Temecula museum features one-of-a-kind Abe artifacts

By: NICOLE SACK - Staff Writer | Sunday, February 25, 2007 10:40 PM PST ∞

TEMECULA ---- Abe Lincoln had large hands.

They were, in a figurative sense, strong enough to break shackles of slavery and big enough to encompass a divided nation to make it whole.

But, really, his hands were of considerable size.

You can see the bronze casting of the Great Emancipator's paws for yourself at the Temecula Valley Museum. In the second-floor exhibit that celebrates the nation's 16th president, more than 140 pieces from a private collection of Charles Bechtloff of Huntington Beach are on display.

"He is my favorite president," said Cynthia Wright of Temecula, who visited the exhibit recently. "Lincoln was a man of timeless character. He also led this country through a very difficult and contentious war, similar to what we face today."

Tami Jennings, a student at Mt. San Jacinto College, scoured the pieces in the museum and was impressed by the condition and uniqueness of the collection. She took pause when inspecting a mourning wreath in honor of Lincoln's death that was made from human hair.

"It is amazing they can keep things preserved so well," Jennings, 19, said. "There are intact flowers from his funeral. It's amazing that someone would think to save a memento like that and then so many years later, to have something so simple, mean so much."

Wendell Ott said the Lincoln exhibit has been one of the museum's most popular. Along the exhibit walls, one can view the original photo negative of Lincoln that was used as the portrait on the $5 bill. The small photograph caught the attention of Danielle Cowan of Carlsbad, who viewed the collection with her grandmother.

"When I think of Lincoln, the first thing that comes to mind is that he was always honest," Cowan, 12, said.

Also on display is a swath of cloth used to compress his wounds after he was shot by John Wilkes Booth. The museum even has "The American Cousin" playbill on display, which was the performance at Ford's Theatre the night Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865.

"I think in most people's minds, Lincoln is like the father of the country, it was at his time when we came of age after we went through that horrible crisis," Ott said, referring to the Civil War. "But we really defined that America was going to be a democracy and it was going to be something for all the people."

Not only is Lincoln revered in some circles for his leadership in the nation's deadliest war ---- where more than 600,000 Americans from the North and South were killed ---- but also for his words during the county's time of turmoil.

The Gettysburg Address, the Emancipation Proclamation and various other speeches have been emblazoned into the American psyche and have been adopted as ideals of the nation, rather than just one man's words.

"He was a great speech writer," Ott said. "When you stop to think about it, he was a man who was self-educated and pulled himself up by his bootstraps. That is a remarkable achievement."

Lincoln's second inaugural address, in 1865, is considered by some to be his greatest speech and is one of the many reasons Lincoln remains relevant today, more than 140 years after his death: "With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan ---- to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations."

While Lincoln led the United States through its Civil War, his words ring true for Iraq, where the embattled country seems doomed to fall victim of sectarian violence between the Shiites and Sunnis.

"There is a certain parallel there with what I think Lincoln saw happen to this country that was about ready to split itself in half," Ott said.

It was on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln on which President George Bush arrived via military jet under the now dubious "Mission Accomplished" banner in May 2003.

Lincoln's spirit was recently evoked by another Illinois lawmaker. Presidential hopeful Barack Obama announced his run for the White House on Feb. 10 at the steps of the Old Capitol Building in Springfield, where Lincoln served as an assemblyman and gave his "House Divided" speech.

"The life of a tall, gangly, self-made Springfield lawyer tells us that a different future is possible," Obama said during his announcement. "He tells us that there is power in words. He tells us that there is power in conviction. That beneath all the differences of race and region, faith and station, we are one people. He tells us that there is power in hope."

The Abraham Lincoln exhibit will run through April 1 at Temecula Valley Museum, 28314 Mercedes St. There is a $2 suggested donation to view the exhibit.

-- Contact staff writer Nicole Sack at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2616, or nsack@californian.com.