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Gala event planned to celebrate Lincoln, Logan birthdays

BY THE SOUTHERN

Wednesday, January 7, 2009 6:12 AM CST

MURPHYSBORO – In honor of President Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday and General John A. Logan’s 183rd, the Preserving the Legacy campaign of the General John A. Logan Museum is holding a Birthday Gala. The social event is designed as a fund raising vehicle and to kick off the 20th Anniversary of the Museum.

This experience, scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009 will be unique. The 20th Annual Birthday Breakfast will be held from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Murphysboro Middle School on Spruce Street between 21st and 22nd streets. Tickets for adults are $5.00 in advance and $6.00 at the door, and children’s tickets are $3.00. To purchase, visit the Daum Administration Building, Breading’s Shoes, Farm Fresh Milk Store, or the Chamber of Commerce Office. Or contact 618.684.3455 or johnaloganmuseum@globaleyes.net.

The afternoon offers an opportunity for donors (businesses and individuals) to take a private tour of the Logan Museum with President Lincoln, guided by General Logan and museum director Mike Jones. This special tour is limited to twenty contributors of $100 or more. Portraying the part of Lincoln is George Buss, who has done so for over 15 years including some of the C-Span 1994 reenactment broadcasts of the Lincoln Douglas Debates and the more recent Reunion Tour. Logan is being portrayed by Dr. Ray Hancock, president-emeritus of John A. Logan College and president of the Illinois Community College System Foundation, who has the knowledge and interest to fill this important role. Hancock said “It’s an honor for me to portray John A. Logan throughout Southern Illinois, but especially in his Murphysboro birthplace, because it gives us a brief glimpse back into the history of Southern Illinois and of our most famous citizen.”

The evening’s birthday activities will be celebrated at the historic Murphysboro Event Center with an Evening of Gaiety and Recollections. After cocktails, the Gala will feature a menu from the Civil War era and will be topped with a presentation, “Recollections between President Lincoln and General Logan,” put on by Mr. Buss and Dr. Hancock. It will be a special night and the first social event of 2009.

Barbara Dallas, Co-Chair of the Preserving the Legacy campaign, has been more than pleased with the response so far. “With a minimum contribution of just $200 in cash or in kind, an organization can take part in the Birthday Gala Event, gain publicity, and be named an officer in the Logan Memorial Brigade. More than a dozen community and regional businesses and organizations have already answered the call.” Those interested in being a Tour or Birthday Gala Patron should contact Dallas at 618.534.0226 or bbdallasx2@verizon.net.

So far Patrons taking advantage of the opportunity to help the Preserving the Legacy campaign include: 17th Street Bar and Grill, Murphysboro Event Center, Carbondale Convention & Tourism Bureau, The Southern Illinoisan, Schwebel Printing, Murphysboro Tourism Commission, John A. Logan College, First Bank and Trust Company of Murphysboro, Carter’s Creative Catering, Venegoni Distributing, Ihle Florists, Kite Hill Bed & Breakfast, Gloria Jean’s, Silkworm and MHS Consumer Education Students.

Invitations are being mailed to non-businesses, and members of the public wishing to purchase tickets for the dinner and presentation may do so at $35 per person. Tables of eight will be available, and space is limited. Tickets can be purchased by mailing your check to the Logan Museum at P. O. Box 563, Murphysboro, IL 62966 or dropping it by the Museum at 1613 Edith Street between the hours of 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. Checks should be made payable to Logan Museum Preserving the Legacy, and the name and address of where to send the tickets should be included.