As a boy, Carl Sandburg was sent by his mother to the Hartel & Secker Meat Market at 402 East Berrien Street. It was about two and a half blocks from the Sandburg home. He took pride in the fact he always remembered what his mother had told him to buy. It might be pork chops, round steak or a soup bone.

In those days it was a common custom to give samples to the children who ran errands for their mothers. One of the partners in the meat market would cut off a chunk of baloney and hand it to the junior customer. It was a small gesture, but it paid dividends in more purchases by the family.

In all likelihood Carl was not entrusted with the cash to pay for the purchase. Credit was extended to the Sandburg family because the businessmen knew August would come by every payday to settle his account.

The partners in the meat market were Henry Hartel and Andrew Secker. Both had been born in Germany and came to America about 1870. They received their naturalization papers about five years later. They knew the butchering business and combined their abilities to establish a meat market.

Hartel was short, thin and blond. He never married. He lived with his aunt Mrs. Helga Breckwald. After her death, he lived with one of his cousins, Mrs. Joseph Necasek, at 161 North Seminary Street.

Andrew Secker was a large man with black hair. He married Barbara Necasek December 9, 1877. They had three children: Lena, Nettie and Leroy. The family lived on Huston Street near South Seminary.

The meat market was sold about 1905. Mr. Hartel became a salesman for the J.P. Anderson & Brothers Meat Market. Secker went to work as a butcher for Height's Grocery.

On December 14, 1910, Henry Hartel was struck with a heart attack and died. He was survived by a sister and brother in Germany and three cousins in Galesburg: Mrs. P.H. Morrisey, Mrs. Joseph Necasek and Mrs. William Bollenback of Galesburg. He was buried in Hope Cemetery.

Andrew Secker died of uremic poisoning on October 11, 1931. His wife and children survived. He had been an active member of the Masonic organizations in Galesburg for more than forty years. The Vesper Lodge was in charge of the services. He was buried in Linwood Cemetery. Two years later, Mrs. Secker was laid to rest next to her husband.

In the nineteenth century Henry Hartel and Andrew Secker were two of the many immigrants who came to the United States to make a new life. They came to Galesburg because other relatives had preceded them. The two men built their business, served their customers, were close to their families and lived a sober life. By the turn of the twentieth century they had become members of the middle class, just as August and Clara Sandburg had done.