    
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
Jonas Walfred Norberg
A Guide to His Oral History Interview |
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Administrative
Information
Creator:
Norberg, Jonas Walfred
Collection Nr: t088
File Content:
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3 file folders
10 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 Inger Nygaard Carr
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 Jonas Norberg on September 23,
1981 in Tacoma, Washington. This interview contains information
on personal background, emigration, work, family, community
life, and Swedish heritage. It also contains photographs of
Walfred, the Norberg family in Sweden, Nybyn, Sweden (1899),
the Norberg house/farm, the Norberg Brothers General Store in
Grindnäset, Sweden, the house built by Nils Norberg in Nybyn
(1904), Walfred at the Cascade Lumber Co. in Alder, Washington
(1922), the Norberg family upon their return to Sweden, Walfred
and Roy Waller piling lumber in Washington, and John Johnson
and his family. The interview was conducted in English.
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Jonas
Walfred Norberg, known as Walfred, was born on March 10, 1899
in Nybyn, Sweden. Walfred's father, Nils Norberg, was a farmer
and owned a general store. Walfred was the oldest of four children
in his family. He attended school for six years until he was
13 years old. After Maria Norberg, Walfred's mother, died in
1913, Nils Norberg remarried the mill owner's daughter and moved
to America in 1915. Walfred found a job at the mill grinding
seed, but in 1916, he decided to leave work and move to America.
Most of Walfred's family, including his father and uncles and
two young half siblings, lived in America. Walfred and his oldest
sister Margreta left Sweden and traveled to Tacoma, Washington.
Immediately, Walfred began working in the woods, as his father
was doing. Logging was a dangerous job, though, and Nils Norberg
died in a logging accident in 1919; one of Walfred's brothers
was killed in the same manner. In 1925, Walfred met his Norwegian
wife, Magda Jerstad, at a Scandinavian picnic; they married
one year later on the same date. Walfred and Magda had one son
named Jay in 1927. Walfred continued to work in Tacoma in a
variety of positions, such as a lumber piler, a car loader,
and a superintendent. The Norberg family lived in California
from 1947 to 1952 while Walfred started a sawmill company. They
returned to Tacoma, but Walfred wanted out of the lumber business
due to the dangerous conditions. Walfred is involved in several
organizations-Eagles, Valhalla, and Vasa. He returned to Sweden
in 1969 and 1974. Walfred is proud of his Swedish heritage and
can still speak the language. He maintains, though, that there
are a lot of similarities between Sweden and America.
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Full Name: |
Jonas Walfred Norberg
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Father: |
Nils Norberg
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Mother: |
Maria Sundberg
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Paternal Grandfather: |
Jonas Olovson
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Paternal Grandmother: |
Kristina Nilsdotter
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Maternal Grandfather: |
Olof Sundberg
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Maternal Grandmother: |
Sara Sundberg
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Brothers and Sisters: |
Margreta Norberg
Christina Norberg
Erland Norberg
Annie Norberg
Patrick Norberg
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Spouse: |
Magda Jerstad
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Children: |
Jay Norberg
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This collection is indexed under the following headings
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Personal Names |
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Norberg, Jonas Walfred
Norberg, Nils
Sundberg, Maria
Olovson, Jonas
Nilsdotter, Kristina
Sundberg, Olof
Sundberg, Sara
Jerstad, Magda
Norberg, Magda
Norberg, Jay
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Family Names |
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Norberg family
Jerstad family
Sundberg family
Olovson family
Nilsdotter family
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Geographical Names |
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Nybyn (Sweden)
Tacoma (Wash.)
California
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Subjects |
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Family -- Sweden
School attendance -- Sweden
Sweden -- Economic conditions -- 1899-1916
Sweden -- Emigration and immigration
Nybyn (Sweden) -- Emigration and immigration
Hellig Olaf (Steamship)
Ocean travel
Ellis Island Immigration Station (N.Y. and N.J.)
Naturalization
Vasa Order of America (Tacoma, Wash.)
Swedish Order of Valhalla (Tacoma, Wash.)
St. Regis Paper Company (Tacoma, Wash.)
Sweden -- Social conditions -- 1945-
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Occupations |
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Farmers -- Norway
Sawmill workers
Logging -- 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.
008 Jonas Walfred Norberg was born on March 10, 1899 in Nybyn,
Sweden. This is in northern Sweden.
013 PARENTS: Nils and Maria Norberg. Father was a farmer and
owner of a general store.
018 Mother died in 1913 when Walfred was 14 years old. There
were 4 children in the family. Father remarried and came to
America in 1915.
028 In 1916 Walfred and his oldest sister came to America. Walfred
had been working in a flour mill until he came.
031 Father died from injuries in the woods. Walfred was the
oldest child.
035 GRANDPARENTS: Farmers. Maternal - Olof and Sara Sundberg.
Paternal - Jonas Olovson and Kristina Nilsdotter. Walfred explains
about the name Olovson and Norberg, how they changed.
046 GRANDPARENTS FARMING: They raised hay, beef, "little of
everything." They raised things to live on, support themselves.
055 FATHER'S STORE: Sold sugar, fabric and other staples that
could not be grown on the farm.
066 Norberg's home in Sweden was good sized. They first lived
with grandparents and then father built a house.
080 Mother was sick. Her parents helped them out. Lived in the
store until they sold it when they came to America in 1913.
096 Walfred worked in the flour mill when his father immigrated,
grinded seed to flour.
106 Father married daughter of the owner of the mill. Berglund
was her maiden name.
114 On his trip to Sweden in 1969, the mill had been torn down.
116 Christmas in Sweden no different from Christmas here. Presents,
trees, went to church.
136 CUSTOMS AND BELIEFS: Stories of trolls.
150 Came to America in 1916.
153 Reasons why his father had come to America. His brothers
were here. They went to business school in Sweden, then came
to the U.S.
178 Father died in 1919. Walfred was left with the family, six
younger brothers and sisters. All siblings were in the U.S.
One brother killed in the woods.
192 Walfred came to the U.S. because his family was here. Left
the flour mill where he had been for 14 months.
197 Went to the woods to work. Lived in a small cabin. Describes
this. Paid 10 cents a log. Describes working in the woods.
220 Moving logs in the winter. Floating logs in the spring.
Sorting logs in the river.
240 Trip over to America Aug. 9, 1916. Took a train to Trondheim,
then to Oslo. Took boat Hellig Olaf to the U.S.
251 BOAT TRIP: Sick much of the time. Plenty of food available.
It was a nice passenger boat. Rough seas. Took 9 to 10 days.
263 ELLIS ISLAND: They okayed the papers. Sister had trouble
because she was 15. Walfred was 17. Sent a telegram to their
father in Alder, WA. Ellis Island was crowded, plenty of accommodations.
Some people stayed for months. Some sent back to their country.
295 TRAIN TRIP: Stopped twice to change trains. 5 days.
306 LANGUAGE DIFFICULTIES: Could not understand English.
310 Arrived in Tacoma very hungry. Had not eaten much on the
train. Met someone who spoke Swedish and did some translating.
338 Nobody to meet them when they arrived in Tacoma. Looked
at the railway map to find out where Morton and Alder were.
This is where their father lived. Bought tickets at the train
station.
367 Met father and family. Went to work right away in the woods.
Began learning English.
375 Comparing work between Sweden and the U.S.
383 Dangers of working in the woods. Uncle and father were both
killed from logging accidents.
403 SCHOOLING: 6 years in Sweden. Finished at age 13.
409 WORKING: Began at age 12, hauling freight for his father's
store.
414 Describes hauling by horse and wagon. The difficulties,
loading the wagon, what was hauled.
454 Women did not work as early as the men in Sweden. They began
working at the age of 16 or 17. Helped around the house, hired
out to others.
474 Life is comfortable in America. Think more of memories when
you get older.
485 Contact with many minorities in the woods. Many Austrians
and Scandinavians.
500 AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP: Age 30 or so. Took a test. Two witnesses
testified. Did not get citizenship the first time he tried.
Got his citizenship the second time he tried.
537 Met his wife at a Scandinavian picnic in 1925. They were
married a year later on the same date.
581 Walfred and wife have one son, born 1927 named Jay. He works
for the government and has 2 children. Talks about great grandchildren.
632 WORK IN TACOMA: Several different jobs. Lumber piler, car
loader and a Superintendent.
645 Went to California from 1947 to '52. Others were also going.
Started a saw mill company.
673 Working for St. Paul and St. Regis in Tacoma. Working days
about 10 hours, 2 dollars a day. The same as in Sweden.
SIDE II
001 Life in the lumber camps, bunkhouses and other conditions.
015 Quit lumber work because it was too dangerous, rough conditions.
019 CHANGES IN THE LUMBER BUSINESS: Safety conditions improved.
Less dangerous now than it was before. New ways to transport
logs.
044 CHANGES IN TACOMA: More crime. Children have idle time,
are running around.
064 CHURCH ACTIVITY: None in Tacoma. In Sweden went to church
on Sundays only. Bible was at home to read.
075 ORGANIZATIONS: Eagles and Swedish Order of Valhalla and
Vasa. He was on the Eagles drill team and attended meetings.
116 Trip back to Sweden 1969 and 1974. Changes about the same
as in the U.S. wages higher and good living. Farming changes
in Sweden are as they are in the U.S. Can't make a living on
the farm. Big machinery.
150 FEELINGS ABOUT BEING SWEDISH: Proud of Swedish heritage.
162 Much family here, they gather for family reunions. Over
100 used to get together. Now about 60.
180 SPEAKING SWEDISH: Still speaks it.
197 I mentioned before that while working in the woods, I guess
I did everything there was to do in the woods, except cook and
donkey locomotive engineer, reason being, when not donkey engineer,
I had a job called "handy man." When a worker quit, was fired,
or got injured, the handy man was put in his place until a new
man was hired through an employment office in the city. This
took a matter of 2 or 3 days.
205 1924: When I quit the woods and came in to the city, I got
a job on the then being built Washington Building. I got a job
as loadman on the concrete crew. I mixed all concrete for the
Washington Building from the 4th to the 17th floor.
211 1932: Hart Construction. Got a job building the river road
to Puyallup on the south side of the river. My job then was
shift foreman. We used material for the road dug from the river
bottom.
215 After this job was finished, I went back to the sawmills
again, having worked there a few years, before the depression
struck, as a lumber piler, car loader, carpenter, leadman, and
two times as superintendent.
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