Lincoln Day 2023

Superintendent Rhonda Schier folds the American flag along with other park rangers during the park's 99th Lincoln Day celebration.

NPS SCA/Bielawa

Lincoln Day, 2023, Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

Superintendent Welcome by Rhonda B. Schier

As superintendent of Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial it is my honor to welcome you to the 99^th annual Lincoln Day. It has been three years since we have gathered like this, and so it is an especially happy occasion to welcome you back on Abraham Lincoln’s 214^th birthday. Many thanks to all of you who collaborated last February to create a wonderful virtual event when the ice storm prevented our gathering and annual pilgrimage to the Pioneer Cemetery.

Lincoln Day is an opportunity for us to commemorate the history and legacy of Abraham Lincoln and to celebrate the connection of this area to our 16^th president, a leader who is revered around the world for the characteristics that he developed when he lived here during his youth from age 7 to 21.

This event is a team effort of National Park Service staff, park partners, volunteers, historians, authors, musicians, eulogist, re-enactors, DAR chapters, community groups, park friends and neighbors, and descendants of the Little Pigeon Creek Community. Together we participate in a program of education, inspiration, ceremony and song. We will even provide some fresh air and exercise and get you home in time for the Super Bowl!

Today we also commemorate the history of the park and the grass roots efforts of those who came before us to set aside and protect the pioneer cemetery and the adjoining forest and farmland for future generations, meeting the preservation mission of the National Park Service.

We honor the efforts of those who designed and created the cultural landscape of the Allee and its trails and flagpole terrace that are the route of the annual pilgrimage.

We are grateful for those who envisioned the Lincoln Living Historical Farm which was established just over fifty years ago to expand the story we tell to include demonstrations of the pioneer lifestyle of the Lincoln family’s Indiana residency, 1816 to 1830.

On the back of today’s program you will see photos from the 1941 cornerstone ceremony for this beautiful Memorial Visitor Center and recognize names of children who with their children grew up to become leaders in their communities as Abraham Lincoln did.

There is no hiding today the fact that our upkeep of the historical property continues as the re-roofing project continues to completion. We have repointed the exterior and interior walls. The outdoor terrace has been repaired. The beautiful sculpted panels are cleaned and restored. The floors have been buffed, the wood shined, and the brass polished for today’s event.

As part of our recently completed Accessibility Plan to identify accessibility barriers and implement solutions, the visitor center restrooms have been redesigned. When you proceed on the Allee trails today you will travel on a new surface that was recommended by our park neighbors and visitors who use mobility devices. Upon arrival to the knoll with the flagpole terrace you will decide if you want to continue on the historic stairs or take one of the new sloped spur trails as an alternate route. We call these landscape adjustments Universal Design, as we create parks for all people.

You will see thousands of recently planted “baby oaks” as we call them, protected in their wrap-around containers from the foraging deer. We are creating a forest of oak and hickory dominated species like the forest of Lincoln’s time. Throughout the park you will also see rebuilt split-rail fences installed by volunteers and youth teams and see the results of the clearing of downed trees and debris.

Our education programming has expanded from on-site school visits to include digital media and distance leaning programs that reach thousands of students around the country, and teacher-training workshops so teachers can create project-based curriculum which uses our park as an outdoor classroom. Contact our education rangers to co-create a program that works for you.

Everything we do, with you, as a Community of Lincoln demonstrates that history is not past tense. It is present in the stories that we tell and the opportunities we create, past, present and future.

We are approaching a milestone next year in 2024 – the 100^the Lincoln Day. We are also preparing for the solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, when Lincoln Boyhood will be in totality for 2 and a half minutes. They tell us thousands will come to a national park to witness the event that we know would fascinate Abraham Lincoln who was a stargazer and once visited an observatory in Washington, DC, to look at the stars and the moon. Please put these dates on your calendar.

And thank you for joining us today, February 12, 2023, in our Community of Lincoln.