Dick Skagenberg of Bement became a friend of Carl Sandburg, the American poet, historian, balladeer and folklorist.

Sandburg (1878-1967) was born in Galesburg, the son of Swedish immigrants. His poems were first published in 1914.

His biography "Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years" was published in 1926. Sandburg published four additional volumes of this work and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1940. His "Complete Poems" also won the Pulitzer Prize in 1951.

"Bement was celebrating its centennial in 1955 when I met Sandburg," Skagenberg said.

He was on the photography staff for the centennial committee and took several pictures of Sandburg, one of several celebrities who appeared in Bement that year.

"Two days later, I was asked to drive him to Chicago," Skagenberg said. "It was a privilege.

"On the way, we stopped at a fruit market, as he said he was hungry for some fruit. He picked up three apples and juggled them. I snapped a picture. That picture, and one of him playing his guitar, he autographed the next time he came to Champaign.

"When I dropped him off at his apartment building in Chicago near Grant Park, I walked with him to the elevator. He turned, put out his hand and said, 'Dick, let's keep in touch, I enjoy your friendship.'

"After that, we had coffee several times at the home of his friend, Professor Warrick in Champaign."

Dick Skagenberg is 84. He now lives in Monticello and has a number of Sandburg photos.

Bob Fallstrom can be reached at bfallstrom@herald-review.com or 421-7981.