Granddaughter Paula on Horse
Photo from the Sandburg Family Collection
1957

Young granddaughter Paula was exceptional on horses, beginning to ride at a very early age. Many adventures were had riding horses on the mountain slopes of Connemara. The impressions of the Connemara experience for young Paula was long lasting as she shares here: "So it was, I grew to regard Connemara and all that lived on her rolling land and mountainsides in a personal way. I was devoted to her and felt her promises: delight in the early morning and in the sun hot on one's back; in the feeling of power seeing Buppong (grandpa) lift the oaken chair high over his head and look beyond the pines to the mountains blue in the distance; in the newborn creatures and generous earth. She seemed to speak of a faith in the cycles of nature, and in the infinite capabilities of the human mind and heart. I once turned to Gramma in whom I had immense trust, and asked her how it could ever be bearable to live elsewhere." (My Connemara, p 119 )
Paper, cloth. H 24.2, W 16.2, T 4.1 cm
Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, CARL 27326