It was his first Memorial Day! Not yours or mine, but the Abraham Lincoln Statue’s. There he stood in all his glory, surveying the whole area around him and the Victory Flagpole in front of him.
He had just been dedicated five days before, on May 25, 1930. People had to walk through the dirt to see him, as there was no grass planted yet. People who looked like soldiers brought gifts, like wreaths, some with real and some with artificial flowers and leaves. They brought a flag made of red, white and blue flowers.
He stood there silently thinking to himself, “What have I done to deserve all this?” But everyone knew.
My parents were excited to have us be part of that day, so they insisted my sister and I stand by Old Abe to have our pictures taken. We stood there, unsmiling, as no one ever said, “Say cheese” yet. It was a monumental day!
After that, when they put the sidewalks in, going to the Lincoln Statue was just a way to go to my grandma’s best friend’s house. We made the trek at least once a week, from Grandma Nordby’s house, around the Flagpole, across the Drive, up to Abe and beyond. Grandma’s friend, Mrs. Shoop, lived somewhere behind Old Abe.
The only thing I could remember about Mrs. Shoop was her beautiful white hair and her living room walls. Even as a 5-year-old, I knew I disliked the color of those walls! They were a drab mixture of orange, tan, and yellow and I had plenty of time to study them as grandma and Mrs. Shoop gabbed endlessly. Years later, looking through paint chips at the hardware store, I found the color to be “peuce,” which is in itself an ugly word.
No reflection on Mrs. Shoop. She was a lovely woman, and the reason I liked going to her house was that I got to visit Abraham Lincoln quite often.
One day on the way back from Mrs. Shoop’s house, the landscapers were all over the place planting shrubs. They were planting them alongside the long white sidewalk to the statue. Little short neat shrubs which dressed up the place. My grandma said, “Barbara, you must always remember this day!” So I did.
Therefore, for me it was a memorial day. And for the Abe Statue, his first Memorial Day was May 30, 1930.
