Hobo Ball to benefit Carl Sandburg Home, Sept. 13

From a press release:

Hobo Ball to benefit Carl Sandburg Home, Sept. 13

band Crocodile Smile. Complimentary wine and beer provided by Highland Brewery and delicious food prepared by local caterer Antionette will be served in the unique waterfront pavilion that literally sits on the water. Interestingly, the dining hall is built atop a dam that straddles the lake at Camp Ton-A-Wandah. The gentle sound of water slipping over huge granite slabs along the side of the dining hall of the Camp will provide a soothing backdrop for the nights festivities. The airy lakeside event venue, part of a larger camp construct owned and operated by Friends supporters and Executive Directors Billy and Judy Haynes, promises to be an unforgettable locale for the 2014 festivities.

The Hobo Ball was originally conceived as a way to continue to share the Sandburg legacy while raising funds to support the work of Park in areas where no other funding exists. Enhanced trail maintenance as well as sustained educational and interpretive programs all serve to enrich the experience of the visiting public to the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site at Connemara. Park Superintendent Tyrone Brandyburg asserts that “…some  programs  would  otherwise  go  unfunded  without  the  work  of  the   Friends fund raising efforts and the support of the local community. The Friends have been consistent supporters of offerings such as the Junior Park Ranger Program, teacher education workshops, the Writer-in-Residence Program, our annual student poetry contest, and in the provision of education resource materials for teachers and tour leaders, among many things”.

The hobo theme of the biennial event echoes the life and youthful adventures of a man who worked hard during the day and by night collected folk songs, played, sang, and wrote extensively. Through music and writing, Sandburg crafted together elements of various cultural traditions he encountered in his travels in to what became recognized as an uniquely American paradigm. Sandburg himself eventually came to embody some of the best of the American ideal.

Event Chairmen Gwen Kuhns and Ron Katz are both very active volunteers at the Carl Sandburg Home at Connemara, looking after the animals in the

Park’s ever popular goat barn and otherwise working all over the property. Both are accomplished hikers and outdoor enthusiasts, and wanted the 2014 Hobo Ball to have an open, comfortable, casual tone. Camp Ton-A-Wandah, located in Flat Rock, provides an authentically historic and rustic setting very similar to the National Historic Site property the Sandburgs loved so well. Summer camp, lakeside dining and activities for children and families have been a feature of Flat Rock and Henderson County since the early days of settlement in the area. It was surely the wonderful climate and the beauty of the mountains, sky, lakes and the pastoral lay of the land that drew many from southern coastal areas in the 19th century, and then the Sandburgs to the area in the 1940’s — and many area residents since that time.

Sandburg himself hiked, played his guitar and told stories around the camp fire all over the country on his hobo journeys, so it made sense to move the event to an area camp. Gwen Kuhns and Ron Katz are among many fans of Flat Rock’s outdoor and hiking scenes. Generations of young campers have fond memories of the locale and traditions of the storied Camp Ton-a- Wandah, where Kuhns was once a camp counselor. Kuhns related “…the Ball committee wanted the event to have a easy, relaxed, open-air feeling this year. We all felt like the Ball should take place in Flat Rock, close to Connemara, and reflect the values and ideals of life in the area.” Chairman Ron Katz added “We’ve arranged for some terrific auction items donated by many generous area businesses and individuals, and will have some really great live music by the band Crocodile Smile.” Both chairmen agree that “fun” is the operative word for this year’s Hobo Ball.

Sandburg had a keen interest in the well being of others. His open minded willingness to venture out and find work in great cities, small towns, on farms, and in the fields is well documented. His interest was not only to make a living, but in the experience of meeting and learning from all kinds of places and people. Carl Sandburg often called himself the “eternal hobo”, and always carried his guitar while traveling around. His plain spoken style, keen observations, passion for folk music and sharing anecdotes from all genres became the basis for a long, rich career. In later life, as a resident of Western North Carolina, he became known as the “Poet of the People”,