Happy Birthday Abe! Du Quoin Celebrates Lincoln

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ Du Quoin librarian Pam Urban and Du Quoin High School Illinois and American History instructor Shawn File joined a dozen youngsters in blowing out the candles Saturday to celebrate Abraham Lincoln's upcoming 200th birthday.

Anyone with a birthday close to Christmas can sympathize with the late, great American president.

Illinois celebrates Lincoln's 200th birthday Thursday, February 12th, but the buildup to the big event shares headlines with the election of another president from Illinois and economic issues big and small.

Illinois had to pinch pennies and even close some historic sites connected to the 16th president. To top it all off, a key cheerleader for the bicentennial, the head of the Lincoln presidential library, was fired over a shoplifting arrest.

Still, a visit to Springfield from President Barack Obama will help put the spotlight back on Lincoln.

Du Quoin librarian Pam Urban certainly did her part in hosting Saturday's birthday bash.

Shawn File read books about Lincoln to children. Following the readings, Mrs.Urban brought out a cake with "Happy Birthday Mr. Lincoln" written on it. The children sang "Happy Birthday" and blew out the candles. Mrs. Urban then passed out bookmarks depicting the life of Lincoln.

Children also did rubbings on paper from Lincoln pennies and built cabins out of Lincoln logs.

Mrs. Urban recommended the following new books for children interested in learning more about the president: "Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek", "Young Abe Lincoln", "Lincoln and His Boys" and "Our Abe Lincoln."

Du Quoin's observance was part of a statewide celebration.

"We're trying to do things that will keep this alive," said Tim Farley, executive director of the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau. "The birthday party is the kickoff of the bicentennial. It is not the beginning and end of it."

The weeklong party is packed with events, from the cerebral to the silly.

Scholars will debate fine points of Lincoln lore and hawk their latest books. Actors will stage the play Lincoln was watching when he was assassinated. A motorcycle buff will display the "Circuit Rider," a Harley-Davidson customized in Lincoln's honor (including replica shackles "representing the issue of slavery").

Organizers are even going for a new world record by having students across Illinois - and the world, for that matter - simultaneously recite the Gettysburg Address. Schools in Japan and Germany say they'll take part in the effort to reach the magic number of 223,364 people simultaneously reading aloud.

Lincoln fans around the country have also been invited to send birthday cards to Abe. Bicentennial organizers have gotten between 2,000 and 3,000 so far and are displaying them around the capital city.

Some are simple Hallmark-style cards that were sent to the president who died 143 years ago. Others are scrawled drawings and notes from children ("I love snowmen. Do you?"), or heartfelt letters from adults. A few are humorous, including a top 10 list of other Lincoln nicknames. No. 8: "Town Car."

The most elaborate card has to be the one from Clarence Townes of Tampa, Fla. It's a tile mosaic with "Happy Birthday" on one panel and Lincoln's silhouette on the other. Each panel is 38 inches high and 24 inches wide, and Townes estimates the whole thing weighs 85 pounds.

The process of celebrating Lincoln's bicentennial has not gone smoothly. The farm where Lincoln first lived after moving to Illinois has been closed, and so has the former state capitol in Vandalia, where Lincoln first served as a legislator. His law office in Springfield is open only one day a week.

Gov. Blagojevich also cut money for the bicentennial itself. While $8.7 million was originally approved for planning over the past two years, Blagojevich cut that to just $3 million.

Preparations took a hit when Rick Beard, director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, the crown jewel of Illinois' Lincoln sites, was fired in October. He later pleaded guilty to trying to steal a boxed set of "House" DVDs and was given a $500 fine and six months of probation.

The flood of birthday cards and the sold-out events this week show the bicentennial is still generating tremendous interest.

And Obama's speech Thursday night at a Lincoln banquet can only intensify that interest. "That just makes it all the more special," Smith said.

Classrooms all across the Du Quoin-area will celebrate the life of Lincoln as we take stock of why we are Americans.