The dedication ceremony this week honoring the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address featured keynote speeches from Pulitzer Prize-winning historian James McPherson and Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, and a Naturalization Ceremony conducted for 16 new citizens by Associate Justice Antonin Scalia. Lauren Pyfer, a junior from Upper Dublin High School near Philadelphia and winner of the "In Lincoln's Footsteps" essay contest, delivered her modern interpretation of the Gettysburg Address to appreciative applause.
Of course, President Lincoln delivered 270 words, give or take. Edward Everett was nowhere to be found--not a bad thing given the cold morning breezes.
Kudos to the National Park Service, the Gettysburg Foundation, the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania, and Gettysburg College for supporting such a moving event.
Kudos to the National Park Service, the Gettysburg Foundation, the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania, and Gettysburg College for supporting such a moving event.
We walked in the footsteps of Lincoln the day before the dedication ceremony, from the Lincoln Train Depot to the Wills House to the Gettysburg National Cemetery. This is the Soldiers National Memorial, not far from where Lincoln spoke, framed against a perfect fall sky. |