First ‘Coffee with the Curator’ features Sarah Watson of the Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition

 

[July 03, 2018] 

LINCOLN 

On Friday morning, the first Coffee with the Curator event hosted by the Lincoln Heritage Museum was held at the Guesthouse in Downtown Lincoln. Approximately a dozen guests joined LHM curator Anne Moseley and her special guest Sarah Watson for coffee and a chance to visit with Mosely and hear about the Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition from Watson.

Among those in attendance were members of the public, faculty and staff from Lincoln College, including Alderman Ron Keller, who was on hand in a dual role as a member of city government and college faculty; volunteers at the college’s museum, and board and staff members from the Logan County Tourism Bureau.

In 1998, the Lincoln Heritage Coalition was established as an organization that would work to preserve and promote Illinois’ rich history with Abraham Lincoln. In 2008, 42 Illinois counties, stretching across the central part of the state from its east to west boundaries, were established to be part of the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area. Since that time, the Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition has worked to promote the Heritage area, and help communities within its boundaries to spur on economic growth through tourism.

On Friday, one interesting tidbit Watson shared about the Heritage Area is that of all the nationally designated areas across the United States, the Abraham Lincoln Heritage Area is the only one that has been designated based on the life of a person.

Mosely added to that saying that of the 49 National Heritage areas in the country, the ALNHA is the most active in its work to bring tourism into its area.

Watson spoke about the most recent efforts to connect Abraham Lincoln and Route 66 tourism. She noted that in Illinois outside of Chicago, Abraham Lincoln and Route 66 are the top two reasons tourists come to Illinois. She said that is a big key to tourism for Logan County because we have an abundant supply of both Lincoln and Route 66 attractions.

Watson said that bringing in tourists is proven to spur economic growth and that growth spurs the local economy through sales tax in particular. She noted that in Logan County, the community of Atlanta has embraced its Route 66 roots and exploited it as a tourist attraction. As a result they have seen a 50 percent increase in sales tax revenues during the tourist season.

Watson said that the key to bringing in tourists is to draw them for a specific reason, for example to see the LHM, but then give them a reason to stay by showing them what else is offered nearby. For example, an itinerary could be developed that could be given to guests at the museum that simply put says “while you’re here, visit these other Lincoln attractions.”

Mosely also spoke about creating an itinerary for multiple days stay using the city of Lincoln as a “hub” for day trips. She said it could be a good sale because overnight stays in Lincoln are less expensive, food is less expensive, and many of the attractions offered here in town are free. She said a multiple day itinerary could be marketed as stay in Lincoln, visit our sights, stay overnight and on day two visit Springfield. Come back to Lincoln and stay the night, then on the third day visit the Bloomington area, and so on and so forth.

It was also mentioned that while Atlanta has done a wonderful job of exploiting Route 66, there are multiple Route 66 attractions in the county, including attractions in Lincoln and Elkhart. Watson said that was an excellent example of a place where a Route 66 itinerary could and should be put together. The itineraries could be printed but could also be posted on the Tourism website.

Watson also spoke about the Signature Events the LFL helps promote within the area. Currently, the LFL recognizes signature events held annually in Bloomington, Lake Pittsfield, Quincy and Springfield. Included in the criteria for a signature event is that the event focuses on “interpreting the life and times of Lincoln by creating an education, authentic, and unique visitor experience that brings the Lincoln story to life,” - from the LFL brochure.

The question was posed could the National Railsplitting Fesitval held in Lincoln each fall qualify? Moseley said she didn’t think it would because the number of visitors coming in for the festival is not as high as the LFL would like. She noted though that the annual Pigs & Swigs Festival could have components added to reflect Abraham Lincoln and then it would possibly qualify.

It was mentioned that this year there was a sidebar event held at the Lincoln Depot during Pigs & Swigs. On Saturday at Pigs & Swigs, the tourism bureau provided a Lincoln interpreter who started his day handing out watermelon slices outside the depot close to the Lincoln Christening site. The interpreter also spent time on a walk-about downtown, visiting with folks and posing for pictures. Inside the building, 1850’s crafters, those often found at the Railsplitter Festival, were offering up demonstrations of their handy work and talking about how their crafts would have had value in the days of Abraham Lincoln.

Watson said that was a good start for setting the Pigs & Swigs Festival as a signature event.

Other information shared on Friday was that LFL will pay up to $750 for Lincoln interpreters. She said that the Mount Pulaski Courthouse utilizes that often for their Lincoln Birthday events. The LFL also has tents that can be borrowed for tourism events.

Watson talked about a new virtual tour project that is just now getting off the ground. She said that a friend who is a filmmaker is working on an idea and once it is perfected, it will be shared with the entire district so that local communities can use this as a tool to attract visitors.

She encouraged the tourism bureau to use the local newspapers as well as social media, and explained that Facebook is no longer the preferred social media source among younger people. Mosely added that there is an application called ‘Hootsuite’ that allows the user to create one “post” that is distributed to multiple social media sources simultaneously.

Mosely reminded the group that LFL offers a “Gateway Stamp” for tourists, and that LHM is the stamp location for Lincoln. When visitors come to an attraction looking for their stamp, they should be referred to the museum.

In total, the meeting lasted more than an hour with a lot of information exchanged between Watson and members of the tourism bureau. At the end of the meeting, Watson encouraged the bureau to become more active in the LFL Coalition and to take advantage of the marketing tools that are provided through the LFL.

As the day came to an end, Moseley said that the July Coffee with the Curator will feature Abraham Lincoln historian and author Guy Fraker. Fraker has done extensive research and writing on Abraham Lincoln in his pre-presidential years in Illinois. Among his titles is his book published in the last year “A Guide to Lincoln’s Eighth Judicial Circuit.”

[Nila Smith]