Rain-drenched Veterans ceremony small sacrifice

This was day two of Lincoln Buff 2 and friends' Amazing Abe Adventure - our trip to Washington, D. C. to fulfill many lifelong dreams. Today's dream was my husband's first, and mine because it meant so much to him.

My Vietnam vet has wanted for some time now to go to Arlington National Cemetery for the Veterans Day ceremony. We got 'er done today - and in a big way. Didn't know ahead of time we'd get to see President Barack Obama speak.

Also didn't know we'd sit it the rain for several hours to honor the veterans and active duty military who serve our country. It was a small sacrifice, though, compared to that of our veterans and soldiers stationed around the world today. How can we ever thank them enough?

You may have seen some of my tweets from the ceremony. It was neat to be able to share history as it happened. I also shot some video I'm hoping I can use for YouTube. I'll let you know if I upload any when I have a little more time. It's late in D.C. now and I had a long day.

Watch also for blog posts about a restaurant we discovered in Arlington, Va. - Hard Times - and our first visit to Kennedy Center. More adventures to come, too, so come back to hear firsthand impressions of a Midwestern granny Lincoln Buff's trip to Washington, D.C.

Just one more thing, though. A question for D.C. folks: How in the heck do you find your way around? We've even got our poor GPS confused. To compensate for the frustration we've put her through, we've named her Martha. We had as much trouble getting back and forth across the Potomac as that other Martha who's hubby, George, was also an American vet and the first President of this great land. Oh, by the way, that guy has all kinds of things named after him. Maybe Martha misses him and that's why she kept taking us on his roadway.

Don't forget, you can also follow Lincoln Buff 2 on Twitter for history as it happens on The Amazing Abe Adventure.

To America's military and veterans, Thank you!

Guillory to read Lincoln Poems in Decatur April 19

My Lincoln friend, Dan Guillory, is still hard at work sharing his poems. This weekend you can hear him at the Decatur Public Library. He asked me to let you know.

Even if you've seen Guillory read his Lincoln poems before you won't want to miss this one. I've heard him three times now and he always keeps his presentations fresh and new. Here's what he asked me to share.

Read all about it

Dr. Dan Guillory, Professor Emeritus of English at Millikin University, will present another reading from his recent book, The Lincoln Poems, at 2:00 PM in the Madden Auditorium of the Decatur Public Library on Sunday April 19, 2009. April is National Poetry Month, and Professor Guillory will focus on poems that have not been previously performed at the Library. Copies of his book will be offered for sale after the reading.

The Lincoln Poems was one of only 21 books from across the country chosen for presentation at the National Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration in Springfield on February 12, 2009. Before the poetry reading, Dr. Guillory will share his impressions of that special day, including the Bicentennial Banquet, where President Obama spoke briefly. Dr. Guillory will also have on display some of the artifacts he collected on the Bicentennial day, including Lincoln “First Day of Issue” stamps and envelopes, a Lincoln coffee mug, the Bicentennial Banquet menu, and other items of interest.

In partnership with Melody Arnold and Brent Wielt of the Macon County Conservation District, Dr. Guillory presented an all-day Lincoln workshop for Macon County schoolteachers on March 21, 2009. The day was very successful, according to the evaluations. The teachers went in three vans on a tour of Lincoln sites in and around Decatur. The workshop will be repeated on Wednesday June 10, 2009.

Dr. Guillory will also be recording The Lincoln Poems during the week of April 13th, and the finished audiobook will be released as a CD by Mayhaven Publishing. Finally, Dr. Guillory has signed another contract with Mayhaven for a new book entitled People and Places in the Land of Lincoln.

Want to see what you may have missed?

If you weren’t able to celebrate the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth in person, it’s not to late to see some of the events you may have missed. As they have been so often, our friends at C-SPAN were there to chronicle some of the happenings.

I had the opportunity to be there myself for several of these, but even I couldn’t be in Washington, D.C. and Springfield at the same time, so the C-SPAN videos allowed me to catch up on the ones I didn’t see.

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum events
On Sunday, Feb. 8, I had the opportunity to attend two events where several of my favorite Lincoln scholars or enthusiasts presented. You won’t want to miss:

• Eric Foner’s talk, “Reflecting on Lincoln”
• The panel discussion moderated by Lincoln memorabilia expert Daniel Weinberg and featuring Lincoln collectors Philip Kunhardt III, Jack Smith, Louise Taper and Frank Williams

Senator Dick Durbin speaks at Lincoln Tribute Dinner
Monday, Feb. 9, Senator Dick Durbin spoke in Washington, D.C. on “What Lincoln Means to Me.” Durbin is a co-chair of the U.S. Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, a long-time supporter of the need for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum and a public servant representing the district Lincoln lost to Stephen A. Douglas in 1858. His devotion to keeping the legacy of Lincoln alive is deep-seeded, sincere and much appreciated. We’re fortunate to have him and Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood as champions of Lincoln both in Illinois and for the nation.

Congressional Bicameral Celebration from the U.S. Capitol
On Lincoln’s 200th birthday, Feb. 12, 2009, a special celebration was held in our nation’s Capitol. C-SPAN was there to capture the festivities, including remarks from President Barack Obama. As we waited in Springfield for a Lincoln luncheon to begin, one of my Lincoln buff friends who is a great champion of technology and one of the most social media-savvy fellows I know, was watching coverage from Washington on his cool compact notebook computer. I wasn’t able to that, so I was thankful to find it online later. I think you will be, too.

President Obama speaks at Abraham Lincoln Association Banquet
I was also fortunate to get my ticket early, before we even knew President Obama was coming to Springfield for Lincoln’s birthday bash. Being there when he spoke was almost surreal. It was one of those times in life where you take something in and try to savor every morsel of it, but feel almost as if you’re on the outside looking in. It’s great to have the C-SPAN video of the speech to listen to again and again to recreate the historic moment and to reflect on this new President’s words about the President we’ve long revered.

C-SPAN – Champion of Lincoln legacy
The bicentennial week festivities play only a small part in the commitment C-SPAN has for teaching people about Lincoln through the worldwide web.

C-SPAN continues to promote Lincoln. For earlier coverage of Lincoln events, authors and publications, be sure to return often to:

• Lincoln 200 Years,
• Book TV,
• Booknotes and
• Q & A.

You’ll also want to check out the C-SPAN book, Great American Historians on Our Sixteenth President, edited by C-SPAN's CEO Brian Lamb and co-president Susan Swain. Profits from the book go to a great cause, as C-SPAN is directing any royalties from the sale of the book to the nonprofit C-SPAN Educational Foundation which creates teaching materials for middle and high school teachers.

My C-SPAN connection
It’s always neat when you have a brush with greatness. My first personal encounter with C-SPAN came in the 1990s when the network came to my hometown of Galesburg (Ill.) to film the Lincoln-Douglas debate reenactment at the Knox College’s Old Main.

My job at the time kept me from participating directly in the event, but many folks whom I knew from the community were dressed in period dress, some of my customers were actors in the production and the store where I worked catered food for the cast of hundreds. I did get to join the audience for a few minutes late in the afternoon and felt the importance of the legacy this piece would leave.

In 2005, when I attended several days of events surrounding the opening of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, C-SPAN was there. They filmed many of the events I attended, including the dedication ceremony visit by our 43rd President George W. Bush and a then-senator who was to become our 44th President, Barack Obama.

During one of the events, I got to ask a question of a three-generation panel of Lincoln scholars – David Herbert Donald, Harold Holzer and Matthew Pinsker. I knew I wanted to someday do work related to Lincoln, but lamented that I feared I may be coming at it too late in life. I asked the panel, moderated by Brian Lamb, for advice. Their advice was sincere, direct and heart-felt: “Come to events like this one. Study Lincoln. Get to know those who share your passion.” That’s what my journey and this blog are all about.

I didn’t count on having to answer a question myself, though, but Lamb did what he does so well. He asked the million-dollar question – the one that makes the interviewee look inward – and he asked it of me: “If you wrote about Lincoln, what would you write about?”

I didn’t know the answer to the question that day. I just knew then I wanted to help tell the Lincoln story. After three years of introspection, hours of study and time spent in the Lincoln community, I can answer that question, and I have Lamb and his network to thank for it.

Over the next couple years, I’ll be developing my plans for the Lincoln topics I know I can best cover. Along the way, I’ll keep sharing Lincoln-related information with the rest of you. Thanks for visiting Lincoln Buff 2 blog.

And, Mr.Lamb, thanks for asking the question that made me look at my Lincoln interests in a deeper light. You’ll never know what it meant to me.

My Lincoln’s birthday adventure – Part Two

Okay, I’m back. I think my bicentennial week is catching up with me. I went non-stop from dawn to midnight nearly every day for a week. As one of my new Lincoln friends, who travelled much farther than I did, said, “I’m decompressing…”

I still need to tell you about the last two-and-a-half days of the bicentennial celebration, though, so I’d best get the fingers to begin again their keyboard dance.

When I ended my earlier blog post about the festivities of Friday, Feb. 12, 2009 – Lincoln’s 200th birthday – I’d just left the Abraham Lincoln Association Roundtable. So, let's continue the adventure.

Off to the Michael Burlingame luncheon
My next event was the Bicentennial Lunch at the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel featuring Michael Burlingame as the speaker. I slipped out of the Roundtable a bit early so I would make sure to find the hotel on time. On the way over, I ran into John Allen of Lincoln Land Community College as he waited on a corner for some of his guests. Allen is involved with the Elderhostel, which has more Springfield Lincoln events on its agenda yet this year. The folks on this one seemed to be having a great time.

Once at the luncheon, I picked an empty table, hoping some interesting guests would join me. I wasn’t disappointed. The first to sit down were a couple from Virginia, who were thankful for the kindness of a Springfield resident. Due to high winds in Chicago that day, it appeared they weren’t going to make it down until late in the day, and would miss the lunch. With true Midwestern hospitality, however, they met someone from Springfield at the airport. He offered to drive them to the capital so they were able to join in the meal and hear Burlingame, too.

We were next joined by a couple from Chicago. It was no surprise that either of the couples were there, as one in each couple was, like Lincoln, an attorney. The next guests to join us were a woman across the table, who I didn’t get a chance to meet and one of the children’s authors, Bob Burleigh. I was excited to have the opportunity to visit with Burleigh and to hear more about his journey as a writer and his writing process. He’s a second career author, coming to children’s literature through an earlier career making educational filmstrips. His journey gives me hope that mine may someday lead to a book of my own.

Burleigh’s book, Abraham Lincoln Comes Home, illustrated by Wendell Minor, is about a boy and his father waiting for Lincoln’s funeral train to pass. I think Burleigh and one of my other Lincoln friends, Chris Vallillo, would have a lot in common, as Vallillo’s musical tribute, Abraham Lincoln in Song, includes a song titled, “Lincoln’s Funeral Train.”

Burlingame’s talk was great – easy for Lincoln buffs to follow, but with enough substance for the scholars in the bunch. He’s also got a pretty cool sense of humor, so it’s great fun to hear him talk.

Getting ready for the really big event
There were several scholarly events on Thursday afternoon, held various places and featuring multiple scholars at each one. I’d originally hoped to attend at least a couple, but with President Barack Obama coming, all that changed.

It was going to be a real challenge to get to the Crowne Plaza, find parking and get inside in time to help distribute tickets for the Abraham Lincoln Association’s Lincoln’s 200th Birthday Banquet, featuring the President and Michael Burlingame. So, I high-tailed it back to my hotel, changed into my banquet attire and headed to the Crowne Plaza. The parking lot was full, so the police officers directed me across the street. I was surely a funny sight trying to cross four lanes of traffic in an evening gown and high heels – and hoping I got across quickly enough to avoid being hit by a passing car or semi.

The wait begins
I was at the hotel by shortly after 2 p.m., but didn’t need to start helping pass out tickets until much later. The time flew, though, as I watched people come and go. An Illinois surveyors’ organization was about to end their convention in the hotel, as people were starting to arrive for the banquet. I thought it was pretty neat that another of Lincoln’s professions was represented in Springfield on his 200th birthday.

I won’t bore you with all the nitty gritty of taking care of last minute details in the banquet room or of ticket distribution or security rigmarole. Let it suffice to say that a Presidential visit is a big thing, and you’ve likely never seen so many law enforcement and Secret Service folks in your life. We were all glad to get past that and to make it to our tables, though I must say, greeting people and waiting on them in the ticket line reminded me how much I miss working with the public – either in a checklane or in a volunteer effort.

The really big deal
To me, the entire Bicentennial week was a dream come true, with one exciting experience after another. But, the banquet topped it all because:

• Hearing “Hail to the Chief” and standing as the President of the United States enters the room is something you just can’t understand until you’ve lived it.


• Getting to meet another tall good-looking Chicagoan, Stedman Graham, was an unexpected surprise.
  
• Being just a few feet away as I reached for the President’s hand and being touched by a short gaze instead is a memory I’ll have forever - and a story my grandchildren can someday pass down to theirs.
  

Watch future articles for more about the banquet and the President’s visit. I’ve also still got to tell you about some really cool experiences I had on Friday and some Lincoln memories I made with my grandkids on Saturday. All I can say, over and over, is “Wow! What a week!”

Going to the ALA banquet? - Here's what you need to know

If there were two things you needed to know about attending the Abraham Lincoln Association Banquet celebrating the railsplitter's 200th birthday, it's get there early and travel light - small purse or backpack - no big stuff.

My friends - and Abe's - at The State Journal-Register have all the stuff you need to know in today's paper and online version. Be sure to check it out, 'cause if you don't get there and get in on time, you won't get in at all. Presidential security requires that everyone be seated and the doors shut by 6:30 for the 7 p.m. event. If you've got a ticket, you won't want to miss this moment in history.

Lincoln’s friends in the media

In 1864, Abraham Lincoln said of a local newspaper, “The Journal paper was always my friend; and of course its editors the same.” I do believe even today, 145 years later, Lincoln would still say the same about this Springfield paper, now called The State Journal-Register. If you’ve been watching online, their bicentennial coverage has been incredible. Please continue to watch their website and read the printed version where it’s available for all the latest in Lincoln news, especially of the happenings in Springfield.

Media back then not always so kind
Back in Lincoln’s day, the media wasn’t always as kind as they are today. In many cases, they were just out-and-out mean and nasty to that tall, awkward fella from Illinois. I recently heard a speaker muse that he wondered if the press could get away today with what they did then. Lincoln really was bashed – in articles, letters to the editor and cartoons. Next time you’re at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, check out the slanted room – a magnificent, but troubling symbol of the way the media portrayed him.

Cheerleader and friend
Today, though, that Illinois newspaper’s not Lincoln’s only friend in the media. If he were to repeat that compliment now, it would surely include another entity. I do believe Lincoln would say, “The Journal paper and C-SPAN were always my friends; and of course the paper’s editors and the network’s founder the same.”

You know, I’m not really sure if it’s C-SPAN founder and Chief Executive Officer Brian Lamb’s personal passion for Lincoln that propels the network to devote so much interesting and educational programming to Lincoln and Lincoln-related books, places and events, or if it’s that he’s such a smart businessman who knows people need and want to hear stories that inspire. One thing’s for sure – Lincoln does inspire.

Not always a C-SPAN fan – or any other
Mr. Lamb (and the rest of the world via the worldwide web), I have a confession to make. I’m not a TV person. Okay, it’s out – sort of like making a confession to a 12-step group.

It all started when I was a little kid. Sometimes we had a TV, but poor reception, other times, the one we had didn’t work. That was okay, though. You see, we didn’t need one. We had books – and games – and imaginations. And, yes, some of those books were about Lincoln – and some of the things we imagined were days in a one-room schoolhouse.

So, when I attended the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum opening in 2005, I barely knew what C-SPAN was all about. I didn’t watch it – any more than I watched any other television station.

C-SPAN and Lincoln
I remembered that in 1994 the network had produced a reenactment of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates at Knox College in my old hometown of Galesburg (Ill.). I remembered that the deli in the grocery store where I worked* had catered the box lunches for the event, and I could even tell you most of what they had in those boxes. You see, it interested me – not because there were some with turkey sandwiches and some with ham, not because they contained a serving of a deli salad, a bag of chips, a cookie and a drink.

It interested me because Old Main, that historic building which I sometimes drove by on my way to work as a grocery clerk like Lincoln - and where Sandburg paused on the way to his milk route and was inspired to tell the Lincoln story - had been selected as the place where the C-SPAN documentary would keep history alive.

Again in 2005, C-SPAN was at it – this time documenting many of the events surrounding the opening of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. They covered the symposium with 23 Lincoln scholars and the dedication ceremony with President George W. Bush and other dignitaries speaking, including a lesser-known public servant, a Senator named Barack Obama. Did you know you can still watch that ceremony today online? It’s just as inspiring to hear both Presidents, Senator Dick Durbin, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and others speak online today as it was in Springfield on that historic April day.

The debates and the Museum opening aren’t the only ways Lamb and his network honor Lincoln. Through the years, a number of Lincoln authors have been invited to speak about their books on Booknotes, Book TV and Q & A.

Just recently Lamb and Susan Swain came out with their own book based on many of those interviews, Abraham Lincoln: Great American Historians on Our Sixteenth President.

For some time now, C-SPAN has dedicated a website to Lincoln in celebration of his 200th birthday. You’ll want to be sure to visit it, as there are hours and hours of Lincoln programming there and more to come.

Don’t get too far from your TV this next week, as C-SPAN is sure to be covering many of the Bicentennial events. Will I turn the TV on now? ‘Fraid not, but I won’t miss their coverage.

Once again, as in 2005, I’ll be there to savor firsthand the events they’re filming. Then, when I return home from Springfield, I’ll be able to watch some of them over and over on C-SPAN online. I hope you join me.

If only all of us could be so lucky to have friends as loyal as Lincoln’s. I have been.

* The Galesburg store where I worked, Giant Foods on East Main, is now closed, but was my first career. Even then, my dream of someday studying a former store clerk from New Salem was alive and well. As I counted the office each morning, I paused on the rolls of pennies, savoring the symbolism they represented, and thought to myself, “Someday I’m going to write about Lincoln…” And I am! (Lincoln’s not my only subject, though. Sometimes I write from the heart. When the store closed, I did just that. Even though I wasn’t living my dream back then, those days weren’t wasted. Read why.)

Okay, people, it’s almost here …

Since the turn of the century, if not before, a very loyal and devoted group of people have been working hard, dreaming big and preparing to pull off the biggest birthday party in the past hundred years. Why? Because they share a passion for keeping the legacy of the greatest American President alive and showing what can be learned from the life Abraham Lincoln lived.

These people are many – some famous, some not. They’re Congressmen, Senators, authors, professors, teachers, judges, collectors, photographers, bookstore owners, lawyers, librarians, archivists, and more – even Presidents of the United States.

They're from New England, New Salem, the West Coast, the North, the South, and everyplace in between. Some of them even live in other lands. Yet in many ways – some huge, some not so big – they’ve joined together to plan, promote and pull off the biggest birthday party this country has ever seen.

Some of the honoring has taken years to come together – books about Lincoln that range from a couple hundred to more than 2,000 pages, films and plays and compact discs. Some of the groundwork was laid way back in the 1800s when people had the foresight to write of and pass down stories about Lincoln. The story has been told in new media and found in faded newspapers and crumbling letters. It’s been kept alive by teachers for a century and a half and presented by tall slender men – bearded and not – who call themselves A. Lincoln.

In some places, the celebration began a year ago – on Feb. 12, 2008. In others, it’s just beginning. Some places it’s as simple as a proclamation by the mayor or school children reciting the Gettysburg Address. Other places, it’s quite and dignified, scholarly and contemplative, a gathering of like minds for a colloquium or symposium. In the places where Lincoln lived or worked or served, the celebrations are larger, longer and the crowds will be bigger.

This birthday thing got a whole lot more attention two years ago when another Illinoisan announced his candidacy just a few hundred feet from the window of the Lincoln-Herndon Law Office, just outside the room where Lincoln gave his “House Divided” speech. The connections grew – in Barack Obama’s campaign, in the press and in the minds of the American people and the world – and the Lincoln legacy grew even greater.

Has all the hard work paid off? Just look around you. Read your paper, watch the news, check out the billboards in Central Illinois. I’ll bet you’re hearing Lincoln’s name a lot more now than you did in the past. Wonder why?

Is it because of President Obama calling on the greater angel of Lincoln? To a certain extent, of course. Is it because so many people have been promoting him? Absolutely. But most of all, I like to think people know that the lessons we can learn from Lincoln do still matter today.

His birthday is drawing nearer by the minute. To learn just how near, see the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum’s countdown. How are you going to celebrate? You can watch a Lincoln documentary, read a book about Lincoln, or attend a Lincoln celebration in your community.

But watch out, the Lincoln bug bites hard. Once you get the itch, you may just have to keep digging to learn as much as you can. I know. It bit me and you don’t hear me calling for calamine lotion or using insect repellant. This bug of Lincoln scholarship is pretty cool and I won’t be swatting it away anytime soon.

It’s official – President Obama’s coming to the party

Updated Feb. 3, 2009

In a couple of my earlier blog posts, I shared with you that President Barack Obama “might or might not” be coming to the Abraham Lincoln Association’s annual Lincoln’s Birthday Banquet. “Might not” is no longer part of the equation. He’s coming…

All 900 tickets (at $95 each) to the event have been sold out for some time now – likely since folks got wind of who “might” be coming. Late this afternoon, however, there were still overflow seats available for a dessert reception. (Oops, it's too late now. Feb. 3, 2009)

For more information, see Bernard Schoenburg’s article in the State Journal-Register (SJ-R).

Update: According to my fellow blogger, Mike Kienzler of SJ-R's Abraham Lincoln Observer, all tickets for overflow seating were sold out as of 9:20 p.m. Monday night.

Be sure to see all the new sidebars to Schoenburg's article to learn more about the logistics, trials and jubilation of a presidential visit.

A peculiar ambition

On March 9, 1832, Lincoln said, “Every man is said to have his peculiar ambition. Whether it be true or not, I can say for one that I have no other so great as that of being truly esteemed of my fellow men, by rendering myself worthy of their esteem. How far I shall succeed in gratifying this ambition, is yet to be developed.”*

I think the magnitude of the party America is throwing for Lincoln shows he succeeded magnificently in gratifying the ambition.

Thanks to President Obama for showing the world his esteem for Lincoln, as well. Welcome to the party, Mr. President!


* Thanks to Rhoda and Lowell Sneller of Abraham Lincoln Online for creating a place where we can find authentic Lincoln quotes such as this one.

Illinois is throwing Lincoln a big bash

For some time now, I’ve wanted to tell you all about the Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and all the cool things they’ve got on the agenda to make Lincoln’s birthday his best ever – right here in Illinois.

Lincoln lived here longest
After all, it was here that Lincoln lived from age 21 (1830) until he left on the train the day before his 52nd birthday (1861), headed for the White House. In the prairie state, he worked as a storekeeper, a postmaster, a surveyor, a lawyer, a politician.
Here, too, Lincoln grew from a storyteller into one of the most eloquent speakers of all time and from a self-taught lawyer to one who participated in some of the largest railroad cases of the day. If we’re to believe his partner Billy Herndon, it was also here the 16th president planned to return to practice law, had not John Wilkes Booth’s bullet put an end to Lincoln’s life and his partnership with Herndon.

Celebrating Lincoln no small task
With a life and legacy such as Lincoln’s to commemorate, the need for a commission to plan the celebration was a no-brainer and desire to do up right was there even before day one. This was our big chance to promote our favorite son and the places in Illinois with significance in his life.
Since its formation in 2006, the Illinois commission has been working hard to put on a big bash with a small budget, which grew even smaller in light of the state’s financial woes. And, they’re doing a bang up job!

Generosity, imagination, hard work
How, you might wonder, do you put on a once-in-a–century celebration in the midst of an ailing economy and a state budget crisis? One way the bicentennial commission did this was by seeking expertise and working together with groups who could help spread the good news. Through the ingenuity and generosity of a number of government and private entities, here are just some of the ways the commission is getting the word out about Lincoln and celebrating his legacy:

• “The Lincoln Log” – a day-by-day newspaper piece with explains Lincoln’s daily activities, running in more than 60 papers across Illinois in 2008 and 2009
• “The Voice of Lincoln” – a series of audio public service announcements on Illinois radio stations statewide – with Lincoln as the narrator
• Billboards throughout the Midwest with Lincoln’s face and a Happy Birthday message
• Links to the bicentennial website from other businesses and organizations
• Speakers spreading the word to organizations
• Cooperation between media outlets promoting Bicentennial in print, on the air and on the tube in January and February 2009
• A National Geographic coffee table book, “Abraham Lincoln’s Extraordinary Era,” with much content provided by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (ALPLM)
• Traveling exhibits of reproduction artifacts from the $100 million Illinois Lincoln collection, thanks to funding from the National Endowment of the Humanities
• Lincoln documentaries featuring Illinois Lincoln sites
• A semi-truck size mobile exhibit, “Abraham Lincoln: Self-Made in America,” funded by the Illinois Bureau of Tourism and the ALPLM

What’s up
So, when Illinois throws a party for its favorite son, how do we celebrate? How’s this for starters:

• The Lincoln Academy of Illinois will present the State’s highest honor, The Order of Lincoln medal, to 30 people from around the world who have advanced the study and legacy of Abraham Lincoln on Saturday, Feb. 7.
• “The Lincoln Project,” a series of paintings by Chicago artist Don Pollack, opens Sunday, Feb. 8 at the Presidential Museum.
• The “Post-It Note Guy,” Chris Killham, will create a huge, Lincoln-related work of art in the windows of the land bridge that link the Presidential Library and Museum, beginning Feb. 8 and running several days.
• The U.S. Postal Service and U.S. Postmaster General will roll out the first issuance of the four Lincoln Bicentennial postage stamps on Monday, Feb. 9 at the Old State Capitol.
• Abraham Lincoln’s Farewell Address to Springfield in early 1861 will be the focus of a dramatic presentation on Wednesday, Feb.11 at the Prairie Capital Convention Center, a performance for all ages and an activity for families.
• A free “Birthday Bash” pops performance by the Illinois Symphony Orchestra that night with a Lincoln-themed concert is developed specifically for the Bicentennial and also family friendly.
• Bells will ring hourly in the Union Station bell tower playing “Happy Birthday” on Lincoln’s bicentennial, Thursday, Feb. 12.
• A 9:30 a.m. reading of the Gettysburg Address will originate from the Presidential Museum Plaza, with children throughout Illinois and the nation reading along wherever they are.
• The annual Lincoln’s Birthday wreath laying at the Lincoln Tomb will be in the morning, with a flag retreat ceremony planned for the afternoon.
• A special Postal Service cancellation for the new Lincoln Bicentennial stamps and commemorative envelopes will help commemorate Lincoln’s birthday.
• New United States citizens will be naturalized that day at the Old State Capitol.
• A free 1860s Period Ball at the Presidential Museum will be complete with birthday cake.
• The Abraham Lincoln Association will hold their Lincoln’s Birthday Banquet (by ticket) at the Crowne Plaza Hotel., with President Barack Obama joining the celebration.*
• Numerous lectures, living history events, book signings and more will keep visitors to Springfield hopping.
• A plethora of other events throughout the state help Lincoln buffs celebrate the big day.
• Oh, and did I think to say, we’re still hoping President Barack Obama can join us in Springfield for the big day. Keep watching this blog and your local media, in case he says “yes” to the big invite Springfield extended.*

Learn all about it
To learn all about Lincoln events in Springfield and throughout Illinois in the coming weeks and on Lincoln’s birthday, see the calendar of events on the Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission website.

Be sure to read the information about sending Lincoln a birthday card. Handmade greetings are preferred and there is no age restriction for senders.

Time is ticking away until the big day. To watch the countdown, be sure to scroll to the bottom of the commission’s home page.

Looking for Lincoln info coming soon
The Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition has also shared exciting news about their work celebrating Lincoln in Illinois. I’ll share that with you in a future article.

Special thanks to Julie Cellini of the Illinois and U.S. Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commissions, who braved the first winter precipitation of the season and shared much of this information at a Dec. 3, 2008 Public Relations Society of America meeting in Springfield.

* Updated Feb. 2, 2009 - We learned today President Obama will be coming. What a special gift for President Lincoln's big day!

Obama at Abe's birthday party?

There's a grapevine in the Lincoln community. Word has been circulating for some time now that President-elect Barack Obama might attend the Abraham Lincoln Association's annual birthday banquet, which this year will serve as his 200th birthday party. I'd heard the information earlier - after I'd purchased my own ticket, but before the announcement was ready to go public. My word is as important to me as Lincoln's was to him, so I did not violate the confidence of those in the know by sharing this information until it was public knowledge.

This morning's State Journal-Register includes an article that confirms Obama has been invited and speculates on the possibility he might attend - or not. Tickets are sold out for the banquet, but overflow seating for a dessert reception was still available when the newspaper went to press earlier today. To read more, visit the articles:

• Obama may or may not attend Lincoln banquet
• Want to go to the annual Lincoln birthday banquet?

For overflow seating, if available, visit the Abraham Lincoln Association's website to download and mail the Overflow Reservation Form with your payment.

In case you're wondering - no, my seat is not for sale! Before Obama was ever elected, I planned to go to this to celebrate Lincoln. That wish has not changed. This was my gift to me and I'm not giving it up!

* Updated Feb. 2, 2009 - We learned today President Obama will be coming. What a special gift for President Lincoln's big day! And, no, my seat is still not for sale! This - celebrating Lincoln's big day - is a longtime dream for me. I hope to savor every minute of it.

Lincoln inaugural Bible to serve Obama, too

More exciting Lincoln news on the Obama front today. Most mainline news networks and even many obscure ones have picked up the news that President-elect Barack Obama will take his oath of office using the Bible Abraham Lincoln used at his 1861 inauguration.

Obama - One of Lincoln's greatest cheerleaders
Boy, with all the work my friends at the U.S. Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and Illinois Lincoln Bicentennial Commission have done, they couldn't have asked for better public relations for our 16th president than the great PR he's getting from Obama - and they don't have any marketing expense for this great press!

Thank you, Mr. President-elect, for embracing and promoting the legacy of Lincoln. You're renewing an interest in Lincoln at an opportune time - his bicentennial year. Let's hope we can keep the momentum moving and have the greatest year for Lincoln scholarship ever!

Read about and see the Bible
Although you can find articles in many newspapers and online news sources, my friends at The State Journal-Register in Lincoln's longtime home, Springfield, had a good article today about Obama and the Bible, with some very nice photos. Be sure to check it out.

You'll also want to see the image of the back inside flaps of the Bible from the Library of Congress website. Be sure to click on the image to enlarge it. You can actually read much of the handwriting inside it.

Happy holidays from the Land of Lincoln
I won't be blogging for a day or two so I can devote time to spending the holiday with my family. May you find this season a time to create warm memories with your loved ones, too.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. Ann

Congratulations, Mr. Secretary-to-be

Over the past few weeks, we’ve heard the term “Team of Rivals” so many times that some of us are beginning to wish Doris Kearns Goodwin had named her Lincoln book something else.

No offense, Ms. Goodwin. It was a great name. It’s just getting worn out as President-elect Obama selects his cabinet and the media runs the phrase into the ground. The freshness is kind of gone, you know.

There’s one “rival” we’re excited to learn about here in Central Illinois, though. Our native son, Congressman Ray LaHood, who recently announced his retirement from his current role, has been named Secretary of Transportation for the Obama administration.

LaHood’s our man
LaHood is dear to us here in the Land of Lincoln, not only because he’s from our neck of the woods – or prairie – but because he’s a co-chair of the U.S. Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.

So, it seems appropriate that this Lincoln enthusiast will have a role with our nation’s transportation. After all, as early as the New Salem days, Lincoln was passionate about internal improvements – better waterways, railroads and such. We were already proud of our Representative for his public service and his support of the Lincoln legacy. We’re even prouder now.

Learn more
As usual, the journalists at the Peoria Journal-Star have done a great job of telling the story of Hood’s nomination. Learn more in the following:

• It’s official
• LaHood’s remarks
• Votes of confidence
• About the job
• A first for Peoria

Best wishes always
Congressman LaHood, when I wished you well in my Dec. 6 post, I borrowed some words from an old Irish toast. Little did I know the roads will not only rise up to meet you, but you’ll be the “road and sky guy” for our whole country. Wow!

Congratulations – and thanks for continuing to serve the people of the United States of America.

Grading the president – better done looking back

As I’ve mentioned before in this blog, I’m not a politician. That’s probably not a very civic-minded way to be. It’s just my reality. Life is complicated and busy, and I just put my energy in things other than trying to understand politics.

Lincoln – an interdisciplinary subject
Yet, as I delve into my studies of Abraham Lincoln, I realize politics is a subject in which I must begin to show an interest. If not, I’ll be left behind. Studying Lincoln isn’t just history, it isn’t just literature, it isn’t just military science, it’s not just politics. It’s a blend of all these and likely even more disciplines. Be patient with me, please. I’m still learning.

With this being an election year, and with so many comparisons being made between President-Elect Barack Obama and Lincoln, I’m thrust into politics no matter what, it seems. Articles which normally would not attract my attention call to me from the printed page or the computer screen – and draw me in.

Grabbed by hometown news
One such article jumped out at me today. When I was in Galesburg, my former job sometimes required that I appear before the courts to obtain arrest warrants. One of the judges I often encountered was now-retired Circuit Judge Harry Bulkeley.

Even if our paths would not have passed in the courtroom, I think they would have eventually. You see, we share a common passion – an interest in the history of our hometown and of the Lincoln legacy.

Bulkeley takes his passion even farther than I do, portraying Ulysses S. Grant as a Civil War re-enactor. In fact, the Judge looks so much like the real McCoy that he had the opportunity to play Grant on television. And, he’s chair of the Galesburg Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.

General Grant on President Bush
Bulkeley is a guest columnist for our hometown newspaper, The Register-Mail. Whether you’re a Lincoln buff, an Obama fan or a Bush supporter, I urge you to read Judge Bulkeley’s column today. He answers the question, “What grade would you give the Bush administration?”

Within the article, Bulkeley talks about how serving as a wartime president impacts the public’s perception of the person holding our nation’s highest office and of the decisions he makes. You’ll also see how perceptions of an administration or a decision can change over time. As Bulkeley says, “If we’d tried to judge the Civil War in 1864, it would have clearly been a terrible mistake.”

Check out Judge Bulkeley’s column and see why he gives President George W. Bush a grade of “incomplete.” To read the grades other Galesburgers gave Bush, see the earlier column.

Lincoln buff grades the President
If you’re reading, President Bush, this not-so-political blogger agrees with the Judge. The jury’s still out. I won’t jump to a rash conclusion and give you a mark lower than you might earn once the final grade is in. Thank you for your service to our nation in another unparalleled era.

First Lady, Lincoln’s Rivals, Ford’s Theatre and Abe’s Home make news

This was a big day in Lincoln news. Plenty of other great scribes penned Lincoln stories today with all kinds of interesting news. Let me direct you to the top four in my book.

First Lady doesn’t let Kentucky down
I was so excited last February 12 when the Abraham Bicentennial celebration was to officially begin at Lincoln’s birthplace in Kentucky. It did get off to a start that day, in spite of a snow storm moving into the area.

Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer and actor Sam Waterston, who portrays the Cooper Union Lincoln, were there to kick things off. You can watch an interview of the two from that day on C-SPAN’s Lincoln Bicentennial website. Unfortunately, First Lady Laura Bush couldn’t make it then because the blizzard conditions got too severe.

She kept her commitment to the bicentennial, though, and today, a little more than eight months later, much to the delight of an eight-year-old who got to introduce her, she was there to kick off the "Give a Lincoln For Lincoln" fundraising campaign for six key Lincoln sites. Thank you, Mrs. Bush.

Be sure to read about her trip to Hodgenville in Bruce Schreiner’s Associated Press article, as featured in the Chicago Tribune.

Matthew Pinsker cautions using Lincoln’s team as model
In my blog and in person, I've stayed away from the whole Lincoln-Obama thing. I'm not a politician. Until this fall, when I started the Lincoln class at Heartland College, my knowledge was of the popular Lincoln, the mythological Lincoln and Lincoln in the literature of Illinois. I had a fairly good grasp of them, but his legal career, his political career, his presidency - those where all overwhelming and foreign to me.

Thanks to the class, my professor, Dr. Scott Rager, David Herbert Donald's book, Lincoln, which we’re using as a text, the scholarly events I'm attending and the independent research I'm doing, those aspects of Lincoln aren’t quite so foreign anymore. Yet still, I leave comments on Barack Obama, Lincoln and politics to those who are more qualified than I am. I know I have miles to go before I'm an authority on those subjects.

I've read some of the Team of Rivals comparisons, but not yet read the book. Yet, as a Lincoln blogger, I’d be remiss if I didn’t draw your attention – and President-Elect Obama’s - to an opinion column by Lincoln scholar Matthew Pinsker today in the Los Angeles Times.

Pinsker reminds us that some of the lessons to be learned from Lincoln’s team were pretty tough ones. And, as I would expect from an accomplished scholar like Dr. Donald’s protégé, he uses diary quotes from Lincoln’s day with which the common reader - and likely Obama - may not be familiar, to substantiate his opinion. May the column serve as food for thought for our president-elect and his advisors.

Ford’s Theatre awarded honors
First Lady Laura Bush wasn’t the only one honoring Lincoln this week.

Her husband, President George W. Bush, named the Ford's Theatre Society a 2008 National Medal of Arts recipient. The award was presented in a White House ceremony yesterday. The Ford’s Theatre, where Lincoln was shot, is one of the sites to be helped by the “Give a Lincoln for Lincoln” campaign.

And, at the Lincoln Forum in Gettysburg, the Volk Lincoln Honor was also awarded to the Ford's Theatre yesterday. This award honors the contributions the theatre makes to the Lincoln legacy. Read more about the theatre’s honors in Adam Hetrick’s Playbill article.

Springfield sites gussy up for company
Back here in Illinois, we’re making news, too. Several of our Springfield Lincoln sites are getting all fancied up for Lincoln’s upcoming birthday. Read about the redecorating at the Lincoln home and at the nearby James Morse house. Thanks to two of our great State Journal-Register journalists, Bruce Rushton and Mike Kienzler, for sharing these stories.

Mike is also a blogger. Check out his cool ALO blog, and don’t forget to add it to your list of “must click” Lincoln sites.

Lincoln’s Home is also a “Give a Lincoln for Lincoln” benefactor.

© Copyright 2008 Ann Tracy Mueller. All rights reserved.