with the crowd and educate with stories and historical tidbits.

"Mark Twain was so doggone funny all the time," Beahan said.

From his perspective, Twain's message was very basic and has reached across generations: Good triumphs over evil even though evil sometimes wins.

Researching and impersonating Mark Twain has deepened Beahan's appreciation for the author and for his greatest passion -- the Mississippi River. The 66-year-old retired firefighter and paramedic traveled from Kimmswick, Mo., to the Gulf of Mexico during the flood of 1993. The journey in a johnboat with a makeshift shack inspired his self-published book "Beyond Perfection." At the suggestion of his theatrical wife, he promoted his book by impersonating Mark Twain.

The hobby is rewarding when young people tune into that humor, since few school curriculums have Mark Twain on their reading list. Hence so many of the younger generation mistake him for the KFC guy.