Lincoln Hospital's honest Abe

DAVENPORT – With the recent opening of Lincoln Hospital's new medical clinic, area residents are once again reminded of how fortunate they are to have top notch medical care and providers in our own backyards. Medical providers and facilities have been a mainstay of Davenport since pioneer days, and behind every good facility are those who put in many years to serve others. People like Lincoln Hospital's "Honest Abe," who has been filling shifts at the hospital since it opened on November 25, 1963 without a chance to tell his story.

One could argue that Abe's position at the hospital is one of a greeter. His two foot tall plaster bust statue has been positioned in the lobby for nearly 58 years as people come and go. Most people recognize this young Lincoln bust as the name behind Lincoln County and Lincoln Hospital, but Old Abe has been around Davenport for a long time and has an interesting story to tell.

On August 29, 1901 on the Southwest corner of Sixth and Morgan Streets (where Pioneer Plaza is today) a local bank opened its doors under the name of Lincoln County State Bank. The bank quickly became a big success, holding a large amount of capital and becoming quite popular among the local farmers. Inside the bank sat a plaster bust of Honest Abe, which is said to be the same one now found in the lobby of Lincoln Hospital.

To confirm this was indeed the same Abe bust, Lincoln Hospital CEO Tyson Lacy sent photos of their statue. Lacy explained Honest Abe had been vacationing in the business office's area of late, but would be back in the lobby upon completion of construction. A closer look of the Abe bust shows he was made in 1907 as a plaster copy of an original 1905 bronze statue sculpted by Max Bachmann.

But that doesn't answer how he ended up in the hospital lobby over fifty years after being in the bank.

Luckily, part of the story was written down years ago in a set of notes mailed to the museum by Robin Taylor (Campbell).

The story goes something like this: Taylor's grandfather, Lloyd Campbell, purchased a Davenport grocery store in Davenport around 1915 and initially named it The Farmer's Store. Later renamed Campbell's Food Market, the store sat where Family Foods is today near the Northeast corner of 6th and Morgan.

One day during the Great Depression, Lloyd Campbell walked across the street to Lincoln County State Bank and "lost it" when the manager informed him he was unable to withdraw his money from his account, as all bank assets had been seized. Lloyd was upset, and looked around before stating, "I'll have Abe then" as he picked up the plaster bust carrying him outside and across the street to his grocery store. Old Abe was then placed on a shelf for everyone to see as they entered Campbell's store and remained there for many years.

Lloyd's son, William "Bill", returned home from college (in the early 1930s) to run the store and developed a routine in which he would enter the store, stop, and give Abe a salute as he said, "Good morning, Abe."

Community support for a modern hospital in Davenport began to develop in the late 1950s. Behind the scenes were people like founding board member Pearl Richards (and her husband Cleo), who worked with others to eventually build Lincoln Hospital. Pearl was able to obtain Abe from Bill Campbell, and he was placed into the lobby of the new building to honor its namesake when it opened in 1963.

Campbell's Market fell victim to a fire in January 1969, at which time Bill retired, but that would not be the last time he saw his friend Abe. In August 1994 the Davenport Ambulance transported the now 86-year-old Bill Campbell back to Lincoln Hospital from Spokane.

As Bill laid on the stretcher being pushed through the front doors of the lobby, he looked over giving Abe a salute and said, "Good Morning, Abe" one last time. Campbell passed away that month, and with him the story of Honest Abe's origins for all of these years.

So, the next time you visit Lincoln Hospital or walk by the lobby on your way to clock in, give Honest Abe a salute and wish him good morning if you should feel obliged. Afterall, he has been greeting people around Davenport since 1907.

Historical Note: Lincoln County State Bank's assets were turned over to state officials and the bank was forced to close its doors on Monday, November 14, 1932. All bank owned property was seized and later liquidized. Nearly two years later, depositors were able to file at least partial claims to recoup some of their lost money. The building that once housed Lincoln County State Bank burned down in March of 1981.