Ala. collection includes mid-war Lincoln letters
Decatur Daily – Aug. 13
The enthusiasm is clear in Daniel Stowell’s voice as he discusses two letters linked to President Abraham Lincoln in the A.S. Williams III Americana Collection at the University of Alabama. Stowell is director and editor of the Papers of Abraham Lincoln, a project administered through the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Ill., that seeks to identify, image, transcribe, annotate and publish all documents written by or to the 16th president during his lifetime. The correspondence, previously unknown to the project, comes from the middle years of the Civil War. “What’s exciting about these letters is the content. These are big issues. These are really rich documents for a lot of reasons,” Stowell said. An 1862 letter signed by the president concerns a proposal by an arms merchant to use British-made rifled muskets captured on Confederate blockade runners to arm troops from Illinois. An 1863 letter is part of correspondence between Lincoln and a former secretary of war about a series of treason cases against Baltimore officials and the men’s counterclaims against the secretary alleging false imprisonment. Stowell said the group became interested in the documents after reading an account listing a Lincoln letter among the treasures of the Williams’ collection. … Williams, a Birmingham businessman and UA alumnus, donated the collection to the university in 2010. “He was very interested in presidential history,” DuPree said. Williams collected autographs and other presidential materials. Dupree believes he bought the letters from a dealer. The Lincoln letters are not currently on display with other items from the Williams collection on the third floor of the Gorgas Library. While there is some consideration of displaying them in the future, the library has yet to make a decision, DuPree said.
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Aug. 13
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Aug. 13
Co-host of MSNBC show ‘Morning Joe’ to speak at University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 13
Joe Scarborough, a University of Alabama alumnus and co- host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” will speak Aug. 22 at UA as part of the Blackburn Institute’s 20th anniversary symposium. The former Florida congressman and conservative author will speak at 6 p.m. Aug. 22 in the Moody Music Building Concert Hall during a free event open to the public. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. The two-day symposium also includes a segment on Alabama literature led by Rick Bragg, professor of writing at UA, at 11:45 a.m. Aug. 23 at the Hotel Capstone and other panels about Alabama culture and the media. The Blackburn Institute was founded in 1994 with the aim of developing a network of leaders who understand the challenges that face the state of Alabama.
Inaugural conference announced to address environmental management challenges in the Southeast
Al.com – Aug. 13
New federal regulations and heightened community awareness have created challenging environmental compliance and management issues for companies across the Southeast. To address these issues from a real world perspective, the UA SafeState division of The University of Alabama, and its partners, is planning “The Alabama Environmental Conference” on October 20-21 in Orange Beach, Alabama. Conference planners from the City of Mobile, ZF Chassis Systems, Alabama Gas Corporation, and other companies have designed the conference to create dialog and promote ideas to bring about meaningful, sustainable solutions to real environmental challenges that most companies are facing today. Individuals benefitting from attending the conference are those responsible for environmental issues within their companies, particularly manufacturers, utilities and municipalities.
Aaron Fleshner, Sarah Bacon win
ESPN.com – Aug. 13
Aaron Fleshner and Sarah Bacon won the 1-meter titles Wednesday in the U.S. national diving championships. Fleshner won the men’s title with 452.4 points, and Bacon took the women’s with 287.15. Both led throughout the final rounds. Fleshner also won the 1-meter titles in the 2012 national championships and at last year’s winter national championships. Although he’s older than most of his competitors and has a job as a mobile developer designing apps for the University of Alabama, the 26-year-old Fleshner shows no signs of slowing down. “I’ve always loved it and I have a dream of going to the Olympics,” Fleshner said. “I’m getting closer and closer every day. That keeps me going.”
Newnan Times-Herald (Ga.) – Aug. 13
Courier-Journal (Ind.) – Aug. 13