On Oct. 15, 1860 - 153 years ago today &mdash 11-year-old Grace Bedell wrote a letter to Abraham Lincoln suggesting he grow a beard for the ... he was elected and told her he had taken her advice.

For example, some of the Great Emancipator’s letters can be found on the wall of a Salina pizzeria owned by the descendants of the young girl who persuaded Lincoln to grow a beard. In adulthood ...