Counting Pennies
By Karen S.
Lynch
2/5/09
Holding a
parade at the end of January in the frigid Midwest may not seem like a good
idea but the Penny Parade celebration held last Friday inside the warmth of the
Carl Sandburg State Historic Site museum was no less exciting for area
schoolchildren bringing monies they collected for the annual site fundraiser.
Bert
McElroy, Penny Parade coordinator and Carl Sandburg State Historic Site
Association secretary sees children as the future of the site. Children enjoyed
an ice cream birthday cake to celebrate Sandburg’s birthday while watching a
short video. Sandburg was born Jan. 6, 1878, 131 years ago. The Penny Parade
also celebrates the birthday and heritage of Abraham Lincoln, the subject of extensive
Sandburg writings and books that brought him one of two Pulitzer Prize Awards.
Children
clapped along to lively Folk songs performed on acoustic guitar by John Heasly.
A brief viewing of the exhibits concluded the tour of the site for each group
of students from Gale, Steele, Nielson, Mable Woolsey—and for the first
year—Costa Junior High.
The money children
raise during the annual Penny Parade goes towards special projects to enhance
the site—such as speakers for the barn and landscaping projects completed in
prior years. This year two new projects being planned to enhance visitor
experiences and accessibility for self-guided tours include a low power FM
radio transmitter and lighted signage inside the three-room cottage, making the
site self-explanatory. The cottage and grounds will be accessible even during
hours the site is normally closed.
Last
November former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich closed several state parks and
historic sites—sites Gov. Pat Quinn has promised to reopen. The Carl Sandburg
State Historic Site Association members developed ideas for self-guided tours, both
in response to the closure and as an enrichment to visitor experiences.
The site
will see more changes next year after the retirement of Steve Holden, Carl
Sandburg Historic Site Superintendent at the site. Holden, from Bishop Hill replaced
former superintendent Carol Nelson, who retired in 2002, holding the temporary
site position until his official promotion to superintendent three years ago. During
the Penny Parade celebration a tribute from association President, Norm Winick
honored Holden in recognition of his retirement at the end of January, after 19
years of service at the historic site.
Holden’s
extensive knowledge of Carl Sandburg will be difficult to replace. A picture on
his desk sits next to a bust of Carl Sandburg of a younger Steve Holden with
Margaret Sandburg at her Asheville home. “I met all three of Sandburg’s
daughters and his granddaughter, Paula.” As he began to reminisce, Holden
continued talking about the snapshot. “Margaret was reading from the Sandburg book,
''Breathing Tokens'' that she edited.”
A New York
Times article published April 16, 1997 details the publication of the
posthumous Sandburg book of poetry.
“Margaret
Sandburg, who edited the final book of poetry by her father, Carl Sandburg,
died here on Saturday. She was 85 and lived in Asheville. After her father's
death in 1967, Ms. Sandburg became active in insuring the accuracy of
historical information about him. She helped the Carl Sandburg Home National
Historic Site in Flat Rock, N.C., to recreate a valid picture of the Sandburg
family residence. She also assisted the University of Illinois Library in
sorting and evaluating Sandburg's papers. She edited her father's final book of
poetry, ''Breathing Tokens,'' published in 1978, which included more than 100
previously unpublished poems, and ''The Poet and the Dream Girl: The Love
Letters of Lillian Steichen and Carl Sandburg'' (1987).”
Holden
shared a little-known special memory. During a Sandburg Days visit one year by
Helga Sandburg-Crile, Helga and Steve Holden placed the ashes of her two
sisters, Janet and Margaret, joining her father and mother’s ashes beneath
Remembrance Rock at Carl Sandburg’s birthplace in Galesburg.
Besides his
extensive knowledge and experience on the history of Carl Sandburg, Holden also
has an interesting history of his own. After training in music at Illinois Wesleyan
University, Holden was a potter in Bishop Hill for 16 years. Drafted into
military service in 1968, Holden served in the Signal Corp during the Tet
Offensive in Viet Nam. Holden’s wife, Linda was a postmaster. Holden did not
state any specific plans for his retirement but he will be missed at the little
white cottage on Third Street.