Stanley Allen, 69, from Muskegon, MI, was born with Cerebral Palsy. Through all the challenges that Stanley has been faced with throughout his life, he remains a happy-go-lucky guy. Up until his mother’s passing in 2011, he did not really interact with society. His mother wanted to protect him from what society may think of him because of his disability. After her passing when he was 65, he moved in with his niece, which is when he watched cable television for the first time. Stanley would watch specials on the History Channel focusing mainly on President Lincoln. He became fascinated with Lincoln. Stanley’s Wish of a Lifetime is to travel to President Lincoln’s hometown of Springfield, IL to see the Gettysburg Address with his own eyes and learn more about his favorite president.
Stanley now lives on his own, in a community where he sends Christmas cards to all the community members every Christmas and donates what he can to the annual Thanksgiving Day dinner. He also donates unused supplies (older adult commodities that he receives once a month) to his neighbors and hands out coffee at the mental health building once a week. He loves meeting new people and interacting with them.
Wish of a Lifetime sent Stanley to Springfield, IL for the Lincoln experience in April of 2015. Stanley and his companion spent the two days learning all they could about President Lincoln, visiting Lincoln’s Tomb, the Old State Capital, Lincoln’s Home Historic Site, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum where he saw the Gettysburg Address with his own two eyes during a private viewing. Stanley said, “The Gettysburg Address was beautiful.” This trip for Stanley entitled a lot of firsts including putting his feet in a pool and flying on a plane. “I had a wonderful time and will always remember my Lincoln wish.”
