Welcome to my sixth Newsletter!
I am happy to announce that writing the book will begin in earnest in December 2006. The bad news is that the project is a year behind, due partly to the overwhelming response for research material - it has grown from 24 linear feet to 40 linear feet (7 metres to 12.3 metres) - and partly to delays in hiring my research assistant. When she finished her contract on December 8th, information for more than 6,000 immigrants had been input into the database . Everything has been input, including all the family histories and other material that were sent in. The databases will allow me to find information about them quickly, both as individuals and as groups. The good news is that the project is still going strong, and I am looking forward to working with the research material to produce a book we can all be proud of.
Project Deadlines
- The gathering of family information has been completed, a big thank you to all who contributed. From now on only updates from previous submissions and spectacular new information can be accepted. If in doubt, send me a query at barr@swedesincanada.ca.
- For readers who immigrated after 1945, please fill out our questionnaire which is once again accessible on the website. Please let me know if you have problems, so that they can be fixed. I have no other way of finding out.
- Don't miss the chance to have your immigrant ancestor named in the history book, under the Honour the Pioneers program!
Honour the Pioneers
Click here to see the new page that has been added to our website in order to display the information to be published in my forthcoming book, and to watch the list grow! At last count there were 72 entries.
A Letter Home, Written on Birch Bark
In the early 1900s Märta Jönsson left her home and family in northern Sweden to live in a company town in Newfoundland with an older brother. One winter day in 1907 she felt homesick and decided to write a younger brother in the old country. Looking for something different, as 20-year-olds often do, she wrote on birch bark instead of paper. Here is part of what she said:
"Think how long we have been apart from each other ... But think if you could come, I would be so happy if everybody could come."
But the boredom of a company town soon outstripped her loneliness, and with a sense of adventure she set off, alone, for the city of Winnipeg. Here on Logan Avenue, the Swedish section, she found work as a cook at the Stockholm Restaurant, and companionship with immigrants her own age. The c1908 photo, below, shows five employees. Märta stands on the right between the manager - her future husband, John Bogseth - and her best friend, Hilma Gryte. The other two are Anders and Olga, surnames unknown. Soon Märta became Martha, she learned English, and began a new life. But she never lost touch with her family in Sweden.
Photos courtesy of Rocklee Bogseth
New books
- From St. John's, Newfoundland, comes Westward Vikings: the Saga of L'Anse aux Meadows, by Birgitta Wallace, just released in November 2006.
- From Winnipeg comes Karl Olafson's memoir,A Sentimental Journey, about growing up in isolated section houses along the CNR between Sioux Lookout and the Manitoba border during the steam era. Karl's parents came from Skåne, Sweden's southernmost province. An upbeat look at problem solving, with lots of photos and illustrations. Contact karlolaf@mts.net.
- From Oregon comes interviews with ten recent immigrants telling why they chose northwestern USA and how they have fared since. Lars Nordström's De nya utvandrarna: Tio svenskar i nordvästra USA berättar was published in Uppsala, Sweden. Contact lars@larsnordstrom.com.
A Touching Memento
In 1914 Rafael Smedberg decided to visit Åland (now part of Finland) with his 10-year-old son, Charley. They boarded the steamship Empress of Ireland in Quebec City on May 28th, then Rafael wrote a postcard home to his wife Anna.
Courtesy of Don Arril
He wrote, in part: "We have just arrived from the train to the ship. Charley is in a hurry to look around the ship. I will write from Liverpool. Kind regards, Pappa."
That very night the Empress of Ireland collided with the Norwegian ship "Storstad" in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and sank within fifteen minutes, the worst marine disaster in Canada's history. Rafael and Charley were among the 1,012 casualties. Anna Smedberg received the postcard before the deaths of her husband and son had been confirmed.
Last summer the Empress of Ireland Artifacts Committee (contact Irene Johnstone at hijohn@telusplanet.net) sponsored a gathering in Calgary for interested people, including relatives of those on board for the fateful journey. The program was ambitious, with talks by four authors of books about the Empress, a marine archaeologist, and a genealogist, along with various displays and tours. Participants had a good time and are looking forward to the next one.
A Conundrum
Swedish immigrants Folke and Ingrid Werner lived on a farm in Pouce Coupe BC during the 1920s. Can anyone tell me why they would have sent home to Dalarna this military photo of the Champion Tug of War Team of Alberta in 1916? Any ideas?
Courtesy of Carin Appelqvist
Film with Swedish Connections
Marji Fraser wrote me about Lasse Hallström's new release, "The Unfinished Life", starring Robert Redford and Jennifer Lopez, which was filmed at a ranch near Kamloops BC. Awestruck by the beauty of the landscape, she watched all the background information on the DVD and discovered Lasse's interest in a Swedish Bible found in one of the buildings. Further research showed that the Bible and other items belonged to the Swedish hired man, Karl Björkman, who built the log structures shown in the film. Karl became part of the family and lived on the ranch until his death at the ripe old age of one hundred. Thanks for sharing, Marji!
Tall Tales from Whiteshell Provincial Park
Included in the project's library is a souvenir booklet published during the 1970s by Wright Paperbacks of Steinbach, Manitoba. Written in the Paul Bunyan tradition, it recounts the adventures of Gus Gustafson who pioneered the Whiteshell region. Goldrock Gus, as he was called, was almost seven feet tall, of great physical strength and blessed with an ingenious mind. He married Water Lily, daughter of a First Nations chief, who did most of the work around their log cabin on Falcon Lake.
Gus "spent weeks at a time on trips through the Whiteshell, digging holes in the rocks with his big Swedish steel pick and shovel. A lot of the smaller lakes in the Whiteshell are actually mining excavations made by Gus while he was digging for gold." The following headings give an idea of the kind of stories to be found in the booklet: "Cleared land with a 100-deer plow", "How Gus opened the Winnipeg River", and "Whale eggs arrive in barrel from Sweden" followed by "Whiteshell stocked with real whales". No author is named, but whoever it was must have had a ball writing it!
Thanks to Alma McDonald for donating this gem!
Sharing Memories
My best Swedish memory as a child is visiting my mother's aunts during the summertime. They lived beside each other on a city street, and between their houses was a circular grove of high bushes with an opening into the "room" inside. Here on the grass where chairs and a small table with china dishes on a snow white tablecloth embroidered with flowers. Soon coffee and cakes appeared, along with a flavoured drink for the children. I remember birds singing in the bushes as we ate, and the lilt of Swedish voices enjoying a summer idyll together.
If you would like to share a Swedish memory in a future newsletter, please send it to me at barr@swedesincanada.ca. Keep it fairly short!
Next Newsletter
The next newsletter will probably be next fall because I will be busy writing the book. Be sure to send me your favourite Swedish memory so that it can be included in the newsletter, perhaps even in the book!
Have a nice Christmas and New Year to follow!
Elinor
