Carl Sandburg, "Happiness," and the Des Plaines River

Carl Sandburg, one of Illinois' most famous poets, was born in Galesburg in 1878 and his ashes were returned to his birthplace and placed beneath Remembrance Rock in Carl Sandburg Park behind his family's home. Twice, 1940 and 1951, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. His first book, Chicago Poems was published in 1916 and included this poem referring to the Des Plaines River:

Happiness

I asked the professors who teach the meaning of life to tell me what is happiness.
And I went to famous executives who boss the work of thousands of men.
They all shook their heads and gave me a smile as though I was trying to fool with them.
And then one Sunday afternoon I wandered out along the Desplaines river
And I saw a crowd of Hungarians under the trees with their women and children and a keg of beer and an accordion.

—Carl Sandburg, Chicago Poems, 1916