[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 142 (Tuesday, September 9, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1738]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    LINCOLN'S JOURNEY OF REMEMBRANCE

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                           HON. BARON P. HILL

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 9, 2008

  Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, this year marks the 200th anniversary of the 
birth of President Abraham Lincoln, one of our Nation's greatest 
Presidents. Our Nation began a three-year celebration this year 
honoring Lincoln's life. This bicentennial celebration includes a 
number of events throughout the Nation--including events in my southern 
Indiana congressional district, where Lincoln grew from a young boy to 
a man between 1816 and 1830. Throughout Lincoln's formative years in 
southern Indiana, he experienced a number of life-changing events 
including the tragic loss of his mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, and his 
sister, Sarah Lincoln Grigsby.
  One of the events commemorating President Lincoln's time in Indiana 
is the recreation of his 1828 flatboat trip to New Orleans, Louisiana, 
where he delivered a load of produce for a local merchant. Popular lore 
indicates that it was on this trip that Lincoln witnessed a slave 
auction, helping to shape his views on the practice of slavery. The 
voyage also illustrates Lincoln's enterprising nature at a relatively 
young age.
  The recreation of this journey will include 22 stops over 27 days 
down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in eight States: Indiana, 
Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and 
Louisiana. At each stop, the flatboat crew will educate citizens about 
the importance of Abraham Lincoln's legacy, as well as increasing 
awareness of the Abraham Lincoln historical sites in southern Indiana, 
including the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial in Lincoln City, 
Indiana.
  The flatboat journey, dubbed Lincoln's Journey of Remembrance, will 
begin today, September 9, 2008, with a ceremony in Rockport, Indiana. 
The ceremony will include remarks by State and local officials, as well 
as patriotic musical performances. Hundreds of residents and school 
children will witness the event, and dignitaries will join crew members 
for the first leg of the voyage to Owensboro, Kentucky. The Rockport 
Post Office will also issue a commemorative postmark cancellation stamp 
to commemorate the occasion.
  Lincoln's Journey of Remembrance will reach out to citizens that 
otherwise would not have known or experienced an Abraham Lincoln 
bicentennial event. The chance to educate individuals outside Kentucky, 
Indiana, Illinois, and Washington, DC, cannot be undervalued and is one 
of the primary responsibilities for the bicentennial celebration. I am 
proud that this recreation, which also recreates a similar 1958 trip, 
was developed by my fellow Hoosiers.
  This project would have not been possible without the assistance of 
Mr. Ron Drake, the flatboat owner and project underwriter, as well as 
several local and regional business and civic contributors. On behalf 
of my constituents, I wish to thank and commend these individuals and 
organizations. Special tribute must also be paid to the Lincoln's 
Journey of Remembrance Organizing Committee for their dedication and 
hard work, which ranged from raising funds to support the voyage to 
physically refitting the flatboat for this adventure. It has been a 
pleasure to work with them to facilitate this voyage.
  It is an honor and privilege to represent Rockport and the Abraham 
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial in Congress. It is my sincere hope 
that other Members of Congress and citizens from across the Nation will 
participate in the many planned public events commemorating President 
Lincoln. I congratulate the community on organizing this celebration 
and wish the crew Godspeed.

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