Elizabeth Bailey
The Historical Society of Decatur County is gearing up for its annual dinner and program to be held this Saturday.
Dinner, prepared by the Presbyterian Women, will be served at the Presbyterian Church beginning at 6 p.m. with a program starting at 7.
The program will be offered by William Bartelt. He will share thoughts from his book and give insight into Lincoln's Hoosier years.
“In drawing from Lincoln's few words on his time in Indiana, examining interviews with those who knew Lincoln and analysis of earlier biographies, Bartelt reveals a fascinating period in the life of the nation's greatest president,” the press release states.
Bartelt is a native of Holland, Ind. He taught social studies at Evansville’s Harrison High School for 37 years and was the social studies and fine arts department chair at the school when he retired in 2005.
For more than15 summers he was employed as a ranger and historian at Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial. From 1986 to 2007 he was an adjunct American history instructor at the University of Southern Indiana. He has served as president of the Vanderburgh County Historical Society, a member of the history committee of the Evansville Museum, and is currently a trustee of the Indiana Historical Society. In 2003, he received the prestigious Indiana Historical Society’s Hoosier Historian Award for contribution to historical scholarship.
The Lincoln bicentennial is his current focus. He is a member of the Federal Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission’s Advisory and Education Committees, serves as vice-chair of the Indiana Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, and is a board member of the Lincoln Boyhood Drama Association. In 2008 the Indiana Historical Society Press published his book There I Grew Up: Remembering Abraham Lincoln’s Indiana Youth.
The Historical Society chose a program on the topic of Lincoln in commemoration of the 16th president’s 200th birthday on Feb. 12 and in honor of his visit to Greensburg along his route to his innauguration.
In addition to the important milestone for Lincoln, this year also marks the 50th anniversary of the Historical Society, a landmark that will be celebrated with birthday cake.
The dinner and program are $15 per person or $25 per couple. To attend just the program, the cost is $5 per person for non-members and free for members who are up-to-date on their dues. For new members who pay their dues that night, the program will also be free.
Membership to the Historical Society is $10 per year for students, $15 per year for individuals and $25 per year for a family.
The Historical Society Museum is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and can be reached at 663-2764.
