Date: Fri Feb 09 2024
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Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial is having its 100th Lincoln Day program on Sunday, February 11, at 2:00 PM Central Time. The program will include the presentation of the colors by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, special music, a featured speaker, and other ceremonial activities to honor Abraham Lincoln and his family. Their featured speaker, Christian McWhirter, a historian from the Lincoln Museum in Springfield, Illinois, will be talking about the music of Lincoln's youth and how it impacted his life. Special music will be provided by the Celebration Singers. This local singing group performs several concerts in the local area yearly. The park is excited to have them participate by singing selections such as those Abraham Lincoln would have heard in his youth. Following the indoor program, the traditional pilgrimage to the gravesite of Nancy Hanks Lincoln for a wreath-laying ceremony will be held. Daryl Lovell, a descendant of six Civil War soldiers from Spencer County, will be presenting the eulogy at the cemetery. All are welcome to join the park for a reception in the Memorial Visitor Center at the conclusion of the program.
The park will be expanding their programming because it is the 100th Lincoln Day this year! Friday, February 9, they will host a Candlelight Evening experience from 5:30 to 7:30 PM Central Time. Saturday, February 10, they will host Kids Day at the Farm. The farm will also be staffed all weekend long, from Friday, February 9 - to Sunday, February 11.
Ceremonies to honor Abraham Lincoln and his mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, have long been a tradition at the site. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, these consisted of reunions by veterans of the GAR. Beginning in 1924, the Boonville Press Club began sponsoring annual programs. Initially held at the pavilion that was built near the gravesite of Nancy Hanks Lincoln in 1909, the ceremony was later moved to the memorial building. Regardless of the location, though, an integral part of every program has been a walk, or pilgrimage, to the gravesite on the hill.
