Evening journal., 1902-02-13
They OBSERVED
LINCOLN DAY
Most Elaborate Celebration
by Century Club
ADDRESS By JOHN ?. KIELDS
Also Interesting Paper by Mrs. Ber-
lin and singing Of Old Time
Airs by GIee Club

ance of the anniversary Of LncOlnl
Birthday than that of the women OF
the New-Century Club. It also wal
the regular monthly meeting day OF
the club. and after the transaction O
business the program was entered upon
and was thoroughly enjoyed
In the absence OF the president
Miss Cornelia Bowman the vice-presi
dent Mrs. Vandegrift, presided. The
minutes of the last meeting We're read
by the secretary and reports from the
chairmen of the various committees
were heard.
Mrs. Vandogrift announced that Bryn
Mawr Day would be observed on Sat
urdav afternoon at o'clock, the exer-
cises being in charge of Miss sherman
'and Miss Nields. SwarthmOre Day viii
be observed in March.
An invitation also was accepted by
the club TO pay a visit to the club of
West Chester. on May 6. 1t is prob
able that the members of the local
club will furnish the entertainment FOR
that occasion. II also was announced
that there would be a series of lectures
on nature subjects for the spring work.
The chairman of the Library Com
mittee reported the gift of twenty vol
umes from Mrs. r. +. Warner and other
gifts. as well as progress in the travel
ing library WORK.
Considerable interest is manifested
by the club members in a class in bas-
ket making, which is soon to be organ
lied. All information ON the subject
NAV be obtained from Miss Nutter.
There was an interesting report from
the Civic Committee and Mrs Jones,
ope Of the members, read an instructive
ARTICLE ON the spoliation OF foliage
trees by oaterpillars and offered some
suggestions for the determination anc
preventive of the pests She also ex-
hibited several specimens of twigs
leaves and bark so infested.
After brief recess the program of
the day was entered upon. The first
number was a selection by the Glee
Club under the direction of Mrs. FL
wood @. Jackson. Following this Mrs.
A. H. Berlin read an interesting paper
on The Humorous Side of Tincoln's
character. " IL was illustrated by nu-
merous well-known, and some new
anecdoes Of "the tall dark man Of sor-
rows"
The Glee Club then sang "Tenting on
the Old Camp Ground" with Mrs.
Alice Pusey Negendank as soloist.
The last number on the program was a
paper on Lincoln by John p. Nields.
II was extremely interesting and at its
conclusion a rising vote of thanks was
given to Mr.. Nields by the club. The
address of Mr.. Nields was I'm part as
follows:
About 1860 the future of our country
was at stake. 1t was put mt stake to
preserve and strengthen the institution
Of human slavery. If slavery was saved
the nation persisted. If the nation was
saved. slavery perished. For MS that
struggle was the chief event of the nine
teenth century. In that struggle the
chief person was Abraham Lincoln
Doubtless the country would have been
preserved and slavery destroyed without
Abraham Lincoln Possibly American
democracy would have found perfect ex-
preston and vindication in the life of
some other man. All that we know is that
these results are i'm a large measure, the
work Of his hands.
His early life, Lincoln once said. was
all condensed in that sentence of the
elegy:
The short and simple annals Of the
poor"
In reality this sentence contains no
suggestion of the stern, hard life of the
child of a pioneer on the Western frontier
Lincoln's life as whole is without
parallel in history A child of the wilder
ness. he grew TO be the chosen leader of
great nation in the crisis of its fate.
His mother was Nancy Hanks. the nat
ural ch'ld Of a Virginia planter. His
father Thomas Lincoln. was poor
shiftless ketucly white, whose father,
Abraham Lincoln, had been massacred by
the Indians. Nancy taught her husband
to write his name a daughter. Sarah,
and Abraham were born near Hodgen-
vile, Ky, in a one-ro0m caDln, fourteen
feet square without a floor or window
a late book contends that this cabin had
window. 1t may be so.
The fight for existence consumed the
days. Deer. bears. pheasants, wild tur-
key. duck. iish and corn furnished the
food. Clothes and shoes We're made Of
deer hide. caps of coon skin. When Lin
coin was about 10 years old his mother
died Of milk fever. He saw his father
make box out Of green pine and put his
dead mother in it, and without prayer,
bury her i'm a corner of the clearing
Such experiences in sensitive childhood
account for the melancholy Of later
years. I'm about year Thomas Lincoln
went back 90 Kentucky. and the day
after his arrival, married the Widow
Johnston and returned with her three
children. The stepmother was kind and
thrifty. In this cabin with a loft We're
father, stepmother. sister two step
sisters and brother, Dennis and John
Hanks. This was home until he was
twenty When ms father did not need