Lincoln subject of meeting

"Abraham Lincoln and His Image in American Popular Culture" will be the topic of Allison-Antrim Museum's monthly meeting on Feb. 14 beginning at 7 p.m. in the social room of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Joseph Garrera, one of this country's leading Lincoln scholars, will explain the enduring and endearing legacy of the 16th President.

Allison-Antrim Museum will hold a monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 14 in the downstairs social room of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, 130 North Washington St. The facility is wheelchair accessible.

The guest speaker for the evening will be Joseph Garrera, who will talk about "Abraham Lincoln and his Image in American Popular Culture." Abraham Lincoln is the quintessential American hero. His image as a man of the people and a champion for democracy is recognized throughout the world. Indeed, political thinkers of all ideological persuasions, from Ronald Reagan to Mao Tse Tung, have embraced the "Great Emancipator." Lincoln's image has been used in more advertising for various commercial products, from "Lincoln Logs" to insurance, than any other US president. Look on TV today and you will see him portrayed in at least two commercials. Join us as one of this country's leading Lincoln scholars explains the enduring and endearing legacy of the 16th President.

Garrera is executive director of the 30,000 square foot Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum in Allentown, PA. He is also in his ninth year as president of the Abraham Lincoln Group of New York, a non-profit historical society which convenes in Manhattan. Garrera is the only non-Virginian to serve on the board of directors of the Lincoln Society of Virginia. He also serves on the board of advisors of the Lincoln Forum. In 2005, Garrera was appointed to the Federal Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission "Advisory Panel" in Washington, D.C. As a major collector of Abraham Lincoln material, Garrera's collection consists of more than 100 framed Lincoln images, 2,000 books, and more than 40 pieces of Lincoln statuary.

Garrera has authored more than fifty articles, essays, and book reviews that have appeared in scholarly journals, magazines, and newspapers. He earned a Bachelor's degree in American history from Thomas Edison State College and a Master's degree in history with highest honors from East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. Garrera has studied philanthropy and nonprofit management through the American College and at Indiana University.

Garrera has been a speaker for the United States Historical Society in Richmond, Virginia and at Ford's Theatre National Historic Site in Washington, D.C. In the past 10 years, he has presented more than 100 scholarly programs at schools, universities, and historical societies in the northeast. In 2005, Garrera was a guest speaker at the Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield, Ill. He has appeared on A & E's Discovery Channel, C-Span, and PBS television. He has been quoted in The New York Times, USA Today, and in U.S. News and World Report.

The meeting is free and open to the public.

For more information call the museum at 597-9010 or visit the website at www.greencastlemuseum. org