January 6, 2014
Birth of a Poet
by Barbara Schock
The weather was
fairly mild for the beginning of January. The
sidewalks were cleared so pedestrians could
walk to businesses on Main Street. The streets
were frozen ruts of mud and difficult to
travel with horse-drawn conveyances.
The second child of
August and Clara Sandburg was born a little
after midnight on January 6, 1878. The midwife
assisted with the delivery and stayed on for
two days to help with the cooking and
cleaning. The newborn was placed in a handmade
cradle which had been occupied by his older
sister Mary. His diapers were made from
coarsely woven Pillsbury flour sacks. He was
born on a mattress made of cotton ticking
stuffed with corn husks. He would sleep on the
same kind of mattress for the next ten years
or so, until his family was in better
financial circumstances.
This little bundle of
energy and hope was named Carl August
Sandburg. It took a number of years, much
hardship and a lot of hard work for this boy
to find his way in the world. But when he did,
he achieved great success. He became world
famous for his poetry and other writing; not
the least of which was his six-volume
biography of Abraham Lincoln.
Seventy-five years
later he would come back to Galesburg to
celebrate his birthday. He stepped off the
train from Chicago. He had been feted there by
all kinds of celebrities at the Palmer House
Hotel. In Galesburg he was greeted by students
of English from Alexis High School. That day
they had visited the little cottage on East
Third Street to see the place where Carl
Sandburg had been born.
Mayor Ralph B. Johnson
proclaimed Sandburg Day in Galeburg to
recognize the hometown boy. The next evening
Sandburg gave a performance at the Central
Congregational Church before 1400 people.
His newly published
autobiography, Always the Young Strangers, was
for sale at the O.T. Johnson Department Store.
He signed several hundred copies for
purchasers at the store. The book cost $5.
Always the Young
Strangers gave a vivid picture of life in
Galesburg in the 1880s and 1890s. Critics
across the nation praised the book for its
simplicity and description of ordinary life.
Now would be a good
time to read the story of a poor Swede boy
growing up in Galesburg, Illinois. Copies are
available for purchase at the Carl Sandburg
State Historic Site which is open on Saturday
and Sunday through the winter. For readers far
away, mail orders of the book can be filled.
|
Date |
Title |
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 |
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