Calm down, please
Wednesday, Apr 15, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Adam Goodheart in National Geographic Magazine…
During the weeks after Lincoln’s death, as his funeral train made a circuitous journey from Washington, D.C., back to his hometown of Springfield, Illinois, perhaps a million Americans filed past the open coffin to glimpse their fallen leader’s face. Millions more—as much as one-third of the North’s population—watched the procession pass.
* Goodheart retraced the entire funeral train journey. It’s a great read…
From Freeland to New Freedom, the old train tracks rise gently out of Maryland toward the Pennsylvania hills. One of these auspiciously named hamlets sits just south of the Mason-Dixon Line separating the two states, the other just north. Until Maryland enacted emancipation just five months before Lincoln’s death, this line was like an electrified fence standing between four million people and liberty.
Today the old right-of-way on which Lincoln’s train passed, closed to rail traffic in the 1980s, has become a hiking trail. Rusted rails emerge here and there from its grassy margins, then sink again into the sod. A wooden post, a bench, and a couple of picnic tables are all that mark the Mason-Dixon Line itself. I sit down on the bench, with the left half of me in the South and the right half in the North, marveling at the border’s utter invisibility. I watch a pale green inchworm as it traverses my shirtfront from Pennsylvania into Maryland, then doubles back and crosses the Mason-Dixon Line again. […]
In 1860s America the railroad was more than just a new technology—it was a kind of national cult. A few months before the end of the Civil War, the abolitionist leader William Lloyd Garrison waxed mystical about the revolution that trains had brought, fostering not just economic prosperity but also human connection on a vast scale: “So may the modes of communication and the ties of life continue to multiply, until all nations shall feel a common sympathy and worship of a common shrine!”
Little remains of the Civil War–era railroad network traveled by the funeral train between Columbus, Ohio, and Chicago, Illinois. But as I get accustomed to the landscape, I find I can sense the railroad like a vanished limb: a downtown street that’s wider than it needs to be, a vacant lot beside a grain elevator, a long straight groove through the middle of a farmer’s soybean field. I’ll pull over, find a telltale scatter of old gravel and broken glass, and tell myself, Lincoln passed here too.
Sometimes at these places I find signs warning of buried fiber-optic lines. Data companies often use the old railroad rights-of-way to run their cables—just as, in the late 1850s, telegraph companies ran their wires here. The multiplication that Garrison prophesied continues apace.
* And then this…
The tomb, I find, is a disappointment. Twice reconstructed since 1865—most recently, in the 1930s, in incongruous Art Deco style—its current incarnation has all the historic character of an office lobby. (The coffin was moved no fewer than 14 times in the decades after its original burial, as if no one could figure out quite what to do with it.) Lengthy inscriptions on the wall, relics of their time, recount nearly every biographical detail except the Emancipation Proclamation. The body, a guide tells the crowd of tourists, lies under ten feet of concrete. It’s strange to think that there is a place where Lincoln still physically exists in the world, let alone that it’s a place like this.
* The AP manufactured some timely controversy…
Caretakers of Abraham Lincoln’s tomb are on the defensive over an unflattering critique in National Geographic magazine and looming budget cuts that could threaten management of the historic site, even as they commemorate the 150th anniversary of the U.S. Civil War president’s assassination.
For the state that calls itself the “Land of Lincoln,” the timing of a ceremony Wednesday in Springfield to mark his death is awkward because Illinois faces a financial crisis and Gov. Bruce Rauner has proposed eliminating the state Historic Preservation Agency that manages sites including the tomb as it currently exists. He would roll the agency into another department.
What’s more, the popular tourist site was pilloried in this month’s issue of National Geographic magazine as having “all the historical character of an office lobby.”
OK, first of all, even if IHPA is abolished, the state will continue to take care of Lincoln’s tomb. There have been budget cuts and hours have been reduced, but another agency can still handle the job.
Secondly, the article’s author went on what can probably be best described as a transcendent journey. He likely would’ve been disappointed at the end of that trip no matter what the tomb looked like.
I’ve been there many times. It’s a great space. Everyone I’ve taken to the tomb has been awed by the experience. I’ve never heard one complaint. And the AP even checked with a random tomb visitor…
William Sparks, a visitor to the outside of the tomb Tuesday who took an Amtrak train from Green Bay, Wisconsin, said he had a copy of the National Geographic story with him at his Springfield hotel, but disagreed with its conclusion.
“It’s absolutely gorgeous,” he said of the site, even though he didn’t get to see the interior of the tomb. “I don’t get (the author’s take) at all. This is very impressive.”
Carry on.
- VanillaMan - Wednesday, Apr 15, 15 @ 11:47 am:
Is there some television show where jackasses travel to public memorials, grave sites, churches or roadside crosses and critique them? Which fashion styling would this guy feel is suitable?
Good thing he didn’t go to Arlington to see Kennedy’s flame. He probably would discuss how it wastes energy, the flame is too small, or that when it rains, there is no shelter for visitors.
While he might have been attempting some kind of a spiritual journey, someone at National Geographic should have ensured that his story wasn’t so self-referential and egocentric that it ended up being completely disrespectful.
You don’t disrespect graves, moron.
- Bakersfield - Wednesday, Apr 15, 15 @ 11:52 am:
Rich, was just down there a few weeks ago, but the tomb and Old Capitol were closed since we were there Sun-Mon. To us, not a huge deal- you can still experience the tomb and rub Abe’s nose without going inside. It’s unfortunate that hours have been cut, but in this case its a less intrusive consequence of the state’s current financial situation.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Apr 15, 15 @ 11:53 am:
I visited the tomb for the first time just last year and thought it was magnificent.
- Not it - Wednesday, Apr 15, 15 @ 11:55 am:
Haters gonna’ hate.
- Ambrose Chase - Wednesday, Apr 15, 15 @ 12:02 pm:
Two sentences, thirty three words. I think the local media is a little sensitive.
- Cheryl44 - Wednesday, Apr 15, 15 @ 12:10 pm:
Have you ever been to the birthplace? The Greek temple in which a random log cabin has been placed is a wee bit over the top, IMO.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Apr 15, 15 @ 12:15 pm:
I have been to the Tomb more than a few times, and if I’m in town, and I’m “early” or plans change and I have time, I find my way over there.
It’s overwhelming, for me, thinking about Lincoln, the history of the Tomb, his family there, and the flags. Powerfully subtle, and quiet in its gradure.
I love it.
- A guy - Wednesday, Apr 15, 15 @ 12:21 pm:
It’s somber, it’s solemn and it’s awe-inspiring. Not sure what this reviewer was reviewing. I remember reading early critiques of the Viet Nam wall years ago. Silly. The greatest part of any “exhibit” is the people who see it and their reaction to it. It’s beyond fine.
- Crispy - Wednesday, Apr 15, 15 @ 12:30 pm:
Yes, what a strange reaction to the tomb. To me, it always inspires contemplation of Lincoln’s greatness and sacrifice, and of how his achievement came at the cost of tremendous personal suffering.
Maybe the National Geographic guy just doesn’t like the mostly flat landscape around here, and was unconsciously reacting to that. Too bad nature couldn’t have thrown up a mountain or two to underscore Lincoln’s stature, lol. But the monument itself is beautiful, and suits the space.
- Liberty - Wednesday, Apr 15, 15 @ 12:36 pm:
== It’s strange to think that there is a place where Lincoln still physically exists in the world, let alone that it’s a place like this.==
Reality bites.
- yinn - Wednesday, Apr 15, 15 @ 12:50 pm:
I visited the tomb in the early 90s with a group of colleagues from Sycamore. It was a beautiful sunny day and we’d just been sprung from being cooped up in a seminar much of the day. Feeling kind of punchy, laughing, one of our number absurdly breaking into Meatloaf’s “Rear View Mirror” every so often — all that stopped at the door. It was completely awesome in the old-fashioned sense of the word.
- Old Shepherd - Wednesday, Apr 15, 15 @ 1:07 pm:
I think I speak for many in Illinois, particularly those of us who spend a lot of time in Springfield, that for us, Lincoln is much more personal than he is for most Americans. For me, the many hours I have spent at New Salem, my many visits to the Tomb, and my quiet walks down the street in front of his home, have made me feel like I know him like an old friend. I am sad today, and feel the same melancholy that I feel when I think about an old relative who died when I was very young. Interestingly enough, through my readings, I know more about President Lincoln than I do about my uncles and grandfathers. To me, Lincoln is personal, and I feel lucky to live here and have that connection.
- Hawkeye in Illinois - Wednesday, Apr 15, 15 @ 1:11 pm:
On this important historical anniversary it may be instructive to compare the 16th President and the current Governor of Illinois.Simalarities: Both tall (Lincoln was 6′4 and Rauner appears even taller than that in photos). Both Republicans (although the Republican Party in the 1860s was more like the Democratic Party today and vice-versa). Differences: Lincoln fought to preserve the Union so government ” of the people, by the people, and for the people” would not perish. Rauner is fighting to destroy unions in order to foster government of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich or so it seems.
- Keyser Soze - Wednesday, Apr 15, 15 @ 1:21 pm:
Perhaps Goodheart was simply having a bad day when he visited the tomb. We all have bad days from time to time. Take today, for example, April 15th, the day in which we send our money to the IRS. It’s not a particularly good day, in the larger scheme of things. But, tomorrow will most likely be a better day.
- Bigtwich - Wednesday, Apr 15, 15 @ 1:22 pm:
” It is portentous, and a thing of state
That here at midnight, in our little town
A mourning figure walks, and will not rest,
Near the old court-house pacing up and down.”
Vachel Lindsay
- D.P.Gumby - Wednesday, Apr 15, 15 @ 1:24 pm:
The tomb captures Lincoln’s simplicity and humility in the same way that the Lincoln Monument in DC captures his grander and historic importance. What one sees depends on what one is looking for.
- State employee - Wednesday, Apr 15, 15 @ 1:43 pm:
Maybe he went to the wrong tomb: the first, temporary one in back, at the bottom of the hill. Still scratching my head.
- too obvious - Wednesday, Apr 15, 15 @ 2:10 pm:
The way Lincoln’s remains were moved around, and nearly stolen in fact at one point - before finally being sealed under 10 feet of concrete - really is a national embarrassment for Springfield though.
- Responsa - Wednesday, Apr 15, 15 @ 2:10 pm:
I visited the tomb (inside) two summers ago for the first time in about 20 years. The interior is a simple, beautiful, respectful, appropriate resting place for Abraham Lincoln and his family. We also spent some time walking the historic cemetery’s grounds.
I will say that for visitors not familiar with Springfield, and especially for out of state tourists, I do not believe the signage on the highways to help people find their way to Oak Ridge was adequate. Have they improved the signage for this important commemoration year?
- LINK - Wednesday, Apr 15, 15 @ 4:33 pm:
On a side note, I drove past the museum and adjacent park (Union Square Park) around 12:30 today and was surprised there was a small crowd there (less than 200 total) along with a stage, honor guard and the like. Come to find out it was an event to commemorate Lincoln’s death and Gov. Rauner was there and more.
To me it’s a sad statement that for the Land of Lincoln so few were there or knew about it. Just read in the SJR that a number of the people were simply walk-ons for their lunch hour and people visiting the museum. There was a WGN News truck, and maybe I am too sheltered, but hadn’t heard a thing about it.
This was the event according to a Google search - and it was the ninth listing in priority using my search parameters.
A. Lincoln - A Remembrance
April 15, 2015, Noon
Union Square Park, Springfield, IL
A 45-minute service with a flyover by Navy jets, music from the Air Force’s Shades of Blues Brass Quintet and the Chicago Black Hawks’ Jim Cornelison, and appearances by humorist Tom Dreesen and Tuskegee Airman Lawton “Wilk” Wilkerson. Noon, Union Square Park.
- Millennial - Wednesday, Apr 15, 15 @ 4:56 pm:
I share the authors disappointment. The tomb is geographically isolated from the downtown area, ie you need a car. Secondly the tomb is inside a cemetery with an erroneous name, it should be named the Lincoln Memorial Cemetery. Finally, in order to get to the tomb you have to drive through a downtrodden and disheveled neighborhood, illustrating a lack of zoning, planning, and the result of white flight; it’s an image which conflicts with Lincoln’s personal brilliance and legacy
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Apr 15, 15 @ 5:45 pm:
===The tomb is geographically isolated from the downtown area, ie you need a car.===
Back in the day, it was called horse and buggy. You do realize it’s been a few decades the tomb was completed…
===Secondly the tomb is inside a cemetery with an erroneous name, it should be named the Lincoln Memorial Cemetery.===
The Cemetery was here before Lincoln. You’re welcome.
===Finally, in order to get to the tomb you have to drive through a downtrodden and disheveled neighborhood, illustrating a lack of zoning, planning, and the result of white flight; it’s an image which conflicts with Lincoln’s personal brilliance and legacy===
You are a Dope.
I’m sure decades and decades ago, these were the worries of those using the cemetery, let alone the Lincoln family.
“…conflicts with Lincoln’s personal brilliance and legacy.”
Give. Me. A. Break. lol
- Sick of It All - Thursday, Apr 16, 15 @ 1:54 am:
Give me a break…I lived on the north side of Springpatch and until they finally gussied up the street leading to the cemetery and tomb, it looked as rundown as most of Springfield looks. Don’t tell me Springfield couldn’t do a better job with the entrance…tomb is inspiring because its Lincoln, not because of the state’s mishandling of the body and design….