Update, Feb. 12, 2022 / On the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, we’re reminded that he was born in 1809, in Hodgenville, Kentucky. In 1816, Lincoln’s family moved to southwestern Indiana, then in 1830 they settled in Illinois.
Looking at the clean-shaven face depicted in the “Laughing Lincoln” sculpture, we’re also reminded of the story of when and why Honest Abe grew his beard.
Shortly before the Presidential election of 1860, candidate Lincoln, age 51, received a letter from an 11-year-old girl, Grace Bedell, from Westfield, New York, with a request to grow whiskers to help him win. In Lincoln’s response of October 19, he made no promises; yet, by the time the newly-elected President headed via train from Illinois to his inauguration in Washington, D.C., he had grown a full beard. The train trip took him through New York State, where it stopped briefly in Westfield on February 16, 1861. Lincoln, now 52, acknowledged the youngster in the crowd. And the rest is history.
Let us also note a quote in 366 Days in Abraham Lincoln’s Presidency by Stephen A. Wynalda.
The 16th President of the United States is credited with saying, “When any church will inscribe over its altar the Savior’s condensed statement of law and gospel, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind, and love thy neighbor as thyself,’ that church will I join with all my heart.”
Click here for more about the life of Abraham Lincoln Online.
Original Post, Dec. 3, 2018 / Century Walk dedicated its 50th public art location, “Laughing Lincoln” in Central Park on December 2.
The bronze sculpture by David Alan Clark coincides with the State of Illinois 200th Anniversary as the 21st State of the Union.
The sculpture depicts one of Illinois’ most familiar sons, Abraham Lincoln, but in a way that is a bit less familiar. It shows a young Abe slapping his knee while telling one of his best stories.
Young Lincoln helped Naperville founder Joe Naper achieve his dream of having what is now DuPage County carved out and liberated from Cook County. In return, Joe Naper lent Lincoln crucial support he needed to achieve his dream of moving the State Capitol to Springfield.