[April 30, 2014]      

In the variety of displays on the tour, there are many depictions of Lincoln's life, some through authentic artifacts and period-style art. But there are also touches of drama through uniquely designed displays such as the pocket watch room. The watch is much larger than life and is meant to draw attention to Lincoln's years in New Salem through a unique "touch and learn."

But in addition, the clock leads visitors to recall that in the tour, they are walking with Lincoln down memory lane. As his breathing becomes shallow, his body falls weak, and his life is about to pass from this world to the next, his mind may have traveled through the long list of friends he had made, the lives that touched him and whom he touched, and the memories of his successes and failures.

But perhaps the one thing that never entered his thoughts was that he would in his mortality become the most beloved president in our history. He couldn't know that he would touch lives and move people to tears in 2014. He didn't know that in this generation, a child would thank him for the fact that cousins in Georgia live free.

Pictures by Nila Smith and Jan Youngquist