Friends of Lincoln State Park

Chainsaw Carving Dedication

The Friends of Lincoln State Park are set to join in the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial celebration. On Saturday, April 19th at 12:30 PM (CDT) the Friends of Lincoln State Park will dedicate a chainsaw carving of young Abraham Lincoln in honor of the Bicentennial and the public is invited to attend. The organization began discussing the idea of commissioning and presenting to Lincoln State Park a wooden sculpture of Lincoln last fall. The Friends met with and eventually hired local chainsaw artisan, Willy Loper of Grandview, to carve a life-sized likeness of the 16th President out of a sycamore log. Standing 6’ 3” tall, the wooden Lincoln is the same height as the real 16th President and, incidentally, the same size as Loper himself.

According to Loper, he began carving wood with chainsaws by hand in the fall of 2000 after spending time in the Great Smoky Mountains recuperating from open heart and lung surgery. Inspired by artists there, he says he couldn't wait to get back to his home in Spencer County and soon begin expressing his own creativity.

Loper says his grandfather was a whittler and carver helping him to develop a lifelong fascination with and appreciation for wood at an early age, even though he did not begin working with wood himself until later. Chainsaw Willy, as he likes to be called, often participates in local festivals and special events performing demonstrations. Samples of his work can be seen on his website www.chainsawwilly.com.

Friends president, Dan Wilkinson, said, “We are very pleased with the work that Willy has done for us in creating this magnificent tribute to a great President who grew up right here in Spencer County. The Bicentennial provides a great opportunity for us to focus the public’s attention on Lincoln’s formative years in Indiana and specifically for our organization on the significant events in Lincoln’s life that occurred within Lincoln State Park. We hope that Mr. Lincoln will be greeting visitors to the park for many, many years to come.”

Kite Day & Egg Hunt

What has a tail, can fly, comes in different shapes, colors and sizes? It’s a kite! April is National Kite Month and to celebrate the Friends of Lincoln State Park are hosting their 4th annual Kite Day and Egg Hunt immediately following the chainsaw carving dedication.

It is not clear who developed the first kite, but research shows that the first kite was flown more than two thousand years ago in China. The Chinese army flew a kite over the wall of a city to measure how far they had to dig a tunnel to surprise and attack their enemy. By the 7th century, the kite had spread to Japan, Korea, Asia, and India. Japan used kites to avert evil spirits and help provide a bountiful harvest. By the 18th century, scientists were using kites as scientific instruments.

Benjamin Franklin most famously used the kite to study the use of lightning as an electric current. Alexander Wilson used kites to lift thermometers up in the sky to measure temperatures at different levels. The Wright Brothers used their passion of kites as children to help develop their first airplane. William Eddy and Lawrence Hargraves developed special kites to carry meteorological instruments and cameras up in the atmosphere to study weather. Lawrence Hargraves also developed the box kite in 1890.

For the last several years, the kite has become a favorite past time and a sport for many enthusiasts. Many contests and festivals are held throughout the world. The largest kite festival is held in Ahmedabad, Gujarat in India in January. Over 100,000 kites have been known to be in the sky at one time. Kite in English means graceful bird. The Mexican word for kite is papalote, which means butterfly. In Germany, the word for kite is grachen, which means dragon.

By Melissa Miller
Director, Spencer County Visitor's Bureau

LINCOLN CITY, Ind. – Abraham Lincoln often credited his mother, Nancy Hanks, and stepmother, Sarah Bush Johnston, for helping shape his character, foster his education and instill in him the values that led him to become president and one of the most respected leaders of the world.

Because of the influence women played in Lincoln’s life, it’s only fitting to begin celebrating his 200th birthday on Mother’s Day weekend at his boyhood home, now known as Lincoln City, in Spencer County. It will kick off a multi-year celebration in Indiana of the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth. The 16th president would have been 200 on Feb. 12, 2009.

It’s that influence that has inspired the Mother’s Day events in Spencer County, where Lincoln spent 14 formative years of his life. Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial preserves the site of the farm where Lincoln lived, from the ages of 7 to 21. It includes a living-history farm, visitors center museum, and the gravesite of Lincoln’s mother. When she passed away, the then nine-year-old future president helped his father dig a grave and bury her. Abraham Lincoln’s sister, Sarah Lincoln Grigsby, who also died during Lincoln’s years in Indiana, is buried at nearby Lincoln State Park.

“The honesty, leadership and determination that shaped Abraham Lincoln’s legacy were formed during his youth in the Hoosier state, making this a fitting tribute not only to the former president, but to the women in his life who helped him succeed,” said Connie Nass, chairperson of the Indiana Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission (IALBC).

While visitors are welcome at the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial 362 days a year, the events taking place over Mother’s Day weekend make May 10 and 11 an especially exciting time to visit.

Saturday, May 10
The public is invited to observe various activities throughout the weekend. A Civil War encampment, Native American encampment, black powder rifle shooting contest and frontier medicine demonstrations will take place at Lincoln State Park, Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial and Buffalo Run Farm.

As part of the weekend, more than 3,600 Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts from Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky are expected to participate, along with their leaders and parents, in a two-night campout at Lincoln State Park. A similar Boy Scout encampment was done in 1958 as part of the commemoration of Lincoln’s 150th birthday.

On Saturday, at 9 a.m., the scouts will raise The Garrison Flag to the top of a 120-foot flagpole at Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial. And later a scout bike trek will retrace the route the Lincolns took once they arrived in Indiana by flatboat.

In addition, there will be a display of quilts made in patterns of the Underground Railroad in the Memorial’s visitors center. A quilters group called the Piece Makers from Spencer County sewed all 20 quilts.

Sunday, May 11 (Mother’s Day)
A special ceremony will take place on Mother’s Day. This event is free and open to the public, though tickets are required for reserved seating. Tickets must be reserved in advance by calling the Spencer County Visitors Bureau at 888-444-9252.

Beginning at 1 p.m. CDT, the Red Bank Reunion Band will play Civil War-era music in period military costume. The Lincoln Bicentennial Mother’s Day Celebration ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. CDT and include music, a drama performance, speakers and a wreath-laying ceremony.

• Wreath-laying ceremony:  A wreath will be laid at the foot of each of the five panels of the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial Visitors Center building. Four of the panels represent where Lincoln lived – Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and Washington, D.C.; the fifth panel commemorates the heritage Lincoln left to the men and women of all time.
• Musical performances:  Indiana resident, singer and music teacher Shelia S. Billings will perform a song about Lincoln’s mother titled, “Nancy Hanks.” Celebration Singers, a multi-county Southern Indiana choir, will sing patriotic music.
  
• Original drama performance:  Using the words of Lincoln and his stepmother, Sarah Bush Johnston, a 10-minute drama will feature student actors from the nationally acclaimed Department of Theater at the University of Evansville. The presentation was written by University of Evansville Drama Professor R. Scott Lank.

The Mother’s Day Celebration is the second of five national signature events created by the National Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. It also serves as the state-wide Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration kick-off for the Indiana Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, which was created in 2006 by the Indiana General Assembly to commemorate America’s greatest president and showcase his Hoosier roots.

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial preserves the home where Abraham Lincoln lived for 14 years – a quarter of his life. Originally built as the Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial Park and opened in 1943, it became part of the National Parks Service in 1962.

In 2007, Gov. Mitch Daniels dedicated new highway signs at every entrance to the state that proclaims Indiana is “Lincoln’s Boyhood Home.” Gov. Daniels and Congressman Baron Hill are among the dignitaries who will speak at the May 11 event. Joan Flinspach, President & CEO of The Lincoln Museum in Ft. Wayne, will give the keynote address.

To learn more about Indiana’s Lincoln sites and statewide bicentennial efforts, visit www.IndianasLincoln.org or www.ThinkLincoln.org or www.nps.gov/libo. The Indiana Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission web site was produced in partnership with the Indiana Office of Tourism Development.

The annual Welcome Back Weekend and INShape DNR Walk is set for the first weekend in May. On Saturday, May 3rd the INShape DNR Walk will start from the amphitheatre and take walkers past various historic spots in the park. Walkers may even run into some of Lincoln's neighbors along the way as well as Abraham Lincoln himself! Free registration for the walk begins at 9:30 AM and the walk itself starts at 10:00 AM. So get healthy and get walking by coming out to the park for Welcome Back Weekend!

An “Evening For The Ages” featuring the beautiful voice of Suzy Bogguss with the wonderful music of the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra is scheduled for Saturday, May 24, at 8 p.m. at the Lincoln Amphitheatre in Lincoln State Park.

The Friends of Lincoln State Park will be involved with numerous activities coming up in the next month...more so than usual with the Lincoln Bicentennial celebration upon us. The Friends will be operating a concession stand / gift shop on Saturday, May 10 for the Boyscout Jamboree, on Saturday, May 24 for the Suzy Bogguss concert, and on Sunday, May 25 for the Community Band Concert.

We need more volunteers...we need YOU to help make these events successful! If you would be willing to help on any of these dates please e-mail Dan Wilkinson at danw@lspfriends.org or call (812) 362-7954 and leave a message.

Thank you to everyone who has renewed their membership for 2008 and paid membership dues! We are over half-way to our goal of 100% renewal for 2008, so keep those dues coming in. Can't remember to send in a check? Next time you're online visit our website where you can now pay your dues securely online with a major credit card!

Did you know that over 50% of our revenues each year come from dues and gifts from our members? Your support is vital and thanks to the generosity of our members we are able to provide more support to Lincoln State Park every year.

We are also beginning our 2008 drive to recruit new members and will be sending out fundraising letters later in the month. If you know of anyone interested in supporting our efforts please spread the word and encourage them to join.

We are proud to report that since last month we have surpassed the $10,000 milestone in dues and donations received since our inception in 2004! So, give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done!