Lincoln and Ann Rutledge

[Gene C]

Next month on the Springfield Tour, we will be making the pilgrimage to the Petersburg/Oakland Cemetery where we will pay our respects to the two bones and the rotton wood. I am looking forword to the conversations the group will have on this, and other incidents in Lincoln's life in New Salem area.

When you walk the streets of New Salem, everything seems so simple and carefree. But in reality daily existence was hard work, many people's bodies just wore out and they died at an early age due to the hard physical work. Illness and disease that can be easily cured today, were frequently fatal, as in Ann's tragic death. Abraham was poor, worried about paying his debts - which were substancial, he's concerned about his future. He failled at being a store keeper and he frequently had to board with other people in the community so he became intimately involved in their lives and strugles too. He shared their concerns and burdens as well as his own. It's here that the character and principles that his parents helped instill, become reinforced through his contact with the people of New Salem. It's here that you find a young man of limited means with a lot of potential, a young man looking for purpose and direction in his life. You can learn about giving to others without expecting anything in return, finding pleasure in the simple things in life, about freindships that last a lifetime, and about the importance in helping a young person find there way in life. Here is where these stories are waiting to be told.