The Sandburgs moved to Connemara, their mountain farm in Flat Rock, North Carolina, in the fall of 1945: Carl and his wife Paula, their three adult children (Margaret, Janet, and Helga), and Helga’s young children John Carl and Karlen Paula. Helga and her children lived at the farm for seven years.

I first learned about Carl Sandburg’s life and his wide range of publications by reading “The Life and Works of Carl Sandburg,” a section of the Official National Park Handbook for Connemara. The section was written by Karlen Paula, who was known simply as Paula. It traces Sandburg’s foundational years, the history of births and residences, and highlights Sandburg as poet, newspaperman, children’s author, biographer of Lincoln, folk singer and musicologist, and novelist. This was the same general format I used for my book, Discovering Carl Sandburg.

Paula also wrote a memoir, My Connemara. In it, she portrays her life on the farm replete with goats, chickens, horses, barns, extensive gardens, and more. She shares stories about her ramblings over the estate’s pastures, woods, and mountains, writing “this was the new world where I would grow up, exploring foot by foot and day by day for a decade every stream, branch and cavern.” The memoir also includes chapters about her mother, brother (now a retired engineer), her grandfather and grandmother, her uncle Edward Steichen who often visited, and the famous people who came to see the poet and historian. I recommended My Connemara to visitors who had taken the tour of the house.

Paula returned to Western North Carolina in 1972 and lived a short way from her childhood home. She married and became Paula Steichen Polega. She was instrumental in helping the Park determine how best to prepare the house for the public. She continued to help preserve the Sandburg legacy in such activities as her interview for UNC-TV where she shared what it was like growing up with her famous grandparents.

I met Paula at a community read of Sandburg’s, The People, Yes. I asked if she had recently seen the Dragon’s Limb on Little Glassy Mountain that she described in her book as “a limb with a great snout and open mouth and eye,” and shared that the “children looked on it with some awe and trod the dragon’s domain with respect.” She hadn’t been back to it, so I told her it was still there, seventy years later, just extended further across the mountain path.

Her grandfather wrote a poem for her when she was only two that encapsulated what so many would feel about Paula:

Karlen Paula

I love thy face with a love given
to fresh flower blooms.
I love thy spoken words as the shimmer
of sun slants and the drift of rain.
If I should believe in angels and meet one
she would be somewhat like you.
Until I come to know one angel
worth cherishing I shall go on
in my cherishing of thy face and
spoken words.

Carl Sandburg
Connemara, 1946

Thanks for reading,

John
—-
John Quinley is the author of Discovering Carl Sandburg: The Eclectic Life of an American Icon and is a former docent at the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in Flat Rock, North Carolina. You may contact John at jwquinley@gmail.com.

Obituary:

Paula Steichen Polega passed away peacefully at her Hendersonville, NC home, with her son beside her, in the early morning hours of Saturday, January 13, 2024, after a courageous year-long battle with colon cancer. She was 80.

Born in Chicago to writer Helga Sandburg Crile, and the granddaughter of poet and historian Carl Sandburg, Paula's early years were shaped by her life on the family farm, Connemara, in Flat Rock, NC. There she was surrounded by nature and the songs, stories, warmth, and curiosity of her family.

In 1952, she moved to the Washington DC area and eventually to Cleveland, OH. She attended the University of Chicago and subsequently earned her bachelor's degree from Case Western Reserve University. After completing her studies, she published a lovely memoir, "My Connemara," about the Sandburgs and the wonderful early years of her childhood.

In 1972, she returned to the Southern Appalachian mountains, initially moving to Tuxedo, NC where she reconnected with the traditions of the mountains, before finally moving to Jeter Mountain. In her journal, she would write of this place nestled in the mountains:

"It was a wild piece of land – all in timber with streams and springs and ferns and blueberries and a gentle terrain that lifted at the top of the property, so that one climbed steeply there and could stand looking out over the tops of the great trees below and the distant blue mountains."

In the years that followed, timber was cleared, a house was built, Paula and Stanley were married, and two babies, Sky and then Birch, were born. With Paula's concepts and designs for their family house and the grounds, and Stanley's ability to execute on that vision, they would slowly change this wild land into a warm home, with the joy of the children in the air and books lining the walls, and a lively farm surrounded by beautifully tended gardens of flowers and crops. Her garden was truly like an artist's canvas, and she genuinely enjoyed the changing colors and shapes of each season. And for Paula, this place, this family, these children, would become the most important things in her life, and vice versa.

And while Paula adored her home in the mountains of NC, she held an equally deep curiosity in and compassion for other cultures and what was happening around the globe. From a young age, she wrote of discussions she would engage in with her grandfather, talking about the people, animals, art, and traditions of countries around the world. In her extensive travels, she was rarely a tourist, and instead immersed herself with the local people, food and customs, eager to know what it was really like to live there. It wasn't uncommon for a conversation over dinner with friends to result in a world map unfurling across the table to discuss far-flung adventures. Similarly, Paula inspired her children to both cherish their North Carolina roots while also seeing themselves as citizens of the world. There was not a place in the world where Paula did not find the opportunity for commonality and connection.

Paula brought so much to the world. A writer and artist, an avid reader, and an unparalleled editor, she never saw traditional boundaries; instead, she saw hope, possibility, and challenges to be overcome. Whether it was her deep love of animals and the respect and gratitude they would show her; or her ability to create exquisite beauty and order wherever she went; or the incredible gardens that she labored over with such intensity and love; or her legendary cooking and baking skills that had been showcased through her mastery of the Julia Child cookbook and the spectacular spreads of desserts she would create at holidays. She had an eye for understanding the potential of things, and maybe more importantly the drive and vision to bring those concepts to fruition.

Perhaps Paula's greatest contributions were to the lives she touched and nurtured. She was a born teacher, her eternal curiosity, bright intellect, gentle guidance, and boundless patience leaving an indelible mark on countless hearts. Whether it was through working with the staff at the Carl Sandburg National Historic Site to help preserve the lives and literary legacy of the Sandburgs, hosting foreign exchange students from across the globe, serving as a Guardian ad litem for the vulnerable children, learning how to and performing dialysis at home when the need arose, or simply offering a sympathetic ear and a warm cup of tea, Paula found a way to bring out the inherent good in the world and within each individual and her home was always a welcoming one.

Throughout her life, Paula faced her fair share of challenges, but none more so than the tragic loss of her daughter, Sky, at the age of 25. Far beyond anything in this world, Paula cared about her family and most of all her children. Sky had been described as, "a rare young lady who combined a sincere desire to learn, superior intellect, uncommon pleasantness, and a warmth that attracted everyone," and left a lasting impact on those around her. The exact same things could be said of Paula. Sky's loss left a gaping void in her heart – a depth of grief that is impossible to express. Her only solace was found in Sky's friends who kept her memory alive, the love of her family, and eventually in her connection with nature.

Paula will be remembered for so many things, but especially for the beautiful, caring way she welcomed guests; the warmth of her voice, her hugs, and her spirit; her genuine curiosity in every person and their thoughts and ideas; her sincere and sage advice, often born of her own lived-experience; the bouquets, flowers, plants, and vegetables raised by her own hand that filled her surroundings; the poetic, and often philosophical, letters she wrote; her bravery and courage; and most of all for the boundless love, encouragement, and tenderness she extended to her friends and family.

Paula Steichen Polega is survived by her son, Birch Polega; her brother, Dr. John Steichen (Liz); her half-sister Char Campbell (Evan). She was preceded in death by her daughter, Sky; her husband of 45 years, Stanley; and her half-brother Greg Thoman. A private memorial service will be held in the spring.

Obituary at Legacy.com