A Bird's Eye View of Springfield

Just when I thought that my job with Linda couldn't get any cooler than it already was, it did! Today was so much fun. This morning Linda took me over to the Old State Capitol building, and her friends who work there took us on a tour of all of the building's restricted areas--including the cupola! It was so neat--you could see forever from up there. Here is a picture of the "new" Illinois State Capitol building (finished in 1876) from the cupola of the Old State Capitol.

After visiting the cupola, I got to go onto the balcony overlooking the House of Representatives chamber where Abraham Lincoln's casket was placed during the viewing held here at the Old State Capitol. Then I got to go to lunch with Linda and several of her museum curator friends. The lunch conversation was awesome! One of Linda's friends, Susan, is the curator at the Abraham Lincoln Home National Historic Site. She was telling us about buying birthday presents for the whole Lincoln family that will be opened and placed in the home on President Lincoln's 200th birthday in February. How fun to get to buy birthday presents for the Lincolns!!! She said that she was going to buy some toys for Tad, and she was thinking of purchasing some monogrammed handkerchiefs for Robert. She was going to buy a ring for Mary, but wasn't sure what to buy for the rest of the family yet. Lunch was very fun (and delicious), and then we went back to work (which was also fun).

Later this afternoon, we got to go to a reception at the old Union Station Depot which is just across the street from the Lincoln Museum. We even got to take a sneak peek up into the forbidden clock/bell tower! Here is the view of the Old State Capitol from the train station tower. We ran into Bryon Andreasen at the reception--he's the bishop of the ward here and also works at the Lincoln Museum. He and Linda are friends, and the three of us ended up in the clock tower at the same time. There was only room for three people up there--it was quite a tight fit, but the view was worth all of the climbing (up stairs and ladders) that it took to get up there. What a fun adventure! There was even an Abraham Lincoln look-alike at the reception. But it wasn't the same look-alike (who also looked like Mitt Romney) who was at the stamp ceremony last week. There are tons of Lincoln re-enactors. They are everywhere, and they attend every single event--no matter how big or small--in the area! It's kind of funny. Good times. Next Friday I get to go on a road trip with Linda to the Pierre Menard Home! I love this job. Unfortunately it's getting COLD here! I'm afraid that winter is coming.

The Elusive Elijah Iles

Look who I found back in the storage shelves today! :-) I absolutely LOVE working in the IHPA collections with Linda. The only bad part about it is that my job will end at the end of this month. Linda even invited Greg and me over for Thanksgiving with her family! She is extremely nice, and Greg and I are excited to spend the holiday with them.

This morning Linda asked me to go take a picture of a painting in the collection. The painting was of a man named Elijah Iles who lived in Springfield at the time Abraham Lincoln was here. I think Elijah was also the first postmaster here. Anyway, there is a museum at the Elijah Iles House (which is the oldest standing house in Springfield), and they were wondering if they could borrow the painting. So Linda wanted to send them some pictures. I went down to the storage area and looked on the shelf where the painting was supposed to be . . . but it wasn't there. I was very confused. So I started looking everywhere for it. I was crawling through shelves, climbing ladders, and looking in every possible corner of the storage room--but no Elijah Iles. I told Linda that Elijah was MIA, and she was equally confused. She went to the storage room with me and we searched it again--but no Elijah Iles. We then started asking all of the Old State Capitol workers if they had seen Elijah Iles anywhere, and they kept saying things like, "Oh yeah, I remember that painting. It used to be down in Malcom's conservation lab, but it's not there anymore. I don't know where it is," or "That painting used to hang in the House of Representatives chamber, but it's not there anymore." We were thoroughly perplexed. Then, finally, this funny man named Dennis remembered almost tripping over Elijah Iles not very long ago, and somehow Dennis led us to this back room at the Old State Capitol where--we found Elijah Iles! The painting was sitting there with a painting of Governor Duncan. Nobody knew how the paintings had gotten stashed back there, but we took them back to the storage area and put them in their appropriate places. It was quite an adventure. Tomorrow I get to go with Linda up to the cupola on top of the Old State Capitol and into the tower at the old train depot! Good times.

The weather has been beautiful here, but supposedly it's going to get a little colder. Since it was so beautiful outside on Tuesday, Greg and I raked the leaves in the yard into a huge pile, threw some branches on it, and had a little fire in the backyard. We roasted hotdogs and then made some delicious smores! It was very fun and fall-ish. Well, I'm off to bed.

Oh, another cool thing I found today was this old Springfield newspaper from 1845 that talked about how some people were trying to kick the Mormons out of the state. I was surprised to read that the author of the article sided with the Mormons and felt that it wasn't right for people to be intolerant of them based on their religious beliefs. It was very interesting to read!

CHANGE for the Worse

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
-Abraham Lincoln

What Would Lincoln Do?

You know you work at a cool place when you go upstairs and see Abraham Lincoln, complete with shades and a golden earring, staring at you! I think that this is a wax figure leftover from the Abraham Lincoln Museum. My classmates and I saw this Lincoln earlier this year when Linda took us upstairs to show us the old IHPA storage room, but back in January he had an afro and no shades or earring. I guess that he changes his look every few months :-)

Speaking of Abraham Lincoln, since today is Election Day Eve I have been reflecting on what Abraham Lincoln would think about the current state of affairs in the country if he were alive today. I think he would be quite concerned--especially since some people are calling Barack Obama "the next Lincoln" just because they both lived in Illinois. Since Abraham Lincoln is one of America's most revered Presidents, I thought that it would be a good idea to ask oneself before voting, "What would Lincoln do?" He would vote for John McCain and Sarah Palin. Why am I so sure? Here are a few quotes:

In a radio interview a few years ago, Barack Obama said that the Constitution reflects the "fundamental flaw of this country that continues to this day." The "flaw" he referred to was the lack of wording to support a redistribution of wealth among American citizens. News flash for Obama: everyone in America in 1776 was having a hard time financially--that's why the capitalist system developed and flourished! The founding fathers had bigger problems to worry about than redistributing wealth--problems like figuring out how to create a new country.

Here's what Abraham Lincoln had to say about the Constitution in 1856: "Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties." And in 1858: "Let us then turn this government back into the channel in which the framers of the Constitution originally placed it."

In 1996, Barack Obama explained to a crowd why the Bible should not be consulted when developing public policy. He sarcastically said, "We could consult Leviticus that says slavery was okay, or Deuteronomy that says you can stone your children. Or, my personal favorite, the 'Sermon on the Mount'--with ideas that are so radical that even our defense department would have a hard time applying them."

Here's what Abraham Lincoln thought about the Bible: "I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this book." He also said, "I do not think I could myself, be brought to support a man for office, whom I knew to be a scoffer at religion."

Barack Obama thinks that the government should take over the minute details of our lives. Abraham Lincoln maintained that the government should remain uninvolved in the everyday lives of the citizens. Barack Obama believes that those who make more money should give some of it to those who don't make as much. Abraham Lincoln thought that everyone had a right to do what they want with what they earn.

And my favorite: Michelle Obama said that her husband is "gonna change our traditions--our history." Abraham Lincoln reminded everyone in 1861, "Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history."

Abraham Lincoln would vote for John McCain. :-)

As Clear as Mud

Today is Zion Book Eve! Tomorrow is the big day when my book will officially be released. I can't believe that the time has already come! I was happy to find out that the Deseret News printed a book review of my book today: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705259317,00.html. Although I don't think that the author of the book review read the book very carefully :-) She said: "At times, details in 'Zion National Park' are a little muddy, but it's still an informative read." Hmmm, what does she mean by "a little muddy"? Her comment is about as clear as mud :-) Just kidding. It's just cool that the Deseret News printed something about it--publicity is good. I am excited to see what the book looks like.

Today was another beautiful fall day here. Greg and I took the doggies for a walk this afternoon, and it was perfect outside. The boys enjoyed the walk, but it kind of wore them out. They have been tuckered out on the couch ever since we got home. Greg made a delicious chicken dinner this evening. He is quite the chef. Tomorrow it's back to work--and I can't wait! I love working at IHPA.