    
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
Anna Elvira Granlund Johnson
A Guide to Her Oral History Interview |
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Administrative
Information
Creator:
Johnson, Anna Elvira Granlund
Collection Nr: t104
File Content:
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3 file folders
5 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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This
interview was conducted with Anna Johnson on October 23, 1981
in Tacoma, Washington. It contains information on family background,
emigration, employment, marriage and family, community involvement,
and Finnish heritage. The interview was conducted in English
with some Swedish at the end of the interview.
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Anna
Johnson was born on July 23, 1899 in Esse, Finland to Matt Leander
Granlund and Josefina Lovisa. Her father was employed in a variety
of trades, and the family owned a small amount of land on which
they grew crops such as potatoes and hay. There were five children
in the family, and all but Anna and her sister Maria died in
their youth. Anna's father also died of a ruptured appendix
at age thirty-one, after which her mother did practical nursing
as a means of support until she too passed away when Anna was
only nine. After her mother's death, Anna went to live with
her uncle, where she helped take care of his children. She did
not attend much school but learned to read and write as well
as Bible history at home. When Anna was thirteen, her father's
cousin visited Finland from America and invited Anna to return
with him. Anna was happy to go with him and set sail from Hangö,
Finland on November 24, 1913. After changing boats in Liverpool,
England, Anna made a nine-day voyage across the Atlantic, landing
at Ellis Island, where her name was changed from Granlund to
Lund. From New York, Anna traveled to Bemidji, Minnesota, where
one of her uncles lived with his family. Anna stayed with her
uncle off and on until 1915, during which time she helped take
care of his children, worked on a farm, and attended some school.
The language barrier was difficult for Anna at first, but she
felt that there were many opportunities to be had in America
and worked to overcome it. After living with her uncle, Anna
worked at a boarding house and then went on to work in a restaurant
until 1920. At that time, Anna decided to move to the West Coast,
settling in Everett, Washington. Anna quickly found another
job as a waitress and joined the Cooks and Waitress Union as
a way to make friends. In Everett, Anna was also reacquainted
with a man named Frank Johnson, whom she had first met in church
in Minnesota. Frank was of Swedish heritage and had served in
WWI. Anna and Frank were married a year and a half after they
met in Everett and remained in the city until 1945, during which
time Frank worked at a sawmill and Anna continued to work as
a waitress. The couple had three children: Rudolph, Clifford,
and Roger, and Anna always made sure she was home when the children
were, firmly believing in the necessity of a sound home-life.
In 1945, the family bought a share of Puget Sound Plywood Co.
and moved to Tacoma. Frank worked at the plywood company until
he had a heart-attack in 1953. Through the years, Anna has been
a part of the Vasa Lodge and has been very involved in the Lutheran
Church. She was also the President of the Widows of WWI group.
Anna is proud to be Finnish and has visited Finland four times,
once with Frank in 1954 and three more times on her own.
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Full Name: |
Anna Elvira Johnson
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Maiden Name: |
Anna Elvira Granlund Lund
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Father |
Matt Leander Granlund
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Mother: |
Josefina Lovisa Tarvonen
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Paternal Grandfather: |
Matt Mattson Tarvonen
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Paternal Grandmother: |
Katarina Helena Tarvonen
Kajsa Lena Jakabror Hägglund
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Maternal Grandfather: |
Matt Anderson Stubb
Matt Andrew Stubb Granlund
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Maternal Grandmother: |
Kajsa Greta Erickson
Brita Kaijan Stubb
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Brothers and Sisters: |
Matt Leander Granlund
George Leonard Granlund
Maria Olivia Granlund
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Spouse: |
Frank Johnson
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Children: |
Rudolph B. Johnson
Clifford Arne Johnson
Roger E. Johnson
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This collection is indexed under the following headings
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Personal Names |
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Johnson, Anna Elvira Granlund Lund
Granlund, Matt Leander
Tarvonen, Josefina Lovisa
Tarvonen, Matt Mattson
Tarvonen, Katarina Helena
Hägglund, Kajsa Lena Jakabror
Stubb, Matt Anderson
Granlund, Matt Andrew Stubb
Moans, Kajsa Greta Erickson
Stubb, Brita Kaijan
Johnson, Frank
Johnson, Rudolph, B.
Johnson, Clifford Arne
Johnson, Roger E.
Lund, Emil
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Family Names |
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Johnson family
Granlund family
Lund family
Tarvonen family
Hägglund family
Moans family
Stubb family
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Geographical Names |
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Esse, Vasa Laen (Finland)
Bemidji (Minn.)
Everett (Wash.)
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Subjects |
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Emigration and immigration -- Finland
Family -- Finland
Emmanuel Lutheran Church (Tacoma, Wash.)
First Lutheran Church (Tacoma, Wash.)
Family -- Economic aspects -- Finland
Ocean travel
Vasa Lodge (Everett,Wash.)
Finland -- Social conditions -- 1945-
School attendance -- Finland
Puget Sound Plywood Company (Tacoma, Wash.)
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Occupations |
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Domestics
Sawmill workers
Boarding house
Restaurant workers
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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.
004 PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Born in Esse, Finland which is in the
northern part of Finland.
011 HISTORY OF FINLAND: Old ties to Sweden. Family had bought
land from Sweden long ago, which is now Finland.
028 PARENTS: Father - Matt Leander Granlund. Mother - Josefina
Lovisa. Talks about where the parents are from near Esse, Finland.
039 TALKS ABOUT FINNISH, SWEDISH TIES: Northern Finland has
background of Swedes.
046 BIRTHDATE: July 23, 1899.
048 PARENTS: Father needed many trades to make it. Superintendent
of school. Played the organ. Teacher. Deacon in the church.
They lived in Esse, Finland.
057 LAND: Had a little land from the father's side of the family
which her father shared with his brother's. Some brothers immigrated
to the US.
071 Enough land to grow a few crops, potatoes, and hay. In Finland
didn't grow many vegetables, but mostly grain. Had 2 cows.
081 GRANDPARENTS: Grandfather had a large farm. He was also
a mail carrier.
087 BROTHER & SISTERS: Five children. Maria died in 1973.
The others died when they were small children. Maria had stayed
in Finland.
094 CHILDHOOD HOME: Three bedroom house. Mother very religious.
Lots of singing. Sunday school taught in their house.
101 WINTERS: Finland was very cold in the winter. Couldn't travel
very far.
105 MOTHER: Did practical nursing when her husband died. She
made her living this way. She would keep patients in the house.
107 BROTHERS & SISTERS: Died young. One died at age 12 from
an inflamed knee injury. Doctors couldn't treat it. Dad died
from ruptured appendix. One brother died of TB of the stomach.
118 Epidemic of TB from the milk of the cows.
121 CHILDHOOD: Didn't go to school much because her mother died
when Anna was 9 years old. She lived with her uncle and took
care of her uncle's children.
132 EDUCATION: Learned to read and write mostly at home. Learned
Bible history.
142 Mostly worked. "Learned how to work."
144 TICKET TO THE US: Father's cousin came in 1913 from America
and asked Anna if she wanted to go to the US. She was glad to
go and get away from Finland. Ticket was $92.
152 CHRISTMAS: Started around Thanksgiving time to kill sheep
and store the meat for Christmas. Roasted some meat. Tree hung
from the ceiling if there were small children around. Homemade
decorations for the tree.
169 HARVEST: After the grain harvest, the grain was ground for
bread and for the animals. The horses had bread for a treat.
181 BAKED GOODS: Sweet bread. Raisins and prunes to make sweet
soup. Never saw cookies.
190 CHURCH: Went to church at Christmas. Lutheran church. Mostly
Lutheran and a few Baptist churches in Finland.
195 SCHOOL: She described the ages that children go to school.
208 TRIP TO U.S.: At age 13, she came to the U.S. with a cousin
of her father's on November 24, 1913.
217 BOAT TRIP: Sailed from Hangö in Finland. Changed boats at
Liverpool, England. "Conrad"
224 BOAT TRIP: Travel on the North Sea very bad. No food. Crawled
along. Rough sea. Took 9 days to get across the Atlantic
239 BUYING TICKET: Took care of travel from Finland to Minnesota.
244 TRAVEL: Stayed in Liverpool for 2 days. Mostly Swedish people
around her. Cousin could read English which helped.
261 FAMILY: Left behind a sister in Finland.
268 ELLIS ISLAND: "Just Fine". One Italian lady had a knife
around her neck - she was going to stab someone if they didn't
change bunks. Stayed one night at Ellis Island.
287 FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Not distorted by Ellis Island.
293 TRAIN TRAVEL: Food on the train. No trouble on the train.
301 LUGGAGE: Clothes and an old black scarf from the 1880's.
307 CHURCH: In Finland, they always wore a black scarf when
they went to church.
318 MINNESOTA: Arrived in Bemidji, Minn. in the evening. Went
to her uncle's house.
332 UNCLE'S WORK: Sawmill workers made $1.75 in 1913. Uncle
worked in Minnesota in the mills. This wasn't much to feed a
family.
341 WORK: Anna helped take care of children. Scrubbed clothes
on a board. "Plain" food. She worked on a farm in the summer.
She liked this.
358 SCHOOL: Went to school some in Minnesota.
368 NAME CHANGE: Her uncle's name was Emil Lund. Anna's name
changed to Lund at Ellis Island because they didn't want the
name Granlund.
375 SCHOOL: Children didn't like foreigners at school who couldn't
speak English. At first the teacher had Anna come after school
from 3:00 - 4:30pm so she could get special help. Was a Norwegian
school teacher.
404 LANGUAGE: The language barrier was the most difficult thing
in coming to America another was being lonesome. Many good opportunities
in the U.S.
416 WOMEN: In Finland, there different expectations of women.
Women do very hard physical labor.
425 MOTHER: Drowned in the river. There was a hole in the ice
and she slipped through. No one saw her drown.
440 FATHER: Sick for a long time. Died of appendicitis. Doctors
in Finland could treat it. He was 31 when he died.
454 WORK: Stayed with her uncle off and on until 1915, then
she went to work for a lady who owned a boarding house. She
cooked, cleaned, etc for $2.50 a week.
473 WAR: When the war broke out she quit the boarding house
because the owner couldn't afford it anymore. Food was very
high.
478 WORK: Went to work at a restaurant in Bemidji, Minnesota
until 1920. Started at $6 a week with room & board. Made
more by 1920.
510 MOVED: Left Minnesota for the West Coast. Went to Canada
to visit her Aunt who had brought her to the US. Took the train
to Everett, WA.
535 WORK: Started work in an Everett restaurant. Not hard to
find work. Made wages of $3 a day.
549 UNIONS: Way to make friends. Cooks and waitresses Union.
562 MARRIAGE: Husband came from Alaska. He had been in the service
in WWI. He found work on a fishing boat that went to Alaska.
571 HUSBAND: She'd met him first in church in Minnesota. His
name was Frank Johnson.
587 Married one and a half years after they met in Everett.
592 WEDDING: Married in the pastor's parsonage. The witnesses
were the only ones there. Pastor Pederson at the Mission Covenant
Church.
603 CHURCH: No Lutheran ministers in Everett at the time.
611 HUSBAND'S WORK: Worked in a sawmill. Stayed in Everett until
1945. Came to Tacoma. Bought a share of Puget Sound Plywood
Co. Worked there until his heart attack in 1953.
SIDE II
004 CHILDREN: Three - The oldest, Rudy Johnson was in WWII.
He is now a pastor at Our Saviors Lutheran Church in Seaside,
OR. He has four children. His wife's name is Ruth. They were
married in the First Lutheran Church in Tacoma. His children
are described below.
016 GRANDCHILDREN: Gerald was in the service for 3 years. Now
is a police captain in Greshem, OR.
018 GRANDCHILDREN: Elaine graduated from Pacific Lutheran University.
They live in Corvallis, OR. She is a teacher.
021 GRANDCHILDREN: Kathryn is married and living in Portland,
OR.
026 GRANDCHILDREN: Clifford is a graduate of Pacific Lutheran
University. Now an accountant in Portland, OR. He has 3 kids
- all educated.
035 CHILDREN: Roger Johnson: Bought their share of Puget Sound
Plywood Co. He has three children. They live in Tacoma.
042 FAMILY LIFE: Happy family life. Close ties to the church.
045 CHURCH: Goes now to Emmanuel Lutheran Church. Very involved.
050 WIDOWS OF WWI: President of this group. She gives talks
to other chapters.
057 HUSBAND: He was a deacon in the church. He had a Swedish
background. She talks about her husband's mother & father.
066 Finnish organizations: Order of Runneberg. She wasn't a
member of this.
073 Member of the Vasa Lodge in Everett.
076 DEPRESSION: Worked after she was married during the Depression.
Mills down. She worked in restaurants.
085 CHILD-RAISING: Was home when the children were home. Important
for young children to have a home life.
094 Crime now because children have no one to turn to.
100 TRIPS TO FINLAND: Went with her husband in 1954. Second
time in 1967. Third 1969. Fourth 1975
105 CHANGES: Finland is very modern now. Oil heat. Hot &
cold running water. Farm machinery. More modern buildings than
here in the US.
117 Cheaper travel in Finland than in the US. Senior citizens
get reduced rates.
123 FINLAND: Modern restaurants - McDonalds. Travel safer in
Finland - not so much fear as here in the US.
128 CHURCH: Church background important to many in Finland.
This reflects the ideals of the population.
132 EDUCATION: Trade schools. It's free education. Can learn
various trades.
145 EDUCATION: In Finland today it is compulsory to learn more
than one language. Some know many languages. Swedish a basic
language in Finland.
158 AFTER WWII IN FINLAND: Troubled times. People sharing food.
Not much meat.
167 RUSSIA & FINLAND: Russia now buys many things from Finland.
Now friends with Russia. Have been wars between them for many
years.
174 LANGUAGE: Didn't teach her children Swedish. Now they have
picked up some Swedish.
185 TRIP TO NORWAY: Went in 1975 and visited some in-laws. She
talks about her in-laws some.
203 HERITAGE: Not ashamed to be Finnish. Still had contact with
his brother-in-law in Finland.
217 SPOKEN SWEDISH: She speaks in Swedish. Good example of the
language.
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