Lincoln exhibit opens Thursday at library

An open house to launch the three-week visit of a major exhibition celebrating the life of Abraham Lincoln and his impact on Idaho will be held March 6 from 6-8 p.m. at the Mountain Home Public Library.

Lincoln re-enactor Skip Critell, as well as a number of other re-enactors in period costume from the Idaho Civil War Skirmish Association, will be on hand as well as a number of state and local dignitaries. The formal opening ceremony begins at 6:30 p.m.

Although not required, anyone attending the event is encouraged to come in period dress or dressed as Abraham Lincoln.

The Idaho Lincoln Bicentennial Commission opened the exhibit at the state historical museum earlier this month, part of its effort to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth next year. The exhibit is designed to travel around the state, and largely due to the efforts of commission member Mildred McNeal, Mountain Home was selected as the first site outside of Boise to display the exhibit.

Financing for the exhibition to be brought to Mountain Home was paid by the Friends of the Library, which also will be assisting with the open house and providing refreshments.

Lincoln Bicentennial Commission chairman Dave Leroy said his group hopes 200,000 to 300,000 people will view the exhibit over the next 22 months.

It's first appearance outside of Boise will be in Elmore County.

The exhibition is actually two sets of displays -- the Idaho Lincoln Bicentennial Commission's exhibit on Lincoln and Idaho and the American Library Association's exhibit on Lincoln's life.

The Idaho exhibit features 23 nine-foot-tall panels and six display cases showing Lincoln's impact on Idaho. The ALA exhibit, titled "Forever Free," is another six panels representing 75 linear feet of reproductions of documents and photos about Lincoln's life.

Lincoln had a major impact on Idaho, which became a territory during his first term in office, Leroy noted. "He sent his political friends and allies out to be our first territorial officers," which were initially appointed by Lincoln.

Two items in the exhibit have never been seen in Idaho, Leroy said -- a reproduction from the National Archives of the territorial act signed by Lincoln, and the last communication Lincoln ever wrote, an appointment to the Idaho Supreme Court signed by him the afternoon just before his assassination (also reproduced from the National Archives).

The Idaho exhibition will be shown largely in the coffee shop commons area of the library, with the ALA exhibit being set up in the magazine section of the library. The library is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The exhibits have been put together largely using staff from the city Parks and Recreation Department. The huge size of the exhibit will force the library to rearrange many of its tables and chairs during the three weeks it will be on display. The exhibition is scheduled to run until March 22.

"It's absolutely beautiful. This is a big thing for Mountain Home," said Library Directory Luise House.

School classes are being invited to tour the exhibit and the library is planning a special children's night (the date has not yet been set), during which students will be encouraged to dress up as Lincoln or in period costume.

The library also has arranged for two lectures related to the exhibit through the Idaho Speaker's Bureau.

On Tuesday, March 11, ISU political science professor Dave Adler will discuss Lincoln's presidency, and on Tuesday, March 18, historian Betty Taylor will give a talk entitled "Hiding in Plain Sight: African-Americans in the American West." Both of those lectures will begin at 6:30 p.m.

The Lincoln exhibit is the first of a series of exhibitions the library hopes to be able to host in its expanded facilities over the next few years.

In July 2010 it has been selected to be one of only 40 sites in the country to display the American Library Association's national touring exhibit of Benjamin Franklin's life, a major coup for the library obtained through a grant written by librarian Robin Murphy.