Lincoln Log Cabin Historical Site Closing Sunday
This summer, squabbling by the tiny children in grown up clothes who run Illinois, the governor and the General Assembly, forced drastically cut hours, retreats from a seven-days a week schedule, and outright closings of many state parks and historical sites.
Several parks will close, possibly forever, tomorrow.
It could have been worse, but the end result may be the same in a year or so.
Funding from the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission will put most of the Lincoln sites on the same schedule they were on before "Blago" got his pen-knife out and started slashing. But remember that bicentennial is in the name, not tricentennial. Eventually that funding will dry up.
February 12 will mark the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth.
One Lincoln site was not issued a reprieve--the Lincoln Log Cabin State Historical Site near Charleston in Coles County. I've never been there, it was one of those "the next time in the area, I need to stop there" types of places. And I just a few miles away from there in May. Too late.
About the site: Shortly before reaching adulthood, Lincoln, his father Thomas, and his beloved stepmother, Sarah Bush Lincoln, left Indiana for Illinois. After his 21st birthday, Lincoln moved to New Salem near Springfield, while his parents finally put roots down in Coles County. Lincoln visited every year or two.
The cabin is a replica, the original was dismantled, sent to the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where it was lost, or accidentally used for firewood.
Idiocy in Illinois is not a passing fad.
The volunteers and employees at the site are giving it a loving send-off. But it's a shame this place is closing down, especially since the president-elect is basking in the glow of Lincoln comparisons.
Barack Obama has shown a real talent for fundraising, and I believe if he put his name behind it, he could shepherd adequate donations to reopen the Lincoln Log Cabin Historical Site.
Compared to the cash he raised for his successful presidential campaign, all it would take is a pittance.
3 comments:
Well as much as it sad to see historical sites to close down maybe some people will take notice and then on that next time maybe they will pull over to check it out. We're all guilty of it but I think we should all take a few extra minutes to take in the sites. As far as the original building getting lost or destroyed that to me sounds like 100 years of retarded Illinois management and politics.
It's long past time for posting "NOT WANTED" posters of Gov. Sleazy, while demanding that the feds take rapid action in indiciting this SOB!
I stopped there Friday and was quite impressed. The site actually includes two homesteads -- Thomas Lincoln's and his neighbor, Stephen Sargent's.
The sites depict two different approaches to farming and two different cultures (Lincoln's Upland Southern way of life and Sargent's New Englander/Yankee ways) side by side. Lincoln was a subsistence farmer who was content to grow just enough to feed his own family while Sargent was a commercial farmer who tried to make money selling his crops. Lincoln's approach emphasized self-sufficiency while Sargent would sometimes have to hire help or take on some debt to achieve his goals.
It was all very informative and fun, but unfortunately, lost due to Blago's stupid games. Yes, the state needs to save money but I believe closing all these parks is only going to save about $3 million, maybe not even that much, which is just a tiny fraction of the overall budget deficit. Heck, just that one "mistaken" grant to the Loop Lab School would have made up a good chunk of that money.
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