The Lincoln Highway National Museum & Archives 102 Old Lincoln Way West Galion, Ohio 44833 (419) 462-2212 Voice (419) 462-2214 Fax (419) 566-0790 Cell

Dear Friends,

Never tried the wildwood weed myself,
but if you know the song,
you'd think it was pretty cool too.

Still have it today,
and consider it one of my
prize possessions.

And here,
almost 10 years later,
and I still remember the story,
like it was yesterday.

To this day,
when people call
and ask what I'm doing,
I always say...

"Just sitting here on that sack of seeds!"

So...a little good will can
go a looong way.

Mr. Lincoln knew the value
of such good will,
and maintained an open door policy at
The White House
much to the chagrin of his handlers.

There are lots of stories,
of Mr. Lincoln going the extra mile,
and listening when others would not.

One such case involves...

Major George W. Evans.

This from the
May 1920 issue of
American Magazine

At the age of 14,
he donned a uniform
and fought at
The Battle of Fort Stevens.

Shortly thereafter,
he went to see Mr. Lincoln at
The White House
seeking employment
to support his widowed mother

and younger brothers
and to gain an education.

The President's messenger
said it was impossible to obtain
an audience with Mr. Lincoln.

He asked if he could remain until closing.

Shortly thereafter,
the President crossed the hall,
then came back again.

He spied the young soldier and said,

"My lad...what is it you want?"

Mr. Lincoln invited him in
to his private office
and asked him to sit down.

Make a long story short,
The President gave him a note
for employment at the
Interior Department
with the condition that he
report monthly to him
regarding his progress at night school
and his mother.

Mr. Evans did so
until the time of his death,
and was at Ford's Theater
that fateful night.

He stayed on at the
Interior Department,
passing various examinations,
until he reached the top rung in 1883,
as Chief of
The Financial Disbursing Division.

During his tenure,
he disbursed over 500 million dollars,
2/3's of it in cash,
and oversaw over 7 Billion dollars
in appropriations during
his 50 years of service.

He was so successful
in handling these affairs,
that every
Secretary of the Interior
wrote him a letter
of thanks and congratulations.

Upon completion
of a half-century of service
President Wilson
sent him this letter:

My Dear Mr. Evans,
My attention has been called
to the fact that you have
just completed 50 years
of faithful and efficient service
in the Department of the Interior.

This is indeed a most admirable record,
and I desire to join in congratulating you
on this anniversary.

I wish you many happy returns of the day.

Woodrow Wilson

Like I said,
"A little good will,
can go a long way..."

Warmest Regards,

Back-259

20 Days-Index

Next-261

Home