"The Barefoot Boy" Preserved in Stone

One of the best-known poems by John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–92), the American Quaker poet and reformer, is “The Barefoot Boy,” a paean to boyhood. In the City of Whittier, California (named after the poet) is a sculpture and small pond that was created to honor the poem. It is located at 13230 E. Penn, on the west side of City Hall. You can barely notice it by driving by, and I discovered it by accident when walking by.

These are the first 10 lines of "The Barefoot Boy."

Blessings on thee, little man,
Barefoot boy, with cheek of tan!
With thy turned-up pantaloons,
And thy merry whistled tunes;
With thy red lip, redder still 5
Kissed by strawberries on the hill;
With the sunshine on thy face,
Through thy torn brim’s jaunty grace;
From my heart I give thee joy,—
I was once a barefoot boy!

The full poem can be read here: 

http://www.bartleby.com/42/797.html