How impressive was the crowd that gathered at Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library for a reception heralding the opening of “Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War”?
Gov. Bill Ritter, for starters, plus Speaker of the House Terrance Carroll, City Librarian Shirley Amore and Honest Abe himself. Well, maybe not the real Abraham Lincoln, but John Voehl, whose uncanny resemblance to the nation’s 16th President makes him a popular person at historical and educational gatherings.
The exhibit, made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities, gives visitors a better understanding of issues that Lincoln faced, including slavery, secession and the military draft. It will be at Blair-Caldwell Library, 2401 Welton St., through Feb. 12. Admission is free.
Terry Nelson, the library’s special collections and community resource manager, helped welcome a crowd that also included historian Bill Convery; State Court of Appeals Judge Russell Carparilli and his wife, Susan; Syd Nathans, co-chair of the Lincoln Bicentennial Commission; and Brent Wagner, the exhibit’s program director.
The Blair-Caldwell Library, conceived by then-Mayor Wellington Webb and his wife, Wilma, is the only facility of its type between Detroit and Oakland and is named for the late civic leaders Elvin Caldwell and Omar Blair. Caldwell was the first black to serve on the Denver City Council; Blair was a longtime member of the Denver School Board.
For more about the exhibit, and a schedule of special events relating to it, visit or call 720-865-2401.
This and that
Its $20 million capital campaign is 98 percent complete, and so there’s no time like the present for construction to begin at Roundup River Ranch. An assortment of dignitaries, including founder/board chair Alison Knapp and benefactor Denny Sanford, are scheduled to wield shovels at a groundbreaking ceremony that begins at noon Monday at the 88-acre site in Dotsero. Roundup River Ranch is part of the late actor Paul Newman’s Association of Hole in the Wall Camps and will offer year-round programs for the estimated 35,000 children living with life-threatening illnesses in the Rocky Mountain West. The 19-month project is expected to create 300 new jobs.
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com; also, and GetItWrite on Twitter
