Pella man shares love of Lincoln in new exhibit

A photo of Abraham Lincoln in his coffin, secretly taken while his body was on display in 1865. The photo remained hidden for 87 years, until Ronald Rietveld, then 14, discovered the photo in Lincoln’s secretary’s papers.

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As a young boy, Ronald Rietveld began a love of learning that has stayed with him for decades and led to a career as a college professor. His love of learning also led him to a fascination with the United States’ 16th president and got him included in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Ill., as part of an exhibit. “What resonated with me was Lincoln came from such a humble background and he strived his entire life to educate himself,” said Rietveld of why he began to study Lincoln. “It was his drive to succeed even though he came from such humble beginnings and he always worked to move on, move forward, move up.” Rietveld shared Lincoln’s ambition. As a boy, he began to study and read everything he could about the historic figure. After reading everything he could, the young Rietveld began writing historic places and figures, such as author Carl Sandburg, and Civil War veterans who were still alive in the 1950s. It was Rietveld’s interest that led him to Springfield, Ill., in the summer of 1952 and into the halls of history. While staying with Harry Pratt, then-director of the Illinois State Historical Society, Rietveld was granted access to historical documents. One day, while looking through a folder of Lincoln’s secretary’s papers, Rietveld stumbled upon a letter that contained a photo of Lincoln in his coffin. “I ran down the hall to where (Harry Pratt) was and I said ‘Hey, look at what I found,’” Rietveld recalls. “He told me that we needed to check it out and asked me ‘Can you be quiet?’ I said I could and asked if I could get a copy of the picture.” Three months later, in September 1952, the Associated Press released the forgotten photo of Lincoln and a story about how a 14-year-old Iowa boy discovered the lost photo. Rietveld’s discovery gained him notoriety and he is now among the displays at the Lincoln Presidential Museum. “I’m the only living thing in the museum,” said Rietveld, who splits his time between his Pella and California homes. “I’ve lived long enough to become an artifact.” Joking aside, Rietveld’s love of Lincoln and history led him to more than three decades of teaching at Cal-State University Fullerton, where he serves as a professor of history. It also has helped fuel Rietveld’s collection of Lincoln memorabilia which includes hundreds of pieces — an original handbill from the play at Ford’s Theatre the night Lincoln was shot, a pin worn by Lincoln while campaigning in 1860, a piece of a rail split by the president as a young man, original photos and newspapers from Lincoln’s time in office, a badge worn by mourners of Lincoln and a federal document signed by Honest Abe. For the first time, Rietveld is sharing his vast collection with the public during a special presentation of “The Lincoln Exhibit: A Touch of Lincoln Extends to Pella.” The exhibit, which opens today and is free to the public, not only catalogs Lincoln’s life and untimely death in office, but it also showcases Lincoln’s ties with Pella founder Henry P. Scholte, who knew Lincoln personally. Rietveld said he hopes people take the occasion to learn a little more about the historic figure and his legacy to the U.S. “I’d like people to take away an appreciation for a person who basically invested his life in the future of our country which he loved and he gave his life for as any other Civil War soldier,” Rietveld said. “I’d especially like for young people today to learn and to aspire to make better citizens of themselves.”

The Lincoln Exhibit Ronald Rietveld’s personal collection of Abraham Lincoln Memorabilia will be on display at the Scholte House Museum in Pella. The exhibit is free and open to the public. When: Today, Sept. 22 until Nov. 22; 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday, extended hours until 8 p.m. on Thursday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday Where: Scholte House Museum, 728 Washington St., in Pella

Jessica Lowe can be contacted at 792-3121 ext. 426 or via e-mail at jlowe@newtondailynews.com.