General Discussion

My Mom's hometown is Vandalia, Illinois, and its one claim to fame is that for a brief time it was the state capital. The old capitol building still stands in downtown Vandalia, and Lincoln's office , including his desk and writing implements, is still there and can be viewed on the tour.

There's a small museum next door and, while visiting my grandparents about 15 years ago, my wife and I decided to visit the museum. In a town of 6000ish people, you take your distractions where you can find them. We walked in and the lady minding the place asked the polite questions (where we're from, what brought us to Vandalia, etc.) and I mentioned my grandparents by name. This was enough to secure us tickets to The Tour®.

She chaperoned us around the various exhibits (we were the only visitors) and when we reached a case with various old-timey tools, she opened it and took one of them out so we could get a better look. She explained that it was a froe, a tool used for splitting shingle, and held it out to me with this peculiar little smile on her face.

I took it, not really knowing what to expect, and turned it over. On the underside of the blade were the initials "A.L." I damn near dropped the thing and looked up at her in wide-eyed shock and she just nodded. I'm standing there, frozen, thinking, "Holy shit, I'm holding something that belonged to Abe Lincoln."

It was one of the coolest things that's ever happened to me and my Dad, a history buff and high school history teacher, was outraged that he never got The Tour®. My wife, who's Canadian, didn't quite grasp the mystique of the whole thing and thought my reaction was funny.

Hopefully you didn't find my little anecdote boring.