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+--- Forum: Trivia Questions - all things Lincoln (/forum-8.html)
+--- Thread: A Sandburg Stumper (/thread-316.html)
RE: A Sandburg Stumper - RJNorton - 02-19-2023 05:54 AM
Rob, I know your personal #1 single volume Lincoln biography was written by Benjamin Thomas, so I shall guess Thomas.
RE: A Sandburg Stumper - Gene C - 02-19-2023 08:48 AM
Ida Tarbell ?
RE: A Sandburg Stumper - Rob Wick - 02-19-2023 11:01 AM
Sorry gentlemen, but neither answer is correct.
Next clue. This person is not a literary figure.
Best
Rob
RE: A Sandburg Stumper - Anita - 02-19-2023 02:38 PM
A former colleague,
a critic or a family member?
RE: A Sandburg Stumper - Rob Wick - 02-19-2023 02:52 PM
Sorry Anita, but none of those descriptions would fit this person.
Best
Rob
RE: A Sandburg Stumper - RJNorton - 02-19-2023 03:20 PM
Dwight Eisenhower?
RE: A Sandburg Stumper - Rob Wick - 02-19-2023 03:30 PM
Sorry Roger, but it isn't Eisenhower.
Next clue. Sandburg and this person were over 20 years apart in age. He and Sandburg met for the first time very briefly in 1908.
Best
Rob
RE: A Sandburg Stumper - AussieMick - 02-19-2023 03:37 PM
Humphrey Bogart?
RE: A Sandburg Stumper - Rob Wick - 02-19-2023 03:54 PM
Sorry Mike, but it isn't him.
Best
Rob
RE: A Sandburg Stumper - Rob Wick - 02-20-2023 10:30 AM
Guess it's time for another clue.
They were able to remain friends despite differing opinions on World War One.
Best
Rob
RE: A Sandburg Stumper - RJNorton - 02-20-2023 11:58 AM
Eleanor Roosevelt?
RE: A Sandburg Stumper - Rob Wick - 02-20-2023 02:45 PM
Nope, it isn't Eleanor.
Although they met briefly in 1908, they didn't become close friends until 1921 when this person moved to Elmhurst, Illinois. (Their disagreement about World War One happened post-war)).
Best
Rob
RE: A Sandburg Stumper - Anita - 02-20-2023 07:19 PM
After thinking about this for days and eliminating all the guesses, I'm left with Eugene Debs thanks to your last set of clues. I know they were friends and I think they met as neighbors.
But I don't know if they met in 1908 or about their disagreement. So it may not be Debs!
RE: A Sandburg Stumper - Rob Wick - 02-20-2023 09:44 PM
Anita,
You nailed it. It was Eugene Debs. Debs and Sandburg met very briefly in 1908 during one of Deb's many runs for the presidency, but they never had detailed talks until Debs moved to Elmhurst to stay in a sanitarium for his health shortly after being released from prison in 1921. Sandburg and his family had moved to Elmhurst and lived a short distance from the sanitarium.
As for the disagreement, Debs, of course, spent time in the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary after making anti-war speeches. Sandburg didn't necessarily like war, but he said that once a nation was at war citizens owed it to basically keep their opinions to themselves. Debs never held Sandburg's views against him and the pair were friends up top Debs' death in 1926.
This is a picture of the two taken in Elmhurst along with Sandburg's daughter, Margaret (Source: University of Illinois Sandburg Digital Collection).
![[Image: sVNtEXcd_t.jpg]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/e8/c4/sVNtEXcd_t.jpg)
Best
Rob
RE: A Sandburg Stumper - Anita - 02-21-2023 11:39 AM
Rob,
Thanks for the history lesson and a challenging stumper. It's fun to imagine what these two giants discussed when they met during Debs last years.