Whoa.
It's president's day. I don't know about you but I forgot because I didn't have the day off.
But I did celebrate it, unintentionally, yesterday - Sunday February 19.
My fella and I went on a weekend getaway to cave country, Kentucky (which will be the topic of a blog post in the very near future). He's a geology nerd and I'm a history/roadside attraction nerd so a trip to Mammoth Cave suited us both. On the way home, I didn't want to see the same old boring stretch of I-65 so we hopped on 31E for our journey North.
What we saw was lots and lots of cows - and sink holes (as my geologically-minded travel companion continuously pointed out).
And then, just South of Bardstown (you know, that place where they make lots of Bourbon) in a small town called Hodgenville, KY, was the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park.
Pulling into the park at 4:10, we saw a sign saying that the entire park would close at 4:45. We just made it, or so it seemed. We rushed into the Visitor Center, which the signs told us was where the "tour" began, and were greeted by a park employee who reiterated to us that the park closed in 35 minutes but that was plenty of time to see everything. Somewhat skeptical of this, I hurried through the small Lincoln exhibit in the Center. There was some brief information about Mr. Lincoln (born on February 12, 1809) and his family and the time that they spent on the Sinking Spring Farm, as it was called, (1/3 of which is now the park) until his family was kicked off because of some legal stuff that I'm sure was very unfair.
Rushing outside, we went over to what was described to us as the "cave," or the Sinking Spring. This may actually be the very first water that Abraham Lincoln ever drank - they say.
Exciting!
And then to the (believed) actual spot of his birth - an entombed log cabin!
Here's the monument.
The cornerstone for the monument was laid on February 12, 1909 (Lincoln's 100th birthday) by the wonderful President Teddy Roosevelt. (My fella and I made sure to touch this hoping some of Teddy's ruggedness would rub off on us. I'm sure he carried it up that hill all by himself.) Then, the building was finished and dedicated by President Taft in November, 1911. Inside, a cabin was re-constructed. Although never thought to be the actual cabin in which Lincoln was born, it was thought to have some of the same logs. After the reconstruction of the cabin in the monument, it was discovered that nope, none of these logs were the from the original cabin. So, now it is referred to as the "symbolic" log cabin.
And here's the "symbolic" cabin in the monument. It is the only thing in there. Sorry the picture is bad but I was rushing and thought it turned out a bit better than this.
It may not seem like much. Actually, it isn't really much at all but that is the point. Having spent most of my life in a log cabin (admittedly much larger than this "symbolic" one room cabin), I am absolutely fascinated by the symbolism!
Many American cultural myths are based on this idea that every man (and believe it or not, minorities and even women are now included in this), no matter how humble his beginnings, has the ability to become a great and respected leader and thinker. A hero, even. Before Lincoln was ever president, William Henry Harrison and running-mate John Tyler were using imagery of the symbolic log cabin (in which neither one of them were born, both coming from aristocratic families) to promote themselves as common, hard-working, American men. The kind of men you'd like to have a beer or, more specifically, a hard cider with. And it worked for them. We don't want leaders that are too smart, that talk too fancy or dress too clean. And although Lincoln became a sharp-dressed, nice talker, people knew where he came from. And we all like to believe it was these humble beginnings that made him one of the most well-known and well-liked presidents in the history of our fine nation.
George, Tommy J., Teddy, and Abe together for eternity! Note: This is not in KY.
At the Lincoln Birthplace Monument, the humble beginnings are symbolically at the heart of the more massive, sophisticated memorial building. Not only does this building follow the great architectural tradition of memorials from all over the world but also connotes the White House, his "home" during the final years of his life. At the heart of this president was an everyman from rural America to whom we can all still connect.
And there's also something about being in the same exact space that was occupied by a great human being. I felt that repeatedly on my visit. I walked in the footsteps of Lincoln, Roosevelt, Taft, and every other great American that had been to that place. I was feeling history. I won't get into that whole theory of aura, but I think you can relate.
And, like we were told by the park employee, 35 minutes was plenty of time for all of this reflection and appreciation. We left before 4:40 and a few cars were still rolling in.
