Canning To Be Honored At Lincoln Society Gala

PEEKSKILL, NY — The Lincoln Society in Peekskill will honor Cortlandt Manor resident Jeff Canning at its 2019 Gala Dinner April 13.

Canning has been named the 2019 recipient of the Lincoln Society’s CHAMPION OF HISTORY AWARD for his outstanding support of the history community. Canning was the long-serving president of the Van Cortlandtville Historical Society, served on the Board of Trustees of the Westchester County Historical Society, and has organized many events that celebrate the Revolutionary War heritage of northern Westchester County.

Dr. Martha Hodes, Professor of History at New York University and author of "Mourning Lincoln," will be the keynote speaker. Her book was awarded the prestigious LINCOLN PRIZE by the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History in 2016.

Dr. Hodes is a national authority on how Lincoln was mourned by everyday Americans, using 19th century letters and diaries.

The event will mark the 116th anniversary of the founding of the organization, one of the oldest Lincoln groups in the United States.

Lincoln made his only speaking stop in Westchester County to a crowd of 1,500 people at the old Peekskill railroad depot in February 1861 during the train journey to his Inauguration in Washington, DC.

Everyone is welcome to attend the Lincoln Society dinner gala. The event will take place at Victoria’s on the Lake in Jefferson Valley (formerly Ceola Manor).

Tickets for the black tie (optional) event on April 13 can be purchased on the society's website which includes a PayPal link.

The $100. admission ticket includes: open bar (all night), cocktail hour with hors d’oeuvres, dinner and dancing, and a buffet of desserts with coffee, tea and cordials. The event features a book signing station and silent auction area. Raffle tickets for a two-night stay at the famous Gettysburg Hotel in Pennsylvania will be available for purchase at the dinner event.

The 2019 dinner gala will be hosted by Lincoln Society president Theresa Knickerbocker, who currently serves as mayor of Buchanan. According to Knickerbocker: “Our dinner gala is a wonderful way to honor America’s greatest President and to celebrate his unique connection to the Peekskill community in Westchester County."

Cathy Pisani of Peekskill is scheduled to be installed as the new president of the Lincoln Society for 2019-20.

The Lincoln Society in Peekskill is a non-partisan and not- for-profit historical society that is dedicated to promoting a greater awareness of the life and legacy of our 16th President.

-- From the Lincoln Society