Leslie Perrin Wilson - Abraham Lincoln

Posted by Andy Mahoney 
 
 
 
Rotary Club of Concord
January 8, 2015
 
President:          Sheila Watts
Song:                   “God Bless America” led by Suzanne Greenough
Pledge:               led by Kevin Sullivan, President of the Bedford club
Prayer:               led by Dean Benedict
Sergeant-At-Arms:         Dave Robertson
Bulletin Writer:               Andy Mahoney
 
Visiting Rotarians & Guests:       Kevin Sullivan from the Bedford club was a VR and he was joined by Ingrid Detweiler (guest of Doug) and Glenn Hall (guest of Glenn Burlamachi)
 
Question of the Week:
Kevin Sullivan stood in for Ken Marriner, who hurt himself slipping on ice.  “When did the Japanese bomb the continental United States?”  Dick Hale answered correctly with “1945” when the Japanese put bombs in balloons and dropped them over Washington State.
 
Endowment Moment:
Rotarians from 36 clubs in Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe have 86 different projects going on to provide wells, water storage and toilets for schools and health clinics.  Your contributions as part of Every Rotarian, Every Year have helped to make it all happen.
 
Announcements:            (contact John Dow to coordinate coat & hat drives)
1/12:     Rotary Club of Concord Board meeting, 4:00pm at Middlesex Savings Bank (all are welcome)
1/13:     Bristol Lodge:  3-5pm serving Henry’s meatloaf w/bacon, carrots, mashed & salad (deliver coats)
1/14:     District Social Media Forum, 6:30-8:30pm at Doubletree Hotel in Leominster
1/17:     Cradles to Crayons:  Winter coat & hat drive Tuesday (Sunrise) & Thursday (lunch) --- sizes 6-12
1/22:     Rotary Forum --- The Power of Change:  Improving the Lives of Women, 7-8pm at Fenn School
2/05:     Regular luncheon meeting will be held at the prison farm at N.E. Correctional Center
 
New Member Bio:
Jean Goldsberry, the new Executive Director at MinuteMan ARC, was born in Iowa, did her undergraduate and graduate (Masters in Community Health) work at Ohio State and then took advantage of a Bush (3M family) Foundation scholarship to earn her MBA at Yale’s School of Management.  She moved to Boston after graduation and has worked in the disability area since 1987.  She praised the Early Invention program for newborns to age 3 and cited the statistic that 52% of those who are in the program don’t need further services afterwards.  She also listed the programs for adults including the 9 group homes (5 in Concord), 18 independent apartments, supportive housing (5), adult foster care (36), day rehabilitation (47) and their recreation program.  They are moving to Forest Ridge Road soon.  Jean lives in Concord with her spouse and 3 dogs.  Her daughter, a potter, and son-in-law live in Wisconsin.  Her son, a musician, and daughter-in-law live in San Diego.
 
Program:            Sharon Spaulding introduced Leslie Perrin Wilson, Concord’s town archivist and the curator of Special Collections at the Concord Free Library.  She earned her B.A. at Wellesley College and her M.A. at Simmons College and has been selected for many awards including those from the Thoreau Society and the Emerson Society.  She spoke on the relationship between President Abraham Lincoln and the citizens of Concord, namely John Shepard Keyes.  The library is hosting an exhibition entitled “This Man Grew According to the Need” – a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson about Abraham Lincoln.  Leslie stated that the residents of Concord were ambivalent about Lincoln until the Emancipation Proclamation of 1862, two years into Lincoln’s first term.  Although Abe never visited Concord, the town was representative of the North’s view, had a strong anti-slavery stance and (Sam Hoar) was instrumental in establishing the Republican Party in Massachusetts.  
 
              Leslie conveyed Concord’s view of President Lincoln through the eyes of John Shepard Keyes, a Harvard-educated Republican who was a keen observer and was highly political.  Mr. Keyes wanted to keep Kansas and Nebraska as “free states” and was the lawyer representing Frank Sanborn, one of the Secret Six who were members of the Massachusetts Kansas Committee.  That group supported John Brown’s idea of an armed slave uprising and helped plan and support his raid on the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia.  In 1860, Keyes was a delegate to the Chicago convention and voted for William Seward.  Lincoln won on the 3rd ballot, but Keyes never waivered.  He was appointed U.S. Marshal for Massachusetts after having first served as Lincoln’s bodyguard at his first inauguration.  As marshal, his duties included handling cases of prize ships, Southern spies, contraband goods from embargo runners, and the custody of certain kinds of prisoners.  Please note that the exhibition will be coming down at the end of February and, in the meantime, there will be various lectures given as well, including one by Concord’s own Richard Frieze. 
 
Door Prize: 
Kerry Cronin won the cash door prize.