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December 12, 2022
#
401 (The Finale)

 

Thank you, Barbara Schock, for sharing your delightful tales of Sandburg and 19th century Galesburg & American history.

 

It is with much sadness and heartfelt appreciation that we must announce that Barbara Schock will be retiring her "Sandburg's Hometown" series with this final article in the series.  We thank you, Barbara, for sharing your extraordinary gift of these vignettes of Galesburg & 19th century American history. 
Four hundred and one wonderful articles leaves quite a legacy!

 

Carl Sandburg ca 1950s.  Portrait by Editta Sherman.
Carl Sandburg portrait, ca. 1950-1959. 
Editta Sherman, photographer.

Photo used with permission of The Rare Book & Manuscript Library of the
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

 

The Last Words

By Barbara Schock

 

 

When Carl Sandburg was born on January 6, 1878, his father, August, had been in this country for nine years. His mother, Clara, had been here for five years. They were immigrants from Sweden.

 

They were a quietly religious couple who raised seven children on a railroad wage of fourteen cents an hour. August had purchased a small house before their marriage. Over the years he would buy and improve others homes to shelter his family.

 

Clara and August believed in and practiced thrift, hard work and close family ties. Their children were taught to do chores around the house and yard. They went to school and did their homework.

 

It was a tense time when August and Clara decided Mary, the oldest of the children, with good grades, was allowed to attend high school. It was expected that she would become a teacher and her earnings would help the family. Carl, when his turn came, was told to find a job. He knew he had to bring home his wages for the benefit of the family.

 

The Panic of 1893 was a devastating time for the Sandburgs. Wages were cut in half at the railroad company. The children spread lard instead of butter on their slices of homemade bread for breakfast. They picked up the small pieces of coal that had fallen off the railroad cars to keep the fire in the kitchen stove burning.

 

Carl worked at a variety of jobs with no future and minimal pay. In his spare time, he read Mary’s high school books and discussed them with her. He was doing the best he could to gain knowledge for the future.

 

When the Spanish-American War began in 1898, Carl decided to enlist in the United States Army. It was one way to get away from family, the town of Galesburg and low-paying jobs. During the six months of military life, Carl lost twenty pounds and gained friends he treasured for life. He gave half of his pay to his father.

 

As a veteran, Carl was given a chance to attend Lombard College. It was the opportunity of a lifetime for him. He enrolled in courses on elocution and writing. He studied the classics of English literature. He wrote for the college newspaper and edited a history of the college celebrating its fiftieth anniversary.

 

Professor Philip Green Wright encouraged Carl to write prose and poetry. He even bought a press on which to print college posters and small booklets of prose and poetry written by himself and Sandburg.

 

Carl never finished the coursework at Lombard College. He roamed the country selling stereoscopic views door-to-door to support himself and read and wrote, and read and wrote some more.

 

While working in Wisconsin, he met a brilliant young woman named called Lilian. They were married in 1908. They would eventually have three daughters. Carl wrote American fairy tales for them, Rootabaga Stories, that were later published. The stories are full of whimsy and characters with names that make the reader laugh out loud.

 

Carl’s first book of poetry was published in 1916. It included two of his most famous poems, “Chicago” and “Fog.” During that period he was also working as a newspaper reporter in Chicago. Late at night he would write the words of his Lincoln biography. The first four volumes appeared in 1922. There were two more volumes published later.

 

In 1920 Carl began appearing on college campuses to read his poems, comment on current events and sing folk songs accompanying himself on the guitar. He continued to travel the country performing for students the rest of his life.

 

One of his last campus appearances was at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana in 1956. As a student, I was fortunate to see and hear him that evening. His collection of papers and artifacts had been given to the University Library.

 

Carl Sandburg became a colorful individual in his lifetime. He had rugged features. He was outspoken and had an independent mind. He had compassion and expressed it in his writing.

 

 

* * * * *

 

Thank you for reading “my stories” for the past ten years. My original idea had been to tell readers about Carl Sandburg growing up in Galesburg—the individuals he knew, the places that were familiar to him, the events that helped shape him, and I hope I have accomplished that.

 

My thanks also go to Rick Sayre for posting the stories on the Sandburg Historic Site Association web site. The stories would never have seen the light of day without him.

 

Two poems by Carl Sandburg are reprinted below: “Buttons”--because I find the imagery so compelling and “Fog” for all the fourth grade students who have visited Sandburg’s birth house.

"Buttons" by Carl Sandburg 


"Fog" by Carl Sandburg



Membership in the Carl Sandburg Historic Site Association

If you enjoy reading Sandburg's Hometown, Inklings & Idlings and our CSHSA Website & Facebook pages, we'd love to have your support as a contributing member of the Carl Sandburg Historic Site Association.
http://www.sandburg.org/membership.html


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Sandburg's Hometown

Date Title
December 11, 2022  The Last Words 
November 28, 2022 Mary Ann Bickerdyke
November 14, 2022  The Gettysburg Address
October 31, 2022 Carl Sandburg, TB Crusader
October 17, 2022 Temperance
October 3, 2022 Early Knox College
September 19, 2022 When Carl Went to College
September 5, 2022 Guitar Friends
August 22, 2022 Colton Park
August 14, 2022 The Beecher Chapel Marker
July 25,2022 Purington Paving Brick Company
July 11, 2022 George Fitch, A Humorous Writer
June 27, 2022 A First in Galesburg
June 13, 2022  Singing
May 30, 2022 Decoration Day
May 16, 2022 Philip Green Wright - Part 2
April 25, 2022 Philip Green Wright - Part 1
April 11, 2022  Firefighter/Student 
March 28, 2022 History Preserved
March 14, 2022 Francis Lillian Taylor
February 28, 2022 Still Hoboing
February 21, 2022 The Santa Fe Depot
February 14, 2022 A Second Railroad
January 31, 2022 A Child's Work
January 17, 2022 Grade School Teachers
January 3, 2022 January 6th
December 20, 2021 George W. Brown
December 6, 2021 Galesburg's Monuments
November 22, 2021 Julia Fletcher Carney
November 8, 2021 The Ferris Wheel
October 24, 2021 Reverend W. H. Geistweit
October 11, 2021 Earnest Elmo Calkins
Sept. 27, 2021 The Railroad
Sept.13, 2021 John Philips Sousa
August 30, 2021 The Opera Houses (cont.)
August 16, 2021 The Opera Houses
August 2, 2021 Leroy Marsh and the Horse Market
July 19, 2021

A Knight Commander

July 5, 2021  Travel
June 21, 2021 The Old Timers
June 7, 2021 The Global Positioning System
May 24, 2021 Memorial Day 1887
May 10, 2021 Employment
May 3, 2021  World's Columbian Exhibition
April 19, 2021 Carl Sandburg Laments Missed Reunions
April 12, 2021 Strong Drink
April 5, 2021 Brown's Business College
March 22, 2021 The Big Store
March 8, 2021 A Life Cover
February 22, 2021 Otto Harbach
February 8, 2021 Uncle Sam's Cats
February 1, 2021 The Poultry Show
January 25, 2021 Old Time Sayings
January 11, 2021 Backhouses
January 4, 2021 Illinois Geology
December 28, 2020 The Bandana
December 21, 2020 The Lullaby
December 14, 2020 "Sweet Betsy from Pike"
December 7, 2020 A Little History
November 30, 2020 Money
November 23, 2020 Martha Farnham Webster
November 16, 2020 The Boll Weevil Song
October 26, 2020 Back in Galesburg
October 19, 2020 Aurora, Illinois
October 12, 2020 Sweet Music
October 5, 2020 The Spelling Bee
September 28, 2020 Women and the Vote 
September 21, 2020 Ida Tarbell, Writer
September 14, 2020 Living with Horses
September 7, 2020 Walt Whitman, Poet (continued)
August 31, 2020 Walt Whitman, Poet
August 24, 2020 The Sears Catalog
August 17, 2020 "Red River Valley"
August 10, 2020 The Avery Brothers
July 20, 2020 A New Enterprise
July 13, 2020 "Illinois" (State Song)
July 6, 2020 John Fiske
June 22, 2020 Poems
June 8, 2020 Books
June 1, 2020 The Seventeenth Governor of Illinois
May 25, 2020  Hallelujah, I'm a Bum
May 18, 2020 The Telegraph
May 11, 2020 The American Songbag
May 4, 2020 Recollections of a Pioneer
April 27, 2020 Judge Alfred M. Craig
April 20, 2020 Matches, Again
April 13, 2020 Matches
March 30, 2020 Ever the Winds of Chance
March 23, 2020 The 1918 Influenza Epidemic
March 16, 2020 Women's Rights
March 2, 2020 Knox County Histories & Atlases
February 24, 2020 What's in a Name?
February 17, 2020 The City
February 10, 2020 In Lincoln's Honor
February 3, 2020 The Temperance Movement
January 27, 2020 Noses
January 20, 2020 Osgood, the Photographer
January 13, 2020 The City Directories
January 6, 2020 H.H. Kellogg
December 23, 2019 Christmas in the Churches
December 16, 2019 Happiness
December 9, 2019 The Workingman's Lot
December 2, 2019 Chicago Orchestra
November 25, 2019 Cleanliness
November 18, 2019 I. C. Preston
November 11, 2019 Newton Bateman
October 14, 2019 Lt. Lansing J. Dawdy
September 30, 2019 Whistling
September 9, 2019 Frances M. Hague
September 2, 2019 Prairie
August 19, 2019 The Vest Pocket Library
August 5, 2019  The Union Is His Monument
July 29, 2019 The Post Office
July 22, 2019  Henry Knox
July 15, 2019 The Department Store
July 8, 2019 Burdock
July 1, 2019 The Gold Dust Twins
June 24, 2019 Samuel K. Barlow
June 17, 2019 Vaudeville
June 10, 2019 Daniel Fuqua, A Pioneer
June 3, 2019 Decoration Day, 1899
May 27, 2019 Porches
May 13, 2019 Richard A. Proctor
May 6, 2019 More Asparagus
April 29, 2019 Lucy Crocker Chase
April 22, 2019 Fences
April 15, 2019 The Ten Commandments
April 8, 2019 The Umbrella
April 1, 2019  "Removal of an Old Landmark"
March 25, 2019 March 26, 1881
March 18, 2019 "The Song of the Shirt"
March 4, 2019 The Edison Talking Machine
(orig. posted Mar 4, 2013)
February 25, 2019 Joe Elser, Civil War Veteran
(orig. posted Feb 25, 2013)
February 18, 2019 "Remember the Maine"
(orig. posted Feb 18, 2013)
February 11, 2019 Lincoln's Birthday
(orig. posted Feb 11, 2013)
February 4, 2019 Curiosity
(orig. posted Feb 4, 2013)
January 21, 2019 Cabbage
January 14, 2019 Jesse James
January 7, 2019 John T. Barnett
December 31, 2018 Mortality
December 24, 2018 Christmas Dinner, 1899
December 17, 2018 Charity
December 10, 2018 Work
December 3, 2018 Church Windows
November 26, 2018 The Almshouse
November 12, 2018 Rachel Peckenpaugh
November 5, 2018 New Skating Rink
October 29, 2018 News from the Colleges
October 15, 2018  Parks & Playgrounds
October 8, 2018 October 12, 1899
October 1, 2018 William Selden Gale
September 17, 2018 Chow-Chow and Piccalilli
August 27, 2018 William Twohig
August 20, 2018  William C. Hodge
August 13, 2018 Weather
July 16, 2018 The Physical Culture Movement
July 9, 2018 Postcards
July 2, 2018 The Sewing Machine
June 25, 2018 Colonel Francis Marion
June 11, 2018 June 10, 1897
June 4, 2018 Watermelon
May 28, 2018 Hope Cemetery
May 21, 2018 General O.O. Howard
May 14, 2018 Western Health Institute
May 7, 2018 William L. Steele
April 30, 2018 General Nathanael Greene
April 23, 2018 The Boys of '76
April 16, 2018 The Eight-Hour Day
April 9, 2018 Handwriting
April 2, 2018 Hello Spring
March 26, 2018 The Post-Simpson House
March 12, 2018 The Why
February 26, 2018 John Van Ness Standish
February 19, 2018  The Sale of Spirits
February 12, 2018 Gershom Martin, part 2
February 5, 2018 Gershom Martin
January 29, 2018 La Grippe
January 22, 2018 Washday
January 15, 2018 Dice
January 1, 2018 What Is a Deprived Childhood?
December 18, 2017 Stars
December 11, 2017 Andrew Carnegie, Philanthropist
December 4, 2017 Isaac Guliher
November 27, 2017 "Found a Deserted Babe"
November 20, 2017 Thanksgiving Days
November 13, 2017 Wilkins Seacord
November 6, 2017 Lake Washington Sanborn
October 30, 2017 Streetcars
October 23, 2017 Many Pranks Played
October 16, 2017  Season to Open Soon
October 9, 2017 Carl's 17th Birthday Memories
September 25, 2017 General P.S. Post
September 18, 2017 'Tis Apple Time
September 4, 2017 The Union Picnic
August 28, 2017 The Founders' Streets
August 21, 2017  Sarah Bernhardt
August 7, 2017 The Circus
July 31, 2017 A Man of Many Firsts
July 24, 2017 Cuspidors and Spittoons
July 17, 2017 John K. Fowler
July 3, 2017 The Indelible Pencil
June 19, 2017 Fairy Tales
June 12, 2017 Potato Bugs
May 22, 2017 A Pioneer Family
May 15, 2017 The Prairie
May 8, 2017 Henry Hitchcock
May 1, 2017 Callender and Rodine
April 24, 2017 The Mesmerist
April 10, 2017 Street Fair of 1898 (Part 3) - Florence Cooke, Queen of the Street Fair
April 3, 2017 Street Fair of 1898 (Part 2)
March 20, 2017 Street Fair of 1898 (Part 1)
March 13, 2017  Gingerbread 
February 27, 2017 Superstitions
February 6, 2017 Sergeant Edwin C. Reed
January 30, 2017 Corporal Andrew P. Tanning
January 23, 2017 The Ferris Wheel
January 16, 2017 The Gibson Girl
January 9, 2017 The Cookstove
January 2, 2017 Sergeant Charles J. Rose
December 19, 2016 Hazelnuts
December 12, 2016 Minstrel Shows
December 7, 2016 Memories of Pearl Harbor
December 5, 2016 The Coffee Mill
November 28, 2016 Robert J. Samuelson
November 21, 2016  The Chrysanthemum Rules
November 14, 2016 Newspapers
October 31, 2016 Frederick Dickinson
October 24, 2016 The Reverend Carl A. Nyblad
October 17, 2016 Talk Not Always Cheap
October 10, 2016 "It Will Live in Bronze"
September 19, 2016 J. Charles "Frenchy" Juneau
September 12, 2016 Oscar F. "Husky" Larson
September 5, 2016 Obituaries
August 29, 2016 Aaron Boyer, Broommaker
August 22, 2016 The Panic of 1873
August 15, 2016 The Swan Prize
August 8, 2016 Chautauqua
July 18, 2016 Street Lighting
July 11, 2016 Cedar Fork
July 4, 2016 Shelden W. Allen
June 20, 2016 Conrad Byloff
June 13, 2016 Edward W. Rosenberg
June 6, 2016 Lawrence Futhey
May 30, 2016 Memory
May 23, 2016 Decoration Day, 1881
May 16, 2016 William Cullen Bryant
May 9, 2016 College Days
May 2, 2016 A Military Career Thwarted
April 25, 2016  How to Sweep a Room
April 18, 2016 The Marsh Horse and Mule Market
April 11, 2016 Horses Everywhere
April 4, 2016 Victor A. Thoureen
March 28, 2016 Nicknames
March 21, 2016 Corporal Edward P. Peckenpaugh
March 14, 2016 Hold Still!
March 7, 2016 Capt. T. L. McGirr
February 29, 2016 Sparrow Season
February 22, 2016 George W. Erickson
February 15, 2016 George Helgeson Fitch
February 8, 2016  Anna Charlotte Goldquist
February 1, 2016 "Little Boy Blue"
January 25, 2016 Always the Young Strangers
January 18, 2016 George R. Longbrake
January 11, 2016 Fred Cook
January 4, 2016 Domestic Help
December 14, 2015 Justice of the Peace B.F. Holcomb
November 30, 2015 Standardized Time
November 23, 2015 Joseph H. Knutson
November 16, 2015 Wells and Cisterns 
November 2, 2015 Willis E. Calkins
October 26, 2015 Galesburg Pottery
October 19, 2015 Private Lewis H. Kay
October 12, 2015 The Klondike Gold Rush
September 28, 2015 Charles L. Bloomgren
September 21, 2015 The Gilded Age
September 14, 2015 Oliver Optic
August 31, 2015 The "Spanish" Cannon
August 24, 2015 The Company C Men
August 17, 2015 Jacob A. Riis
August 10, 2015 Mason Jars
August 3, 2015  October 7, 1896
July 27, 2015 The Soldier's Monument
July 20, 2015 Ice
July 13, 2015 Moses O. Williamson
July 6, 2015 Sweet Little Alix
June 29, 2015 Sharlie's Shickens
June 22, 2015 Anna Held & John Drew
June 15, 2015 Hartel & Secker Meat Market
June 8, 2015 Girls
June 1, 2015 Old First Church - Part II
May 25, 2015 Old First Church - Part I
May 18, 2015 Marbles
May 11, 2015 Pawnee County, Kansas
May 4, 2015 Detective Stories and the Real Thing
April 27, 2015 Professor Isaac A. Parker
April 20, 2015 Celluloid Collars
April 13, 2015 Asparagus
April 6, 2015  Mayor John C. Stewart 
March 30, 2015 Basket Ball
March 23, 2015 The Courthouse of Knox County, IL
March 16, 2015 “Trifles make perfection...”
March 9, 2015 Uncle Tom's Cabin
March 2, 2015 Martha Sandburg Goldstone
February 23, 2015 Devotion
February 16,2015 Gumbiner's Pawn Shop
February 9, 2015 White Bread
February 2, 2015 The Monarch Club
January 26, 2015 The Silver Dollar
January 19, 2015 The Fulton County Narrow Gauge Railway
January 12, 2015 The Four Corners
December 22, 2014 Swedish Christmas
December 8, 2014 Christmas 1878
December 1, 2014 BunkerBoots & Shoes
November 24, 2014 Galesburg, Illinois
November 17, 2014 It was Buffalo Bill's Day
November 10, 2014 The Election of 1896 (A follow-up story)
November 3, 2014 The Election of 1896 (continued)
October 27, 2014 The Election of 1896
October 24, 2014 The Rissywarn
October 20, 2014 The Parlor Stove
October 13, 2014 Ashes to Ashes
October 6, 2014 Jesse James
Sept. 29, 2014 Lester T. Stone, Public Servant
Sept. 22, 2014 It's Who You Know
Sept 15, 2014 Mother of the Illinois Flag
Sept 8, 2014 The Scissors Grinder
Sept 1, 2014 Baseball
August 25, 2014 Howard K. Knowles, Capitalist
August 18, 2014 Alcoholic Beverages
August 11, 2014 Soda Water
August 4, 2014 Sweet Corn
July 28, 2014 Marching Through Georgia
July 21, 2014 The Knox County Fair
July 14, 2014 The Panic of 1893
July 7, 2014 The Rev. T. N. Hasselquist
June 30, 2014 The Knox County Courthouse
June 23, 2014 The Family Photograph Album
June 16, 2014 Parades
June 9, 2014 Lingonberries
June 2, 2014 Where We Live
May 26, 2014 Old Main
May 19, 2014 Rhythms of the Railroad
May 12, 2014 Spring Tonic
May 5, 2014 The Milkmen
April 28, 2014 Gray's "Elegy..."
April 21, 2014 Off to War
April 14, 2014 Swedish Easter
April 7, 2014 A Father's Face
March 31, 2014 Secret Societies
March 24, 2014 George A. Murdock, Merchant
March 10, 2014 Trade Cards
March 3, 2014 The Demorest Medal
February 24, 2014 Rip Van Winkle
February 17, 2014 Cabbage Soup
February 10, 2014 Lincoln's Birthday
February 3, 2014 The Colonel
January 27, 2014 The Lincoln Penny - A Little History
January 20, 2014 Walking to Work
January 13, 2014  A Small Abode
January 6, 2014 Birth of a Poet
December 30, 2013 Christmas 1880
December 23, 2013 Swedish Christmas
December 16, 2013 The Reporter Sees Santa
December 9, 2013 The Coming of Christmas
December 2, 2013 The Fire Boys Talk
November 25, 2013 Galesburg Will Feast on Turkeys and Cranberries - Thanksgiving 1893
November 18, 2013 Mary Sandburg Johnson
November 11, 2013 Carl Sandburg's Bicycle
November 4, 2013 Lace Curtains
October 28, 2013 The Front Room
October 21, 2013 A Warm Breakfast
October 14, 2013 Marion D. Shutter
October 7, 2013 Cigars and Consumption
September 30, 2013 Forrest F. Cooke & August Sandburg
September 16, 2013 Forrest F. Cooke, Mayor
September 9, 2013 Dusty Streets
September 2, 2013 Typhoid Fever
August 26, 2013 Coffee and Water
August 19, 2013 A Horse! A Horse!
August 12, 2013 Gaddial Scott
August 5, 2013 The Racetrack
July 29, 2013 John Peter Algeld - Part II
July 22, 2013 John Peter Altgeld - Part I
July 15, 2013 Tramps, Tramps, Tramps
July 8, 2013 Lady Liberty
July 1, 2013 Galesburg's Fourth
June 24, 2013 John H. Finley
June 17, 2013 The World's Columbian Exhibition
June 10, 2013 Fruit Short-Cake
June 3, 2013 Horatio Alger, Author
May 27, 2013 Memorial Day, 1887
May 20, 2013 Professor Jon W. Grubb
May 13, 2013 Beginnings of Lombard University
May 6, 2013 Young Sandburg’s View of Lombard College
April 29, 2013 Thinking
April 22, 2013 Robert Colville, Master Mechanic
April 15, 2013 The Galesburg Opera House
April 8, 2013 Grocery Stores and Sample Rooms
April 1, 2013  A Hearty  Breakfast 
March 25, 2013  The Lost Wallpaper Legend 
March 18, 2013 Martin G. Sandburg
March 4, 2013 The Edison Talking Machine
February 25, 2013 Joe Elser, Civil War Veteran
February 18, 2013 Remember the Maine...
February 11, 2013 Lincoln's Birthday
February 4, 2013 Curiosity