Lincoln is everywhere!

When I wrote about all the Abe Lincoln events going on around Elgin, how did I forget the “Lookin for Lincoln” scavenger hunt-type event the Downtown Neighborhood Association is putting on?

They put a giant Honest Abe somewhere downtown each month for a year, and we go find it for fun, and in hopes of winning a prize! Abe will be in a new spot starting tomorrow. Here is the clue:

Abe’s not afraid of a little construction. He’ll be hanging out this week at a business on Chicago Street sipping banana cream lattes and reading one of his favorite books, “The Life of George Washington.” Stop in for a visit and get a special discount at this downtown shop. Be sure to sign Abe’s back side and drop your name in the box for a chance to win Abe at the end of the year.

I’m pretty sure I know which place they’re referring to, and I hope to check it out soon. Walked past, but never been in there yet.

Tags: Abe Lincoln, coffee, Elgin, Elgin Downtown Neighborhood Association, Illinois, scavenger hunt
Filed under Elgin, food, fun | Comment (0)

Abe Lincoln Mania!

*Meet Abe Lincoln & his wife at Gail Borden Library! No seriously, for $50 you can hobnob with some people dressed up in costume tomorrow (4/18) night at 7 pm. Champagne will be provided. Proceeds benefit the library.

Though this is one of the craziest and most unique things I’ve ever heard of, I think it could be insanely fun. Seriously, how often can you drink alcohol in the library without getting in trouble?

*Guess the idea isn’t completely unique after all! Wheaton’s Center for History has “An Evening with the Lincolns” tonight (4/17) at 7 pm. I’m pretty sure they aren’t serving alcohol though.

*Gail Borden has a ton of Lincoln-themed events coming up:
****4/22 @ 3 PM. Tea with Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd. Sounds similar to the $50 fundraiser, except it’s free and instead of champagne they’re serving lemonade. Count me in!
****4/28 @ 4 PM. Lincoln Studies and Stuff. Have a chat with the curator of Springfield’s Lincoln Presidential Library.
****4/28 @ 7 PM. Images of “Honest Abe.” Watch a slide show of how Lincoln’s image changed over the years.
****4/30 @ 7 PM. Lincoln’s Table. Learn about recipes that Lincoln’s family used. Now this one sounds interesting!

*If you love riding bikes and want to learn more about Lincoln, there is the Tour de Lincoln this August. It starts in Kentucky and ends in Illinois, stopping at Lincoln’s birth place, historic boyhood cabin, burial place, museum, and more.

*If you don’t love riding bikes but still want to learn more about Lincoln, there is a Legendary Lincoln Smithsonian Journey in May. It starts in Kentucky and ends in Illinois, similar to the bike ride mentioned above, but you travel by motorcoach and sleep in hotels.

Tags: Abe Lincoln, cooking, fundraiser, history, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Land of Lincoln, Legendary Lincoln Smithsonian Journey, Lincoln Presidential Library, recipes, Springfield, Tour de Lincoln, Wheaton Center for History
Filed under Elgin, Gail Borden Library, Wheaton, bicycling, food, history | Comment (0)

Allow me to make fun of my state’s capital for a minute.

I went to the Springfield, IL website for work-related reasons, where I saw a funny headline.

First vehicle “booted” as city goes after parking scofflaws.

Photo of a booted car, for those who have never seen one. Photo from dcist.com

I wondered, why is booted in quotes, and who uses the word scofflaws? I mean, they have a nice photo of Abe Lincoln on their site, but they’re still in the year 2008 right?

Springfield’s Honest Abe graphic.

So I clicked the link. To a former Chicagoan who thinks of “the boot” as a regular occurrence, the article was pretty funny. They actually published who got the first boot on their car!

The City of Springfield has applied the “boot” to the first vehicle that belongs to an individual who owes $500 or more in unpaid parking tickets. The vehicle was located in the 100 block of North Fourth Street. It is owned by Gary Corcoran, who has since come forward and paid all of his past due parking tickets.

Poor Gary! Though I’m glad to hear he came forward and paid his tickets.

Sometimes small towns are cute. I wonder what other things people can get their name in the paper over? And how many people do you think have been gossiping about that scofflaw Gary Corcoran?

Tags: Abe Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln, articles, cars, humor, Illinois, joke, news, parking tickets, parking violation, small towns, Springfield, the boot, tickets
Filed under Illinois, fun | Comments (2)