Dear Friends,

Angels...what's up with that???

Trust me,
I was almost as surprised as you.

Two nights ago after a long session at Kinkos working on the Web Site,
I settled in for some serious channel surfing.

All week long I'd seen the teasers on the History Channel,
"April 1865-The Month That Saved the Union".

How could I miss it??

Then as luck would have it,
I was able to catch most of the show.

Several things caught my attention,
but the most significant was Secretary of War,
Edward Stanton's Comment,
"Now he belongs to the Angels..."

I thought to myself, what???

Seems to me it should have been,
"Now he belongs to the Ages..."

So I followed along and sure enough,
"Angels" is correct.

After the show I did a little research just to make sure
and it appears that one James Tanner,
a double amputee from The Second Battle of Manassas
and a government stenographer,
just happened to be in the neighborhood
on the evening of April 14, 1865.

After President Lincoln was shot,
somehow he ended up in the Patterson House

and made a record of the conversations
during the last hours with Mr. Lincoln.

This is what is commonly referred to as the
"Rubber Room" picture.

Rubber Room??

Over the years, there were several attempts made to depict the scene
with any number of individuals pictured who were not actually there
and in positions which are not historically accurate.

Thus the name,
since people seemed to move around to and fro.

In any event,
according to the show,
the record indicates Stanton said,
"Now he belongs to the Angels..."
then changed it later to "Ages"
apparently because it sounded better.

Interesting...

James Tanner went on to serve as Commander of
The Grand Army of the Republic
or what is commonly known as the GAR from 1905-1906.

For more on Mr. Tanner
Click Here

In case you were wondering,
the GAR was organized in 1866,
held its last encampment in 1949
and formally closed operations in 1956.

The Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW)
was formed by the GAR in 1881 to carry on the tradition
for eligible descendants.

For more information on the GAR and SUVCW
Click Here

OK, now back to the Angels...

Like I said,
it kinda took me by surprise.

I began to think back to the humble beginnings of
The Lincoln Highway Comes of Age
and
The Lincoln Highway National Museum & Archives
and realized "The Angels" were present there as well.

Back in 1996,
I was the Ranger at a Girl Scout Camp.

As one of my service projects
I offered to help a friend
publish her first book.

The title...interestingly enough was,
"Angels We Have Heard".

Originally,
the plan was to make 25 or so
for family and friends and leave it at that.

However,
after reading the manuscript
it was obvious bigger things were in store.

One thing led to another,
and the need for a "Real Artist" soon presented itself.

I called a friend in who owned a silk screening business
located on the Lincoln Highway in Crestline.

He suggested I come over and speak with
Jack Klein, one of his freelance artists.

Several weeks later,
the proofs were done and the presses rolling.

Pretty nice don't you think???

Several days later a Press Release was written
and Book Signing Party soon followed.

Here's Harriett with a framed cover for her wall.

The party was a huge success,
and the book soon became a local sensation
going into a second printing
as indicated in this ad.

Several weeks later,
I was in at my friends and gave Jack his framed cover.

Then almost as an after thought,
he said,
"You know what you should do now
is make some Lincoln Highway Signs."

I looked around to see if he was talking to someone else,

I shrugged it off and went my merry way.

A month or so later I tripped across this brochure
in antique store in Leesville, Ohio,
also on the Lincoln Highway.

"And the rest as they say is history..."

So you see,
if it hadn't been for "The Angels"
we wouldn't be here today.

As "April 1865" came to an end,
one of the closing shots
was the sun sparkling off a mountain stream.

I was transfixed...

It was like "The Angels" were dancing on ice,
and it looked hauntingly familiar.

This just west of Donner Pass and Big Bend Ranger Station,
on the Yuba River on US Route 40,
aka...The Lincoln Highway.

Warmest Regards,

Back-001

20 Days-Index

Next-003

Home

Designed By: The Starman

You're Visitor #

Since November 9, 2003