Mark your calendars for the book launch of the brand new release "Loving Lincoln: A Personal History of the Women Who Shaped Lincoln's Life and Legacy" on Saturday June 7 at 1 PM at the Lincoln Heritage Museum. The talented and renowned historian Dr. Stacy Lynn will share her fascinating insights into the women who helped shape Abraham Lincoln, and also relay how the Lincoln legacy has shaped her. You won't want to miss this first book event for "Loving Lincoln." Books will be on sale at the event. Admission to the book discussion is free. See below for more information! (fb)

A banner and a torch. These items are not just artifacts of an era; rather, they are relics of a movement. In 1860 a group comprised of mostly young men dedicated themselves to a grassroots national effort to elect their Republican Party candidate for president, Abraham Lincoln. Taking the name “Wide Awakes,” localized chapters sprang up across the nation in that fall of 1860. In an era already imbued with ardent and passionate political socialization, the public parades went beyond the typical speechmaking and political rallies of the day. The Wide Awakes developed a persona. They would often parade in the twilight hours to garner attention. Their marches would assume an almost military feel, featuring regalia such as uniforms with cloths and sashes draped across them, homemade banners featuring the candidates, drums and sometimes songs, kerosene torches, and even split rail fences. But the Wide Awakes weren’t just in it for the exhibition. They were at the core committed and fraternal changemakers. Most were anti-slavery, well-read, and active voters. Declaring themselves as “lovers of liberty’ they proclaimed, “We are not asleep to the danger our country is in.” The candidacy of Abraham Lincoln appealed to these forward-looking individuals. They were well aware – wide awake as it were – to the reality of what was at stake if the wrong aspirants took the mantle of leadership in 1860. As Lincoln himself said in 1861, “Let north and south -- let all Americans -- let all lovers of liberty everywhere -- join in the great and good work. If we do this, we shall not only have saved the Union; but we shall have so saved it, as to make, and to keep it, forever worthy of the saving.” The banner below is an original 1860 Wide Awakes creation of a Dr. Lawrence in Atlanta, Illinois, and the accompanying Wide Awakes torch were used in parades here in Logan County in 1860. You can see these and other amazing items on exhibit at the Lincoln Heritage Museum, open Tuesdays through Fridays 9 AM to 4 PM, and on Saturdays from 1 to 4 PM. May the Wide Awakes serve as a beacon for our own generation. Let us always be active and engaged in civic and political affairs, and may we never be asleep to the danger our country is in. (fb)