Lincoln Exhibit in Pella

Believe it or not, there is still more to blog about from my trip to Pella a couple weeks ago. In the last mention of Pella, we had toured the Town Square Park and were headed toward the

Scholte House Museum----pictured below-----and named for its original owner Dominie Hendrik Scholte, the Dutch immigrant founder of Pella, Iowa:

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Instead of the house furnishings, I will first take you through the special Lincoln exhibit, currently on display, and which I was kindly allowed to view two days early----on Saturday, September 20! In last Sunday's Des Moines Register, there was an excellent article about this Lincoln exhibit in Pella. It explains in detail the amazing story behind Iowa native, Prof. Ronald Reitveld, and his Lincoln memorabilia collection. If you are interested in Lincoln history, you might enjoy the article.

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Here is a cast of Abraham Lincoln's head. He sat while a mold was made of his head and face; sounds like great fun, doesn't it!! But, it should provide an authentic example of his appearance.

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The more things change.......the more they stay the same! Here are political cartoons from Lincoln's day:

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An ad for Our American Cousin, playing at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C........what happened there?

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Newspaper headlines following Lincoln's assassination:

You can click on any photos to enlarge them!

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Ronald Reitveld----at age 14!----happened upon the lost photo of Lincoln in his casket. Rietveld had accompanied a Lincoln scholar to Springfield, Illinois, and was allowed to peruse boxes of Lincoln documents, which led to his discovery. Lincoln's family had ordered all death photos of Lincoln to be destroyed, but Edwin Stanton had hidden one away in the papers of Lincoln's personal secretaries, John Hay and John Nicolay, where it was discovered by Ronald Reitveld many years later!

The famous photo shows Lincoln lying in state in New York City.

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The exhibit included a case full of small relics associated with Abraham Lincoln. These items were given to Ronald Reitveld over the years by Lincoln scholars and buffs.

Hardtack from the Civil War!

Click on photos to enlarge and read easier.
Abraham Lincoln's parents, Thomas and Nancy (Hanks) were married in the home of someone named Richard Berry, in Kentucky. Many years later, in New Salem, Illinois, Abe Lincoln's business partner was a William Berry. I have the Berry name in my family tree, and some of our genealogical information states that my great-great-greatgrandfather came from the same Berry clan as this William. I have no idea if that is true. Possibly, it would be a dubious distinction, anyhow, as Lincoln's store partner was allegedly a drunk!
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Below is the last photo of Abraham Lincoln before his death. It was taken on March 6, 1865, two days after his second inauguration.

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It was moving to see this cast model of Abraham Lincoln's hands!

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The founder of Pella, Dominie Scholte, developed a friendship with Abraham Lincoln; they exchanged letters and Scholte was personally invited by Lincoln to attend the first inauguration.

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It is said that Dominie Scholte fell into a dead faint when he received the news that Lincoln had been shot.

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If you enjoy Lincoln history and live within driving distance of Pella, Iowa----though I dislike telling people what to do---- you really should hie thyself to Scholte House to view this exhibit before it closes on November 22!

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