A bit of old Placerville poetry

Good morning. This is Tina, and I am having a bit of a fight with my computer this morning. I am going to do a short post with an excerpt from the Special Edition, Mountain Democrat published January 6, 1928 as a Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Souvenir Review Edition.

Just below is a copy of a fine drawing of the old Catholic Church which once stood on Sacramento Street in Placerville, by a great artist, Carol Mathis, daughter of George Mathis, who was also a fine artist. We lost Carol a few years ago, at a too young age, and I miss her beautiful drawings.

Fine Poem Written on Old Window

On exhibition in the Kelsey museum, is a pane of window glass taken from the cabin erected in Hangtown in 1858, said to be the first glass window in the camp. The cabin was built by Benjamin Post and stood on lower Main street, on what has been known as the "Fred Hoffmeister place". It was torn down in the '80's.

The poem which follows, was pasted upon the glass on the day of Lincoln's funeral; it contains a very fine bit of sentiment:

"Touch me gently, friend of mine,
I'm all that's left of '49.
Many a long forgotten face
Hath watched me in my good old place,
Many a heart, once true and warm,
Hath watched thru me the threatened storm,
A moral on my face is cast,
Which all must truly learn at last:
Man's hope and fears, are all, alas!
Like me, a fractured piece of glass."

The Kelsey museum is also gone now, and apparently the contents went to the State of California and are stored away somewhere. I wonder if this pane of glass is still among them.

Above is another fine example of Carol Mathis' work, showing the Cary House on Main Street. I have several nice prints I purchased from her about a year before her death, and I plan to share them with you in the future.

Enjoy this lovely fall day, and GO GIANTS!!!