When we talk about Abraham Lincoln, we associate him with places like Springfield (Illinois.), Gettysburg (Pennsylvania) and Washington, D.C. Yet none of those can call themselves home to the longest continuously active Lincoln Society. That distinction belongs to the Lincoln Society in Peekskill, founded in 1903.
Lincoln himself visited Peekskill on February 19, 1861, on the way to his inauguration in the nation’s capital as our 16th president. A large crowd gathered at the train station by Peekskill Bay to hear the President-elect speak.
That train station today is the Lincoln Depot Museum, where each year the Lincoln Society presents a re-enactment of the 1861 speech and other activities celebrating the Great Emancipator.
The Society’s mission is to perpetuate and honor the memory of Abraham Lincoln through commemorative events, parades, and dinners. Lincoln Society President Emily Lapisardi says founders of the group had Civil War bona fides.
“When the Society was founded in 1903,” she says, “there were still many living Civil War veterans, and quite a few of the early leaders of the Lincoln Society were among them.”
And now, more than six score and one year later, the Society remains a vital and prominent part of Peekskill’s civic life. Says Lapisardi, “The Society strives to be visible in the community through participation in local events, including 4th of July and St. Patrick’s Day parades. The museum also has a Lincoln book club in which several board members are very active.”
One of the highlights on the Society’s calendar is the re-enactment celebration. Michael Macedonia is two-time Past President of the Society, and has played Mr. Lincoln for the past two years.
“I see it as an honor to wear the costume and portray Lincoln every year in Peekskill,” he says. “When I’m in the black suit and stove-pipe hat, people always come up to me and say something like, ‘We could use a guy like you right now’ and I just say ‘thank you’ and we all just happily pretend that I’m him and I’m listening, if for just that momentary conversation.”
Both Lapisardi and Macedonia have great admiration for Lincoln the man – as well as Lincoln the leader. Lapisardi says she respects his perseverance. “Lincoln didn’t always succeed — in fact, there were several periods in his life when he didn’t seem to be accomplishing much, at least on the surface. Yet he didn’t give up or give in.”
She adds, “He was a real, and very human, person struggling to make the right decisions in a turbulent time. I think that’s something many people can identify with today.”
Macedonia also says people now can learn from him. “Honest Abe Lincoln was straight up hated by half the country when he was the President. Nowadays, there’s almost complete unanimity that (he) was the greatest president our country has ever had… So, maybe the lesson of Lincoln is to always do what’s right, do what you know is right, even if half the people hate you for it. Right will win out in the long run. Trust the process.”
Lincoln himself famously said “Might makes right” during his famous speech at Cooper Union college in Manhattan on February 27, 1860 – an appearance that many historians say was pivotal in his rise all the way from a log cabin to a large, white house.
Macedonia says those immortal words, plus countless other gems, were Lincoln’s own – “I am always impressed that he wrote all his own speeches. Never had a speech writer.”
