Statues Of Old Abe Are Rejected

From the April 19, 2008 edition of the Lincoln Courier (Lincoln, Illinois) newspaper comes a story about how donated statues of Old Abe have been rejected for display in the local courthouse.

Seems that Mr. Lester Van Bibber and his wife commissioned two larger-than-life statues of Abe out of solid granite and wanted to donate them to the tourism bureau of Logan County, Illinois. One statue was meant to be displayed on the third floor of the Logan County courthouse, but when it was discovered that each 6'6" statue weighs 1200 pounds, it was rejected as being too heavy. Another statue was supposed to be donated to the Postville Courthouse State Historic Site, a replica of the courthouse where Lincoln practiced law. But that offer was rejected by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

The Van Bibbers are extremely disappointed and blame officials for rejecting the statues. After seeing the photo of the one statue, I'd have to say I don't blame the officials. It bears about as much resemblance to Lincoln as a bad Lincoln impersonator does. Seems to me that the money would have much better spent establishing funds for scholarships or perhaps for an interpretive exhibit about Lincoln's work within Logan County.