Archive for February, 2020
Happy Birthday to all you “Leaplings” out there. It’s Leap Day.
It only comes once every four years or 1,460 days, if you’re counting. Today is just another Leap Day to 99.73% of us. But to you Leapsters, it is another long-awaited actual birthday – a full 24 hour birthday. Congratulations. Celebrate being alive! Today, we will join in with you from afar.
There are approximately 187,000 of you leaplings in the U.S, and about 4 million Leaplings in the entire world. Since your actual birthdate only comes once in 1,461 days, we will give you 4 exclamation points after the usual greeting today. So “Happy Birthday, Leaplings!!!!”
My grandfather, Tom Henry McNeil, was a Leapling (or a Leapster, if you prefer), born on February 29, 1860. He was quite a man. His Wikipedia page at Thomas H. McNeil states in part:
“Thomas H. McNeil (February 29, 1860 – October 1, 1932) was an American football player and lawyer. He was the first University of Michigan football player to be the starting quarterback in consecutive years. He led the Michigan football team to undefeated seasons in 1884 and 1885. He later became a lawyer practicing in Missouri”
Yes, today is special. It’s Leap Day. But it is also special because it is another day to live. A great truth of life is that every day is special. Every day is a day for us to be truly live. “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” Psalm 90:12. – a verse from Sunday School. It’s sort of a prayer, asking God to: “Teach us how short our life is, so that we may become wise.”
Oh, wise! Growing old comes kind of naturally. Growing wise takes a bit more help. It really helps to be taught that we have a heart and a soul, to be loved into growing as a human being. And to learn to listen to both and apply our hearts to becoming wiser than we used to be.
“Number Your Days” and Become Wise.
“Happy Birthday” ~ All You Leapsters!
February 29, 2020
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“HAPPY BIRTHDAY” Hermon & Tom Henry MacNeil ~~ MacNeil Month – Two Birthday’s
Posted by: | CommentsWhy do we celebrate MacNeil Month each February? Two reasons:
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“HAPPY BIRTHDAY” Hermon MacNeil.
Hermon A. MacNeil Commemorative sketched by Artist Charles D. Daughtrey as the seventh work in his Series of Coin Designers is available at http://www.cdaughtrey.com/
- February 27 is the 154th anniversary of the birth of Hermon A. MacNeil, born in 1866. Hermon is the patron-sculptor whose work and life are celebrated at this website – HermonAtkinsMacNeil.com.
- “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” Tom Henry McNeil, My grandfather ~ And the older cousin of Hermon MacNeil.
- February 29 is the Anniversary of the birth of Thomas (Tom) Henry McNeil (my grandfather) born in 1860, one-hundred and sixty years ago.
- Tom told his daughters to address “Hermon” as “Uncle Hermon.” “Uncle” was the title of respect bestowed on their first-cousin-twice-removed.
When the Students of Northwestern University saw MacNeil’s Female and Male statues in front of Patten Gym, they re-named them “Pat and Jim”

“Pat” or “Intellectual Development” is half of the pair of MacNeil creations that have graced the Northwestern campus for over 100 years.

“Jim” or “Physical Development” is the left-hand piece of the MacNeil pair placed in front of “Patten Gym” in 1919.
A bit of Sophmoric humor, perhaps, sure! But “Pat & Jim” are leading Northwestern into a 2nd century of campus smiles.
“Pat” bears a striking resemblance to another MacNeil lady, namely, “Prosperity” of the McKinley grouping. Perhaps they are related? At least creations of the same creator.
WELCOME TO MacNEIL MONTH !
“They are still there” celebrates MacNeil works visited in 2019.
This pair of Beaux Arts pieces are just two of hundreds of the works of Hermon Atkins MacNeil.
This years featured visits include:
- “The Sun Vow” in New York City and Monmouth, New Jersey.
- “William McKinley” statue in Columbus, Ohio.
- The Patten Gym at Northwestern University ~ “Intellectual Development” and “Emotional Development”
- “The Soldiers and Sailors Monument” in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
SOLDIERS AND SAILORS MONUMENT Philadelphia
“They are still there” celebrates several re-visits and discoveries of MacNeil works made in 2019. This Presidents Day we look again at:
- “William McKinley” statue in Columbus, Ohio.
The Statue of Wm. McKinley stands in front of Ohio Capitol looking out over the city of Columbus. I always marvel at MacNeil’s works all over the U.S. of A.
- The “Lincoln Lawyer” of Illinois
Image from the Re-dedication Day of Lincoln Hall at University of Illinois in Champagne-Urbana in 2012.
- Washington Square in New York City.
General George Washington with Flags (U.S. and POW/MIA) ~ Washington Arch Greenwich, NYC (Photo courtesy of: Gibson Shell – 2011)
President McKinley was assassinated at the 1902 Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, NY. MacNeil was an exhibitor and sculpted the Award medal for that Worlds Fair. He later was awarded the commission for this McKinley Monument at the Ohio Capitol Square in Columbus.
Here are three old Photos of the McKinley Monument

The restored East Foyer of Lincoln Hall with its gilted vaulted ceiling and columns makes a dramatic setting for Hermon A. MacNeil’s bust of Abrabam Lincoln as the famed prairie lawyer who left Illinois to lead the nation through the War to preserve the Union and the succession South states.

Another of Hermon MacNeil’s “Lincoln Lawyer” was found at the Rushville (Illinois) Public Library. The happy webmaster was pleased to see it and meet the Library staff. I am sure you recognize Abe Lincoln. Well the guy smilin’ on the right is me, Dan Leininger [the “happy webmaster of HAM (https://hermonatkinsmacneil.com/)
“Sun Vow” ~~ (Part 2) MacNeil Month 2020 ~ “They’re Still There!”
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I had the privilege of visiting the MAM site this week and will post a larger story soon. For now, here’s a quick shot of MacNeil’s “Sun Vow”.
In August, news arrived from Monclair, NJ, expressing community concern about the 117 year-old “Sun Vow” at Monclair Art Museum’ being relocated (without a specific plan for its future).
https://hermonatkinsmacneil.com/?s=montclair
The statue was a gift of the co-founder, William T. Evans. It has been welcoming patrons to the front door for over a century after William Evans (the donor and co-founder) commissioned it in 1903, and placed it there in 1914.
“The relocating of this “Sun Vow” appears to be on hold for the present as the Montclair Museum continues to assess their future expansion and update plans.”
~ Dan Leininger ~
Related posts:
- Son Vow – Opinion ‘Respecting ‘The Sun Vow’ Regarding the Montclair Art Museum’s landscape re development proposal for the Planning Board Meeting Monday August 26 at 7:30 PM Here’s a quick shot of MacNeil’s “Sun Vow” with yours…
- “Sun Vow” – MacNeil’s most famous piece ` ` The Sun Vow is certainly Hermon Atkins MacNeil’s…
- Searching for Uncle Hermon in Chicago ~ “The Sun Vow” (cont.) On a cold December day we took the CTA Blue…
- Searching for Uncle Hermon in Chicago ~ Part 2 ~ “Vow of Vengeance” My recent post about our December 3rd journey on the…
- “Sun Vow” Video Starts MacNeil Month 2015 Here at the HermonAtkinsMacNeil.com website we celebrate every February as…
“Sun Vow” ~~ MacNeil Month 2020 ~ “They’re Still There!”
Posted by: | CommentsMacNeil’s “Sun Vow” is “Still There”
in NYC Metropolitan Museum of Art since 1919.
The “Sun Vow” became a theme here at HermonAtkinsMacNeil.com on several occasions.
In November, I received an email and Photos from my daughter and grandson as they visited New York City.
New York City ~~ Metropolitan Museum of Art My daughter and grandson texted the following:
“Hey Grampa, Look what we found!”
Here’s some 2019 Photos of the MMA with Rachel and Owen Schweers on a New York City excursion in November.
Here is the Museum’s own description of this MacNeil piece:
“By the 1890s, sculptural representations of Native American and Western themes had become extremely popular. While living in Chicago in the early 1890s, MacNeil had learned of a rite of passage that captured his imagination: before a boy on the threshold of manhood could be accepted as a warrior, he was required to shoot an arrow directly into the sun. If the chieftain judging the boy’s prowess was so blinded by the sun’s rays that he could not follow the flight of the arrow, it was said to have gone “out of sight,” and the youth had passed the test. MacNeil portrayed the dramatic moment following the arrow’s release, heightening both the visual impact of the composition and the sense of narrative suspense.”
The Sun Vow

Working Title/Artist: The Sun Vow
Department: Am. Paintings / Sculpture
Culture/Period/Location:
HB/TOA Date Code:
Working Date: 1919
scanned for collections
Artist: Hermon Atkins MacNeil (American, Everett, Massachusetts 1866–1947 Queens, New York). Date: 1899, cast 1919. Culture: American. Medium: Bronze. Dimensions: 72 x 32 1/2 x 54 in. (182.9 x 82.6 x 137.2 cm). Classification: Sculpture
We observe each February as MacNeil Month here on HAM.
“They’re Still There!” celebrates several re-visits and discoveries of MacNeil works made in 2019.
Why do this in February? Two reasons:
- February 27 is the anniversary of the birth of Hermon A. MacNeil, born in 1866, of one-hundred and fifty-four years ago. Hermon is the patron-sculptor whose work and life are celebrated at this website – HermonAtkinsMacNeil.com.
- February 29 is the Anniversary of the birth of Thomas (Tom) Henry McNeil (my grandfather) born in 1860, one-hundred and sixty years ago. Tom told his daughters to address “Hermon” as “Uncle Hermon.” “Uncle” was the title of respect bestowed on their first-cousin-twice-removed.

MacNeil of Barra Tartan (Modern)