"Among Friends"

"Among Friends". . "Ahh, it's good to be here with my friends. That was a long trip. Do I hear music?", Abraham Lincoln has just arrived on Courthouse Square and is stretching to get the kinks out of his back after traveling by train from Mattoon and by buggy from the Hillsboro station. He smiles, glad to be greeted by his longtime friends, Joe and Jane Eccles. Abe always enjoys these visits, catching up on local news and swapping tales., His satchel and umbrella recall that September day in 1858 when Lincoln appeared in Hillsboro as a candidate for the U.S. Senate. His opponent, Judge Stephen A. Douglas, had appeared at a rally in Hillsboro just a month earlier. The rain came in torrents, and Lincoln addressed an enthusiastic crowd of his supporters inside a circus tent at the Hillsboro fairgrounds., Throughout his public life and even during troubled times, Lincoln sought out music, theater and other forms of entertainment to lift his spirit. In Hillsboro, Lincoln faces the plaza stage, the site for concerts, coronations, plays, pep rallies and many community events. Abe smiles, knowing he is forever one with the audience, and among friends., "Among Friends" Lincoln sculpture by John McClarey