Sandburg's Hometown - by Barbara Schock

Carl Sandburg and Conrad Byloff were classmates at the Seventh Ward School in the early 1890s. One day Carl passed a note, somewhat salty, to Conrad and was caught by the teacher, Miss Mullen. He had to stay after school and write a quotation, “Trifles make perfection, and perfection is no trifle,” on the blackboard two hundred times. He also received a “Poor” grade in Deportment on his report card. It was difficult to explain to his parents why he had received the low mark.

Conrad Byloff was born November 7, 1875, in Sweden. His parents were Otto and Matilda Mellstrom Byloff who came to the United States in 1880. They lived in the two hundred block of East North Street. Another branch of the family lived in Keokuk, Iowa. Conrad married Lulu Dossett in Keokuk on December 30, 1897. They had four children: two boys and two girls.

When the Spanish-American War broke out, Sandburg enlisted in Company C, Sixth Regiment, of the Illinois Militia (National Guard). Byloff was the first lieutenant of the company, an office to which he had been elected. In his autobiography, Always the Young Strangers, Sandburg described him as a born commander. Byloff's father had been a captain in the Swedish army. Conrad had the voice, the eye and the posture of a natural military leader. He tried to put some fun into the hard drilling and marching of the privates. He also told stories of ancient times, such as of the rebel slave leader, Spartacus, who fought against the Roman Empire. The stories cheered the men greatly. In more recent times, Spartacus' story has been dramatized on television, in motion pictures and through video games.

Byloff led the group of officers from Company C who asked Sandburg if he would like to attend the military academy at West Point, New York. Sandburg was flattered to be the choice of the men and felt obliged to go along with them. Unfortunately, he was found deficient in mathematics and grammar.

Byloff learned the boilermaker trade and followed it the rest of his life, save for his time in the Spanish-American War. While living in Galesburg Byloff worked for the Frost Manufacturing Company. By 1910 he and his family had moved to Chicago where he worked for the Baldwin Locomotive Works, one of the largest makers of steam locomotives.

About 1924 Byloff moved with his wife and sons to Los Angeles, California. He was employed as an inspector of boilers by the City of Los Angeles. A few years later his wife died. On November 17, 1936, Conrad married Elizabeth Poole, a native of England.

In 1946 Conrad Byloff returned to Galesburg to attend the reunion of the Spanish-American War veterans. Carl Sandburg did not attend the reunion as he was completing his only novel, Remembrance Rock. Byloff died June 29, 1948, after a long illness. He was buried in a special section for Spanish-American War veterans in the Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. His two sons survived him along with his second wife. She was buried there in 1953.

Conrad Byloff was a true citizen-soldier. In civilian life he had trained for military service in his free hours. When the time came, he was ready to go off to serve his country.