The day I held President Lincoln's Hands
Jul 3, 2009 7:17:22 GMT -5
Post by avordvet on Jul 3, 2009 7:17:22 GMT -5
Just thought I'd share a kinda neat story... Sometimes a boring job can find some amazing history.
A few months ago I went with a coworker to an old law firm in the local area to do some electrical work. While doing our trouble shooting we ended up in the basement of a very old house (built in the 1800's) which had been turned into a business.
As we were leaving one of the basement rooms, I noticed a rather nice statue (Bust) of President Abraham Lincoln and I wondered aloud why it was in the basement. although the entire house, every room and every hallway was loaded with artwork from every era, I still felt they should have placed it in a more prominent and respectful spot.
As we were finishing the job, an older gentleman approached me to thank us for the work, it turned out he was the 90+ year old senior lawyer of a father and son attorneys practice. I shook his hand and after some chit chat, I asked if he realized that President Lincoln was being held captive and was "interned" in a corner of the basement.
He must have sensed I didn't like it, because he smiled, took my arm and said "no, we are protecting him down there." and not to worry, that he would take good care of him. Still smiling, he asked if I was a student of American history, I said yes, especially of late.
He then asked me to follow him to his office, as I walked into the room I was amazed that not an inch of wall space was available, there were portraits, pictures and documents hung and stacked everywhere. He walked over to his desk, picked a couple of items and placed them in my hands, I realized they were metal hands... bronze casts of Abraham Lincoln's hands, He told me, made shortly after Lincoln took office.
He then pointed to a couple of items mounted on the walls of his office, a lock of Lincolns hair, early American pictures, portraits and other documents signed by President Lincoln, President Washington and many others.
To say I was floored is an understatement and it must have shown, he then asked if I had any historical favorites, I told him that George Washington was "da Man", but that I was currently re-reading Thomas Paine's "Common Sense", to which he replied, "excellent book" as he rummaged through another stack and pulled out an old document signed by both George Washington and Thomas Paine!
It was like a museum, a very patriotic museum, I could have spent the entire day perusing the place. As I was leaving he invited me back anytime for a visit, it was just totally cool.
A few months ago I went with a coworker to an old law firm in the local area to do some electrical work. While doing our trouble shooting we ended up in the basement of a very old house (built in the 1800's) which had been turned into a business.
As we were leaving one of the basement rooms, I noticed a rather nice statue (Bust) of President Abraham Lincoln and I wondered aloud why it was in the basement. although the entire house, every room and every hallway was loaded with artwork from every era, I still felt they should have placed it in a more prominent and respectful spot.
As we were finishing the job, an older gentleman approached me to thank us for the work, it turned out he was the 90+ year old senior lawyer of a father and son attorneys practice. I shook his hand and after some chit chat, I asked if he realized that President Lincoln was being held captive and was "interned" in a corner of the basement.
He must have sensed I didn't like it, because he smiled, took my arm and said "no, we are protecting him down there." and not to worry, that he would take good care of him. Still smiling, he asked if I was a student of American history, I said yes, especially of late.
He then asked me to follow him to his office, as I walked into the room I was amazed that not an inch of wall space was available, there were portraits, pictures and documents hung and stacked everywhere. He walked over to his desk, picked a couple of items and placed them in my hands, I realized they were metal hands... bronze casts of Abraham Lincoln's hands, He told me, made shortly after Lincoln took office.
He then pointed to a couple of items mounted on the walls of his office, a lock of Lincolns hair, early American pictures, portraits and other documents signed by President Lincoln, President Washington and many others.
To say I was floored is an understatement and it must have shown, he then asked if I had any historical favorites, I told him that George Washington was "da Man", but that I was currently re-reading Thomas Paine's "Common Sense", to which he replied, "excellent book" as he rummaged through another stack and pulled out an old document signed by both George Washington and Thomas Paine!
It was like a museum, a very patriotic museum, I could have spent the entire day perusing the place. As I was leaving he invited me back anytime for a visit, it was just totally cool.