Apt Abe Prophecy

In the land of Lincoln, honoring Abe is not just good politics, it's good business. Or so thought 22 entrepreneurs in Charleston, Ill., scene of the fourth Lincoln-Douglas debate. In 1969 the businessmen enthusiastically erected what they claim is the world's largest statue of Lincoln--62 ft. of fiber glass and steel that cost $40,000--on a site three miles out of town near land they hoped would become a national park.

But plans for the park fell through, and Abe was left in the middle of nowhere. On an average day, about 50 tourists would visit the statue and buy souvenir postcards and trinkets. At night, vandals frequently showed up with paint, rifles and shotguns. Soon Abe was ugly and pockmarked.

Last week the businessmen sold the statue to Bud Scott, a basketball coach at a local college, who thinks that it will be. just the thing to attract people to his 110-acre campground, recreation area and Christian retreat. None of which would have bothered Lincoln, who once remarked during a campaign that "if the good people, in their wisdom, shall see fit to keep me in the background, I have been too familiar with disappointments to be very much chagrined."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.