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Vikings in Vinland
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Vinland Sagas Interview with Runes Expert Henrik Williams Vikingaliv
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4 Letters to the Editor 5 From the Editor’s Desk Swedish Headlines 6 Headline News: Train versus Plane 7 Swedes in the News 8 Landskapsnyheterna Business 9 Business News 10 Company File: Tendo AB Heritage 11 Träskor är också kultur Feature 12 L’Anse aux Meadows and Vinland
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Swedish Press
Leif Eiriksson discovers North America by Christian Krohg (c. 1893)
Global Swedes 16 Henrik Williams, Professor of Scandinavian Languages at Uppsala University Interview 18 Carina Englundh, CEO of Vikingaliv – Reintroducing Ancient Vikings to the New World Heritage 20 Swedish-American Church Records Online
Above: The richly adorned helmet from the 7th century demonstrates the symbolic power weaponry held for the early Vikings. Photo: Gustavianum, Uppsala University Museum. Cover image: “The Voyage to Vinland the Good” by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones c. 1881. Designs for a series of stained glass windows, commissioned by William Morris, in the early 1880s. The windows were intended to decorate a new estate named Vinland, built by hardware and tobacco heiress Catherine Lorillard Wolfe on Ochre Point Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. The theme of the estate was inspired by the rumored viking origins of the “Old Stone Mill” located there. Upon her death in 1887, Ms. Wolfe was one of the major contributors of art to the fledgling New York Metropolitian Museum of Art. The main panels illustrate the Norse gods Thor, Odin and Freyr, and three viking explorers: þorfinnr karlsefni, Guðríðr þorbjarnardóttir, and Liefr Eiríksson. The top of the panel depicted a viking ship at sail, flanked by runic inscriptions. www.germanicmythology.com/works/ BURNEJONESART.html
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Letters to the Editor Enjoy reading Swedish Press? Email us your pictures along with your name and comments to info@swedishpress.com and we’ll be happy to publish them. Hej Peter Berlin, Jag läste med mycket intresse Karin Hayes Sista Ordet om livet i Stockholm under 2:a världskriget. Liksom Karin växte jag upp i en förort – den heter Gröndal och ligger söder om Stockholm. Jag minns 1941 – 42 som kalla vintrar. Isbrytarna hade fullt upp med att hålla rännan öppen för båtar som kom genom Mälaren. Som barn hade vi kul med att jumpa på isflaken, vilket förstås fick en del mödrar att bli både arga och nervösa. Jag kommer väl ihåg min mor som stod på berget och skrek ”Gå inte ut dit där isen är bruten!” Men det hörde jag inte, för jag hade ”dålig hörsel” på den tiden, t.o.m. värre än nu. Jag bifogar ett foto av min far taget 1944, tror jag. Här kan du se en gengasackumulator. Den satt framtill på lastbilen som min far körde. Ofta kom han hem med ögonbrynen svedda efter det att lågorna slagit upp ur luckan. Jag sänder också ett foto ifrån gränsen till Norge med den svenska soldaten på ena sidan och den tyska soldaten på den andra sidan av grinden.
Min far Emanuel Sundin och gengasackumulatorn 1944.
Jag kommer ihåg att min far och farbror pratade om godsvagnar som var igenspikade för att ingen skulle veta vad de innehöll, men det sägs att man kunde höra röster inifrån vagnarna. Min far var inkallad i armén under ett år 1941 – 42. Själv lämnade jag Sverige 1954 som 19-åring. Men jag har kvar många kära minnen från Sverige. Tack för Svenska Pressen! Karl Ingvar Sundin Abbotsford, British Columbia Dear Sir orMadam, I enjoy reading your articles to keep updated on what’s happening in Sweden – and also the recipes in English. Thanks so much. Keep up the good work, very educational. Marlene Anderson Delta, British Columbia Hi Peter and Joan, I got my copies of the Swedish Press
with my Uppsala article included and just wanted to let you know it looks great! I have gotten great feedback on the article from other members of the sister cities group and at the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis. Thanks again, I appreciated working with you! Sarah Johnson Minneapolis, Minnesota Dear Swedish Press, Thanks for the past almost 50 years of receiving this publication. My parents emigrated to North America over 100 years ago. My mother came over to help other family for one year, however, it was 35 years later she returned to Sweden to visit her mother and sisters. Best wishes to the future of this excellent magazine. Carol John Nordstrom Abbotsford, British Columbia Whether your Swedish is fluent or rusty, we hone your language skills by publishing some articles in Swedish. But never despair: you will find English translations online thanks to our valiant team of volunteer translators. Simply go to http://biolson. atspace.cc/swemail/ and you will find translations of all Swedish articles going as far back as to August 2007.
airbags • seatbelts • steering wheels • autoliv.com Half Page Ad v4.indd 1
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from the Editor’s Desk
Five Centuries Before Columbus We need your support!
Swedish Press strives to create a high quality magazine for you, but the costs are considerable and ever-increasing. Please consider making a generous donation to help keep your publication, and Swedish heritage, alive. You’ll find a form on page 29. Tack!
Scan this code and discover Swedish Press in other media platforms. GRATTIS PÅ FÖDELSEDAGEN May 04 Sophia Hermansson, 14 år May 12 Mattias Allgurén, 10 år May 16 Amelia Allen, 13 år May 21 Mattias Allen, 16 år May 25 Rosa Wallenius, 6 år May 25 Hallina Axelsson, 16 år May 26 Sebastian Wolff, 16 år May 29 Isak Allen, 11 år
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ears ago, while our house in the English county of Devon was being renovated, we discovered a large slab of granite below the kitchen floor. Its shape resembled that of a runestone, so we raised it in our garden and set about painting a message in English using runes. Unfortunately, the runes ended up backwards. I now fear that when archaeologists find the stone in a thousand years, they will be baffled by the fact that (a) a Viking made it all the way to mid-Devon; (b) he spoke English; and (c) he was dyslexic. Vikings in Vinland is the main theme of this issue of Swedish Press. It is a historical fact the Vikings arrived in North America some 500 years before Columbus. What were the exact locations of the various Viking settlements? In our Feature Story, Swedish-born Dr Birgitta Wallace, a senior Archaeologist Emerita with Parks Canada, pinpoints the locations along the Atlantic seaboard of present-day Canada using old descriptions from Viking voyages as well as archaeological work she carried out in Newfoundland (page 12). The Vikingaliv Experience Museum is a permanent exhibition in the Djurgården part of Stockholm. Through our interview with Carina Englundh, CEO of Vikingaliv, you will learn about popular museum exhibits that allow visitors to experience the Viking Age in an exciting and vibrant way. Englundh also describes upcoming events and facts about the Vikings that may come as a surprise (page 18). Still on the Viking theme, we include an interview with Uppsala University Professor Henrik Williams, one of the world’s foremost experts on runic inscriptions. Runestones often contain obituaries of prominent Vikings and can be found throughout Scandinavia. A few have also been discovered in the United States, but errors in spelling and syntax suggest that these are imitations no older than the 18th century (page 16). Swedish-American and Swedish-Canadian church records going back centuries have now been extensively micro-filmed and digitized so as to assist people in tracing their Swedish ancestry. Read all about it in Jill Seaholm’s article about the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center located on the campus of Augustana College in Rock Island (page 20). Among the other articles in this issue you will discover how and why Swedish träskor (clogs) have become popular among American consumers (page 11). We also report on an esoteric art project in Gothenburg dubbed Eternal Employment (page 24). On the business side we introduce Tendo AB, a Swedish company in the process of developing a robotic glove which will strengthen a person’s grip weakened due to e.g. injury, arthritis, stroke or spinal cord injury (page 10). We also cover the latest news in business, politics, culture and entertainment in Sweden and in Swedish communities throughout North America. Enjoy! – and feel free to write us with comments, stories and pictures. Peter Berlin Editor Peter@Swedishpress.com May 2019
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Aging Politicians and April Fools Train versus Plane By Peter Berlin
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he ever intensifying climatepreserving debates around the world are having a measurable effect on Swedish travel habits, as well as on the Swedish language. In a recent poll, two Swedes out of three declared that they are moved by the debate surrounding climate change, and one in three gave assurances that they would change their future travel habits. Air travel is seen as the main culprit for the generation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and in 2018 Swedes made half a million fewer
Waste management and recycling is a big part of the Swedish identity. Credits: Simon Paulin/ imagebank.sweden.se
flights than in 2017. The alternative most often touted is taking the train, but that poses several obstacles: the much longer journey time, the cost of tickets and overnight sleepers, the inexperience of travel agents regarding foreign train travel, the obvious inability of trains to cross oceans, etc.
Equating Age with Experience
A Leader with Humour
In the US Senate, 45 percent of members are over 65 years of age, and 11 percent are over 75. In the newly elected Swedish Parliament, the statistics are the inverse: 2.3 percent are over 65 and only 0.6 percent are over 75. Without delving too deeply into psychology, one might assume that Americans equate age with experience, and that experience is seen as important in politics. Swedes, on the other hand, have a long-standing aversion to “gubbvälde”, i.e. to be ruled by old men. Instead, the emphasis is on political leaders representing the entire social fabric of society, be it men or women, rich or poor, highly educated or not, natives or immigrants, able-bodied or disabled citizens. As long as their hearts and minds are in the right place, candidates for political office are assumed to acquire their leadership skills on the job … scary as that prospect may seem.
In the Swedes in the News section (page 7), our contributor Sofie Kinnefors introduces 16-year-old Swedish school girl Greta Thunberg who has mobilized millions of teenagers around the world to go on “school strike” on Fridays. Since August 2018 these young rebels have taken to the street, urging politicians to take climate change seriously. Impressed by her crowd appeal, the politicians have invited her to give speeches at recent climate conferences. At a recent EU event she earned muted applause and laughter by declaring “We know that most politicians don’t want to talk to us. Good, we don’t want to talk to them either. We want them to talk to the scientists instead.” On April 1 she posted the following tongue-in-cheek tweet: “After talking to many of our leaders I have now realised that they have the climate crisis under control, they understand the emergency and are ready to act. So
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Another alternative is to simply stay home. Climate change is credited with making Swedish summers longer and warmer – factors which, in the past, have been the main incentives for luring Swedes to more southern climes during their holidays. As for the Swedish language, the new nouns “flygskam” (the shamefulness of flying) and “klimatångest” (climate anxiety), along with the verb “tågskryta” (to brag about preferring the train), have found their way into everyday speech. These expressions also illustrate the way Swedes succeed in compressing entire multi-word concepts into a single word – all in the name of reducing the waste of hot air.
I’ve now decided to stop striking and go back to school for good. I will no longer school strike on Fridays.” Greta’s tweet is hardly an invitation for politicians to utter a sigh of relief. Not only is she gutsy, but she also has a mischievous streak, tweeting as she did on April Fools’ Day!
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Swedes in the News
Influential Women and Musical Talents! Lundvik Makes it to Eurovision Swedish singer/songwriter John Lundvik, 36, will represent Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv in May after winning Swedish music competition “Melodifestivalen.” Lundvik’s winning number Too late for love was written by the singer himself, Andersz Wrethov and Andreas “Stone” Johansson, and was performed with gospel choir “The Mamas.” Lundvik said he (and his family and team) worked hard for an intense six months for his threeminute performance and were thrilled with the win.
John Lundvik. Photo: Per Kristiansen
Greta, the Great
mother’s picture. They said Lill-Babs loved travelling and visiting places, which makes Arlanda’s photowall a perfect place for her. Kaspersen added that she hoped people would greet her mom and maybe give her a little mental hug on their way out of the airport.
Climate activist Greta Thunberg, 16. Photo: Simon Krona
16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg was voted “Woman of the Year” by the Swedish people in an opinion poll by Aftonbladet/Inizio. The influential environmentalist has led climate awareness demonstrations from her school every Friday. Her action has been mimicked by other activists, young and old, across the world. Recently Thunberg demonstrated along with thousands of young people in Berlin and was hailed by Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel. In the Aftonbladet/Inizio poll, where over 1000 people participated, Greta Thunberg bested a long list of notables like Swedish political party leaders Ebba Busch Thor and Annie Lööf; scholar Sara Danius; professional skier Frida Karlsson, as well as Sweden’s Crown Princess Viktoria. Greta said being named “Woman of the Year” felt incredible, overwhelming and hard to believe. She also said that it is a confirmation that what she is trying to do makes a difference and affects people in a positive way.
Barbro Svensson “Lill-Babs”
Adieu Augustifamiljen
Rausing Ranks High Swedish billionaire Kirsten Rausing ranks number 15 on Forbes Magazine’s list of the world’s 16 richest women. With a fortune of SEK 73 billion ($7.9bn) she also ranks number 185 on the top list of the world’s billionaires. Kirsten was born in Lund, Sweden, but resides in the UK. Her grandfather Ruben Rausing founded food packaging company Tetra Pak. Kirsten owns
Honoring Barbro
Kirsten Rausing. © NM Journal
one-third of the company Tetra Laval and sits on the company’s board with her brothers Finn and Jörn.
Swedish singer and actress Barbro Svensson (“LillBabs”), who passed away in April 2018, is being honored with a portrait on the photowall welcoming travelers to Sweden at Arlanda Airport. The wall consists of 92 photos of Swedish celebrities. Lill-Babs’ daughters Malin Berghagen and Kristin Kaspersen were both present for the uncovering of their
Augustifamiljen. Photo: SVT
After ten years, Swedish pop/rock group Augustifamiljen, including Kapellmeister Stefan Sporsén, are leaving their job as house band for SVT’s Swedish game show “På spåret.” In addition to Augustifamiljen’s exceptional music skills, the band is responsible for having introduced new Swedish talents. A new house band has not yet been selected.
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[Landskapsnyheterna] DALARNA
SMÅLAND Räddningstjänsten i Älmhult fick nyligen in ett samtal från en husägare som behövde hjälp att frigöra en uggla som fastnat i en kamin. – Det var fastighetsägaren som ringde och förklarade att de hade en uggla som de inte vågade eller kunde ta hand om själva, sa Roger Sällberg på Älmhults räddningstjänst. Sällberg och en kollega gav sig genast iväg till fastigheten. På plats i huset visade det sig vara en kattuggla som fastnat i kaminen. Kattugglorna tillhör inte de största ugglorna, men de är smarta och har ordentliga klor. – Min kollega tog på sig ett par kraftiga handskar, jag öppnade dörren och han tog tag i ugglans ben och lyfte helt sonika ut den. Ugglan klarade sig lyckligtvis oskadd och kunde snart släppas fri och flyga iväg. Hur länge ugglan suttit fast i kaminen är oklart. – Jag har jobbat i räddningstjänsten i drygt 30 år och aldrig upplevt detta. När det gäller djur så brukar det vara hästar och kor som gått ner sig i diken. Så detta var ett lite annorlunda uppdrag, sa Sällberg. UPPLAND
Hosjöskolan i Falun är en av de svenska skolor som slutat med skolfotografering. En anledning är kostnaderna. – Det är dyrt för vissa familjer, och det handlar dessutom om att vi på skolan lägger ner enorm kraft på administration som vi kan lägga på annat. Skolkatalogen är ju en service vi upprätthållit genom många år – som egentligen inte ingår i vårt uppdrag, sa rektorn Daniela Johansson till Aftonbladet. Enligt Johansson bidrar även fotograferingarna till stress bland en del elever. – Vi har sett att det bidrar till en oro för många vid skolstarten. Vissa barn tycker att det känns väldigt jobbigt att bli fotograferade och de känslorna måste vi respektera. Reaktionerna från föräldrarna har varit både positiva och negativa.
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NORRBOTTEN
VÄSTERBOTTEN
JÄMTLAND
HÄRJEDALEN
ÅNGERMANLAND
MEDELPAD HÄLSINGLAND
DALARNA GÄSTRIKLAND VÄSTMANLAND VÄRMLAND
NÄRKE
UPPLAND
SÖDERMANLAND
DALSLAND ÖSTERGÖTLAND BOHUSLAND VÄSTERGöteborg GÖTLAND SMÅLAND HALLAND SKÅNE
Stockholm
GOTLAND ÖLAND
BLEKINGE
Malmö
Foto: Aftonbladet
Ett strömavbrott i flygtornet på Arlanda flygplats norr om Stockholm resulterade nyligen i att inga plan fick lyfta från flygplatsen under en tid. – Just nu vet jag inte mycket, men förmodligen är det någon form av problem med kraftförsörjningen. De plan som är i luften kan landa men inga plan får lyfta, sa Per Fröberg, pressansvarig vid Luftfartsverket till Dagens Nyheter. Strömavbrottet varade dock inte särskilt länge och flygtrafiken kunde snart återgå till det normala. – Det är igång igen nu, det var bara ett kort tag. Det har varit något problem med kraftförsörjningen, fokus har varit på att få igång trafiken, sa Fröberg till Aftonbladet.
LAPPLAND
– Det har varit allt från tacksamma föräldrar som känner sig lättade till föräldrar som är ledsna och känner att vi bryter en fin tradition. Det har varit viktigt för oss att vara varsamma med allas känslor, men argumenten för att sluta väger över dem, sa Johansson. Istället för skolfotografering satsar nu Hosjöskolan på sociala medier där föräldrar kan ta del av sina barns skolaktiviteter.
sina resor. Man kan likställa det med dem som inte betalar parkeringsavgifter, utan tar smällen om de någon gång får en p-bot. Men nu blir det mycket dyrare att göra så inom LLT:s verksamhet, sa LLT:s VD Stefan von Below. Förhoppningsvis leder den nya avgiften till att fler resenärer betalar för sina bussturer. LLT släpper även en ny App. där man kan köpa biljetter med kreditkort eller Swish till rabatterade priser.
NORRBOTTEN Luleå lokaltrafik höjer avgiften för personer som inte visar upp giltiga biljetter eller åker utan att betala från 500 till 1500 kronor. – Det är ett problem för oss att det finns passagerare som inte betalar för
Foto: Luleå Lokaltrafik AB (LLT)
[Business] News A Springboard and a Golden Parachute Sweden’s 2019 Spring Budget
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By Peter Berlin n April 10, Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson presented the spring budget. The budget results from negotiations between the parties of the new centre-left government alliance made up of the Social Democrats, the Green Party, the Liberals and the Centre Party. The Local online magazine reports that 45 million kronor ($4.9m) is being allocated to so-called ‘new start’ jobs. The plan involves the creation of a new low-income category for newly arrived immigrants (as well as for long-term unemployed people), who will receive substantially reduced salaries – the lowest allowed by the collective agreements – as a springboard into the workforce. This plan is supported by unions as well as employer’ organizations. It is being sold as a way of helping newcomers get a foothold in the Swedish job market, receiving training and experience while their salaries are partly subsidized by the state. Newlyarrived people without pre-arranged
job offers will participate in the programme regardless of education, experience, training, or language skills. Predictably, the approach has met with criticism. The newcomers will often be paid much less than a Swede for doing similar work. Employers may be tempted to take advantage of the scheme by turning jobs that would otherwise be fully paid into lower-waged ones, and creating a new category of underpaid jobs partially based on ethnicity. At the same time, it is incumbent on the government to deal with the rampant unemployment among the immigrants, many of whom are refugees from war-torn countries. Almost six out of ten of those registered at the state-run Arbetsförmedlingen employment service were born outside of Sweden – and one in two people in this category still did not have a job after eight years. Other notable provisions in the budget concern climate issues, schools, welfare, and culture. Additional funds were also allocated to Säpo, Sweden’s security police, for strengthening their capability to investigate and prevent extremist crime.
Caught in a Vicious Circle Håkan Ericsson, CEO of the lossmaking Swedish/Danish postal system Postnord AB, has been asked to leave his post, albeit with a golden parachute worth SEK 14 million ($1.5m). Like many other postal services in the world, Postnord has been struggling financially ever since people began to favour communicating via email and other digital platforms over writing traditional letters. The tendency to make up for lost revenue by raising the postage has only exacerbated the problem.
Photo: Peter Phillips/Postnord
Postnord was formed in 2009 through a merger of the Swedish and Danish post offices. The company employs 30,000 staff and lost SEK 855 million ($92m) last year, seven times more than in 2017. As part of the necessary restructuring process, efforts have been made to focus on the more profitable handling and distribution of packages rather than letters. In reality, both services have suffered sharp criticism in the news media and a loss of confidence among the general public due to long delivery delays and even disappearance of mail. The search is on for a new CEO, whose first job will be to re-establish people’s faith in the service. This may prove difficult, given that Postnord is contemplating further postage increases coupled with reduced pickup and delivery frequencies.
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Company File
A Robotic Glove with a Fine Touch By Peter Berlin
T
endo is a soft robotic exoskeleton. Everybody knows what a robot is, but what about an exoskeleton? Broadly speaking, it refers to the shell (the “outside” skeleton) that supports and protects the body of animals such as lobsters, crabs, snails, grasshoppers and cockroaches. In contrast, birds, fish, and mammals like human beings are built around endoskeletons (i.e. “internal” skeletons). Now imagine an exoskeleton in the form of a robotic glove, which strengthens your grip if weakened due to e.g. injury, arthritis, stroke or spinal cord injury. It is estimated that 5 percent of all people in the world suffer from some form of reduced hand and finger movement which hampers their ability to carry out everyday chores independently. The Tendo glove is designed to help restore the independence of these people as they go about their daily lives. The glove covers the thumb, index finger and forearm. It is equipped with soft artificial tendons and smart sensors which detect the
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muscle movements in your forearm when you are getting ready to grasp an object, and applies the requested strength to your fingers via external tendons. The actuator of the tendons is strapped to your forearm and includes the motion sensors as well as the battery-driven power supply. In other words, Tendo is an intelligent, motorized exoskeleton that assists a person to grip, hold and release objects by pulling artificial tendons, somewhat like a puppeteer. The fingertips are left exposed so that the wearer can feel the object at hand and temper the assisted finger pressure accordingly. Looking back in history, the first true powered exoskeleton – in the sense of being a mobile machine integrated with human movements – was co-developed by General Electric and the United States Armed Forces in the 1960s. The suit was named Hardiman and made lifting 110 kilograms (250 lb) feel like lifting 4.5 kilograms (10 lb). Powered by hydraulics and electricity, the suit allowed the wearer to amplify his strength by a factor of 25, so that lifting 25 kilograms was as easy as lifting one kilogram without the suit. A feature dubbed “force feedback” enabled the wearer to feel the forces and objects being manipulated. Its main drawback was that it weighed 680 kg (1,500
lb), which was one of the reasons why it never went into production. Since that time, many powered exoskeletons have been developed primarily for military and medical applications. The Tendo robotic glove represents state-of-the-art exoskeletal technology in terms of miniaturization. Tendo AB was founded in 2016 by Sofie Woge, an entrepreneur and designer with a great passion for usability, design and robotics. She is also the present CEO of the company and is supported by a handful of experts in the relevant design and engineering fields. She obtained the idea for Tendo while working at NASA in the US. The company has offices in Lund’s Ideon Science Park and is working in partnership with Odense Robotics in Denmark to develop prototypes. So far, the Tendo robotic glove has completed two development and testing phases. “We recently had a test where a man was able to drink by himself for the first time in 20 years,” says Sofie. “It truly gives meaning to what we do.” A third prototype is currently in preparation to refine the glove’s design, performance and reliability. It is expected to become available on the open market in 2020. All photos courtesy: Tendo AB
H E RI TAG E
I Amerika säljs träskor på en kulturinstitution Träskor är också kultur Av Lars Sönnergren
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et finns ett företag i Båstad som via sin amerikanske agent säljer träskor på detta sätt i “svenskstaten” Minnesota. Företaget utanför Båstad heter Troentorp. Kulturinstitutionen heter American Swedish Institute och finns i Minneapolis och där uppmärksammas mycket svenskt. Bland annat kulturyttringar från det gamla hemlandet, svenska helger och annat, som de många svenskättlingarna i delstaten gärna vill ha kontakt med. Så det är naturligt att svenskättlingarna då och då också får tillgång till träskor, som utomlands ofta uppfattas som något mycket svenskt eller skandinaviskt. Den amerikanske agenten är hemmahörande i staden Blaine i Minnesota. Den som i Blaine vill ha mer av svensk kultur kan gå till Swedish Crown Bakery, som bland annat har semlor på programmet. Från allmoge till mode Men tillbaka till träskorna. Också i andra länder finns det ju träskor. Japan har en variant och Nederländerna en annan. I Nederländerna finns till och med ett träskomuseum. Det finns också en bild på nätet av en “träsko” i något slags gummi. Tillverkaren har prytt skon med en bild på den svenske kocken i Mupparna – om ni minns den tv-serien? – för att kunna åka snålskjuts på det svenska. Träskon har gått en lång väg från att ha varit en enkel fotbekläd-
Foto: Troentorp Clogs
nad i lantbruket till att nu bli helt mode-riktigt. Och faktiskt hade brittiska tidningen The Times den 7:e januari i år en artikel om att franska mode-företaget Dior nu lanserar en mode-riktigt träsko för 700 engelska pund, alltså närmare 8 000 svenska kronor. Troentorp är ett av de svenska företag som länge tillverkat träskor. Andra företag finns bland annat i Vollsjö, Karlskoga, Moheda och Torpa Toffeln. Den ursprungliga toffelfabriken i Troentorp har gamla anor. Den grundades av August Johansson. Han var född 1868. Han måste ha varit en klurig pojke. Redan som 14-åring i tjänst på en lantgård hade han idéer om hur tröskningen kunde underlättas. 1889 tog han tjänst hos en träskomakare i Kringelstad. August var flitig. Om dagarna jobbade han som dräng och om kvällarna var han hos sin läromästare. 15 miljoner par! År 1907 var August Johansson redo att starta eget i Troentorp, väster om Båstad ute på Bjärehalvön. Företaget finns ännu kvar där ute. Företagets historia vittnar om att August Johansson ständigt hade nya idéer för att underlätta och förbättra produktionen. Genom åren lär det nu ha tillverkats 15 miljoner par träskor.
– I dag ligger årsproduktionen på 40 000 par, berättar Sebastian Macliver, vars familj år 2005 övertog företaget. 85 procent av tillverkningen går på export. Förutom i USA kan man hitta Troentorps träskor i flera europeiska länder samt i Australien och Japan. Sammanlagt kan man hitta Troentorpskorna i närmare 20 länder. En hel konst Skorna tillverkas i alträ och beklädnaden är i läder. Efter att träet sågats upp kan plankorna få ligga i upp till fem veckor på tork innan tillverkningen börjar. Lädret behandlas individuellt för att ge god passform. Syntetiskt material undviks. Bara träsidorna lackas eftersom fötterna då lättare håller sig torra om de möter det obehandlade träet under fotbeklädnaden. Träskomakarna har tänkt på att ge en liten extra fördjupning för stortån för att det ska bli riktigt bekvämt. Skorna spikas med riktig spik istället för med klammer. Man kan få skons undersida i trä eller beklädd med polyurethan för att det inte ska låta så mycket när man går. Sandaler och kängor står också på programmet. Det är alltså en hel konst att tillverka träskor. De olika träskomodellerna har också fått namn efter internationellt kända konstnärer som Rockwell, Kahlo, Turner, Monet och da Vinci. Men hantverk i Sverige är numera dyrt, liksom också att tillverka träskor, så Troentorp har sedan något år fått flytta ner maskiner och mallar till Bosnien där monteringen sker.
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Swedish Press | May 2019 11
Where Did the Vikings Go in Vinland?
L’ANSE AUX MEADOWS AND VINLAND By Birgitta Linderoth Wallace
d Birgitta Linderoth Wallace is a Swedish – Canadian archaeologist specialising in Norse archaeology in North America. She spent most of her career as an archaeologist with Parks Canada and is best known for her work on L’Anse aux Meadows, currently the only widely-accepted Norse site in North America. She received a Smith-Wintemberg Award from the Canadian Archaeological Association in 2015 for her contributions to Canadian archaeology, and an Honorary Doctorate from Memorial University in 2018.
The Vinland Sagas
The Vinland sagas tell of Norse voyages from Greenland to North America around the year 1000. Originally told around the fire in chieftains’ halls, they were written down in the early 13th century and preserved among the many medieval manuscripts of Iceland. There are two versions, The Greenlanders’ Saga and Erik the Red’s Saga. They record the same events but differ in details. According to the Greenlanders’ Saga, Bjarni Herjolfsson accidentally discovered unknown land on a voyage to the newly established Norse colony in Greenland. In the following years, four
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Swedish Press | May 2019 12
The author apparently was attempting to elevate Karlsefni’s importance for the benefit of his descendants. Leif‘s role has been reduced to that of accidental discoverer.
Straumfjord, Hóp, and Leifsbúðir Summer in the Greenland Coast Circa Year 1000 by Jens Erik Carl Rasmussen (1841–1893)
expeditions set out to explore this new world. The first was led by Leif Eriksson, son of Erik the Red, Chief of Greenland. Others followed, led by members of his family, including the Icelandic aristocrat Thorfinn Karlsefni who had married Leif’s widowed sister-in-law Gudrid. Erik’s Saga describes the same events but all four expeditions have been rolled into one single expedition led by Thorfinn Karlsefni and Gudrid.
The sagas tell of voyages to three lands, Helluland (Land of Stone Slabs). Markland (Land of Forests), and Vinland (Land of Wine). It was in Vinland that the Norse saw potential value. Erik’s Saga describes two settlements: one is Straumfjord, a couple of days’ sail from Markland (most researchers identify the Hamilton Inlet area of Labrador as Markland), and Hóp somewhere south of Straumfjord. Straumfjord (Current Fjord) is the winter base from which explorations are launched in several directions in the summer.
It derives its name from the turbulent currents surrounding an offshore island. Hóp (Tidal Lagoon) is an area rich in resources: fine lumber, salmon, halibut, self-sown wheat and, not least, wild grapes. Its name refers to the presence of warm lagoons affected by the tide. This is where a large portion of the crew go in summer to collect these riches and to bring them back to Straumfjord in the fall for ultimate transfer back to Greenland. It is an area where they run into large parties of native people. They also come across native people en route to Straumfjord and to the north of there, but there are no other people at Straumfjord itself. In the Greenlanders’ Saga, Straumfjord and Hóp have been conflated into one site called Leifsbúðir (Leif’s Camp). Leifsbúðir is both a winter base and a summer resource camp, and its physical description is a mixture of those given for Straumfjord and Hóp.
What Do the Vinland Sagas Really Tell Us about the Settlements?
The Vinland voyages were not about colonization. Everyone expected to return to Greenland. Their purpose was to scout out the unknown land for resources that could be useful for the new settlement in Greenland, and to bring back valuable cargo, such as lumber, furs and grapes. The participants were primarily male work crews hired for a particular voyage, with a few women coming along to handle domestic chores.
The shore lands around the Gulf of St. Lawrence form the natural route south from L’Anse aux Meadows. Five hundred years later the French explorer Jacques Cartier took the same route into Canada. Credit: Vis-à-Vis Graphics, St. John’s, NL
The Discovery of L’Anse aux Meadows
In 1960 Helge Ingstad discovered intriguing ruins near the fishing village of L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland. Excavations by his wife, Anne Stine Ingstad, between 1961 and 1968 clearly showed that this was a Norse site dating back to the early 11th century. Nonetheless, there was little evidence to connect it with the Vinland sagas. Subsequent excavations by Parks Canada in 1973 through 1976, led first by the Swedish Viking specialist Bengt Schönbäck and later by the author, added significantly to the evidence. We can now say that L’Anse aux Meadows is the key to the Vinland sagas.
foundland’s Northern Peninsula. It is on a shallow bay on the shore of the Strait of Belle Isle facing west to Labrador. There are three large halls on a terrace encircling a bog, all typical of late 10th to early 11thcentury Icelandic-Greenland architecture. Smaller huts flank the halls. On the other side of a brook running through the site is a hut that contained remains of a small furnace for smelting iron. The large halls are of a size only chieftains and highstatus people could afford. They were solidly built, with walls 1.5 m to over 2 m wide, and with heavy interior posts to carry the large roofs. The construction tells us that the people who built them intended to spend the winter on the site over a number of years. There were large storage rooms and rooms for special activities such as iron smithing, carpentry, and boat repair. The huts are small and of the kind used by working people. Altogether the buildings could accommodate 70 – 90 people.
Activities on the Site
At some time, a boat was repaired on the site. Old nails and rivets were removed and discarded. Iron was produced from local bog ore,
The Site
The site is located on the northern tip of New-
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Swedish Press | May 2019 13
Where Did the Vikings Go in Vinland? and new nails hammered by a smith, leaving both smelting and smithing slag. A boat board was discarded in the bog, along with wood chips from carpentry. Among the artifacts are a few small personal items, including a cloak pin of bronze. A spindle whorl and a needle sharpener testify to the presence of women on the site, as spinning, weaving, and sewing were the chores of women.
There were three large halls, each capable of housing twenty to thirty people. One of the large halls and two of the smaller dwellings have been reconstructed on the site. Photo: Birgitta Wallace
The Date of the Norse Presence
While the artifacts are of general form, used throughout the Viking Age, the architectural style of the three large halls is datable from the late 10th to the middle of the 11th century. Of more than 150 radiocarbon dates on the site, about 50 relate to the Norse occupation. They range from 600 to 1050 AD. This does not indicate that the Norse were there for a long time. The oldest dates are on
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Swedish Press | May 2019 14
A pin of bronze dating from the 10th to early 11th century had been used as a clothes fastener. Photo by G. Vanderfloogt for Parks Canada
core wood that was already old when the tree was cut. The dates on young wood, such as branches and twigs, all line up around the year 1000 with a margin of about twenty years on either side. The Norse stay was short, probably no more than a decade – one can tell from the absence of garbage. Garbage was usually thrown out the door and left to accumulate. Outside Greenland halls there are mounds of garbage. At L’Anse aux Meadows the garbage heaps are minute. The Norse were not the only ones making L’Anse aux Meadows their temporary home. Native groups camped there for 5000 years before the Norse, and in the centuries after them. None were present during the Norse stay.
A Strange Site
L’Anse aux Meadows is unique among Norse sites. It is located on the shore of an exposed coast. In Iceland and Greenland, household sites are protected in inland locations. There are also no barns or byres which are so prominent on Icelandic and Greenland farms. L’Anse aux Meadows was not a colonizing site. People did not come here to settle and farm. Large storage rooms in each hall are peculiar because
of their size. This was a site where people laid up supplies, presumably for trans-shipment to Greenland. The substantial buildings gave shelter when winter storms set in. And here they could repair their boats and prepare goods for the journey back to Greenland. L’Anse aux Meadows was a base of operation for the exploration of Vinland. Wood chips and fragments in the bog show that the Norse had gone farther south and brought back lumber not native to Newfoundland, such as Eastern hemlock, elm, and linden.
Is L’Anse aux Meadows Vinland?
L’Anse aux Meadows cannot be Vinland. Vinland was a land, the same way Iceland and Greenland are lands, countries. But L’Anse aux Meadows is a place described in the sagas as part of Vinland. It is the Straumfjord of Eric’s Saga. It is the same kind of settlement, with the same kind of occupants and type of activities, a winter base from where expeditions went south in the summer. Although artifacts and buildings are typically Norse, the layout, location, and artifacts are different from the sites we know elsewhere in the Norse world. Just such a site is described in the sagas: Straumsfjord. A compelling reason why L’Anse aux Meadows has to be the main site in Vinland lies in demography. In the early 11th century, the total number of people living in Greenland was no more than about 400, including children and seniors. L’Anse aux Meadows was built to house between
70 and 90 people, mostly working men. While some of them may have been Icelanders, it is easy to see that the small Greenland colony simply did not have the work force to operate a distant site for which so many people had to be away for two or more years. Greenland was a new colony. Land clearing, building, and raising food were still at an early stage. L’Anse aux Meadows would have taken two months to build by sixty men, or a month and a half by ninety men. At these latitudes this is the better part of the summer. Obviously it was not a job one would needlessly duplicate. Greenlanders’ Saga also says that all of the expeditions taking place after Leif’s voyage used his buildings. If L’Anse aux Meadows is Straumfjord, where then is Hóp? Three butternuts and a burl of butternut wood were found in the bog among the Norse wood waste. These are the essential clue to Vinland. The northern limit of butternuts is in northeastern New Brunswick and the inner part of the St. Lawrence Valley. The nuts grow in the same areas as wild grapes and they ripen at the same time in late summer. Whoever picked the nuts must also have encountered wild grapes! From L’Anse aux Meadows the most direct way south leads into the Gulf to the eastern coast of New Brunswick. The finding of the butternuts and other southern tree species shows that the Norse had visited areas where there was excellent hardwood lumber and where grapes grew wild.
The finds in the bog included a broken floorboard from a small boat. Photo by D. Crawford for Parks Canada
The closest place harbouring this natural wealth is the Miramichi area of eastern New Brunswick. Other features such as warm coastal lagoons, salmon, halibut and a hospitable landscape characterize the area. Hóp was also the spot where the Norse met large parties of native people. New Brunswick was home to the largest groups of native people in Atlantic Canada. They were the ancestors of the Mi’kmaw who live there today.
Norway. It was also more difficult as the Norse could not determine longitude. The course to Norway was easier as all one had to do was to follow the 60th latitude. Vinland had grapes and timber, but the Norse could get that in Europe, and Vinland lacked the other essentials: luxury metals, spices, fine textiles, weapons, and armour – and family and personal connections. Unlike Iceland and Greenland, Vinland had large native populations, and the Norse were not ready to stand up to them. The most critical reason was the small size
Why Did They Not Stay?
Erik’s Saga states: “The party then realized that, despite everything the land had to offer there, they would be under constant threat of attack from its prior inhabitants. They made readyto depart for their own country.” Another critical factor is the distance. It is 1290 miles from Brattahlid in Greenland to L’Anse aux Meadows along the coast in a straight line, and another 540 miles to Chaleur Bay in New Brunswick where the wine and good lumber were. That is, if one sails in a straight line, which of course a sailing ship cannot do over such a distance. It was actually farther to New Brunswick than to
Excavation by Parks Canada in the 1970s. Photo by B. Schönbäck for Parks Canada
of the Greenland settlement. The Greenland society was too small to support further splits. The Norse westward expansion had reached its limit.
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Swedish Press | May 2019 15
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Putting Sweden on the Map At Home
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‘Runes are not utilized enough to ...’
Global S
Henrik Williams, Professor of Scandinavian Languages at Uppsala University.
Henrik Williams. Photo: M Bianchi 2015
Henrik Williams’ responsibilities include Old Swedish, Old Icelandic and Runology. Recently he went on his eighth lecture tour in the USA in order to increase interest in runes and obtain resources for research. The primary aim is to modernise the rune database at Uppsala University and perhaps also to create a professorship in runology. The rune database is the largest one in the world and is a fantastic research tool. Please tell us about your childhood and upbringing. I was born in Kalmar, a town on the south-east coast of Sweden. I went to school there and started studying at Uppsala University in 1978. But first I spent a year in 1976 – 1977 in Ohio as an exchange student.
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Swedish Press | May 2019 16
What factors or events triggered your decision to devote yourself to the study of runes? That took quite a while, as a matter of fact. I had seen the occasional runestones in my youth. I thought they looked very boring. But when I started studying history and Scandinavian languages in Uppsala, I came in contact with runes and runestones again, because that is part of teaching the history of the Swedish language. Here again, I did not find them particularly interesting. It was not until 1983 when working as a teaching assistant at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign that I came into contact with a professor who was interested in the very oldest rune inscriptions. He made me realize how important these sources are for ancient history, and that is what kindled my interest. When I came back to Sweden, I started looking for a topic to write my dissertation on. I settled on runes and ended up writing my dissertation on Swedish runestones. What is the origin of runes? There are three basic candidates, because we can see in runes that they must have been copied from one of the Mediterranean alphabets – runes like R and T and I which look almost exactly the same as capital letters in use now. It could be either the Greek alphabet or the Etruscan alphabet or the Roman
alphabet. The most natural origin would be the Roman alphabet, because we were in close contact with the Romans around the birth of Christ, and the first inscriptions started appearing around 150 years after the birth of Christ. What typical messages are written on runestones? They all start the same, more or less. Such-and-such a person – sometimes more than one – raised or carved the stone after one or more other people died. Then they would specify the relationship: it could be the father or the mother, a brother or a sister, a son or a daughter, or a partner in trade. After this basic memorial formula three more messages would follow. One could be a prayer, e.g. “God help her soul.” The second message could be a signature, because towards the end of the Viking Age there were professional carvers who would sign their name. The third message could be an obituary of some kind, saying something about the dead person, like “He died in England.” Of course, there are always exceptions, but this is the basic message on a runestone. Have any runestones been found in North America?
l Swedes
‘... Convey a true picture of the Viking Age.’
Yes, they have – around 20 or 30 stones. Some of those are modern, because we know who carved them. For example, there is a runestone in Minneapolis at the American Swedish Institute that was erected to commemorate a visit of some people from Uppsala. There are also inscriptions on stone that are not officially modern but are from the late 18th century or later. We have not found any really ancient stones that were left behind by Vikings, and we probably never will. You travel a great deal and give lectures abroad. In which areas do you feel Sweden contributes most globally? I would say that Sweden has contributed ideologically after WWII and even before. People in Sweden think that they are very normal, and that is not right. We are the most secular country in the world, and yet we have this social standard. We have much greater equality than in many other countries. The idea that you can have a society where a free market economy is combined with human rights, openness, tolerance and relatively few poor people should be promoted in the rest of the world. Our particular brand of democracy is probably our most valuable contribution.
How do you think the image of Sweden is changing and developing internationally and particularly in North America? Unfortunately, there has been a very conscious effort in foreign social media to sully the image of Sweden. This is not completely new. President Eisenhower once stated that Sweden may be very successful in many areas, but also has the world’s highest rate of suicides. That happened to be completely “fake news.” He later apologized for it, but that was only after he had stepped down as President. The rumour has nevertheless persisted for over half a century. Similarly, under President Trump it is claimed that there are areas in Sweden where you cannot go because they are unsafe, and that we have a variety of other huge problems. Some of it is exaggerated, and other things are a complete lie. Even when the reports are true, they are used for sinister purposes to advance other agendas. This I find unsettling, because it is not only bad for our country, but it is also bad for democracy. Across the borders we know too little about each other, and what we do know is blown out of proportion and is nearly always negative. How do you think Sweden has achieved the success it has despite being such a small country, population-wise? Any links to our Viking past? I think there are four major factors. One of them is that Sweden has
enjoyed peace for 200 years by now. This has enormous implications, because if you don’t have to fight, you conserve not only resources but also social equanimity by not feeling constantly under threat. The second factor is democracy. Sweden has a very long tradition of some kind of democracy, even going back to the “Thing” assemblies during the Viking Age – a kind of early parliament. Thirdly, the King never had absolute power in Sweden, in contrast to many other countries. Lastly, the role women played in Sweden during the Viking Age and later was more prominent than in some countries even today. What aspects of Swedish culture and life are you personally most passionate about promoting? Since I am a linguistic historian, I do love talking about Sweden’s past, and especially the Viking Age. As a runologist, runic inscriptions are very close to my heart, because they have not been utilized nearly enough to convey a true picture of the Viking Age. Historians, archaeologists and others have been using the Icelandic sagas to tell stories about Swedish Vikings, even though much in there is wrong. I can’t understand why one would ignore the only original sources we have from that age. That is what I am passionate about – bringing out true knowledge and un-fake news about what really happened back in those days. Interviewed by Peter Berlin
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Swedish Press | May 2019 17
E X C L U S I V E
I N T E R V I E W
W I T H
C A R I N A
REINTRODUCING ANCIENT VIKINGS TO THE NEW WORLD
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he Old Norse or Viking culture still fascinates everyday citizens of the world. Many non-historical types still view these hardsailing seafarers from the previous millennia as a pack of pirates, who dominated much of Scandinavia during the 8th to late 11th centuries.
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Swedish Press | May 2019 18
Carina Englundh, CEO of Vikingaliv.
Reputations die hard. Much of what is remembered about the Vikings is wrapped in myth and stereotypes that for the most part portray an inaccurate reality of these North European traders, explorers and settlers. To set the record straight, Swedish Press interviewed Carina Englundh, the new CEO of Vikingaliv – a cultural and heritage museum in Stockholm. “Our goal is for our visitors to experience what it feels like to be a Viking and to awaken their curiosity about the Viking Age,” said the new director of Vikingaliv. “Most people know what a Viking is, but few know anything about the Viking Age, including what everyday life looked like for the Vikings or what took place during their remarkable travels.” Englundh admits many of the ancient seafarers we call Vikings were indeed fierce and earned their reputation for being skilled pirates, who often plundered their way through Europe, exploring Iceland, Greenland and even the North American continent a thousand years ago. Yet, there’s another picture of these Old Norse raiders. They were also skilled merchants, craftsmen
E N G L U N D H
and explorers. They were talented sailors and boat builders, who – when they found suitable land – formed colonies that eventually grew into cities. It’s Englundh’s new job to separate myth from reality. “It is an incredibly exciting challenge to put Viking life on the map in Sweden and the world. We hope to continue awakening our visitors’ senses through vision, hearing, smell and taste so that the exhibits can be experienced as history and culture.” As CEO since last December, she has used her degree in journalism and career background in sales/ marketing and communications, to make the Viking Age real via interactive exhibits depicting Viking life during the Iron Age. Daily tours (in Swedish and English) are guided by staff members, many of whom are historians and archeologists. “We differ from other heritage museums in Scandinavia because our welcoming staffers work hard to personalize Vikingaliv’s popular tours. That way returning guests don’t hear the same ‘ten-minute monologue’ ride after ride. Our motto at Vikingaliv is ‘togetherness’ – together we reach our goals.
E X C L U S I V E
I N T E R V I E W
I thrive and feel best when our team work functions well, our employees grow and we see successful results.” So, what qualifications do Vikingaliv and Englundh look for in a guide? Englundh says the most important thing besides knowledge and service is to give the visitor an experience out of the ordinary. “Being personal, inspiring and happy are important qualities. Our guides must also be team players who look to the team and not just to the individual. Showing commitment and joy is very important!” Vikingaliv hosted over 100,000 visitors last year, of whom about 35% were international – including lots of people from North America. Viking Age is also rich in storytelling. Old myths are still popular in Norse literature. “We’ve noticed that our American and Canadian visitors are particularly interested in Vikings in North America and the colonies. In addition, our international guests are also interested in female warriors and Nordic mythology.” Screenings of HBO’s Vikings series have also attracted many North Americans visitors. “That’s
W I T H
C A R I N A
why we’re answering a lot of questions about Viking hero Ragnar Lodbrok.” Personally, Englundh likes tales about strong women and female warriors – so called shield-maidens. “I really enjoy hearing about characters from Norse literature, such as Sigrid Storråda and Brynhild – pagan women, who are head of the household and a strong voice in the family.” Englundh’s favorite tour Ragnfrids Saga takes visitors on a ride through the everyday life of a Viking family.
“The whole ride is based on various sources, mainly from rune stones. Ragnfrid is based on a ‘Ragnfrid från Hyppinge,’ who has been written about on a rune stone. Sigrid is loosely based on ‘Sigrid Storråda’ and her unwillingness to marry. That’s what’s so awesome about the ride – it reflects how life of a Viking family might have looked like during the Viking Age. At the same time, the attraction became a bit more exciting when we mixed in several different characters.” When Carina Englundh got a call from a recruiter last fall about an opportunity to take on the job
E N G L U N D H
as CEO at experience museum Vikingaliv, she did not hesitate. “I’ve always had a great interest in culture and was immediately curious about the assignment,” she says. Englundh is a Stockholm native, who has also worked for The Cancer Foundation (Cancerfonden), The Swedish Postcode Lottery (Svenska Postkodlotteriet), multinational corporation JCDecaux and Taxi Stockholm. For inspiration, she continues to be curious, ask questions, read, listen and reflect. What’s ahead for Vikingaliv? “We plan to change the name of Vikingaliv to ‘The Viking Museum,’ a name which will be more accessible to foreign visitors.” She hinted that many of the exhibits will depict more Viking Age world travel and yes, the Vikings’ fighting tradition. Interviewed by Sofie Kinnefors
All photos courtesy of Vikingaliv.
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Swedish Press | May 2019 19
H ERITAG E
‘An Old Dream Has Come True!’ Swedish-American Church Records Online By Jill Seaholm Head of Genealogical Services, Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center
T
he Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center is pleased to announce that the SwedishAmerican and Swedish-Canadian church record microfilms have been scanned and indexed, and are now available on Ancestry.com. The Swenson Center has been part of a group of U.S. archives representing the main Swedish-American church denominations, working to digitize their existing church microfilms and put them online. These archives include the Swenson Center, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Evangelical Covenant Church, the Evangelical Free Church of America, and the Swedish Emigrant Institute in Växjö, Sweden.
The old microfilms
Positive copies of these microfilms have been on deposit at the Swenson Center since we opened in 1981, along with Swedish-Methodist and
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Swedish Press | May 2019 20
Swedish-Baptist films. They were microfilmed largely in the 1960s and 1970s by the Swedish Emigrant Institute through Lennart Setterdahl. As longtime users and stewards of these microfilms, we are happy to be using and sharing this new source. The ELCA, which owns the largest share of these microfilms, had previously successfully worked with Ancestry to scan their Danish, Norwegian, and German-American films. Ancestry has released these Swedish-American church records as three separate collections, even keeping the Swedish-American ELCA records separate from the previouslyscanned ELCA microfilms.
How to find the films
You can reach them in a general search, or you can go straight to the three denominations on Ancestry: www.bitly.com/SSlRCSAKA. Another quick way to find them is to pull the Search menu down to Card Catalog, and in the Title box type in “Swedish American.”
Contents of the films
Setterdahl filled out inventory sheets for each church he microfilmed. These are often found at the beginning of
the microfilms. The films primarily consist of business meeting minutes, member records, and ministerial acts (baptisms, confirmations, marriages, moving-in, moving-out, funerals). Occasionally a church’s anniversary booklet will be at the beginning of the film, in which one can sometimes find photos of church members or groups (but names in anniversary booklets do not seem to have been indexed). Swedish-American church record books were modelled after Swedish parish record books. SwedishAmerican membership records are similar to parish household examination records (husförhörslängder). One big difference between Sweden and the U.S. was that Swedish immigrants were not required to join a U.S. church, where in Sweden the parish pastor kept track of the population.
Did all Swedes join a church?
According to Dag Blanck in Becoming Swedish-American: The Construction of an Ethnic Identity in the Augustana Synod, 1860-1917 (Dag Blanck, Uppsala: Ubsaliensis S. Academiae 1997, p. 44), only about 20 – 40% of Swedish immigrants became members of Swedish-American churches at different times throughout the mass migration period. However, thousands used the churches for baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and funerals without ever joining, so this source has the potential to help pinpoint people who had long ago been lost in the U.S. by their Swedish families. Perhaps they did not want to join a Swedish church but lived near enough to one that it was convenient to get married in it
H E RI TAG E
or have their children baptized or confirmed.
The indexes – use them with care
Ancestry has created indexes, but be vigilant for errors. Before the collections were launched, I tested the beta versions and was pleased to see a good degree of accuracy. If you think someone really should be in a given church’s records and you cannot find him or her in the indexes, browse the images instead of using the index. Many of you will know that the Swedish alphabet has three extra vowels that fall at the end of the alphabet (...x, y, z, å, ä, ö). Even though these church records were kept in the U.S., at least in the beginning the pastors keeping them still used Swedish name spellings (Björn vs. Bjorn, for example), and that spellings were not yet set in stone. We always recommend using diacritical marks where they belong in Swedish names and places, but Ancestry’s search engine seems to be accepting of words spelled without them.
Records of baptisms from Omaha Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church, Nebraska, USA (NE) Vol:4 (1894-1916) Image 21 / page 35 (AID: v883294.b21.s35, NAD:) Photo: ArkivDigital
We are glad that these records are at last available in digital format, complementing the online SwedishAmerican newspapers, another project the Swenson Center was involved in. See www.augustana.edu/ swenson/newspapers.
How to find a specific congregation
After you have found the denomination you wanted, you will see a search box to the right. To browse the image set, select from the options below.
How to access the records
Ancestry is available by paid subscription. Within the United States, you can use these collections with the standard domestic Ancestry subscription. If you are outside the U.S., you will need your country’s World Deluxe edition to view them. The Swenson Center has Ancestry subscriptions for public use (by appointment). Many public libraries also have Ancestry subscriptions for free use by their patrons. LatterDay Saint FamilySearch Centers also have Ancestry subscriptions for public use.
this microfilm, and the time period covered.
Fill in the fields you know about the church. And then you will see the microfilm of of the records for that church.
A microfilm often starts with an “Inventory page,” recorded at the time of filming. If there is an F in the right-hand column, those books are on the film. It gives an overview of the types of records you will see on
Series A: are more general matters about the development of the congregation. Here is also where you may find anniversary booklets. Series B: is the Register of the members of the congregation entered chronologically by date of joining the church, but hopefully containing an alphabetical index. Series C: Ministerial Acts (baptisms, confirmations, marriages, funerals). As mentioned earlier, non-members would still use it for important life ceremonies. Series D: are records of other church activities (usually not microfilmed). Here is information about Sick-and-Benefit Society, Junior League, Sunday School. Reprinted from Swedish American Genealogist Vol. XVIII #2 June 2018.
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Swedish Press | May 2019 21
[Lifestyle]
Top Sju
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“Tunnbrödets dag” (the day of flat bread) takes place on May 11 in Sweden. Baking tunnbröd is an old Swedish tradition and often considered a northern specialty. The bread was traditionally made exclusively from barley – a grain grown and available in the northern part of Sweden – and baked into thin, unleavened breads. Today, tunnbröd can be enjoyed crisp or soft and is often eaten with surströmming (fermented herring) or (if soft) as a wrap filled with mashed potatoes and roasted herring.
Kristi himmelsfärdsdag (Ascension Day) takes place on May 30. The Christian event, which has been celebrated since the mid300s and commemorates the moment when Jesus Christ left the Earth and ascended to Heaven, falls on the 40th day of Easter. Kristi himmelsfärdsdag was traditionally considered the first day of summer in large parts of Sweden and marked the start of the fishing season. Because Kristi himmelsfärdsdag always falls on a Thursday, Swedes often take Friday off for a nice long weekend.
14 Scandinavian drama film “Føniks” premieres in Swedish movie theaters on May 31. The film, which features actors Maria Bonnevie, Sverrir Gudnason and Ylva Bjørkaas Thedin, tells the story of a young girl named Jill, who struggles with a host of challenges. Jill battles to keep her family (including her mentally ill, alcoholic mother) together and is faced with a new dynamic when her absentee father shows up on her 14th birthday. Camilla Strøm Henriksen directs this story about love and courage.
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Swedish Press | May 2019 22
Le nozze di Figaro. Photo: Mats Bäcker/Göteborgs Operan
1786 Opera lovers take note. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Comic Opera classic The Marriage of Figaro, which first premiered in Vienna on May 1, 1786, will be showing live at The Gothenburg Opera House’s big stage May 16 through May 26. The classic tale about love and intrigue involving servants Figaro and Susanna will be performed in Italian with Swedish subtitles.
2221 The majority of Stockholm County’s residents aren’t fans of electric kick scooters (elsparkcyklar). A new survey by the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (Stockholms Handelskammare), involving 2221 Stockholm County residents, showed that 41 percent of residents take a positive view on electric kick scooters on Stockholm’s streets, while 54 percent do not. Naysayers’ complaint, the survey discovered, was simply that people using electric kick
scooters are careless about where they park them once the ride is over. Andreas Hatzigeorgiou, CEO of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, said a way to encourage scooter users to park better might be to introduce a “carrot,” such as lower fees.
8 IKEA asked eight prominent artists and fashiondesigners to design a rug for its annual IKEA Art Event. “These are rugs that will become exclamation marks in the home, whether you walk all over them, hang them on a wall or make them your own any other way,” said Henrik Most, organizer for the upcoming collection. Rug creators for the 2019 art event are Supakitch, France; Chiaozza, USA; Noah Lyon, USA; Craig Green, UK; Seulgi Lee, Korea; Virgil Abloh, USA; Misaki Kawai, Japan; and Filip Pagowski, Poland. These unique rugs can be seen at IKEA stores in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö starting in the beginning of May.
1,500,000 1.5 million viewers (including the Swedish royal family, who are said to be fans) tuned in to watch “Antikrundan” (the Swedish Antiques Road Show) this spring. For those who wish to have their valuables appraised for the upcoming season, Antikrundan has released a list of the cities and towns where the show will be filming this summer: Östersund August 22, Nora August 24, Karlsborg August 26, Söderköping August 28, Höör September 1, and Ronneby September 3.
[Lifestyle] Culture A Bit of History in the Making… By Dorothy Carlson
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he development of British Columbia was shaped by the immigrants who settled the province and the country. Scandinavians flocked here when they found that the scenery in British Columbia reminded them of home. Many of the Swedes who came took positions in the logging camps to get a start. Everyone accepted whatever work they could find to make a home in this province. Part of making a home was becoming involved in the industry and politics that created the fabric of the province. Some of this history is recorded, but the personal experiences of the Swedes who came to BC are slipping away. One lady with a passion for history who has experienced the transition from Swedish-born to Swedish-Canadian recognized this loss. In her determination to amend this loss of history, she developed her idea and started talking to other people about it. They agreed that something should be done. The group formed an organization called Swedish Heritage in British Columbia.
The intent of this group is to record individual and family histories, and also to preserve documents, pictures and artifacts that families brought with them. Of course, the documents and artifacts would have a story attached to them that would be recorded. But where could this happen? The group set out to find a home for their archival information and found it at the Swedish Canadian Manor in North Burnaby (Vancouver area) under the umbrella of the Swedish Canadian Village and the Swedish Canadian Residents Foundation. A space has been converted from an unused activity room to a well-sized ‘archives’ room. The renovations were undertaken with the help of the Swedish Canadian Rest Home Association and donations from believers in the project. Generous donations from the established clubs – Swedish Cultural Society, Runeberg Social Club and Sweden House Society at the Scandinavian Community Centre – got things under way. Many people, members and non-members alike, made kind donations to help with the project. Corporate help came in the form of flooring from
the Tarkett representative in BC, Erv Parent Ltd. IKEA came to the rescue as well with cabinets and all the fittings for a small kitchenette for coffee making – of course! And now there are display cabinets waiting for placement and filling with artifacts. There is a lot of work still to be done to assemble the collections, archive the histories – and so much to learn along the way. We have been fortunate to have the support of a curator from another museum in the lower mainland, as well as a retired curator. We are grateful to so many people for their generous donations and hours of volunteer work to make this happen. So, we are having a small celebration to show off the premises. The Swedish Heritage in British Columbia Opening is on June 9th, 2019 at 1:00 pm and will be held at 1812 Duthie Street in Burnaby. We are inviting dignitaries to mark the occasion and will have a story to share about the event. After this, the exciting work can begin! Contact swedishheritagebc@ gmail.com for more information.
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Swedish Press | May 2019 23
Hemma hos
Art Project Pays You to Do Whatever You Want to Do, for Life
[Design]
By Kristi Robinson
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t sounds like a dream job; you show up to work five days a week, weekends off, you can do anything you like – work on that novel you’ve always wanted to write, trade stocks online, go to the gym. Or, you can do absolutely nothing at all. Either way you get paid – and the job is yours for life, if you want. If you decide the job isn’t for you there’s no pressure, they’ll find you a replacement. It’s called Eternal Employment, and is open to anyone from anywhere, with absolutely no qualifications required.
Concept illustration of the space in Korsvägen station where Eternal Employment takes place.
Eternal Employment was one of the winning proposals in an art competition that’s part of one of the largest construction projects to happen in Gothenburg. Construction began last year when they broke ground for the new West Link underground railway and three train stations: Haga, Korsvägen, and one at Gothenburg Central Station.The train will connect the city and surrounding areas and alleviate traffic at the Central
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Swedish Press | May 2019 24
Time clock and changing area accessible only to the Eternal Employment employee.
Station. An integral part of the station’s design is to allow artists to shape these underground spaces. They didn’t want the art to be just an afterthought; instead the artists are working alongside the architects to design the space in conjunction with their art. The initiative is called Chronotopia, and Eternal Employment is one of the art projects chosen to enhance the design of the new stations. Eternal Employment was conceived by Stockholm artists Jakob Goldin and Simon Senneby. Their performance-based art often explores ideas behind economics. The job will take place at the newly built Korsvägen station and the salary will be on par with Swedish government workers, and will be subject to an annual wage increase of about 3.2%. Vacation time and a pension provision are also a part of the package.
Although you can do whatever you like, there is one little job responsibility: you do need to clock in when you arrive in the morning, and clock out at the end of the day. This action automatically turns the fluorescent lights on and off, and signals the beginning and end of the workday, respectively. You are not bound to stay at the station and can leave during your working hours; you just need to return to clock out. Whether you are always publicly visible or anonymous is up to you. The employee is the only one who has access to the time clock, and to the change room where he or she can hang out in solitude. Part of the performance is that when employment finally ends the light will go out forever.
Fluorescent lights turned on signal when the employee is on working time.
It is the hope that through news stories, jokes, and rumors the story of Eternal Employment will become a part of the oral history of Gothenburg. Applications for the job of a lifetime open in 2025 on www.eternalemployment.com The position will commence once the railway is in operation in 2026.
All photos © Jakob Goldin & Simon Senneby
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Road to 2045
Road to 2045 Greening the Budget – Increased Ambitions from the Swedish Government By Mattias Goldmann, CEO of Fores
Sweden is currently governed by the Social Democrats and the Green Party, under an agreement with the Center Party and the Liberals, but with the state budget of the Conservatives and the Christian Democrats. Step by step, the governing coalition wants to have a budget in line with its political promises, and the first major changes were taken with the spring budget. Green and climate-related issues dominate.
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hilst seven out of the eight parties in the Swedish Parliament agree on the very ambitious climate targets of 70 percent emissions reductions between 2010 and 2030 in the transport sector, and net zero emissions in 2045, the ways to reach the target differ. The Conservative budget, approved by the Parliament during the months when Sweden didn’t have a government in place, emphasize cost-effectiveness and reaching much of the emissions reductions by measures in developing countries. In contrast, the January agreement between the four parties in power emphasizes Sweden’s own emissions reductions, arguing that in order to become a role model and attract green investments and boost sustainable business, we need to be the change we want to see. In concrete terms, the spring budget meant higher climate ambitions in several areas: • Doubling the state funding for local climate initiatives by municipalities, companies and civil society organiza-
tions in KlimatKlivet, the Climate Step. This includes support for charging electric vehicles at home, previously a separate budget post. • Sharply increasing the support for photovoltaics, with 300 million SEK ($32m) extra, and with a 20 percent co-funding for households installing solar panels. • Negative emissions, estimated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to be necessary for the climate targets to be reached, are supported with 100 million SEK ($10.8m). • Transformative change in the industry, IndustriKlivet, receives million SEK ($10.8m). • Night trains to the continent receives 50 million SEK ($5.4m).
Photo: Capri Norrman, SJ
Most of these budget posts are mainly a signal of things to come in the first real state budget of the current government, for 2020. This is true for the industry support, where the amounts allocated are too small for a meaningful change to happen, and where the government’s ambitions include Sweden to be the first country in the world to produce steel without using coal in the process. This is a daunting task that will take many years to fulfil, even if organizations like the think tank Fores start to question whether the projected inauguration in 2045 will not be too late when compared to other initiatives around the world.
Similarly, the economic support for night trains to Europe will not be enough to even buy a set of sleeper wagons. For solar power, the money allocated, in combination with reducing the subsidy from 30 to 20 percent, will at the very least deal with the long queue of households who have been hoping for the subsidy and decided against putting up the solar panels unless they get it. This on/off situation is a reason why large companies in the solar industry want to phase out the subsidies, combined with ensuring that the bureaucratic hassle is kept to a minimum for those who want to harvest the sun. The KlimatKlivet, however, is a very real and sizeable investment in ensuring local climate action. It has been criticized by the auditors for inefficiency and for sometimes dishing out money to things that would happen anyway, but it has also been a clear driver for change in areas where a push from the state is needed. Until now, most of the money has gone to biogas production and filling stations, while the most projects have included charging stations for electric vehicles. Anna Lindén, responsible for behavioral change at the Swedish 2030-secretariat, applauds the green ambitions of the governing coalition, and says that realistically the real changes will happen later this year. “In order to reach the climate targets, we need a full set of economic reforms and legislative pieces that support behavior change, fuel switch and modal shifts. And we need this as soon as possible; 2030 is just around the corner.” Fores (which includes the 2030-secretariat) is a Swedish think tank devoted to questions related to climate and environment, migration and integration, entrepreneurship and economic reforms, as well as the digital society.
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Swedish Press | May 2019 25
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Swedish Press Connects
Swedish Council of America
A Dedication to Science Takes Student to Stockholm By Brian Kays, SCA Communications Intern
“A
aron is never not working hard,” said a pair of senior students in the hallways at Bethel University as overheard by Professor and Chair of Physics, Brian Beecken. The students were talking about the work ethic of Aaron Coe, a senior majoring in both Physics and Computer Science. Professor Beecken first met Aaron in his sophomore-level Electronics class where Aaron’s course performance exceeded that of his peers, earning straight A grades in Electronics and the rest of his full-time course load. The most remarkable thing is that Aaron was still in high school, enrolled in Bethel as a Post-Secondary Enrollment Option (PSEO) student. Aaron was recently named as the recipient of the 2019 SCA Glenn T. Seaborg Science Scholarship, an honor bestowed upon an outstanding student within the natural sciences selected from a list of candidates nominated by the Presidents of the recognized Swedish Council of America (SCA). As such, he will participate in the Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar taking place in Stockholm during Nobel Week in December. He and his fellow participants will make presentations on their research to 500 of their peers and Nobel Laureates at Stockholm Laureates. He will present on “training neural networks on realistic data for heavy particle collisions to determine which neural networks perform effectively under pileup conditions, with emphasis being given to convolutional neural networks.” Aaron is an accomplished young scientist maintaining a 4.0 grade point average with a challenging course load, is president of Bethel’s chapter of Society of Physics Students (SPS), has worked as a teaching assistant for various courses, and has collaborated on research with professors at Rice University, Cornell University, and Osaka University in addition to his home institution. Aaron states, “I strongly believe in global cooperation to drive science since it enables more resources to be utilized cooperatively and encourages nations to establish positive relationships.” Outside of his studies at Bethel, Aaron actively shares his passion for science with younger generations. Aaron’s
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Swedish Press | May 2019 26
L to R: Gregg White, Executive Director, SCA; Aaron Coe; Jay Barnes, President, Bethel University. Photo: Ty Walls, Bethel University
goal since becoming president of SPS has been to reach out to area schools to promote science. He also routinely assists with the Minnesota Science Olympiad, a science competition for high school students, and tutors elementary school students with math and science homework. “I expect to be instrumental in inspiring young students to choose science careers,” he explains. Aaron and his fellow SPS members plan on continuing their outreach work beyond their graduation. He is currently considering graduate research positions at Cornell, Harvard, and MIT and wishes to become a research scientist after earning his Ph.D. These Bethel University students have received the SCA Glenn T. Seaborg Science Scholarship: 1980 – Jeffrey Magnuson 1982 – Janet Turnquist 1989 – Mark Jensen 1990 – Dan Todd 1996 – Melissa Sieler 1997 – Angela Stoeckman 1999 – Candice Bacon
2001 – Kathryn Zurek 2003 – Luke Granlund 2007 – Matthew Seaberg 2008 – Kara Benjamin 2017 – Aeli Olson 2019 – Aaron Coe
SCA is Swedish America’s community foundation. Our mission is to promote knowledge and appreciation of Swedish heritage and culture in North American life and to strengthen contemporary cultural and educational ties between North America and Sweden. We achieve this by providing grants to organizations, scholarships to youth, recognition to leaders and communications to the community – all focused on furthering our mission. www.swedishcouncil.org
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Swedish Events around the World
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The Vikings Begin – This extraordinary new exhibition features dozens of early Viking artifacts from boat graves, organized by Uppsala University in Sweden and its museum, Gustavianum, which is home to one of the world’s finest collections of Viking and pre-Viking objects. Based on cutting-edge research by Neil Price, Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson and John Ljungkvist, the exhibition at American Swedish Institute from May 17 to Oct 27, is the Midwest premiere of a collection that has never been outside of Scandinavia until this year, with many finds that are around 1400 years old. With Viking helmets, swords and weapons for attack and defense, as well as jewelry, glass vessels, bowls and other objects with magical importance, the artifacts tell stories both about the society and the people buried with them.
Photos: American Swedish Institute
The installation is divided into thematic sections on Viking warfare, maritime trade, a ship burial, Norse gods, the Baltic Sea and geo-political relationships to other cultures, shedding new light on how early Viking society was organized, the role of women and the development of maritime innovation that enabled the Vikings to reach faraway lands in the East and the West. www.asimn.org/vikingsbegin
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Nordic Innovation Summit – The Nordic Museum is hosting the second annual Nordic Innovation Summit on May 16, 2019. Given the Nordic Museum’s deep roots in both the Nordic region and the Pacific Northwest, the Museum is a natural convener of the innovation communities across both regions. The first Nordic Innovation Conference, held in May 2018, featured exceptional speakers and panels, and launched several collaborative relationships across private and public sectors.
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The 2019 Nordic Innovation Summit will build and expand on this momentum. Innovation leaders from the Nordic region and Pacific Northwest will come together to share their insights, build new relationships, explore opportunities for collaboration, and inspire new ways of thinking. The 2019 Summit will focus on a wide range of opportunities, including blue technology (maritime), green/clean technology, smart cities, educational technology, financial innovation, and the Internet of Things. Visit www.nordicmuseum.org/ innovation for more information. 28
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Calendar & Events
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A guide to fun and interesting Swedish events outside Sweden
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CHICAGO Swedish American Museum 5211 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL 60640 Tel: 773-728 8111 | info@samac.org www.swedishamericanmuseum.org/2.0 May 4 – Sat 8 am to 9 pm: Day Trip to Bishop Hill & Andover, IL – a National Landmark Village listed in the National Register of Historic Places and an Illinois State Historic Site. May 18 – Sat 11 am to 6 pm: Vårmarknad – Spring Market will feature Scandinavian crafts and items. This is also a great chance to visit the Museum’s Tantalizing Treasures sale where you can find everything from antiques to gently used items. DETROIT Swedish Club of Southeast Michigan 22398 Ruth St, Farmington Hills, MI 48336 Info: 734-459 0596 www.swedishclub.net May 5 – Sun 1 to 2:30 pm: Buffet
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MINNEAPOLIS American Swedish Institute 2600 Park Ave. Minneapolis, MN 55407 Tel: 612-871 4907 | www.asimn.org Ongoing through May 11, 2019: Eurpean Market Square – an interactive exhibition in the ASI Family Gallery. May 17 to Oct 27 – Exhibition: The Vikings Begin (see page 27 for more details). May 18 – Sat 10 am to 4 pm: Viking University Day – A day of lectures by experts in the field with talks on Viking-age society, history and culture. May 19 – Sun 12 to 5 pm: Viking Family Day – Celebrate the arrival of The Vikings Begin with an opening weekend festival. PHILADEPHIA American Swedish Historical Museum 1900 Pattison Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19145 | Tel: 215-389 1776 | info@americanswedish.org | www.americanswedish.org Ongoing through Sep 22 – Outdoor Adventures: Navigating the Nordic Way – Join ASHM in exploring the history of Nordic navigation, compasses, and the modern-day sport of orienteering. May 4 – Sat 6 to 10 pm: Spring Ting Dinner and Auction – special fundraiser, featuring a silent auction, three course dinner and 8
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Outstanding Achievement Award recipient Helena Hernmarck. May 15 – Wed 4:30 to 7:30 pm: World Orienteering Day – Join the American Swedish Historical Museum and the Delaware Valley Orienteering Association to learn about the unique sport of Orienteering. PORTLAND Nordic Northwest Nordia House, 8800 SW Oleson Rd., Portland, OR 97223 | Tel: 503-977 0275 www.nordicnorthwest.org Ongoing through Jul 8 – From Sweden to Oregon: the Immigrant Experience 18501950 – an exhibition which follows the Swedish immigrants to Oregon and reveals what became of their lives, hopes, and dreams. May 3-4 – Fri and Sat: Nordic Vintage Sale – annual vintage, book and treasure sale. SEATTLE Swedish Cultural Center 1920 Dexter Ave. N. Seattle, WA 98109 Tel: 206-283 1090 | www.swedishclubnw.org info@swedishculturalcenter.org May 5 – Sun 8 am to 1 pm: Swedish Pancakes. Music and dancing, plus authentic Swedish pancakes. May 7 – Tues 7:30 to 9 pm: Scandinavian Dance 7-Week Series: Get ready for the fun of dancing around the may pole at Midsommar! Taught by Pat McMonagle. Nordic Museum 2655 NW Market Street, Seattle, WA 98107 Tel: 206-789 5707 | nordic@nordicmuseum.org www.nordicmuseum.org May 11 – Sat From 5: 30 pm: The 33rd Annual Northern Lights Auktion at the Seattle Hyatt Regency Hotel – The Museum’s largest fundraiser. May 16 – Thurs: Nordic Innovation Summit 2019 (see page 27 for more details). SCANDIA Gammelgården Museum 20880 Olinda Trail, Scandia, MN 55073 Tel: 651-433 5053 | www.gammelgardenmuseum.org May 3-5 – Fri to Sun: Opening weekend – Gammelgården Attic A-Z. 18
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May 26 – Sun: Worship in the GammelKyrkan resumes with Holy Communion. May 26 – Sun: Immigrant for a Day – 7th Annual Minnesota Museums Month Event WASHINGTON, DC Embassy of Sweden 2900 K Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20007 Tel: 202-467 2600 | www.swedenabroad.com ambassaden.washington@gov.se May 10 – Seminar – Smart City Planning for Citizens. A discussion on the next generations smart sustainable cities. On display until May – Open Saturdays & Sundays 12 to 5 pm at House of Sweden – Exhibition: Siri Berg: Statements – A retrospective by one of the world’s foremost abstractionists. – Exhibition: Urban Challenges – This exhibition presents some of the social, economic and technological solutions proposed by Sweden to absorb the impact of our rapidly growing urban environment while leaving the environmental legacy next generations deserve.
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TORONTO Svenska kyrkan i Toronto 25 Old York Mills Road, Toronto ON M2P 1B5 Tel: 416-486 0466 | toronto@svenskakyrkan.se www.svenskakyrkan.se/toronto May 11 – Sat: Vårkonsert. VANCOUVER Scandinavian Community Centre 6540 Thomas Street, Burnaby, BC V5B 4P9 Tel: 604-294 2777 | info@scancentre.org | www.scancentre.org May 11 – Sat 8:30 am to 3 pm: Spring clean up at the Scandinavian Community Centre with breakfast by the Finnish War Veterans at 8:30 and lunch provided by Danish House at 12.30pm. WINNIPEG Swedish Cultural Assn of Manitoba 764 Erin Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3G 2W4 | Tel: 204-774 8047 | Reservations at: svenskclub17@gmail.com May 3 – Fri 11:30 am: Svensk Lunch $8.00 for homemade soup, 2 open-faced sandwiches, coleslaw, pickles, dessert, juice, coffee and tea. Smaskigt! (Yummy) 28
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[Ads] and Info Swedish Press Classified Alberta Organizations Svenska Skolan i Calgary bedriver undervisning för barn 3-15 år gamla på lördagar kl 9:30-12. Alla barn är välkomna. Undervisningen sker på svenska. Kontakta Svenska Skolan genom Scandinavian center 403-284-2610 eller skicka epost till contact@swedishschool.com. Läs mer om vår skola på www.swedishschool.com BC Organizations Scandinavian Business Club Monthly meetings feature business speakers. Guests and new members welcome. Call SBC: 604-484-8238. Visit us at www.sbc-bc.ca Scandinavian Community Centre Scandinavian Community Centre Beautiful setting for weddings, parties, birthdays, meetings and seminars. 6540 Thomas Street, Burnaby, BC info@scancentre.org 604-294-2777 www.scancentre.org Svenska Kulturföreningen Ordförande Ellen Petersson 604-970-8708. Kassör är Linda
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Olofsson, 604-418-7703 www. swedishculturalsociety.ca. Email: swedishculturalsociety.ca @gmail.com Sweden House Society President Carina Spencer Email: swedenhousechair@gmail.com, Vice president Rebecca Keckman, Treasurer Ron Spence Swedish Canadian Village Beautiful Assisted Living Residence & Senior Subsidized Apartment Buildings Located in Burnaby, British Columbia. Ph# 604-420-1124 Fax# 604-420-1175 www.swedishcanadian.ca Swedish Club of Victoria Dinners, Events and Meetings, for information contact Annabelle Beresford @ 250-656-9586 or Swedish Club of Victoria Facebook.
Swedish Club 1920 Dexter Ave. N, Seattle, WA 98109; Tel: 206-283-1090. Open Wednesday evenings for supper and games, Friday for lunch and dinner. Pancake breakfasts on first Sundays of the month. Rental venue for meeting, parties, etc. www.swedishclubnw.org
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Washington Organizations Nordic Museum has moved to a beautiful, brand-new building! In Seattle, 2655 N.W. Market St., Ballard; 206-789-5707.
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Valborg Filip, Filippa John, Jane Monika, Mona Gotthard, Erhard Marit, Rita Carina, Carita Åke Reidar, Reidun Esbjörn, Styrbjörn Märta, Märit Charlotta, Lotta Linnea, Linn Halvard, Halvar Sofia, Sonja Ronald, Ronny Rebecka, Ruben Erik Maj, Majken Karolina, Carola Konstantin, Conny Hemming, Henning Desideria, Desirée Ivan, Vanja Urban Vilhelmina, Vilma Beda, Blenda Ingeborg, Borghild Yvonne, Jeanette Vera, Veronika Petronella, Pernilla
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Sista ordet
“There ain’t no journey what don’t change you some.” A Journey By Helena Arvidson
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å här på gamla dagar glider mina tankar alltsom oftast tillbaka till mitt Fädernesland och de vägar och stigar som fört mig hit till Kanada, där jag befinner mig idag. On impulse, I felt that I wanted to share my story with my fellow readers. We were four children in our family raised mainly by Mother, as Father was conscripted when the war started. Those were hard times with ration cards due to shortages of all kinds, such as food, fuel, shoes; and there were curfews, blackouts, rooftop sirens, air raid shelters in the basements of apartment buildings. Although Sweden was only “accidentally” bombed, the constant threat of war loomed like a thunder cloud over our city. After studentexamen I was raring to go. I spent a dozen years in Britain, where I married an Englishman and where our two daughters were born. Together, my husband and I trained to be teachers, and so were able to broaden our horizons and to travel on the strength of our teaching qualifications. The real adventure began with a spell in the Bahamas teaching on one of the Out Islands. Our children played with Bahamian children on warm white sandy beaches. Aqua-greyish dolphins danced on the water against the background of glowing Bahamian sunsets. The schoolchildren caught fish in the shallow clear waters for barbecuing and serving with conch salad, a meal which we then shared on the beach. Then they danced – and danced – to calypso music played on an old gramophone.
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Swedish Press | May 2019 30
Eventually, our teaching contract came to an end, but not so our taste for adventure. One day in the early 1970s, I was waiting for a ski plane on a far-flung Cree Reserve on James Bay in Northern Ontario to fly me to the Hospital on Moose Factory Island for the birth of my baby. The ski plane landed on the frozen lake, its skis stirring up a cloud of snow and ice pellets. After waving good-bye to my daughters and my husband, we – just the pilot and I – set off on the 30-minute flight over the frozen muskeg to Moosonee. Once we had arrived in Moosonee, I had to transfer to a Bombardier snowmobile, an enclosed vehicle on skis that ‘floats on snow’. The Bombardier served as public transport in remote regions in winter. Spring was approaching, so the snow on top of the ice was beginning to melt and the skis of the Bombardier cut a path in the slush, with sleet spreading it in all directions. And so, after crossing the river, I arrived at the hospital on Moose Factory Island in good time for my son’s birth. To return home to our Reserve, we had to cross the Moose River by helicopter, because it was ice breakup time and the river had “come alive”. On the other side of the Roaring River
in Moosonee, we had to transfer to a float plane. Then we flew over the waterlogged muskeg back home to our Reserve. Having landed in a spray of water on the now ice-free lake, we transferred from the float plane to a canoe to reach the wooden pier, where my daughters and my husband were waiting to greet the baby. Undeniably, it had been quite an adventure. We spent four years teaching on the Reserve and so became acquainted with the Cree and their trapping, hunting and fishing culture, and where the dog sleds were still a method of winter travel. Our daughters went to school and played with Cree children and visited in their homes. It was an experience like no other. We travelled further along many highways and byways and taught in the beautiful Peace River Valley, where the cowboys raise their cattle and horseback riding is a way of life. We taught in Victoria on the lush and green Vancouver Island, where life is tranquil, and in Vancouver which has it all – the ocean, the mountains, the forests. I now live in Ottawa with my son and his wife and stay close to my daughters and their families. We enjoy going for walks along the mighty Ottawa River, which flows past at the end of our street. From there, we delight in the many changing moods of the river with its flora and fauna. Well, my life has taken many turns and been quite a journey. I have had many incredible experiences, both scary and exciting, met fascinating people and lived in interesting places. I have learned so much, not least about myself. Jag hälsar Dig, vänaste land uppå jord, but I just wanted to see something else besides Sverige.
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