Springfield Tour

[Gene C]

A nice tour this year, great weather although Thursday being very windy and occasional strong thunderstorms. Fri & Sat were great with temps in the low 70's.
Crowds were not to bad, but there were a lot of school buses.
The highlight for the trip was being around some familiar friends Dave (Davg2000) and Scott (STS Lincolnite) , and two new friends, Bill (Wpbinzel) and Brian (friend of Scott's and potential new forum member) .

A special memory from Saturday on our visit to New Salem, we met Terry Jones one of the park administrators, who knew Joe Di Cola and Davg2000. He must have spent 30+ minutes with us answering questions and visiting with us. That personal touch made our visit extra special. I did notice that some of the buildings, which are 70-80 years old, have some significant depreciation and need some major repair or replacement. Getting funding from the state for needed repairs, maintenance and improvements is always a challenge.
Also on Saturday we went to a new book store "Books on the Square" where three Lincoln scholars, Guy Fraker, Brian Dirk, and George Dekle were there to sign copies of their books and talk with the group. We all purchased something. We were a bit late to the book signing, they were just about ready to leave. I was last in line to meet Guy Fraker, and we were able to talk for a few minutes about Lincoln and New Salem. A very nice gentleman.

On Friday we found the commemorative paver in honor of Roger, located in a very nice spot (photos to follow)
Scott and Bill took more photo's on our visit than I did, hopefully they can post theirs soon.

There is more to say, the time passed quickly, I'll let the others share their thoughts.
If you couldn't make it this time, rest assured we will soon be planning our next tour.