President's Day With A Focus on Abraham Lincoln

Today is President's Day in the USA. It's a day we can honor and remember all the presidents who have served our country. When I was young, we celebrated Linccoln's birthday and Washington's birthday on separate days in February.

As some of you know, I am a real Abraham and Mary Lincoln nut! My Jimmy was born in Springfield, Illinois~LAND OF LINCOLN! I suppose that's where some of my interest has come from, however, I like studying about the Civil War times. As I have read more over the years, I am more interested in the battles of the war, but it is the Lincoln family that really peaks my interest.

During the year, I collect fun things about Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln and save it all for a wonderful post on President's Day. So, I would like to share my finds and share our visit to Hildene, Vermont last summer.

We found these silhouettes of Abe and Mary in a small antique shoppe in Vermont. I think they are made of plaster of Paris and are quite heavy.

This reproduction print of Lincoln is quite interesting. It was produced by a small printing company in Portland, Oregon. I talked to the man who owns the company and his process is really interesting.
I like the detail that he was able to capture on this.

Here's a flyer he includes with his work.

I am always on the lookout for antique postcards. This one commemorates the Gettysburg Address.

I found a couple vintage pamphlets at an estate sale recently...just interesting.

One of the places on our vacation to Vermont last summer was to see Hildene. We were able to go and it was a beautiful summer day and a wonderful place to visit. I'll share more a bit later in this post.

The gift shoppe was filled with tempting Lincoln family goodies. This is a wonderful cookbook, filled with family history and recipes from volunteers at the center. It is loaded with great pictures of the home, old and new. You can spend an afternoon just enjoying this book.

As I am interested it the Lincoln family, this book is a fantastic addition to my collection. So many pictures are new to me and it follows the family to the last descendant.

A great ornament for the tree or a fun item for a Abe Lincoln celebration. Nicely made for a new item.

I rescued this little wooden book at a flea market for $1.00. It is filled with small vintage postcards from Gettysburg. I find it charming.

This is a rather odd item. It reminded me of the cabin where Lincoln lived when he was young. It's made of coal from West Virginia.

This is my beloved cup and saucer which I pull out ever year to toast the Lincolns. This is a copy of their White House China. I love it.

We drove to Manchester, Vermont on a nice day in July.  I took this from my car as we drove down the lane to the Hildene estate. You actually park your car and walk up to the house or ride the little tour trolleys.

The house is a 24 room Georgian Revival house, finished in 1905 by Robert Lincoln as a summer home.  Robert (1843-1926 ) was the Lincoln's only son to live to adulthood. The family loved the area and would spend up to 8 months a year there.

Mary Todd Lincoln had taken her two sons Tad and Robert to the Equinox Hotel in Manchester, VT for the summer in 1864. It was a nice retreat from Washington DC. They enjoyed the visit and hoped to return the following summer with the President, but we know that he wasn't living that next year.

40 years later, Robert returned to the area and purchased 500 acres and built his lovely summer home. He called it Hildene, which is an old English name meaning hill and valley with stream...the perfect name for this home perched upon the hill in the Shires of Vermont. The views are breathtaking.

This is the front of the house.

While we were waiting for our tour, we walked up to the little observatory. Robert had quite an interest in the astronomy.

This was taken at the back of the house...beautiful views and gardens.

I think Jimmy wanted to take this car for a spin! Pretty cool.

This little plot is marked off on the front lawn. It's really a great visual to appreciate the size of Lincoln's little log cabin birth place.

This is a view of the formal garden, taken from an upstairs window on our tour.

Linda and Jimmy on holiday with the Lincolns! What a wonderful time we had this day and on the entire trip.

The formal dining room...all set for dinner.

I just loved the stair and all the woodwork. The pipe organs are behind the closed in areas. The organ is on the main floor and it is amazing. Yes, they do play it for you...well, it's like a player piano. You just put the rolls in and away it goes.

The Illinois boy finds Lincoln in New England! There was a lot of Lincoln things to enjoy in the home.

One of Abe's famous hats! I got to see another one at the Lincoln museum in Illinois.

There is also a working farm on the property. There is quite a goat program and they do sell the goat cheese in the gift store.

The trolly will also take you down to see the restored Pullman car. Robert Lincoln had several careers. He was Secretary of War, Ambassador to England, a laywer and eventually, President of the Pullman Palace Car Company.

The car is beautifully restored. It was very fun to visit the area.

I thought it was really funny to find a Lincoln's Home (Springfield, Illinois) dollhouse is Bennington, VT!

I hope you enjoyed my Lincoln blog...I really enjoyed writing this one.

I am sharing this on Bernideen's Blog Party today, so pop on over and see what others have been doing. It's fun.

A Bit of Reading

Being a bit under the weather lately, I've had some extra time for reading. I have been reading three different book, all very interesting and entertaining. So, what am I reading you ask? Here are my selections!

I started Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini some time ago. I talked about this novel earlier this year and I am almost finished with this one. I love to read about the Lincolns and this is a most enjoyable book told by Mary Todd Lincoln's dressmaker.

My friend Natalie loaned this book to me....A Good Man by Mark Shriver. It's a personal story about his father, Sargent Shriver. Sargent Shriver was JFK's brother-in-law. It's a heartfelt story written by his son. I never really knew a lot about Sargent Shriver's life. When I hear his name, I think Peace Corp but he was surely was A GOOD MAN.

My last book is a children's book from 1929, the year my father was born. I found it at the last Portland antique show.....Lucy Locket. I bought it from a young lady who was packing up her table early. She said she was hoping someone who was a doll person would find it! Oh yes I did!

It's written and illustrated by John Rae who also wrote Raggedy Ann and Andy! I didn't know that when I bought the book. It's a wonderful story about some children who find Lucy Locket in their grandmother's attic.

I love the back of the cover...."This is an Old-Fashioned DOLL BOOK! What a perfect book for me.

I once taught first grade, oh so long ago. and I often think of my students learning to read. I think we just take that for granted. Can you imagine all you would miss in your life if you never learned how to read? I am thankful for the gift of reading and for all the books available just waiting to be enjoyed. I hope you get a bit of time to read this summer.