Monday, August 17, 2009

Congratulations, ALO

As I was ready to shut down my computer for the night, I did the same thing I often do at the end of the evening. I went to the website of newspaper that was Abraham Lincoln's friend, The State Journal-Register. I usually check to see if my fellow blogger, Mike Kienzler, The Abraham Lincoln Observer (ALO), has posted a new article.

Tonight, I found not a new blog post, but breaking news on the home page, reading, "SJ-R metro editor wins senior spelling bee at fair." Now, considering that Kienzler isn't much older than I am, I was hoping it wasn't him. I'm not ready to be called "senior" any more than I have to. I knew, though, that it was surely my ALO buddy. He's the most eagle-eyed editor I've ever known. In fact, he's so good, he can almost find a typo before a reporter's fingers hit the wrong key.

And, he'd recently advanced through his local and regional contests to reach the state contest. So, it came as no suprise that this wordsmith and editor extraordinaire is a champion tonight. Read the breaking news about his championship and the article on the paper's special state fair blog.

You know what, though? Mike Kienzler is champion every day. We can count on him to keep the legacy of Lincoln alive. That makes him a winner in my book, no matter how well he can spell.

If you follow the ALO blog, too, be sure to drop in and leave a comment to congratulate him. I'm going to leave mine right now.

© Copyright 2009 Ann Tracy Mueller. All rights reserved.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice to see you back writing, Ann! I'm excited by reading today about a new movie by Robert Redford about the Lincoln assassination, centered on Mary Surratt (congratulations to the Surratt Society in Clinton, Md.). Nice to see Redford moving into the vacuum created by Steven Spielberg's non-movie.
Also, I saw the LOC's "With Malice Toward None" touring exhibit, now at Sacramento's California Museum. It was excellent--see it if it comes near you.

Yours,
Larry Tagg (_The Unpopular Mr. Lincoln_)

Ann Tracy Mueller said...

Thanks, Larry.

Yes, the Redford picture is exciting. He's always been one of my favorite celebrities - will always be the Sundance Kid to me, no matter now old he gets.

My teen crush aside, Redford has certainly chosen a viable subject. Mary Surratt is an interesting, far overlooked character in the whole Lincoln assassination story, as far as the general public goes.

Most people don't know much about the Assassination beyond the shooter, John Wilkes Booth, and the place, The Fords Theatre. There are so many aspects of the assassination about which we can teach people through our work - be it social media, speaking engagements, print pieces, books or film. It's nice to see Reford recognizes that and it will be interesting to see how he treats the subject.

I've heard good things about the Library of Congress "With Malice Toward None" exhibit. I think it will be coming to Chicago. I don't get up there often, but do hope I can make a trip up to see it. Thanks for letting me know it will be worth my while.

Best wishes with The Unpopular Mr. Lincoln, and thanks for your kind words.

Ann

Unknown said...

Ann: I am museum consultant in east central Illinois. I am working on a project to bring the story of the Matson Slave Trial to life. I had found your Lincoln Blog and have signed up as a follower, but I thought you might be interested in the program and might want to help pass the word. In fact our sites look a lot alike. http://matson1847.blogspot.com Thanks. Renee Henry

Ann Tracy Mueller said...

Renee,

Thanks for the info on the Matson trial. I'll try to do a blog post later this week. Haven't had much time to blog lately due to travel and other obligations, but I'll try to make time some evening this week to do something on it.

Hope all goes well with the event. Sounds very interesting. Sorry I can't make it over.

Ann