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,

Now remember,
the Program said,
"Annual"
so the next day it was off to
the San Francisco Public Library
to begin the search in earnest.

While I could only find reference
to the Event
in 1924 and 1926,
there were several
interesting things to note.

The 1924
Lincoln Day Pilgrimage
was the first...

and was only 6 months
after President Harding died
in San Francisco.

Since Harding was scheduled...

to plant the
"Memorial Tree"
at the
End of the Lincoln Highway,
The Boy Scouts...

went ahead and planted it
in his honor as
The Harding Memorial Tree.

It was quite the event,
with over 2000 scouts participating.

Well,
the door was open
as I looked for material
on the Scouting Pilgrimages.

I was surprised
by the interest
and amount of
Lincoln Coverage.

San Francisco is unique
in that regard,
and has a rich history with
Mr. Lincoln.

Not only is it the
End of the Lincoln Highway,
but history records
Mr. Lincoln's last official words as;
"A pleasant journey to you.
I will telegraph you at San Francisco.
Good-bye."

Accordingly,
to San Francisco...

goes the honor of erecting
America's first statue of Mr. Lincoln
in front of the
Lincoln Grammar School in 1866,
which was also one
of the very first
named in his honor.

In this regard,
the students and alumni of
Lincoln Grammar School
always celebrated his birthday
in grand style and were the sponsor of
The Haig Patigan Statue...

dedicated in front of
City Hall in 1928.

In addition,
Frank McGlynn,
a Native San Franciscan
played Mr. Lincoln in...

John Drinkwater's play
Abraham Lincoln
from 1919 to 1923
and received a heroes welcome
as he entered the city
for an extended run
for the home town folks.

And it was Frank who was scheduled
to start out across the Country...

on the Lincoln Highway
after appearing at a fund raiser for
The Lincoln Grammar School Association
and the Haig Patigan Statue.

Ok,
now back to the papers.

Both the San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner
always covered the local celebrations
and devoted their
Editorial Pages
to Mr. Lincoln.

A tradition,
with the advent of
President's Day
has I'm afraid
been lost to the ages.

Ah for the good old days
of yesteryear...

While the coverage is impressive,
what struck me most
was the strength
and simplicity
of the message conveyed via
The Editorial Cartoon

You know what they say...

Warmest Regards,

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