Day 10: Tracking the Footsteps of Greatness

A no-news newsflash: our 16th president was an unbelievable man of principle, courage and integrity. He also was a devoted father and beyond-patient husband (Mary put him in some terrible and very awkward financial predicaments over the years of their marriage). We were surprisingly moved to stand inside Lincoln's home today and look at his writing desk, upon which he drafted his first Inaugural Address (which he had to rewrite from notes when his son lost the original on the way to D.C.!). The home is part of the National Park system, and the visitor center has fantastic videos that lay out Lincoln's history and legacy in ways that were meaningful to all four of us. The streets around the home are pedestrian-only, and actors in period costume wander the streets and engage visitors in conversation about Lincoln's days in Springfield. Luckily for the actors in their many-layered clothing, today was almost cool (high of 75) compared to many June days.

One of the more unusual qualities in Lincoln was his ability to let insults and nasty comments roll right off of him. And we're realizing that today's politic rhetoric is very tame compared to the mudslinging in earlier years of our country's political history. In one funny retort, upon being called two-faced, he said "Do you think if I had two faces, I'd be wearing this one?" He considered himself very unattractive, even ugly, but didn't let that opinion of himself become an obsession or a deterrant to his work. What a concept.

We also had fun with Springfield's "Looking for Lincoln" exhibit: signs with photos and information about the city and Lincoln in the 1840s and 50s have been placed around town, and each contains an artistic medallion meant to be rubbed (crayon on paper). There are more than 100 of them, and we found 20 just this afternoon. 

A final highlight of our day was the time we spent in the Old Illinois State House, now a museum with many activities offered throughout the day. We were looking at the legislative chamber, where Lincoln spent a lot of time as a State Representative, when a singing group in period dress assembled for a 20-minute concert right there in the chamber. They opened up the floor, which had been behind ropes, and Kelsey got to sit right next to Lincoln's chair/desk! It's the empty space to the left of Kelsey in the photo below. The concert was great, too. :-)

That's it for today. The kids are looking forward to watching lightning bugs later tonight. They're hard at work on school stuff at the moment, and it's time to throw together some dinner. Tomorrow, St. Louis.

Lincoln home (roof repair underway)

rubbing the brass medallions

next to Lincoln's seat in Legislative chamber

Old State House