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 The
statue will depict a younger, beardless Abraham Lincoln-the lawyer,
who practiced law (1849 to 1855) at the Mt. Pulaski Courthouse and
traveled the Eighth Judicial Circuit.
There will be a dedication ceremony and unveiling of
the statue on July 23, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. on the Mt. Pulaski
Courthouse State Historic Site lawn located at 113 S. Washington
Street. Refreshments will be provided by Hilltop Catering and
Lincoln cookies will be provided by Helen Schmidt.
Local community members and Lincoln enthusiasts, Phyllis Beccue,
Jean Martin, and Betty Hickey started a Lincoln statue initiative
many years ago. Unfortunately, the project never came to fruition.
Mrs. Martin and Mrs. Hickey have since passed on, but Mrs. Beccue
never gave up the dream of having a bronze statue on the lawn.
In 2019, Mrs. Beccue made one last attempt to get
this initiative moving. A couple of years later a Lincoln Statue
Committee, under the Mt. Pulaski Historical Society, was formed.
This committee, under the leadership of Phyllis Beccue, has worked
diligently to raise funds and crossed their goal line quicker than
expected. Renee Martin, Co-Chair of the Lincoln Statue committee
states, “Phyllis Beccue is always working hard for the betterment of
the Mt. Pulaski Community, and she does it with such passion and
grace. She is an amazing leader and asset to not only our community,
but county. It has been an absolute pleasure co-chairing this
committee with her. She is not only an inspiration to me, but to
many others. Without her and a very zealous and supportive statue
committee, this project wouldn’t have been possible.” Martin
continues, “We are thankful for all the donations that helped make
this possible. We also appreciate the large amount of community
support for this project and are happy to be a part of something
that will last for many generations to come.”
Visitors will be able to sit next to Abraham Lincoln who is sitting
on a bench reading papers for his upcoming case about the Cast Iron
Tombstone and scratching his head trying to figure out how to win
his case. The idea of scratching his head was suggested by the
artist John McClarey and was inspired by a Lincoln quote. "I am slow
to learn and slow to forget that which I have learned. My mind is
like a piece of steel, very hard to scratch anything on it and
almost impossible after you get it there to rub it out." -Abraham
Lincoln
The statue will enhance the Lincoln legacy, help promote tourism, as
well as contribute to a strong, positive image of the community.
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About the Artist:
John McClarey of Decatur, Illinois, specializes in the form and
thought of Abraham Lincoln. His life-size sculptured works of
Lincoln, at times with another figure, can be found in thirteen
Illinois sites. His most prized works include the heroic size
Lincoln for the centerpiece of the Lincoln Presidential Library
complex in Springfield, and a bronze bust of Lincoln for the Russian
State Library for Foreign Literature in Moscow.
While in Moscow, Mr. McClarey served as a “Lincoln
Ambassador” under a grant from the United States State Department.
Other Lincoln works can be found in the Hall of the Revolution in
Havana, Cuba, and Askikaga, Japan. His collected works can be found
in the Library of Congress, the Illinois Supreme Court, the United
States Supreme Court, the Eastern National Park Service, twelve or
thirteen schools of Law, including the University of Illinois, as
well as in many private collections. He was the 2005 recipient of
the Richard Nelson Current Award of Achievement at the Lincoln Forum
in Gettysburg, the first anti-historian to receive this award. In
2009, the artist was elected to the Order of Lincoln, the state’s
highest award, and in 2008 was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the
College of Arts and Sciences at Illinois State University. His most
recent piece, “Iron Determination” was dedicated in the
reconstructed Old Courthouse Square in Rockford, Illinois in 2009.
His “Field of Dreams” National Abraham Lincoln
Agricultural Award was presented in 2007 and again in 2009 to ten
persons with distinguished accomplishments in Agriculture at the
National Farm Progress Show held in Decatur. Mr. McClarey’s works
have appeared in the Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association,
Illinois Issues, Illinois Heritage, and in numerous book and film
documentaries on Lincoln including the PBS Illinois Stories. Major
non-Lincoln sculpture commissions include the founders of Methodism
for Bicentennial of American Methodism, and the founder and first
President of Millikin University in Decatur. In 2002, he presented
six lectures on Lincoln as depicted in his art at Lincoln Land
College in Springfield, and in 2009 was a guest lecturer at Millikin
as part of the Lincoln Bicentennial celebration. McClarey holds a
B.A. from Millikin and a M.S. from Illinois State University. He has
taught school at many levels and worked in state government for many
years. He resides on a farm near Decatur with his wife, Carole.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Co-Chairs-Phyllis Beccue and Renee Martin
Barbara Stroud-Borth, Joyce Maxheimer, Allen Schaal, Sue
Schaffenacker, Sue Stewart, Marla Blair, Rick Volle, and Steve
Martin.
[Renee Martin]
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