December 11, 2007 - Ms. Jennifer L. Rosenfeld, Deputy Executive Director of the Abraham Lincoln
Bicentennial Commission, in Washington, D.C., has informed Homer Central’s Committee on the Carpenter Paintings
that endorsement has been granted for "Homer's Celebration of Lincoln in Paint and Print." This celebration is
being planned for May of 2009, as one of many across the nation that will be providing educational ways to
recognize the 200th birthday of America's sixteenth President.
The Lincoln legacy has been conveyed to modern times in paint and print, and Homer has two native-sons that
contributed in these two manners. Francis Bicknell Carpenter (born 1830) painted "The First Reading of the
Emancipation Proclamation before the Cabinet" during a six-month stay at the White House. The famous oil
painting of this momentous event now hangs in the Capitol building in our nation's capital. William Osborn
Stoddard (born 1835) moved to Illinois, wrote an editorial nominating Lincoln for the Presidency, and became an
assistant personal secretary to Lincoln during the Civil War. In the latter capacity, he was responsible for
making handwritten copies of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, a document which began the process of
abolishing the practice of slavery in America. Both men went on to write books of their interactions with
President Lincoln that Lincoln scholars still use today.
"Homer's Celebration of Lincoln in Paint and Print" will celebrate Homer's
connections to Lincoln. The celebration is in the planning stages, but
Harold Holzer has agreed
to come May 15th and 16th, 2009 to lecture on
Homer's connections. Harold Holzer is a noted Lincoln scholar and an authority
on both Carpenter and Stoddard. He is, also, one of the commissioners on
the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. His presence will be the
centerpiece of our local celebration.
More information will be available as plans unfold for an educational event that most certainly has the
potential of being long remembered in the Homer community. This multi-day event is being co-sponsored by the
Homer Education Foundation
and the Homer Center4theArts.
Congratulations to all involved for gaining national endorsement and for the efforts to bring the
"Celebration" to fruition.
