D. Leigh Henson named to District 27 'Distinguished Alumni'
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[April 23, 2013]
D. Leigh Henson's name is
well-known around Lincoln. He is the developer of the award-winning
website
findinglincolnillinois.com. The website is a community history
of the first Lincoln namesake town and is titled Mr. Lincoln, Route
66, and Other Highlights of Lincoln, Illinois. Dr. Henson began this
website in 2003 and was awarded the "Best Web Site of the Year" by
the Illinois State Historical Society in 2004.
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Henson was born in Lincoln in 1942. He attended kindergarten at
Central School, grades one through six at Jefferson School, and
grades seven and eight at Central School, from which he graduated in
1956. After graduating from Lincoln Community High School, he
attended Lincoln College for his freshman year. He graduated from
Illinois State University, majoring in English with a minor in
history. He earned his master's degree in American literature and a
Ph.D. in English studies from Illinois State University. Before
his retirement, Dr. Henson was professor of English at Missouri
State University and now serves as Professor Emeritus of English.
He has published many articles. In 2012 he was given the Award of
Superior Achievement by the Illinois State Historical Society for
his book, "The Town Lincoln Warned: The Living Namesake Heritage of
Lincoln, Illinois." Besides writing extensively about Abraham
Lincoln and Lincoln, Ill., Henson has written several articles about
another well-known Lincoln native, author William Maxwell.
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Henson is currently working on a long-range plan to promote
Lincoln, Ill., as a Lincoln-heritage community by increasing civic
pride and adding tourist appeal to the city. His proposal is to
erect four new Lincoln statues here, which would give the city a
total of 11, second in number only to Springfield, Ill.
[Text from file received from
Lincoln Elementary School
District 27]
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