    
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Administrative
Information
Scope and Content Note
Biographical Information
Lineage
Selected Search Terms
Partial Interview Transcript
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Information
Resources
Robert A. L. Mortvedt Library
Pacific
Lutheran University
Tacoma, WASHINGTON 98447
Phone: (253) 535-7586 E-mail: archives@plu.edu
New Land
New Lives Oral History Collection
Nels (Nils) Häggström
A Guide to His Oral History Interview |
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Administrative
Information
Creator:
Häggström, Nels (Nils)
Collection Nr: t071
File Content:
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2 file folders
0 photographs
1 sound cassette
0 compact discs
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Processing Information:
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The
interview was conducted using a cassette recorder. A research
copy was also prepared from the original. To further preserve
the content of the interview, it is now being transferred
to compact disc. We deliberately did not transcribe the
entire interview because we want the researchers to listen
to the interviewee's own voice. The transcription index
highlights important aspects of the interview and the
tape counter numbers noted on the Partial Interview
Transcription are meant as approximate finding guides
and refer to the location of a subject on the cassette/CD.
Interviewed
by Morrene Nesvig
Transcribed by Mary Sue Gee, Julie Peterson and Becky
Husby
Encoded by Kerstin Ringdahl & Amity Smetzler
Recording Quality: Good
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Restrictions:
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The
collection is available for research.
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Preferred Citation:
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[Collection
Number, Collection Title]
New Land New Lives Oral History Collection
Scandinavian Immigrant Experience Collection
Robert A.L. Mortvedt Library
Pacific Lutheran University
Tacoma, WA 98447
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The
interview was conducted with Nels Häggström on July 20, 1981
in Tacoma, Washington. This interview contains information on
personal background, emigration, employment, and Swedish heritage.
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Nels
(Nils) Häggström was born on August 31, 1905 in Nyland, Sidensjö,
Sweden. Nels had six brothers and sisters and lived with an
older sister after their mother died when he was five years
old. Three of Nels' brothers moved to the United States to find
better jobs, and Nels decided to join them in 1923. He immediately
found work in the lumber business. Unfortunately, it was a dangerous
job, and Nels had a severe accident that left him unconscious
for two days and in the hospital for three months. After the
accident, Nels worked at Lyle Plywood in Tacoma. He attained
his citizenship after five years. Nels married Violet Larson
in 1933, and they had one child named Bernice. Nels can still
speak Swedish and likes to preserve the traditions, but he does
not want to return to Sweden. Nels was confirmed Lutheran and
attends a Lutheran church with his family.
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Full Name: |
Nels Häggström
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Father: |
Olof Häggström
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Mother: |
Margot Westman
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Brothers and Sisters: |
Marta Häggström
Olof Häggström
Margot Häggström
Jonas Häggström
Johan Häggström
Kristina Häggström
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Half-brothers and sisters: |
Bror Häggström
Valborg Häggström
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Spouse: |
Violet Larson Häggström
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Children: |
Bernice Häggström Woodward
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This collection is indexed under the following headings
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Personal Names |
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Häggström, Nels (Nils)
Häggström, Olof
Westman, Margot
Häggström, Violet Larson
Häggström, Bernice
Woodward, Bernice
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Family Names |
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Häggström family
Westman family
Woodward family
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Geographical Names |
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Sidensjö (Sweden)
Ångermanland (Sweden)
Örnsköldsvik (Sweden)
Tacoma (Wash.)
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Subjects |
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Family -- Sweden
Sweden -- Emigration and immigration
Sidensjö (Sweden) -- Emigration and immigration
Christmas -- Sweden
Ocean travel
Naturalization
Assemblies of God (Tacoma, Wash.)
Lyle Plywood Company (Tacoma, Wash.)
Cascade Timber Company (Alder, Wash.)
Valhalla Lodge (Tacoma, Wash.)
Vasa Order of America (Tacoma, Wash.)
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Occupations |
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Logging -- Washington (State)
Farmers -- Sweden
Sawmill workers -- Washington (State)
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Genre/Form |
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Oral history
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Institution |
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Pacific Lutheran University. Scandinavian Immigrant Experience
Collection
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The
partial interview transcription highlights important aspects
of the interview. Numbers on the left may be used as guides
to important subjects. Two numbers separated by a slash indicate
that the first number is for cassette and the second for CD.
038 NELS HÄGGSTRÖM: Born August 31, 1905 in Nyland, Sidensjö,
Sweden. Sidensjö is close to the coast near Ornskoldsvik in
Ångermanland.
103 Central Sweden near coast. Nyland was a farming community.
Nels worked only one summer in Nyland. Rest of the time he worked
for a farmer, Johan Bystroem, in a community called Skaalevad.
Skaalevad was called Nyland, just as Sidensjö was.
141 WORK: Did farm work. Even shoed horses. 13 when he started
working.
154 CHILDHOOD: Wasn't raised at home. Mother died when he was
5 years old. Lived with older sister.
168 PARENTS: Mother, Margot Westman. Father, Olof Haggstrom.
He had a farm but wasn't very active.
193 BROTHERS AND SISTERS: Seventeen children. Marta, Olof, Margot,
Jonas, Johan, Kristina (still living in Sweden), from father's
first marriage. Nels was the youngest of kids from this marriage.
Second marriage: Bror.
240 GRANDPARENTS: Never saw them. They were born in the same
area Nels grew up in. Nels remembers meeting one of his father's
brothers and his mother's sister.
264 FAMILY NAME: Hägg is Swedish for chokecherry tree. One of
these trees was growing near a stream, which is ström in Swedish.
Many of these trees grew in the area Nels grew up in.
361 His brothers came to Tacoma, Washington. Some friends from
their area came to Tacoma, Washington too. Nels came in July
1923. Almost 18 years old. Borrowed a total of 1000 Swedish
crowns from farmers in the area. Bystroem put out the money.
407 One the farmers who'd loaned Nels the money died. Byström
wrote that he needed at least 100 crowns. Nels sent it. Wages
were low in America to. 35 cent per hour. Worked in the logging
camp. Had to spend three months in the hospital. Got $300 settlement
from the state. Used it to pay off the rest of his debt.
429 TRIP TO AMERICA: Took the train to Gothenburg (Göteborg)
on the west coast of Sweden. Took a small boat from Gothenburg,
Sweden to Southampton, England. Took a big ship to America.
Got seasick. Bad trip. Mostly young boys and girls on the ship.
Left home on July 15, 1923. Got to Tacoma, Washington in August.
Entire trip took about 30 days. Trip across the Atlantic was
10 or 11 days. Landed in Halifax, Canada. Met a Norwegian boy
who worked on the railroad. Went to Vancouver, B.C. with him.
Train wreck on the way. Train tripped over in swampy area.
525 IMPRESSION OF CANADA: Thought it was beautiful. Saw a lot
of Indians. Enjoyed the trip through the mountains.
536 LANGUAGE: Has never had language problems. Can't get rid
of his accent.
550 Stayed the night in Vancouver with the Norwegian boy. He
paid for Nels' breakfast and dinner. Came to Tacoma. Had brother's
address. A Norwegian at the station on Pacific Avenue paid his
taxi fare to his brother's house. There were a lot of immigrants
in the neighborhood. German, Polish, Italian, etc. Over 70%
of the workers in the sawmill were immigrants.
595 No problem getting work. Came on a Sunday. Started work
in a sawmill the next day. Starting wage was 40 cent per hour.
Stayed at the mill for three months. Worked in the woods because
he could make more money.
627 Worked for Cascade Timber Co, in Alder, Washington. Started
out as a "flunkee" in the boarding house. He liked waiting on
tables in the dining room but the pay was bad. Asked the foreman
if he could make more money doing something else. Loaded huge
logs onto railroad cars.
650 Logs at that time were 7-10 feet in diameter. Big tongs
were used to lift the logs on to the railroad car. Nels' job
was to put the tongs on the logs. A machine called the duplex
would lift the logs. Nels' accident happened on December 14.
The man operating the duplex lifted the tongs too soon. They
hit Nels in the head. Knocked out. Taken to the hospital in
Eatonville, Washington. Unconscious for two days. In hospital
for three months. Pail $300 settlement. Injury or death common
out in the woods. One or two deaths per month. Left the woods.
(See also I-407)
736 WENT BACK TO TACOMA. Worked at Lyle Plywood. Pretty high
up. Got good pay.
750 LEARNING ENGLISH: Brother told him to speak English.
761 CITIZENSHIP: Brother took him to the Immigration Office
to apply for citizenship. Filled out the first papers. Citizen
after five years. Had one Swedish born and one English born
witness.
781 Had both American and Swedish friends while living in Tacoma.
795 SWEDISH ORGANIZATIONS: Swedish Order of Valhalla and Swedish
Order of Vasa. Doesn't go to meetings anymore. Goes to their
breakfast once a year with his grandson, Ken.
818 GETTING HIS FIRST CAR WAS EXCITING. Bought a 1926 Ford Roadster.
Had a girlfriend in Olympia. Rented a neighbor's garage for
$3.00 per month. Tells about learning to drive. Left at 4:00am
to drive to Olympia once. The car cost $350.
886 Stayed with the plywood company for 37 years. His position
was just short of a foreman.
894 MEETING WIFE: Met at a house-warming party. She was only
13 years old. Her father let him take her home. She was 16 when
they started dating.
909 MARRIED IN 1933: Bought a little house across the street
from her parents. This was on 25th and Cushman. A lot of Scandinavian
people in the neighborhood. They had a lot of friends who didn't
understand Swedish so when Scandinavian friends came to visit,
they had to speak English. His wife's name is Violet Larson.
Her father was Swedish. Her mother was Norwegian.
935 CHILDREN: One daughter, Bernice. She has a boy, Kenneth,
and a girl, Cathy. Bernice is a secretary for the nursing department
at Pacific Lutheran University. Bernice became interested in
Sweden when her son Kenneth went. Nels paid for him to go. He
visited relatives. Went to school in Uppsala.
978 SWEDISH TRADITIONS: Big Christmas Eve dinner. Open presents
on Christmas Eve. Sing Swedish Christmas songs. Kalvsylta (ground
veal), klenäter, spritz.
1007 CHURCH: Belong to the Assembly of God. Minister from this
church married them. Nels was confirmed in the Lutheran church.
Bernice, Cathy, and Ken go to Good Shepherd Lutheran.
1018 PROBLEM GETTING A BIRTH CERTIFICATE: Found name of minister
of the church he was confirmed in in Sweden. Wrote back to him
and sent $10 for four copies. Got the copies and the $10 back.
He had to give copies to Social Security, his union, etc. Sent
$10 back to the minister. He gave it to the church.
SIDE II
004 Talks about a cream bowl made of birch that their grandson
brought back.
035 Still have contact with family in Sweden. Talks about a
half-sister, Valborg, who came to visit. She told them what
Sweden was like today.
134 IMPORTANCE OF SWEDISH HERITAGE: Still speaks Swedish.
151 Nels name was spelled "Nils" in Sweden. He shows his Swedish
passport.
217 Sings "Hälsa dem där hemma." This is a Swedish immigrant
song.
274 Nels feels that the United States is his home. He feels
his father was wrong to marry a woman 30 years younger than
himself when he already had ten children he wasn't able to take
care of. He was lazy. He could have given more of himself to
his kids.
338 Nels doesn't want to go back to Sweden. It's hard for both
he and his wife to walk. Traveling difficult.
356 As a boy, he never had time to go fishing or swimming. He
was busy working on the farm. He loved it. He loved the horses.
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