Lincoln Exhibit coming to Oakhurst

Traveling exhibit details the President's life

Mark your calendar for the "Abraham Lincoln: Self Made in America Learning Station Exhibition" provided by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, in collaboration with the American LIbrary Association and with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The exhibit will be on display at the King Vintage Museum in Oakhurst March 5 through April 1.

"The Abraham Lincoln: Self Made in America Learning Station exhibit" will follow the journey taken by Abraham Lincoln from frontier obscurity to our nation's presidency and will be documented through a combination of images, objects and the written word. There are seven Learning Stations in the exhibit and each one show artifacts of his life as a Self Made man - Father, Husband, Lawyer, Politician, Commander-in-Chief and much more. In addition to the Learning Stations, there is an eighth learning station created by the Museum to tell the story of the Yosemite Grant and why Abraham Lincoln is important to our area.

In addition there are special teaching trunks available during the exhibition for use by schools or civic organizations. Two teaching trunks will remain forever at the Museum as a valuable asset for use by teachers and their students. All who visit the exhibition will enjoy the rich history of our 16th President and the teaching trunks will give generations an opportunity to explore his life for years to come.

The museum hours for the exhibition will be Monday-Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. with the weekday mornings devoted to school tours. The cost for admission to the museum is $3.00. School tour reservations are a must and space is still available.. Contact the museum at kingvintagemuseum@sti.net or call 559-658-6999 or 559-676-3370 for more information or to make reservations for school tours.

Why was the Oakhurst museum chosen? In the early 1860's influential Californians started visiting Yosemite National Park. They decided that they wanted this land of beauty to belong to the state of California. During the Civil War, this group petitioned President Lincoln to grant the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove to the state of California. In the middle of the Civil War, Lincoln took time on June 30, 1864 to sign the legislation, known as the "Yosemite Grant". Ultimately this land went back to the Federal Government, but the Yosemite Grant Act was seen as the beginning of the State of California Park System enjoyed today.

The entire community of Oakhurst will be celebrating this Exhibit with some "historic" events and everyone is invited to attend.

The list of events follows:
January 31 "Gone with the Wind" at the Met Cinema hosted by Ladies Tea and Jousting Society. "Gone with the Wind" inspired costume contest with awards.

February 12 Abraham Lincoln Gala Birthday Celebration. Kickoff celebration hosted by the Museum and the Oakhurst Chamber.

February 14 Valentine Chocolate Extraordinaire Dinner at ECCO celebrating "The Lincoln Marriage" hosted by the Wild Wonderful Women.

March 5 Opening Night Preview of the "Abraham Lincoln: Self Made in America Learning Station Exhibition" at the Museum by ticket only.

March 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28. 7 p.m. "Abraham Lincoln Assassination" Drama at the Golden Chain Theatre. 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. on Sunday.

March 12 Ragtime Festival at Fresno Flats Historic Village and Park 2 p.m. to 5 p.m..

March 13 Ragtime Festival at Golden Chain Theatre 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

March 19, 20, 21 "Civil War Living History" at Oakhurst Community Park. Produced by the National Civil War Association in conjunction with the Museum and the Chamber of Commerce.

Friday, March 19 "Education Day" for Students.

March 21 3 p.m. Oakhurst Community Band Spring Concert: presents "Remembering Lincoln" at 2 p.m.

The museum is a women's, men's and children's vintage clothing and accessories collection dating back to 1790 including military uniforms and war memorabilia. During the Abraham Lincoln Exhibition the feature exhibit in the museum will be "Journey through Life in the Nineteenth Century". The collection will feature artifacts from the late 1700's through the 1900"s plus some of the military and children's collection.

For more information about the events contact the museum kingvintagemuseum@sti.net or call 559-658-6999 or goto www.LincolnOakhurst.com. or www.kingvintagemuseum.org.