Logan County and Illinois celebrate Lincoln's Birthday

Local residents in attendance for Obama speech

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[February 13, 2009]  Yesterday, Logan County and the entire United States celebrated the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth. The courthouse rotunda in Lincoln was the site for the local celebration, with a wreath presentation at 11 a.m.

Terry Carlton, county board chairman, welcomed everyone, and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mayor Beth Davis-Kavelman. The West Lincoln-Broadwell junior high choir was on hand for two performances. Wanda Lee Rohlfs presented the wreath. A bicentennial limited edition print No. 150 was presented to the county board, and No. 200 was presented to the city council. Several local dignitaries were on hand for the event, which was sponsored by Main Street Lincoln's Looking for Lincoln committee: Rohlfs, Jackie Baker, Paul Beaver and Theresa Richert.

Around the county, the Mount Pulaski Courthouse State Historic Site served refreshments from noon to 4 p.m. in honor of the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln. Also celebrating was the Mount Pulaski Township Historical Society, which hosted a public celebration at the museum from 10 a.m. to noon and honored museum volunteers.

National attention was brought to Lincoln, Ill., as the community was featured during a late-morning segment on CNN. The mayor and Logan County historian Paul Gleason were featured in the footage as well as some well-known sites in Lincoln: the giant penny wall mural downtown, the Railsplitter Covered Wagon and the interior of Lincoln Heritage Museum at Lincoln College.

To cap off the day's events, several local residents headed to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Springfield to attend the gala event honoring Abraham Lincoln. Mr. and Mrs. Paul Beaver, Mr. and Mrs. Jack Bartelmay, Ron Keller and Geoff Ladd, as well as Lincoln's mayor and several city council members, attended the celebration with President Obama as the guest of honor.

A news release from Ladd, director of the Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau of Logan County, said: "It was a great honor to be a part of the celebration that would be shared with the entire country."

Bicentennial events continue throughout the year in Lincoln and Logan County. The tourism bureau's annual dinner on April 17 at the Maple Club in Lincoln will feature a program by Jim Shay, a Springfield Lincoln art and photography collector, entitled "The Many Faces of Abe." For more information, contact the bureau at 217-732-8687.

[Special report from GEOFF LADD, Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau of Logan County]