Lombard College Patch

For his service in the Spanish-American War, Lombard College allowed Sandburg to enroll as a special student and gave him free tuition for his first year. Sandburg never imagined having an opportunity to attend college; an estimated 2% of the American population attended college at the turn of the century.

College changed the course of his life. Here he met Professor Phillip Green Wright, one of the three people he called the greatest influences of his life, and he began to write seriously. Professor Wright, impressed with Sandburg’s work ethic and writing style became Sandburg’s "great friend and an invaluable beneficient influence". (Niven, p 58)
Fleece, yarn. L 6.0, W 17.5 cm
Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, CARL 30292