For Lincoln scholars heading to Springfield

Within the next few days, Lincoln scholars from hither and yon will be boarding airplanes, getting in rental cars and finding themselves in cities across the country, all with one common goal – to share their passion for and knowledge of the 16th President and join in the celebration of his 200th birthday. Many will be heading to the heart of Illinois to celebrate Lincoln’s birthday in the town he called home for most of his adult life, Springfield.

I’ll be there, too.

To those who devote their lives to Lincoln
I’ve met a number of you before – or at least have heard you speak. I was at the opening symposium for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum and the Lincoln Colloquium at Knox College last fall. I've attended a number of Lincoln lectures in Central Illinois. I hope to meet even more of you next week.

I don’t have a firm itinerary yet, but I’d love to visit with any who have a few minutes to share their perspective on Lincoln and the celebration with my readers. If you’re interested, please reply in the comments section of my blog with your email address or preferred contact information. I moderate all my comments and won’t post your personal contact information.

I’ll be back in touch within 24 hours to acknowledge your message and in touch again once my itinerary is firm.

Thanks to all of you for coming to Illinois to make the celebration even more special, and thanks in advance for getting back with me.

Thank you – four months and still counting

This blog, Lincoln Buff 2, was born of passion and on a whim a little more than four months ago. I was taking a course about Abraham Lincoln at my local community college, learning tons and itching to share my passion for our 16th president. For several years, I’d hoped to be doing something to promote Lincoln as the bicentennial of his birth approached on Feb. 12, 2009. This seemed to be an ideal way.

So, what’s happening with this venture to date? I’ve written more than 60 articles and the blog has had nearly 1,000 visits from more than 400 unique visitors. They’re located in over 220 cities in 38 states and the District of Columbia. Visitors hail from 13 different countries and five continents. I don’t know what you think, but this is pretty exciting to me. I even have some return visitors who read the blog regularly.

I’ve received kind words, research help, encouragement and thanks from teachers, Lincoln buffs, fellow bloggers and even some leading Lincoln scholars. To all who visit I say, “Thanks. Tell your friends. Let’s keep spreading the word about Lincoln and make his 200th birthday a smashing success.”

And, by the way, if you know any Lincoln buffs in Africa or Antarctica, please ask them to visit the blog. Does anyone know - do they even have Internet in Antarctica?

Thanks again. I appreciate your visits and I plan to keep on keepin’ on. Ann

Blog topics you may have missed through Nov. 18

If you’re like most people, your life is busy. You may have every intention of making regular visits to the websites or blogs you enjoy, but you may not make it as often as you’d like. In the process, you miss some of the blog posts you may have enjoyed.

I’ve been blogging for several weeks now and have posted more than 20 articles. I thought it might be helpful if every few weeks I do a “topics you may have missed” piece. This covers articles from the birth of the blog through Nov. 18, 2008.

If you think this is helpful, please check one of the Reaction checkboxes at the end of this article.

In the meantime, you might have missed articles:

• Celebrating First Lady Laura Bush’s visit to Hodgenville, Kentucky
• Guiding you to Lincoln or Illinois-related books by John Hallwas, Brian Dirck and Edward Steers, Jr., Harold Holzer, Gary Ecelbarger, Joshua Wolf Shenk and others
• Describing Lincoln-related events in Springfield, Galesburg and Bloomington
• Discussing the challenges and tools of and offering tips for Lincoln research
• Highlighting schools and universities where students are immersed in Lincoln studies
• Congratulating those who’ve reached milestones in their scholarly journeys or received honors for their Lincoln-related work
• Celebrating Ford’s Theatre honors and a Lincoln painting donated to a Petersburg, Ill. museum
• Encouraging people to celebrate the bicentennial by learning about Lincoln in a variety of ways
• Discussing the Lincoln Forum symposium and noting the discovery of a possible Lincoln letter
• Alerting readers to Matthew Pinsker’s cautions about a team of rivals
• Informing about Lincoln site renovations in Springfield

Remember, this time of bicentennial celebration will never be equaled by any in our lifetimes for opportunities to celebrate and learn about Lincoln. You can find a couple of great calendars of bicentennial happenings across the country at these websites:

• Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission
• Abraham Lincoln Online

© Copyright 2008 Ann Tracy Mueller. All rights reserved.

I’ll be back…

Thanks to all the visitors who’ve stopped at my blog over the past month. I’ve enjoyed doing it. I hope you’ve learned a thing or two and found value or enjoyment here. I’ve got some other obligations coming up at home so I won’t be blogging for the next couple weeks. That doesn’t mean the rest of you should pull away from the Lincoln world, though. And, don’t worry, I will be back!

Don’t let the bicentennial pass you by
Make the most of your time as a Lincoln buff. There are plenty of new Lincoln books you can get lost in. Lincoln scholars will be doing book signings. Communities will offer Lincoln-related events. You can learn where Lincoln things are happening by visiting Abraham Lincoln Online or the Lincoln Bicentennial website. Remember the celebration of Lincoln’s 200th birthday only comes once – and we’ve got the opportunity to savor it!

Lincoln at Gettysburg – and maybe you, too
If you’re really lucky, you’re already a Lincoln scholar and you’ll be at the 13th Annual Lincoln Forum Symposium in Gettysburg from Nov. 16-18, 2008 and the Town of Gettysburg Remembrance Day Activities on Nov. 19. If, like me, you can’t make it to Gettysburg, you can watch the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission Dedication Day Ceremony on C-SPAN on Nov. 19 (the 145th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address). Check the C-SPAN website or your local program schedule for the time, still to be announced.

Tell me how you’re learning about Lincoln
If you enjoy my blog, I’d love to hear from you. And, if you go to Gettysburg for the Forum, I’d love to hear about it. Please use the comments function. If you don’t see yours posted right away, be patient. When I can get time to review them, I’ll post them for the rest of my readers to see. I really do appreciate your feedback.

Thanks for visiting. Talk to you again soon. Ann

© Copyright 2008 Ann Tracy Mueller. All rights reserved.

Hold on for more Holzer

Famed Lincoln author does it again
There are more books written about Abraham Lincoln than anyone except Jesus Christ, and a New York man is the author, co-author or editor of more than 30 of them. Please join me in congratulating Harold Holzer on his latest - Lincoln President-Elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Secession Winter 1860-1861 - published by Simon & Schuster and in bookstores this week. It’s already receiving accolades from leading Lincoln scholars.

I first “met” Harold Holzer in 1998, when I had the opportunity to review his book, The Lincoln Mailbag: America Writes to the President, 1861-1865 for The State Journal-Register. It was my second book review and Holzer’s eleventh book. It was seven years before I was to meet the author in person – at an event we’ll both always remember.

An event of historic proportion
Holzer was one of the speakers at the scholarly conference, Lincoln in the 21st Century, at the dedication of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Ill. in April 2005. The roster of speakers at the conference was a Who’s Who of Lincoln scholars, with more than 20 world-renowned scholars presenting. Holzer was on a three-generation panel with a patriarch of Lincoln scholars, David Herbert Donald, and Donald’s protégé and former grad assistant, Matthew Pinsker. The event was moderated by Brian Lamb of C-SPAN.

I got to meet Holzer that weekend and also got to ask a question of the three-generation panel. Today I can’t remember the exact words I used back then, but it was something like, “Do you think it is possible for someone to begin studying Lincoln this late in life and become knowledgeable enough to gain the respect of scholars such as these?” C-SPAN was taping that day, so the memory of the broadcast tapes is surely more accurate than my own.

The three scholars – and Lamb – could not have been more encouraging. Their advice: “Get involved in the Lincoln world. Attend events such as this one. No, it’s not too late.”

And the list goes on
Holzer’s life since that day in Springfield has been more productive than mine. He’s co-authored or edited twenty more books since that one I reviewed in 1998 – 31 in all:

• The Lincoln Image (1984)


• Changing the Lincoln Image (1985)


• The Confederate Image, (1987)


• The Lincoln Family Album (1990)


• Lincoln on Democracy (1990)


• Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: The Civil War in Art (1993)


• The Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1993)


• Washington and Lincoln Portrayed (1993)


• Dear Mr. Lincoln: Letters to the President (1993)


• Witness to War (1996)


• The Civil War Era (1996)


• The Lincoln Mailbag: America Writes to the President (1998)


• The Union Preserved (1999)


• The Lincoln Forum: Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg, and the Civil War (1999)


• Lincoln as I Knew Him (1999)


• The Union Image (2000)


• Lincoln Seen and Heard (2000)


• Abraham Lincoln, The Writer (2000)


• Prang's Civil War: The Complete Battle Chromos of Louis Prang (2001)


• State of the Union: New York and the Civil War (2002)


• The Lincoln Forum: Rediscovering Abraham Lincoln ( 2002)


• The President is Shot! The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (2004)


• Lincoln At Cooper Union: The Speech That Made Abraham Lincoln President (2004)


• Lincoln in the Times: The Life of Abraham Lincoln as Originally Reported in the New York Times (2005)


• The Battle of Hampton Roads (2006)


• The Emancipation Proclamation: Three Views (2006)


• Lincoln in the Collections of the Indiana Historical Society (2006)


• Lincoln and Freedom (2007)


• Lincoln Revisited (2007)


• Lincoln's White House Secretary: The Adventurous Life of William O.Stoddard (2007)

Holzer is also the author of several hundred articles on Lincoln, has served in an advisory capacity to more Lincoln projects than anyone could fathom and has won numerous honors for his work. See his website to learn more. It’s only fitting and proper that Holzer is a co-chair of the United States Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.

Late-blooming scholar
But more memorable than any of the words Holzer has set in type are the words of encouragement to an aging baby boomer wanting to pursue a dream. In essence, he said, “Do it.”

Today, I’m taking a class about Lincoln, attending Lincoln-related events and using this blog to celebrate the 16th President and those who so passionately share their passion for him. Who says it’s too late to follow your heart?

Thanks, Harold, for encouraging me to listen to mine, and congratulations!

© Copyright 2008 Ann Tracy Mueller. All rights reserved.

Road tripping with Lincoln in Illinois

Ever read a blog or a social networking site, listened to a voice mail or received an email out of office message where the person says, "I'm on the road this week"? I always thought that sounded so cool!

I've been "on the road" with Abraham Lincoln lately and it's been quite an experience. Okay, not really with him, but certainly pursuing his legacy.

Events aplenty
Thanks to the upcoming bicentennial of Lincoln's birth, central Illinois has been a great place to be a Lincoln buff - especially these last few weeks. A person would have to be nearly super-human to make it to all the events, but I've done my best to try to achieve that stature - four events in six days!

Immersed in Lincoln
As a student in the class which Heartland College is offering to commemorate the Bicentennial, History 296: The Life and Times of Abraham Lincoln, taught by Dr. Scott Rager, I spend one evening each week immersed in Lincoln in the classroom and countless other hours reading my lesson and learning as much as I can outside of class. Yes, it has become somewhat of an obession!

Buss-Connors as Lincoln-Douglas
The Lincoln-Douglas Debate Reunion Tour 2008 has had George Buss as Lincoln and Tim Connors as Stephen A. Douglas traveling throughout the state. If you get a chance sometime, please go see them. You'll be glad you did.

I saw Buss and Connors at the historic Normal Theatre on Sept. 24 and at Galesburg on Oct. 4 for the anniversary celebration of the Galesburg debate. They've hit all the other 1858 debate sites this fall, as well. On Oct. 16, Buss will portray Lincoln for a modern day press conference at the Pettengill-Morron House in Peoria. I hope to make it to that event, too.

Scholars present
Last Saturday's colloquium at Knox was fantastic (see my Oct. 11 blog post) and tonight I was at the University of Illinois in Springfield for the Lincoln Legacy Lecture series with Drs. Silvana Siddali and Jennifer Weber presenting. This isn't the first time I've heard these two brilliant Lincoln scholars present, and I intend not to let it be the last. The event was moderated by Order of Lincoln honoree Thomas Schwartz, Illinois Historian, whose work with the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and many other Lincoln-related organizations is inspirational. Watch my future posts for information on these Lincoln experts, areas of their Lincoln scholarship and links to their books.

I'll also try to tell you a little more about all of the Order of Lincoln honorees I've met in the past week, their contributions to the Lincoln legacy and their publications. Watch for future posts.

My assignment
In the meantime, I'm taking some time off the road for my own scholarly work. (Wow, I always wanted to say that!) I'll be working on a paper on Abraham Lincoln and his mentors. I've had great mentors myself - in work and in academia - so I was drawn to this subject. I think the topic definitely has relevance today.

Your assignment
Okay, all readers, here's your assignment. Think of a mentor you've had who has inspired you, helped you grow and guided you to new heights. Please feel free to use the comments function to share your story. (I do review all comments before posting, so you may not see them until the following day.)

Lincoln scholars, I know we've got budding scholars reading this post, especially my young friends in the Lincoln Seminar class at Galesburg High School. Like me, they admire you and your work. Please tell them about the mentors who inpired you.

© Copyright 2008 Ann Tracy Mueller. All rights reserved.