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At the Saturday afternoon
dedication of the new Civil War soldier statue on Lincoln's
courthouse square, several local dignitaries were on hand, including
several members of the Logan County Board, Mayor Keith Snyder,
Alderwoman Joni Tibbs, tourism director Geoff Ladd, Main Street
Lincoln director Wanda Lee Rohlfs, members of the Logan County
Genealogical & Historical Society, members of Legion Post 263 and more.
Also among the crowd were state Reps. Rich Brauer and
Bill Mitchell, along with Sen. Larry Bomke.
All three offered comments to the crowd, with Bomke delivering a
moving keynote address.
This April 12 will be the 150th anniversary of the first shots
fired at Fort Sumter, S.C., thus beginning the Civil War.
The war spanned five Aprils and is considered to have ended with the
surrender of Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865, though the date of
the last shot is reported to have occurred in June of that year.
In his address Bomke talked about those who fought and died and the
cause they cared deeply about.
"Many men of Logan County gave their lives, and we owe them a great
debt of gratitude," Bomke said.
"The man on this statue does not represent any one particular
person. Instead it represents all the men who fought to allow this
great country to grow and to flourish.
"They were farmers, laborers and field hands," he continued. "They
were fathers, sons, husbands and friends.
"Most of all they were men who believed in a cause and cared enough
for their country to sacrifice their lives to give it a chance to
survive. They were everyday people, just like you and I, who stood
up and became extraordinary when they chose to fight and protect
the ideas of their country.”
Reporting by Nila Smith.
Pictures by Nila Smith and Mike Fak
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