Lincoln Boyhood Welcomes New Additions

The Living Historical Farm at Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial welcomed two baby lambs into the world this morning! I couldn't wait to get over there to snap some photos of these adorable fuzzy little things!

This spring a total of 3 lambs have been born at Lincoln Boyhood and a baby calf is due any day now.

All this spring's new additions can be seen by the public when the Living Historical Farm opens for the season on Sunday, April 12.

Ahhh, a mother's love! This mama was pretty protective of her little one and didn't much like me climbing around in the pen trying to get the best camera angle.

Although this mama sheep is black and brown, her little lamb is as white as snow!

This little lamb is trying out his wobbly new legs! I think he'll get the hang of it soon enough.

Flatboat Trip Motors up for Auction on eBay

Two 150-horse-power Mercury Verado outboard engines used on the Lincoln's Journey of Remembrance Flatboat Trip are now up for auction on eBay to benefit future Lincoln projects in Spencer County, Ind.

A reserve amount of $12,000 has been set for the pair of motors, used to take a 60-foot pioneer era replica flatboat from Rockport, Ind., to New Orleans, La. last fall. Proceeds will go to Think Lincoln, Inc.

Here's a link to the auction page on eBay!

New Mural at Lincoln Amphitheatre

Judy Powers of Mt. Vernon, Ind., is working on a Civil War Battlefield mural as part of a new interpretive center at Lincoln Amphitheatre. Since Mt. Vernon is about an hour and a half from us here in Spencer County, Judy has been staying with me this week at my house. It's been a treat!

After four days of progress, here is how it's looking:

I'll post another photo when the painting is finished!

Taking a spring drive.....

One of the things I love most about Spencer County is its hilly, curvy, winding country roads. Especially this time of year when you see bunches of daffodils growing wild along the sides of the highways and bright white blooms of pear trees all around.

I'd suggest a trip down the Ohio River Scenic Byway along Highway 66 in Southern Spencer County.

Lincoln Bicentennial Plaza is Taking Shape

Work on a new tribute to Abraham Lincoln's Spencer County, Indiana, youth is well underway at Lincoln State Park. Lincoln Bicentennial Plaza will open to the public on June 12, the same day as the premiere of LINCOLN, a new theatrical experience at Lincoln Amphitheatre.

The plaza, which is funded by the Indiana Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, features a circle, divided into many sections. Where you see the squares above, a limestone pedestal will be located featuring an interpretive sign signifying key milestones in Lincoln's formative Indiana years, from ages 7 to 21.

The back half of the plaza, shown here, will feature a twice life size bronze bust atop a pedestal set up in the center. The bust is being created by Will Clark a sculptor from Ft. Wayne, Ind.

Here is an overview of the plaza from the front....it will be so pretty when all the trees behind it have green leaves on them! You could almost envision a young Abe skipping through those same woods!

When it's finished the Plaza should look like this:

I'm ready to take the Plunge!

Below is a slide show from the Holiday World & Splashin' Safari construction site showing crews topping off the new Pilgrims Plunge ride. When completed in May, it will be the World's Tallest Water Ride......10 feet taller than Niagara Falls!



If just can't get enough Pilgrims Plunge Pic's, you can also find more photos of today's construction event today posted "as it happened" on my facebook page!

Topping off Pilgrims Plunge

Tomorrow will be an exciting day as construction crews at Holiday World & Splashin' Safari place the top piece on the 16-story elevator tower for the world's tallest water ride: Pilgrims Plunge.

I can't wait to watch! But for those of you at home, you don't have to be in Santa Claus to see it!

You can watch via the Construction Cam on Holiday World's website!

Click here to see what's happening!

You can also follow me on Twitter and I'll give you the play by play! http://twitter.com/SpencerCtyVB

Follow us on Twitter!

Want to know the very latest on what's happening in Spencer County???

Follow us on Twitter at this link: http://twitter.com/SpencerCtyVB

This also will be a great way to stay up to date with all the ongoing Lincoln Bicentennial Celebrations.

How much would you pay for a penny??

The U.S. Mint released the first in a series of 4 new pennies on Lincoln's 200th Birthday, Feb. 12. I've been watching my change like a hawk to see if I could spot one, but after nearly a month still haven't seen one.

After chatting with some fellow Lincoln enthusiasts at the Indiana Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission meeting last week, I found out none of them have seen them either.

Several coin collector websites say that these new pennies will in fact be quite rare and may not ever make it into the general coin circulation. In part because of the current economic state, people are spending less money, so less money is being released by the Mint. It seems people are digging through their couch cushions turning in more change than banks need right now.

We all know there is one place to find anything you're looking for...EBAY!

After a brief bidding war, I paid $20 for a 50 cent roll of pennies. Talk about inflation!

Spencer County will be the site for the release of the second penny in this series. A special event will be held May 14 in Lincoln City. Details are still being worked out, so stay tuned!

Signs of Spring...

For some people, they know spring is coming when they see the tulips coming up or the buds on the trees. For us here in Spencer County, a sure sign of spring is seeing construction at Holiday World & Splashin' Safari.

This will be the splash pool at the bottom of Pilgram's Plunge, the World's Tallest Water Ride!


The first vertical steel piece of Pilgrim's Plunge! When the ride is complete it will be 165 feet tall.

Lincoln Amphitheatre Unveils Set Design

Here's a video explaining the new set design for LINCOLN, which will premiere at Lincoln Amphitheatre on June 12. You can find more info at LincolnAmphitheatre.com