Back for the Future

Mark Armato of Missouri brings history to life for his audiences one costume change at a time.

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Mark Armato leads his eighth-grade social studies class —photo by MARK TADE/GAZETTE COMMUNICATIONS

On an ordinary day, Armato heads into his eighth-grade social studies class, takes roll, and begins the lesson. But on special days he doesn’t show up to class at all. A substitute in an oversized buckle belt, jacket, and wide-brimmed cowboy hat evocative of the 1800s does. Jesse James, the infamous outlaw, is taking over for the period. “I understand folks can’t make up their minds about me,” says James, and for the next half-hour a different teacher and a different history class are under way.

Armato is a 26-year veteran of the Maple Park Middle School in Kansas City, Missouri. When he’s not teaching history, he’s acting it out, at school and in the community.

An advertisement calling for Civil War re-enactors first drew his interest in the 1970s. "[I've] always been a history buff," Armato says, before confessing, "I guess I'd be what you call a Civil War nerd." He's amassed a period clothing and memorabilia collection worth thousands. Civil War photographer Mathew Brady, abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, and Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere are among his most popular roles. It's not just about the clothes, either; Armato uses historically accurate speeches and motivations to breathe life into the figures.

Would he like to live in the past? "I'd really like to visit but not to live," says Armato. "I enjoy modern life."

—ALAN McCOMBS