ISU's Milner Library to Participate in Farewell Address Record Attempt

Milner Library will participate in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum and GateHouse Media, Inc. attempt to set a new world record as part of the national kickoff of the Civil War Sesquicentennial. Also participating is the David Davis Mansion.

The 150th anniversary observance of the Civil War will begin at 11 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 11, which is exactly 150 years after Lincoln left Springfield on his inaugural journey to Washington D.C. as president-elect. The event will take place in front of the Barnes & Noble Bookstore in the Bone Student Center.

Lincoln gave a speech, Lincoln's Farewell Address, at the Great Western Depot in Springfield. That speech will be re-enacted at 11 a.m. at the same depot and also will be read simultaneously via live broadcasts from many other venues, including Milner Library.

The participants at Milner Library will have people dressed in period costumes in a train station atmosphere. Some of the readers of the Farewell Address will include President Al Bowman; Steward Winger from History; Jacob Susina, son of Jan Susina from English; Laura Kennedy from WGLT; Jan Johnson from Milner Library; and the last reader will be Gary Simpkins, who will be dressed as Lincoln.

The current Guinness World Record for most people reading aloud from the same document simultaneously was set by Walden Media in 2006, reaching out to 223,363 participants at 909 venues.