Howard Collins

Hello, this is Nelson Olmsted. Today let's talk about a man who followed in Abe Lincoln's footsteps. First here's Clint Gruber with a few well-spoken words about Pacific Power. Welcome once again to Stories of Pacific Powerland, the presentation of Pacific Power and Light, the company that has been serving the electric needs of the region's homes,

farms and industries through more than half a century of progress and growth. Now, back to Nelson-Omstead and another chapter from his Pacific Powerland Storybook. We all know that Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States, left to mark an America's destiny that will never be forgotten.

The echo of this great man's word is still reverberating across the nation more than a century after his death. A true nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war." The words, the immortal phrases of Abraham Lincoln, but the voice curiously enough is that of a gentleman who calls Lebanon, Oregon, his home, and who spent more than 20 years of his life doubling for the great emancipator.

You see, Howard Collins, who came to the Willamette Valley community of Lebanon in 1998, acquired a strong physical resemblance to Abe Lincoln as he reached middle years. It was this characteristic that prompted the local minister to remark in 1940, you know, Howard?

If you'd get a set of false whiskers and a stovepipe hat, you'd be a perfect image of honesty. Why don't you try it out and sign up for the Centennial Parade over in Salem this year?

Well, Howard Collins took the suggestion seriously enough to grow his own whiskers. He trimmed the beard to match the style Lincoln War, and he marched in the Salem, Oregon Parade. In that time onward, Levenin's homegrown version of Honest Abe soon became an eagerly anticipated feature of the annual Levenin's Strawberry Festival parade. He also appeared