Springfield Tour

[Rob Wick]

Again, thanks everyone. All your kind words help more than you know.

Eva, Droopy is 8 (I thought she was 11, but her rabies certificate shows she was born in 2005, so Bill, Gene and Joe, Cheryl got one right ). So far, it's really hard to tell how she's doing, as it normally takes her a couple of days to decompress from the kennel. She did eat tonight, so that's a good sign.

Best
Rob

---

For those interested, here's a photo of Droopy.



Best
Rob

[Gene C]

Rob, so sorry to hear about Droopy. I hope she can adjust without to much difficulty, I know she is in good hands.

Great photos. Just remember folks that the camera adds about 20 lbs to your appearance. When we had the group photo with the Lincoln's, we were all suppose to fold our arms and have that pouting expression like Tad. That's why my wife has that expression, it has nothing to do with anything I did...yet! Thanks for preserving the memories.

One more thing, the photo of Rob and the large statue, we offered to give Rob a boost so he could sit behind
Lincoln on the horse. For some reason he declined.

[Anita]

Rob, Thanks for the info on this "Booth" family.

I am so sorry to learn about Droopy's blindness. She is a sweetie. It came on so suddenly it may take her a while to adjust. Your love and reassurance will help her gain confidence. Dogs can become depressed so it is good sign that she is eating.

[L Verge]

Regarding the Booths from Maine: There is a town in Maine named Boothbay; wonder if any connection?

There was a wonderful Booth/theater collector who lived in Boothbay by the name of Franklin Lenthall. When he had to give up his collection, he was hoping that it could be sold in its entirety to one purchaser. That didn't happen, and things went up for auction. Members of the Surratt Society were able to acquire some of the items, and they were displayed years ago in an exhibit that we did on the history of the Booths. One of the items was a purple theatrical robe worn by Edwin.

[J. Beckert]

Edwin asked about the origins of the name when he stopped in Boothbay. The store keeper told him he didn't know, but it had nothing to do with the "scoundrel" that shot Lincoln. He quietly left without saying anything.

[Joe Di Cola]

Now that I am back in Troy and have had the chance to see Rob's pictures and to look at the few I took, I feel extremely fortunate that I had the opportunity finally to meet some of the members of the Symposium. Roger gave all of us a priceless gift when he started this site. It has attracted members from all over, including Germany, and has given members an opportunity to delve further into whatever aspect of Lincoln's life they choose. I would guess that some of the persons at the annual Surratt Conference have been motivated to attend for the first time due to the "assassination" part of the site. The Symposium inspired Gene Cook to put forth the idea of a trip to Springfield to tour the Lincoln sites. I personally feel that I made some lifelong friends as a result of the get-together in Springfield last week--to me, it was as though I had known Gene, Rob, Bill, and their spouses for years. Thank you Roger for this site, thank you Gene for the idea of the trip, and to Gene, Joy, Bill, Donna, Rob, and Cheryl many thanks for a superb three days.
It was also fun to be with the other Lincoln nerds (the spouses wisely absented themselves) at the bookstore. In terms of sheer volume (no pun intended) Rob was the clear winner in the "buy-athon," although Bill and Gene were not exactly empty-handed when they left the store!

[Liz Rosenthal]

I'd love to hear about your purchases, and the purchases made by the other "Lincoln Nerds"! Please fill me in!!

Now that I am back in Troy and have had the chance to see Rob's pictures and to look at the few I took, I feel extremely fortunate that I had the opportunity finally to meet some of the members of the Symposium. Roger gave all of us a priceless gift when he started this site. It has attracted members from all over, including Germany, and has given members an opportunity to delve further into whatever aspect of Lincoln's life they choose. I would guess that some of the persons at the annual Surratt Conference have been motivated to attend for the first time due to the "assassination" part of the site. The Symposium inspired Gene Cook to put forth the idea of a trip to Springfield to tour the Lincoln sites. I personally feel that I made some lifelong friends as a result of the get-together in Springfield last week--to me, it was as though I had known Gene, Rob, Bill, and their spouses for years. Thank you Roger for this site, thank you Gene for the idea of the trip, and to Gene, Joy, Bill, Donna, Rob, and Cheryl many thanks for a superb three days.
It was also fun to be with the other Lincoln nerds (the spouses wisely absented themselves) at the bookstore. In terms of sheer volume (no pun intended) Rob was the clear winner in the "buy-athon," although Bill and Gene were not exactly empty-handed when they left the store!

[Joe Di Cola]

I'd love to hear about your purchases, and the purchases made by the other "Lincoln Nerds"! Please fill me in!!

Now that I am back in Troy and have had the chance to see Rob's pictures and to look at the few I took, I feel extremely fortunate that I had the opportunity finally to meet some of the members of the Symposium. Roger gave all of us a priceless gift when he started this site. It has attracted members from all over, including Germany, and has given members an opportunity to delve further into whatever aspect of Lincoln's life they choose. I would guess that some of the persons at the annual Surratt Conference have been motivated to attend for the first time due to the "assassination" part of the site. The Symposium inspired Gene Cook to put forth the idea of a trip to Springfield to tour the Lincoln sites. I personally feel that I made some lifelong friends as a result of the get-together in Springfield last week--to me, it was as though I had known Gene, Rob, Bill, and their spouses for years. Thank you Roger for this site, thank you Gene for the idea of the trip, and to Gene, Joy, Bill, Donna, Rob, and Cheryl many thanks for a superb three days.
It was also fun to be with the other Lincoln nerds (the spouses wisely absented themselves) at the bookstore. In terms of sheer volume (no pun intended) Rob was the clear winner in the "buy-athon," although Bill and Gene were not exactly empty-handed when they left the store!

My only purchase was a gift for my youngest grandson who recently turned 3 years of age.

[Rob Wick]

Liz,

In addition to the Lincoln bust, I got:

Boy Scouts Life of Lincoln by Tarbell (thanks to Bill's eagle-eye).
Holland's Life of Abraham Lincoln by Josiah Holland with an introduction by Allen Guelzo.
The Life of Abraham Lincoln by Isaac N. Arnold with an introduction by James A. Rawley.
Lincoln's Quest for Union by Charles B. Strozier
Moonlight: Abraham Lincoln and the Almanac Trial by John Evangelist Walsh.
Lincoln and Herndon by Joseph Fort Newton.
Lincoln by Emil Ludwig.
and
Lincoln in Marble and Bronze by F. Lauriston Bullard.

I was telling the other guys that Prairie Archives seems to have raised their prices considerably. I paid $25 for Bullard's book and $40 for Newton's book, which was published in 1910. I could have downloaded Newton's book for free and paid much less for Bullard's but this was one of those situations where I happened to be there and happened to see them. I wouldn't have been looking for any of them, except maybe Tarbell's book, otherwise. As for Ludwig's book, Tarbell read Ludwig's manuscript, so I wanted to have his book on hand.

Best
Rob

[Gene C]

I went pretty light as I already have a stack of books on the floor in my house that I haven't read yet. I purchased "T R - the last romantic" by H W Brands (it's about Theodore Roosevelt), "Lincoln's New Salem" by Benjamin Thomas, "Tad Lincoln's Father" by Julia Taft Bayne (I'm reading this now, and it's quite interesting), and a $2 children's book "Abe Lincoln - Frontier Boy" by Augusta Stevenson . Also picked up a little booklet at New Salem that Joe recommended, "Lincoln's New Salem: A Village Reborn, it has lots of info and photo's about rebuilding New Salem.

Bill, Joe and Rob have a sharp eye at the book store. Bill found a very nice item I'll let him tell about. I told the guys I was looking for something about Roosevelt and books by certain authors, and they pointed out several that I will have to get at a later time.

After visiting New Salem and going to three separate cemeteries (including the Lincoln tomb) with us, the ladies were a bit tired and decided to go back to the motel instead of book stores or antique stores, my wife gave me a strange compliment. When I got back from the bookstore she said "Your not as big of a nerd as I thought you were." She was very impressed with everyone's knowledge of Abraham Lincoln and what a great guide Joe was. Also got to experience and spend a long weekend and find out what great people Joe, Bill and Donna, Rob and Cheryl are. That was the best part.

[Gene C]

Rob had mentioned earlier about visiting the grave of poet Vachel Lindsey. I didn't know who he was and had never read "Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight" So, if you are like me, here is the poem...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWJJO7XsTJU

Note: the animation to the video can be distracting. Click on "show more" for the words to the poem.

[LincolnMan]

Gene: Lindsey lived in Springfield. His house is open for tourist. I don't know if there is a charge or not.

[Rob Wick]

We were actually near it when we went to the Dana-Thomas House. It is just south of the Illinois Governor's mansion.

Here's the site.

Best
Rob

http://www.vachellindsay.org/index.html

[LincolnMan]

Nice web site. Didn't find if there is a cost or not-probably a donation is asked.

[LincolnMan]

Gene: really nice set of pics. That pic of the Lincoln house at night is really special. I'm regretting that Donna and I didn't go there that night.