Born on February 20, 1951 in Jacksonville, Florida, Mike Mehaffey lived in Plant City, Florida until the age of 11. He was in or around the Tampa Bay area as a child not knowing the history there that involved a young army lieutenant who arrived at Tampa Bay in 1837.
Mike moved with his family to Bedford, Virginia in 1962, living only 45 minutes from the home place, located in Franklin County, of that same young army lieutenant.
Mike has been interested in the history of the War of Northern Aggression since childhood and when he finally became involved with reenactments approximately 10 years ago, it was with an artillery unit. The young army lieutenant, upon graduation from West Point in 1837 was assigned to artillery.
A living history event (Mike's idea) that is held annually in Bedford, called "Living Liberty" deals with life in and during the War of Northern Aggression. Union General David Hunter and his army passed through Liberty (now the City of Bedford) enroute to Lynchburg with the idea of capturing that city and was repulsed by Confederate forces led by Lt. General Jubal A. Early. The retreat of Hunter and the pursuit by Early brought both armies back through Bedford. Because of his resemblance to "Old Jube," Mike was asked to portray Lee's "Bad Old Man" during this event. This living history has evolved into a reenactment that has become very successful and along with this success, Mike's portrayal of "Old Jube" continues to grow.
That was the start of a portrayal that Mike enjoys very much and doing a portrayal of "Old Jube," especially since their paths came so close together (places, not time!) makes that challenge even more intriguing!