Carl Sandburg was walking along one day when Sam Barlow hailed him and asked if he would like a job. Barlow offered $12 a month, plus a meal cooked by his wife at noon every day. Carl accepted and then told Mr. Humphrey, his boss at the barber shop in the Union Hotel, that it was time to quit.

With the coming of spring the barber shop was getting stuffy. Driving a milk wagon with the sun and blue sky overhead was much more appealing. In addition, Carl had experience in delivering milk on a previous job.
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At 6:30 in the morning Sandburg walked from his family home on Berrien Street across the C.B. & Q. switching yards, on to the Knox College campus, South Street and then to the Barlow barn at 634 Monmouth Boulevard. The milk was brought directly from a farm in eight gallon cans.

Sandburg was responsible for cleaning the horse stalls and hitching the animals to the milk wagons. He also groomed the horses every day. Sandburg and Barlow delivered to homes on the south side of Galesburg. Other employees delivered to the north side. The men carried two-gallon cans of milk to each customer’s door and poured out pints and quarts as requested. During the warm months, from June through September, deliveries were made twice a day. Most residents did not have iceboxes in which to keep the milk cool. And, there is only so much sour milk that can be used in cooking and baking.

During the summer the milk cans had to be cleaned twice a day. Sandburg and Mr. Barlow rinsed them with cold water. They added a cleaning powder and hot water, using a brush to scrub the inside. The cans were put on a rack upside down, outdoors to dry.

Barlow was a fiddle player and well versed in the music played for barn dances. He was a short, well-muscled man who had a ready smile. He was old enough and experienced enough to know what he liked and what he didn’t like.

He appreciated his customers and made sure they received fresh, pure milk. He watched the houses along the delivery route to see when a family moved out and a new one moved in. He usually persuaded the new residents to become customers. He told his employees not to sass the customers.

Barlow had stopped attending church because he felt there were too many hypocrites involved. He explained to Carl that he belonged to the “big church.” The one that took in everybody.

After eighteen months on the job, Sandburg began to feel that he was going nowhere. He was still trying to find his place in the world, so he moved on. Nevertheless Sandburg and Barlow remained friends. Carl would visit and listen to music on the Victrola phonograph with the Barlows.