Sunday, August 3, 2008 10:03 PM CDT
LETTER: Lincoln Log in danger of becoming history
By KIM LOOBY, Charleston
With the recent budge cuts made by Governor Blagojevich, all seasonal staff at Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site (and all other state historic sites) have been let go as of July 31, 2008. This means no Harvest Frolic, no 5th grade live-ins or other school tours in the fall and spring, and the loss of invaluable information on the way of life of our great-great grandparents and important history to Coles County. And depending on future legislation, Lincoln Log Cabin could be closed completely. In case you’ve never been a 5th grader in this area or traveled down to see the final resting home of Thomas and Sarah Bush Lincoln just outside of Charleston and Mattoon Illinois, you’re missing out. The beautiful site has a staff of season interpreters who portray the lifestyle of the Lincoln and Sargent family in 1845 with each interpreter assigned a name and history to convey. They speak to visitors from the point of view of that person living in 1845. Every spring and fall, the staff runs live-ins and tours where children learn how to cook, sew, card wool, split rails, and saw logs in the fashion of the 1800s. They get to experience a way of life without video games, television, cell phones, iPods, dishwashers, stoves, microwaves and more. There is also a summer youth program where children work alongside the staff members in portraying 1845. Throughout the summer and fall, there are weekly events such as an 1840s baseball game, militia muster, broom maker, black smith, blue-grass jam, paper marbling and the season finale of Harvest Frolic full of 1900s music, food, crafts, and activities for children and adults. I know all of this from experience as a child in the summer youth program and from being on staff for two summers. The loss of Lincoln Log Cabin will be detrimental to this community especially come 2009 when the country is preparing to celebrate the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. It will be a major year for Lincoln Tourism and bringing visitors from around the world to see the history we have to offer. I beg everyone write to our state representatives and tell them what it would mean to lose Lincoln Log Cabin.
Don’t let history become history.
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gringa wrote on Aug 4, 2008 2:55 PM:
It was a great gotcha! I could tell he really enjoyed playing with site visitors. What a hoot! He played his character to a T that day, never even cracking a smile. That was one of the times in the fall when they butchered hogs. A very interesting day of authentic history lessons. "