Charles Sandburg
Photograph
1885

The young ""Charles" Sandburg had many odd jobs and home chores. His first real paying job was when he was eleven; he worked as a janitor for a real estate firm, cleaning spitoons and sweeping. He was from a family of nine; the eldest of four boys, two of whom died from diptheria on the same day.

He grew up with friends from a variety of ethnic backgrounds who called themselves "The Dirty Dozen." They were a rugged lot. They played every street game, most involved chasing or being chased, hiding or searching, or getting a ball in some sort of goal. There was schooling too, and work; Sandburg finished grammar school, never attended high school, attended but never graduated from college. Despite this inconsistent formal education background, he was given honoray doctorate degrees from several "Ivy League" colleges and universities for his life-time achievements in poetry and history.
Paper. L 4.5, W 8.3 cm
Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, CARL 12634