Every year, the Republican Women of Juneau bake birthday cakes to deliver to Republican legislators in Juneau, in honor of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. He was the first Republican president and ushered in the era of the Republican Party.
This year, they tried something different — gingerbread cookies, which known to be one of the 16th president’s favorite sweets.
During one 1858 debate with Stephen Douglas on the campaign trail, Lincoln told some personal details, which have endured through time: “When we lived in Indiana, once in a while my mother used to get some sorghum and ginger and make some gingerbread. It wasn’t often and it was our biggest treat.”
He continued, “There was a family near us poorer than we were, and their boy came along as I sat down. ‘Abe,’ he said, “gimme a man.’ I gave him one. He crammed it into his mouth in two bits and looked at me while I was biting the legs off my first one. ‘Abe, gimme that other’n.’ I wanted it myself, but I gave it to him and as it followed the first, I said to him, ’You seem to like gingerbread.’ ‘Abe,’ he said, ‘I don’t s’pose anybody on earth likes gingerbread better’n I do- and gets less’n I do ….”
Inside each package of cookies delivered on Monday, the Republican women slipped in a note explaining the history of the gingerbread cookie and President Lincoln, compliments of the Blue and Gray Education Society, a non-profit that is dedicated to the preservation of Civil War history.
“February 12, 2024, is our first Republican president’s (215th) birthday. In honor of Lincoln’s birthday, Capital City Republican Women have baked each of our Republican legislators a batch of Taku Glacier Lodge spicy ginger cookies. It may be too cold to go outside and sit under a tree, but we hope you find a comfy spot and someone to share them with. Thank you for serving Alaska!,” the women wrote in a note to GOP House and Senate members. In all, over 1,110 cookies were delivered to legislators, the Governor’s Office, and the Lieutenant Governor’s Office.
The Republican Women of Juneau have carried on this welcoming tradition for Republican legislators for over a decade. New residents of Juneau may think of the Capital City as a Democrat stronghold, which it is. But the Republican women’s club is a storied, organized, and enduring group that provides a balance to the tax-and-spend perspectives of the Democrats who dominate the political landscape.
The Capital City Republicans are hosting a Lincoln Day Dinner on Feb. 21, with keynote speaker U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan:
