The Citizen Key

Linda Burton posting from Charleston, West Virginia – On the front steps of the West Virginia state capitol is a statue of Abraham Lincoln. It’s a nine-foot bronze, designed by Fred Martin Torrey and installed in 1974. The inscription reads: Abraham Lincoln created the state of West Virginia by proclamation and signature. West Virginia joined the Union June 20, 1863. A woman wearing a bright orange jacket and bright orange shoes walked up just as I was snapping pictures; she had her camera out too. I offered to take her picture beside the Lincoln statue; she declined. “It’s impressive as it is,” she said, shaking her head. “I’ll remember I was here.” Faye and I exchanged names; she said she was from Bristol, right on the Virginia-Tennessee line. “I’m wearing my Tennessee orange, did you catch that?” she laughed, pointing to her shoes. We chatted about the building in front of us, and the statue. “He looks so sad,” she said. “Do you think he’s upset about making West Virginia a state, or just the war?” I had to admit I didn’t know; in fact, I was unclear on the sequence of events that led to West Virginia’s statehood, although I knew the split from Virginia happened during the Civil War. We walked around the statue, studying it more carefully. On the side of the pedestal were the words Abraham Walks At Midnight from a poem by Vachel Lindsay. Faye and I agreed we needed to beef up our knowledge of West Virginia history. Which I did. And the answer to Faye’s question was “No.” His pose is related to the Lindsay poem written in 1914. Statehood, well that’s another story. » read more