THE SEARCH FOR “Old Abe”

                          THE  SEARCH  FOR “Old  Abe”

                                     NORM  &  BRUCE

Bruce and I went on one of our adventures for ASO on a bit of a wild goose chase out to the Detweiller Marina out by Detweiller Park.  It turns out that I had misguided Bruce because what we were looking for was actually down at the Detweiller Marina there at the edge of the Illinois River.  The object of our search was bits and pieces of the 1866 Civil War Monument that local folks referred to as ‘The Shaft.’ Back in 2011 I wrote a detailed story of this monument which was brought to my attention by Tom Edwards, a local writer.  He also showed photos that verified that the old monument had unceremoniously been dumped from a railroad car onto the area down by the marina.  Nothing really became of my story; it sparked some interest, but did not result in any local uproar or special interest. Just like the monument, the story slipped back into oblivion.

I think I made three trips out north looking around usually with a companion; but we never found anything.  There was another story or two about the monument by Journal-Star writers but it was not until Bruce convinced me that we should keep looking and continue our quest to find what was left of the monument.  I was certain the eagle was long gone but the discarded segments of the shaft were probably still laying in a ditch down by the river. The truth is for me personally all I really wanted to find was “Old Abe.”  That is the massive eagle that was perched on the top of the monument modeled by General ‘Blackjack’ Logan’s heroic ‘War Bird’ of Civil War fame.  After a few false starts, usually on cold, windy days we ended up down at the river with our friends Bob and Elaine.  There, no thanks to me, other than the ‘pirate’s map’ I supplied we discovered several pieces of the monument.  The journal-star did a nice story on our discovery and Bruce supplied a lot of great photographs for you to look at. As usual, the pictures are much more powerful than my words and you can discover for yourself what we found.  Still missing is the upper shaft of the monument and of course “Old Abe” is still out there somewhere waiting to be discovered.  Rumors were that it was atop a flag pole over in Tazewell County at some private club like a VFW.  So what we are asking the readers of ASO to do is help us find it.   It is a large replica of “Old Abe,’ but of course it is pretty well beaten up after 151 years of harsh elements; but he was a tough old bird.  I have no idea what we would do with it if we found it but we would all rejoice if we ever got our hands on it.  Perhaps it could be restored in some manner but first we have to find it.  You can contact me at norman.kelly@sbcglobal.net if you have any tips or clues or just want to ask any questions about the monument.  You can read the story called 1866: The Shaft, because I put it on line.  If you want me to send you a copy just e mail me and it is all yours.

Editor’s Note:  Norm is a Peoria Historian, True Crime Writer and a monthly contributor to ADVENTURE SPORTS OUTDOORS.  norman.kelly@sbcglobal.net