Nature and haiku poetry
to be featured in reading

[JUNE 26, 2002]  Two award-winning poets will present a varied program of readings and discussions at 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 27, at Coffee With Einstein, 201 S. Sangamon in Lincoln. The program will feature the husband-and-wife team Penny Harter and William J. Higginson.

Harter, who has received national recognition for her poems on nature themes, will share poems from some of her 16 published collections, as well as new work. Higginson, an internationally acknowledged author and lecturer on the brief Japanese nature poems called haiku, will include translations from his several books on the subject, as well as reading some of his own original work in English. The reading is sponsored Modern Haiku and the Vachel Lindsay Association. An open mic session will follow. This is the inaugural program in the "Poetry with Einstein" poetry reading series.

Harter’s poems reflecting the natural environments of the Northeast and Southwest have won repeated inclusion in the annual volumes of the "American Nature Writing" series established by the Sierra Club. She recently received the first William O. Douglas Nature Writing Award, for her poems in the 2002 volume. She is also fascinated with human cultures and has written poems based on Japanese and Tibetan life. She will round out her portion of the program with poems dealing with family relationships and social consciousness, including some of the environmental and human problems of our time.

Higginson has translated a wide variety of traditional Japanese poems, including the brief, season-based haiku, the lyric tanka and the collaborative linked poems composed by groups of poets who hold parties to write together. He will share these, as well as his own haiku and haibun (haiku-prose) in English. His reading will also include some of his longer poems on family relationships.

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In addition, the pair will read from the haiku journal of their previous cross-country drive through Lincoln, 11 years ago. Harter and Higginson return to Lincoln to once again visit their friend Lee Gurga, poet and editor of Modern Haiku, the leading magazine in its field. They are traveling cross-country from Santa Fe, N.M., to their new home in New Jersey.

Both authors have written numerous books, including Harter’s "Turtle Blessing," "Lizard Light.Poems from the Earth" and "Buried in the Sky" and Higginson’s "The Haiku Seasons," "Haiku World" and "Over the Wave: Selected Haiku of Ritsuo Okada." They collaborated on "The Haiku Handbook — How to Write, Share, and Teach Haiku," one of the most widely read books on the subject. Many of their books will be available for sale at the end of the program.

Coffee With Einstein is located at 201 S. Sangamon in downtown Lincoln. Phone: (217) 735-5282.

For information concerning the program, please contact Modern Haiku editor Lee Gurga, phone (217) 732-8731; e-mail gurga@ccaonline.com.

[News release]

Click below for more information on the poets:

• Penny Harter

• William J. Higginson

Penny Harter has published 16 books of poetry, six since 1994. The most recent are "Grandmother’s Milk" (Singular Speech Press), "Shadow Play: Night Haiku" (Simon & Schuster), "Stages and Views" (Katydid Books/U. Hawaii Press), "Turtle Blessing" (La Alameda Press/U. New Mexico Press), "Lizard Light: Poems from the Earth" (Sherman Asher Publishing) and "Buried in the Sky" (La Alameda Press).

Known for both longer poems and haiku, she is the recipient of awards and fellowships from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the Haiku Society of America and the Poetry Society of America. She recently received the first William O. Douglas Nature Writing Award for her poems in the anthology "American Nature Writing 2002." She is listed in "Who’s Who in the West," and her autobiographical essay about becoming a writer appeared originally in Volume 28 of the "Contemporary Authors Autobiography Series" and was reprinted in the regular "Contemporary Authors" series in 1999.

Her work appears in numerous anthologies and literary magazines worldwide and has been translated into Dutch, French, Japanese, Korean, Polish and Romanian, She has presented readings, talks and workshops from coast to coast at venues such as the Georgia O’Keefe Museum, Santa Fe, N.M.; the Border Book Festival, Las Cruces, N.M.; Haiku North America, in various cities; and the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival, Waterloo Village, N.J.; and in Japan.

Contact information: Penny Harter, P.O. Box 2740, Santa Fe, NM 87504; (505) 438-3249; penhart@att.net.

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William J. Higginson has been a leading figure in the North American haiku movement since his first small book of translations from Japanese appeared in 1968. "Twenty-Five Pieces of Now" was followed in 1971 by the first book of critical essays about haiku in English, "Itadakimasu: Essays on Haiku and Senryu in English," which received one of the first Haiku Society of America Merit Book Awards.

Since these early efforts, Higginson has published three of the leading books in the field: "The Haiku Handbook: How to Write, Share, and Teach Haiku" (McGraw-Hill, 1985), "The Haiku Seasons: Poetry of the Natural World" and "Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac" (both Kodansha International, 1996). In addition, he has published two volumes of longer poems, a book of haiku and an international anthology of haiku for children. His longer poems and haiku, as well as translations and articles, have appeared in magazines and anthologies worldwide and on the Internet. He is also the volunteer editor of the "Haiku and Related Forms" section of the Open Directory, the world’s largest actively edited directory of Internet sites.

Higginson is also known internationally as a speaker and reader of poetry, and has given keynote addresses at conferences in Tokyo, San Francisco, Duluth and Boston. For 10 years he made his living as a visiting poet in the National Endowment for the Arts Writers in the Schools Program, and he has led workshops and literary events at community centers, colleges, schools and Y’s in the United States, Canada and Japan.

Contact information: William J. Higginson, P.O. Box 2740, Santa Fe, NM 87504; (505) 438-3249; wordfield@att.net.

[News release]

6-26-02

To the editor:

We all want the tax dollars we pay to the state to be used wisely, don’t we? Of course we do. But are they being used wisely by the state treasurer’s office?

Many Illinois municipalities participate in a pooled investment program run by the treasurer’s office. This fund is called "The Illinois Funds." Records from the auditor general and state comptroller show that at the time the current state treasurer, Judy Baar Topinka, took office in 1995 the number of employees in the treasurer’s office was 16. During Ms. Topinka’s term that number rose to 39. It has recently dropped back to 37. Was it necessary for Ms. Topinka to more than double the number of employees in her office to run this program?

The Democratic candidate for state treasurer, state Rep. Tom Dart, thinks not. He believes Treasurer Topinka should return at least $1.5 million in fees to local governments that participate in this program. He wonders whether Ms. Topinka is unnecessarily stockpiling money to add unneeded staff and unnecessary spending to her office budget. We should all wonder.

In these economic hard times in the state of Illinois, state workers, businesses that provide services and products to the state, and many citizens who are dependent on state programs, are being asked to sacrifice. Meanwhile the governor’s staff gets raises, and spending in the treasurer’s office skyrockets.

It is time for a change. The state treasurer should no longer be allowed to spend like there is no tomorrow while ordinary citizens of Illinois suffer. Tom Dart will manage your tax dollars wisely and control spending in his own office. Elect Tom Dart Illinois state treasurer. 

Steven J. Holtz

6-26-02

To the editor:

THANK YOU to all the businesses who helped with, donated to, or attended the benefit for Ryan Donley:

K of C, Guzzardo’s, IGA, Waterstreet Catering, LCHS cafeteria staff, MKS, Cookie’s Bakery, Franz Express, Hallmark, Treasure Chest, Jim and Nancy Ireland, Jimmy John’s, Eagle Country Market, NAPA, Blades, Kandy Korn -- Dan and Christa Stauder, AutoZone, Big R;

Images, Glenn Brunk Stationers, The Tannery, Cape Landing Salon, Brandt’s Arcade Café, Arcade Hair Creations -- Pam Mattson, Steak-N-Shake, SunSpot, Northgreens Golf Course, Time Out, Sports Plus, Mitchell-Newhouse, Family Video, Cracker Barrel, Abe’s Carmelcorn, Deb Theobald, Laraine Gardner, Weddings by Crystal;

The Feldman family, Shirley Curry, Doris Curry, Dena and Aaron Bergman, Ritchhart Family -- Shirley Awe, Linda Franz, Clark gas station, Jim Simmons, Matt and Teresa Young, Jerry Berglin, J & S Auto, Lincoln Daily News

A special thanks to all the people who came and helped out with the benefit in any way. Also to anyone whom we may have inadvertently forgotten.

Sincerely,

Daphne Donley

Chris and Margie Donley

Barb and Tom Winegardner

(Jackie McCray and Shannon McCray)

The family of Ryan J. Donley would like to extend our deepest appreciation for your countless prayers and expressions of sympathy given to our family during our loss of Ryan. We have found much comfort in the countless cards, flowers, calls, visits, donations and gifts of the heart. Many of you we know personally, many we do not. It is wonderful to see so many caring people willing to help in any way that they can when you need it. When your whole life has been devastated, it is reassuring to see such human kindness in this day and age. It certainly gives you hope that tomorrow will be brighter. I don’t know how we would have made it through such a difficult time without all of you. You are our blessings from God.

Love,

Daphne Donley

Chris and Margie Donley

Barb and Tom Winegardner

Weekly outlook: Reports and prices

[JUNE 26, 2002]  URBANA — Weather conditions and crop prospects will be the dominating price factors for the next few months, said a University of Illinois Extension marketing specialist.

"U.S. corn and soybean yield prospects may be the most important price factors, but developments in other areas will also be critically important," said Darrel Good. "In particular, the market is taking note of dry conditions in Australia, flooding in parts of China and Russia, and the slow development of the monsoon in India.

"For coarse grains, world production has been at a relatively high level since 1995-96. Individual countries have had shortfalls in production, but the U.S. has had consistently large crops since 1996."

For wheat, Good added, world production has been relatively large since the consecutive small crops of 1994-95 and 1995-96.

"The current relatively low level of U.S. and world stocks and the generally low prices of wheat and coarse grains suggest that production shortfalls could have significant price impacts," he said. "The market is beginning to reflect production concerns, but price action may be relatively conservative until the U.S. crops reach the critical reproductive stages of growth."

Good’s comments came as he reviewed the markets where corn and soybean prices continue to demonstrate seasonal strength, influenced by a high rate of consumption and U.S. and world crop concerns.

For soybeans, both the domestic crush and exports continue at a pace above that projected by the USDA. The expected return of China to the import market should keep the pace of U.S. exports high, especially in the light of continued problems in Argentina.

"Based on the USDA’s weekly export inspection report, U.S. exports through June 20 were 5 percent larger than cumulative shipments of a year ago," said Good. "For the year, the USDA has projected a 3.5 percent increase. Unshipped sales as of June 13 totaled some 97.5 million bushels, compared to 74.2 million bushels of outstanding sales on the same date last year.

"Similarly, the cumulative domestic crush during the first three quarters of the marketing year is estimated at 1.3 billion bushels, 4.7 percent larger than the crush during the same period last year. For the year, the USDA has projected an increase of 3.3 percent."

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Good said that for corn, the pace of exports compared to that of last year, accelerated in the second and third quarters of the marketing year. The USDA’s export inspection report indicated that cumulative shipments as of June 20 were 3 percent larger than the total of a year ago. However, unshipped sales as of June 13 totaled 252.5 million bushels, compared to 290.1 million on the same date last year. For the year, the USDA projects that exports will reach 1.925 billion bushels, 10 million less than shipments of a year ago.

"Corn exports were very large during the summer of 2001," said Good. "The recent rapid pace of shipments will have to continue if the USDA projection is to be reached."

The USDA’s June Grain Stocks report will be released on June 28. The market will use the June 1 corn stocks estimate to gauge the rate of domestic use of corn during the third quarter of the marketing year.

"If the pace of consumption was in line with the USDA projection, June 1 stocks of corn should have been near 3.67 billion bushels, about 250 million less than on the same date last year," said Good. "Soybean stocks on June 1 should have been near 690 million bushels, based on the estimates of use during the third quarter of the year."

In addition to the grain stocks report, the market will have considerable interest in the acreage report to be released on the same date.

"Late planting, particularly in the eastern Corn Belt, suggests that the acreage report will reflect a fair amount of intentions rather than actual plantings," said Good. "Still, the report will be an important benchmark for judging the final planted acreage of the major crops. The market expects the report to show a significant switch from corn to soybean acreage due to the lateness of the planting season in some areas.

"The report is also expected to reflect failed wheat acres being planted to other crops. Some private analysts have projected a significant increase in sorghum acreage, compared to March intentions, due to replanting of failed wheat acreage. In addition to the acreage of individual crops, the report will give some perspective on the magnitude of abandoned acreage."

[U of I news release]

[JUNE 26, 2002]  ^"Shoeless Joe and Me." Dan Gutman. HarperCollins, 2002. 163 pages. Grades 4-7.

Joe Stoshack is 13 and plays baseball for the "big league." Well, that doesn’t mean major league, just that they’ve outgrown Little League. Not only does he play baseball, he’s a baseball fan and lives in Louisville, Ky., home of the Louisville Slugger Museum. Joe’s favorite hangout is Flip’s Fan Club, a little sports card shop where he has purchased many baseball cards.

Flip was watching Joe’s championship game the day he knew he was safe and the umpire called him out.

"It’s not fair! I was safe! If the ump hadn’t blown the call, we would have won the championship," Joe complained.

That was when Flip told Joe the story of another baseball player who may have been treated unfairly. He listened as Flip told about Shoeless Joe Jackson and the 1919 Chicago White Sox World Series game the players deliberately lost. Eight players were banned from baseball for the rest of their lives, but Flip thinks they didn’t deserve that fate, especially Shoeless Joe.

A plan begins to form in Joe’s mind. Using baseball cards, he has been successful traveling back in time to 1909, 1932 and 1947 for visits with Honus, Jackie and Babe. Why wouldn’t it work just one more time? His plan is to somehow prevent the scandal from happening and restore to Shoeless Joe the respect he deserves.

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Joe is successful in finding the right card to help him travel back to 1919 and lands on the other side of a wall that separates him from the gamblers. He is able to listen as they are planning the World Series fix. Because Shoeless is such a good hitter, they want to make sure he is in on the deal.

At just the wrong time Joe makes too much noise and is discovered by the gamblers. The action intensifies as Joe is chased, caught and locked in a closet.

Eventually, Joe does get to meet Shoeless Joe and tries to explain why he shouldn’t accept any money offered for a deal to lose the game.

Shoeless is presented as a player who plays for the love of the game and plays to win. Children will be fascinated with the mental and physical exercises he uses to prepare himself for each game and the special care of his bats, especially Black Betsy.

By the end of the story every reader will be wishing that he or she could travel back in time and change history for Shoeless.

There is also some humor in Gutman’s story as Joe Stoshack tries to adjust to life in the early 1900s when he wants to use his cell phone. The copies of photos and newspaper articles from the time period also add to the total package.

This book will be enjoyed by children in grades four through seven and should hold the attention of reluctant readers as well.

[Patricia Schlough, Lincoln Public Library District]

History and lessons offered in Underground Railroad signal quilts

History and lessons offered in Underground Railroad signal quilts

[JUNE xx, 2002]  Because of a recent surge of interest in Underground Railroad signal quilts, an exhibit of replicated quilts will be displayed in the rotunda of the Logan County Courthouse during Lincoln’s sesquicentennial celebration Aug. 21-31, 2003. Lessons on making these historic quilts will be offered monthly through next April.

 The history of the signal quilts dates to the days of slavery, in the low country of South Carolina. There, some blacks who were planning to escape their bondage were taught an intricate code of signals that would help them successfully complete their journey north to freedom.

The signals were pieced into colorful quilts that were displayed on the plantations prior to the trip as mnemonic devices, or reminders, of what they had learned, to increase their chances of success. Because quilts were such a common household item, they aroused no suspicion. The signals were "hidden in plain view."

The quilt code remained a highly guarded secret, passed down through oral tradition only to those deemed trustworthy. As time passed, fewer and fewer people remembered the code, and some of those who learned it considered it no longer important.

The late Ozella Williams of Charleston, S.C., was one of the people who learned the code from her grandmother and mother. Childless, Williams tried to share the code with a niece, who found no value in it. In her old age, seeking to complete her obligation to pass the code on, Williams shared the information with Denver writer Jacqueline Tobin.

Tobin teamed with quilter and historian Raymond Dobard to produce a book, "Hidden in Plain View," which became an overnight sensation in the quilting world. The book is available at Lincoln Public Library.

Sue Bidwell of Sew Many Friends quilt shop, 127 S. Kickapoo St., will give a series of lessons on preparing signal quilt blocks. All lessons will be presented from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. at Sew Many Friends. The shop is handicapped-accessible.

The lessons are for people who would like to learn about and make the signal quilt blocks, either to make into a quilt for the display or for their own pleasure. Quilters will retain ownership of the blocks they make.

Beginning quilters, as well as those with experience, are encouraged to participate in both the quilting workshops and the show. One class will be given for each of the 10 primary signal blocks listed in "Hidden in Plain View." Because of limited space, each class will be limited to 15 participants, who must preregister.

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The fee for each class is $5, which includes a free pattern and hands-on instructions. Each person who completes the class will receive a $5 gift certificate good for fabric from Sew Many Friends.

• Participants have the following choices: Buy a pre-cut quilt block kit at a cost of $5; or bring pre-washed and ironed fabric and cut the block pieces at the workshop. Those who plan to cut their own fabric should also bring a plastic ruler, rotary cutter and mat. Information on the shades and amount of fabric needed will be available when you register.

• Bring your own sewing machine, or bring a quilting needle and thimble and sew by hand.

• Each participant also should bring his or her own choice of thread, scissors, a ripper and a gallon-sized reclosable bag for storing the quilt pattern and pieces.

The quilt blocks will be completed in order of ease of sewing, rather than the order of the code. Lessons have been scheduled as follows:

• Bow Tie, July 14; reservation deadline July 6.

• Crossroads, Aug. 17; reservation deadline Aug. 10.

• Log Cabin, Sept. 15; reservation deadline Sept. 7.

• Bear’s Paw, Oct. 12, reservation deadline, Oct. 5.

• Flying Geese, Nov. 10, reservation deadline Nov. 2.

• Monkey Wrench, Dec. 14, reservation deadline Dec. 7.

• Drunkard’s Path, Jan. 12, reservation deadline Jan. 4.

• Double Wedding Ring, Feb. 15, reservation deadline Feb. 8.

• Wagon Wheel, March 16, reservation deadline March 8.

• The April 19 class will provide tips for setting the blocks together into a quilt top. Students will be responsible for quilting or tying their own quilts or having them quilted or tied.

[Thressia Usherwood,
Lincoln sesquicentennial publicity chairman]

[JUNE xx, 2002]  SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE — Two years ago, Chad Bryant of Lincoln left home to fulfill a lifetime dream of traveling.

Now he’s helping fight the war on terror.

"I always wanted to travel," Bryant said. "So, I got my associate’s degree from Lincoln College in 1998, I got married, joined the Air Force and left for training two months later.

"My wife and I even moved our wedding date up so we could get married before I left for basic training!

"But I had no idea at the time just how important my job would be."

He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Don Bryant of Lincoln.

It was a very big year for Bryant in 1999, and the pace has never slowed. Since his graduation from basic training — an event he considers one of his proudest achievements — Airman Bryant has had the opportunity to work in the long and winding halls of power at the Pentagon, a bit off the beaten path from Lincoln.

"My wife and I had a lot of fun in D.C.," Bryant said. "We got out of Illinois and got to see another part of the United States."

After assignment at the Pentagon, it was back to Illinois for a tour at U.S. Transportation Command — the military’s transportation center. Bryant is an intelligence systems administrator, responsible for ensuring computer servers are up and running, allowing the command’s 1,000-plus military men and women and civilians to communicate electronically at a moment’s notice. Information technology is of paramount importance in coordinating worldwide transportation and delivery of personnel and supplies for the military.

Almost all of the personnel and equipment delivered to fight Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, a land-locked country, was flown into that mountainous country by Transcom C-17s and C-130s. The effort required a great deal of traffic on computer systems handled by Bryant and others in his department.

"We sustain several main servers as well as hundreds of client workstations," he says. "I was never really into computers before, but that has changed. The Air Force gives you incredible training, and I was really enjoying my job."

Sept. 11 was something Bryant says he will never forget.

He was at work in the Communication Center at the transportation command when the terrorists hit the World Trade Center towers. The event changed his job and his view of its importance.

"I saw how vital my position is to the command. My work became more important, knowing that keeping lines of communication open for our command — and all the people who depend on us — rested partly upon my work," he said.

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Things have slowed down a bit since then as Bryant makes sure that the command’s information technology system gives us an edge in the war against terrorism.

After working often-long hours, Bryant spends most of his free time with his children, Isaiah, 2, and Brianna, 4 months.

"I’m always doing something with them, whether it is crawling around on the floor or completing a college education to provide them with a good example."

Bryant received his bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership from Greenville College this spring and planned to apply for Officer Training School. The Air Force will pay most of the bill for his college education.

Bryant says he would like to make the Air Force a lifetime career.

"I enjoy the challenge, and it is interesting meeting new people," he said. "I’ve learned from working within a joint command that each branch of service helps one another and how essential they are to one another’s success."

Bryant has been making a name for himself around the transportation command. The command is responsible for most air, land, and sea transportation needs worldwide for the Department of Defense. Recently, Bryant was selected as U.S. Transportation Command’s Junior Servicemember of the Quarter, an honor given only to the command’s most deserving servicemen and women.

His selection was based in part on his active community work, supporting the local Airman’s Attic, a charity providing various household items to military families — senior airman rank and below. Bryant also donates his time to various cancer walks in the St. Louis area.

"My parents are both survivors of cancer. I feel it is my responsibility to walk in honor of them," Bryant says. "I enjoy volunteer work because I know that my community was there for me during rough times. So, I am there to provide that same support."

And still on the airman’s mind is his continued desire to travel.

"I want to travel," he said "Italy is my first choice, but I am ready to go anywhere."

He will get his wish when his tour at Transcom ends in 2003. He will be deployed, and it will be far from Illinois.

In the military, that’s something Bryant knows he can count on.

[Kelly Thompson,
U.S. Transportation Command,
public affairs]

[JUNE xx, 2002]  ^"It’s fantastic! Fantastic!" said Lincoln College President Jack Nutt of the $2 million in additional capital funding for the school in the state budget approved by the General Assembly Sunday.

Nutt said he had received no word but assumes the money is an Illinois FIRST grant resulting from the letter he sent Gov. George Ryan six months ago. He emphasizes that the grant is "not a done deal" since it could still be removed. But since the General Assembly has adjourned and the governor approved the funding, Nutt is optimistic it won’t be removed or vetoed.

Nutt also said he does not know whether the grant is for the proposed museum, athletic center or unspecified "capital construction," as in the case of two previous Illinois FIRST grants totaling $1.1 million. If either of the last two is the case, Nutt said, he’s ready to "put the hole in the ground."

Once designed as a single structure, the proposed Lincoln College athletic center and museum now stand separate in architectural drawings. At graduation on May 11, Nutt formally kicked off the fund drive for the two buildings, with a substantial sum from individual and governmental sources already in the coffers.

The athletic and convocation center site is on Nicholson Road, just beyond where it bends off Ottawa Street. Tentatively called the Lincoln Center, the building includes a multipurpose gymnasium with bleacher seating for 1,000, wrestling area, offices for all members of the athletic department, locker rooms, a community fitness center, hall of fame and training room.

The proposed Lincoln College Museum is located on the corner of Keokuk and Ottawa, across from the college library, on the former site of the college tennis courts. The facade, including limestone columns and facing, is designed to remind the viewer of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum to be built in Springfield. "A stately museum to a stately president" is how curator Ron Keller puts it.

Though Nutt expects both structures to be built within a couple of years, the athletic center will come first because it directly affects the students. "We have to have the gym," Nutt said. The Davidson-Sheffer Gymnasium, in current use, was built in 1933.

The construction budget for both projects totals $6.5 million, with the athletic center accounting for $4.5 million. The college already had $4.5 million in May, Nutt said, but some of it is designated for scholarships and restricted gifts. Besides the fund drive and Illinois FIRST application, he has asked for a federal grant to cover approximately half the $2 million cost of the museum.

A factor in fund-raising is the proposed federal Charity Recovery and Empowerment Act, which has already passed the House of Representatives. Retroactive to Jan. 1, 2002, it provides for the conversion of IRAs to charitable purposes without tax consequences. If the Senate passes the bill, Nutt expects to raise any money he still needs in a short time.

Several reasons account for splitting the original building plan. First, Nutt said, vouchers for the first two Illinois FIRST grants totaling $1.1 million, which were expected to be earmarked for the museum, said capital construction instead, so the money can be used for the athletic center. The two checks have time limits ending in June and July of 2003. Second, the combined structure grew too large for its site. Finally, some donors prefer to support a separate museum.

Dennis Shoemaker of Diversified Buildings in Morton is architect for both projects. The athletic and convocation center comprises 40,000 square feet. Nutt said that with chairs on the floor the gymnasium will seat up to 3,000. Besides hosting graduation ceremonies and being home to Lynx teams, it can accommodate end-of-the-season tournaments.

Plans also include a fitness center with aerobic, cardiovascular and ergonomic equipment. Membership will be available to the public. A pet project of Nutt’s is the Logan County Hall of Fame, with photos of famous LC residents from a variety of fields, though he expects sports to predominate.

Nutt hopes to install a composition floor and dropped ceiling in Davidson-Sheffer Gymnasium and use it for a variety of purposes. Physical education classes, however, will be located in the new field house.

The 10,000-square-foot museum has an open design, specialized lighting and environmental controls to protect the collection. Separate rooms house the college’s rare-book collection and a 50-seat tiered lecture room, which will also be used for presentations to tour groups. Work areas, a vault and a kitchen complete the main floor. There is also a full basement.

Ron Keller, curator of the museum, is in no hurry to build. The museum must last for 50 years, he said, so it is important to take time and be sure all needs have been anticipated. Besides, Keller and assistant Paul Gleason, both at LC for about two years, have not yet completed inventorying the collection.

Most impressive to tourists are artifacts such as the rails split by Lincoln’s cousin John Hanks in 1830 and the replica of Lincoln’s chair in Ford’s Theatre. These three-dimensional objects are on display in the current museum in McKinstry Library.

However, the museum has many documents that are not displayed. These include letters from every member of Lincoln’s cabinet, correspondence between Lincoln and his eldest son, Robert Todd Lincoln, and documents from people ranging from Robert E. Lee to Frederick Douglass.

Although most of the collection deals with Lincoln’s presidential years, Keller plans to emphasize the young, unbearded, pre-presidential Lincoln in the new museum because that was the man who lived here. Tourists want to know Lincoln as he was in Logan County, Keller said.

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He sees the LC museum and the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield as "both in business doing the same thing — increasing awareness of Lincoln and educating the public." He and Nutt believe both will increase tourism in the area.

About 2,300 visitors toured the college museum last year, representing at least 30 states and five foreign countries. The single biggest month is May, with its many school tours, but the LC Parents Weekend logs the biggest day. Most school tours are elementary classes, with five scheduled this week. In summer, charter tours often have an Abraham Lincoln theme but sometimes focus on Route 66.

Admission is free and expected to remain so in the new structure. Keller said that because the museum has "so many great benefactors" it need not be self-sustaining. However, some revenue is generated by sale of items such as Lincoln busts and statues, beanbag Lincolns, prints, placemats, pens and pencils, toy soldiers, Lincoln penny earrings, and over 40 book titles.

In the new museum Keller plans exhibits consisting of panels using local sources, such as Lawrence Stringer’s 1911 "History of Logan County, Illinois," with Lloyd Ostendorf prints as background. Ostendorf was widely known for his depictions of Abraham Lincoln. The college owns one of his paintings, "Lincoln and the Women He Loved," showing portraits of Lincoln, his mother, stepmother and sister. Keller has obtained permission to use other prints from Ostendorf’s heirs, who he says are "quite excited" about the project.

The museum design allows space for rotating displays as well as the permanent collection. Nutt expects to see loaned exhibits from other institutions at least twice a year. "We send Lincoln artifacts to museums all over the world," he said, "so a lot of museums owe us." He envisions exhibits on various themes, not necessarily Lincoln-related, put together with pieces from several collections.

The LC museum’s collection contains a repository of presidents, including signatures of all U.S. presidents.

It also holds many Logan County articles and maps. These are mostly documents and not of high interest to tourists, but Keller does currently display a 1905 plat book and an 1800s document about building a road to Middletown. Artifacts of local interest include a table owned by Robert Latham and a chair from the Scully house. The new museum will have a somewhat larger local history display. Keller said this idea is still evolving.

For about a year the college museum has been home to the Edward Madigan Collection, consisting of papers dealing with the Lincoln native’s years as congressman and secretary of agriculture, books on state government and agriculture which he collected as a state representative, pictures, and some personal items. At the request of Madigan’s family a few books and letters were de-acquisitioned from the Bush Presidential Library. Again, the collection is not of high tourist interest but noteworthy in Logan County and Lincoln College history. Madigan was a 1955 graduate and trustee of the school. "It’s a priority in our minds" and worthy to be part of the permanent exhibition, Keller said, even though the display will not be large.

The Lincoln Group of Illinois, consisting of over 100 amateur Lincoln scholars currently based at Illinois Benedictine College in Lisle, is moving its headquarters to the LC museum in June. The group has some archives and produces a newsletter, which will be coordinated with the one published by the museum. Keller sees the move as a step toward creating a research center.

Although architectural drawings show stoplights and crosswalks at the intersection of Keokuk and Ottawa, Nutt does not anticipate much foot traffic across Keokuk. "I don’t view the museum as a part of the college," he explained, expecting most visitors to be tourists.

Keller, on the other hand, dreams of a museum and history program that will be a magnet for students. Rosemary Porter, Keller’s first student intern, has worked this year at "transcribing and documenting material on Logan County history and Civil War warrant records, researching and writing about Abraham Lincoln, assisting in the preparation of museum displays, and giving tours for visitors to the museum," he said. Her article on the Lincoln courtship appeared in the spring 2002 issue of the museum’s quarterly, The Lincoln Newsletter.

Ron Keller grew up in Newton, Ill., and earned baccalaureate and master’s degrees in history at Eastern Illinois University. He came to Lincoln College after teaching one year at the elementary level and six years in middle and high school. Besides being curator of the museum, he teaches four courses per semester in history and government.

Former Lincoln Junior High School history teacher Paul Gleason is assistant curator. Among other tasks, he researches and answers questions on local history. The two are organizing, cataloging and preserving materials on Logan County in the 1860s borrowed from the local courthouse. This project sparked collaboration on a book on Logan County soldiers in the Civil War. Gleason is currently writing an article to submit to The Lincoln Newsletter on how Logan County became involved in the war, the number of troops and their experience at Shiloh. He expects to use the article as prelude to the book.

After the museum’s move, its present quarters in McKinstry Library will become an art gallery, and the current Layman Gallery, with entrance beside the card catalog, will be absorbed into the college library.

[Lynn Shearer Spellman]

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