While Dot and Gentre were visiting us here in Western North Carolina, they had selected some places to visit and we were glad they did, because we wanted to visit these places as well. One of these was CONNEMARA in Flat Rock NC -- just south of Hendersonville about 35 miles from The Cradle of Forestry.
This was the last home of Carl Sandburg -- poet, minstrel, lecturer, biographer (Lincoln) and Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Sandburg was born in Galesburg IL, worked for the Chicago Sun Times and received many honorary degrees for his literary work. The irony was he only finished eight grades of formal education.
Carl was 67 years old when he purchased Connemara for $45,000 in 1945. Twenty-two years later, his wife, Lillian, sold it to the National Park Service for $200,000 -- a pre-arranged transaction. To many of us, Carl Sandburg remains an inspiration to many, especially those of us who like to write.
Carl had emassed a collection of 14,000 books for reference. The place was like a time capsule, as if the Sandburg family had just gone out for a stroll before we got there.
It was Lillian who discovered this mountain farm which had everything the family needed or wanted for their champion goat herd and seclusion for Carl’s writing. Carl would do all-nighters most of the time, sleep until lunch, correspond in the afternoon and make dinner the highlight social hour of the day. It was here, between the ages of 67 and 89, that he produced his best work, including the last four of the six-volume Lincoln biography.
The place was built by Christopher Memminger, treasurer of the Confederate States of America, in 1838 -- ironic for the most comprehensive biographer of Abraham Lincoln, the leader of the other side in the American Civil War. Connemara was the name given to this place by the second owner, Ellison Smyth, a textile tycoon, to celebrate his Irish ancestry. Carl and Lillian were the third owners.
Needless to say, we thoroughly enjoyed this visit.
This was the last home of Carl Sandburg -- poet, minstrel, lecturer, biographer (Lincoln) and Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Sandburg was born in Galesburg IL, worked for the Chicago Sun Times and received many honorary degrees for his literary work. The irony was he only finished eight grades of formal education.
Carl was 67 years old when he purchased Connemara for $45,000 in 1945. Twenty-two years later, his wife, Lillian, sold it to the National Park Service for $200,000 -- a pre-arranged transaction. To many of us, Carl Sandburg remains an inspiration to many, especially those of us who like to write.
Carl had emassed a collection of 14,000 books for reference. The place was like a time capsule, as if the Sandburg family had just gone out for a stroll before we got there.
It was Lillian who discovered this mountain farm which had everything the family needed or wanted for their champion goat herd and seclusion for Carl’s writing. Carl would do all-nighters most of the time, sleep until lunch, correspond in the afternoon and make dinner the highlight social hour of the day. It was here, between the ages of 67 and 89, that he produced his best work, including the last four of the six-volume Lincoln biography.
The place was built by Christopher Memminger, treasurer of the Confederate States of America, in 1838 -- ironic for the most comprehensive biographer of Abraham Lincoln, the leader of the other side in the American Civil War. Connemara was the name given to this place by the second owner, Ellison Smyth, a textile tycoon, to celebrate his Irish ancestry. Carl and Lillian were the third owners.
Needless to say, we thoroughly enjoyed this visit.
No comments:
Post a Comment