    
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
Sven Fredrick Fredrickson
A Guide to His Oral History Interview |
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Administrative
Information
Creator:
Fredrickson, Sven Fredrick
Collection Nr: t119
File Content:
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3 file folders
6 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 Sven Fredrickson on November 30,
1981 in Tacoma, Washington. This interview contains information
on personal history, employment, emigration, family, the Army,
church and community life, and Swedish heritage. It also provides
photographs of the house where Sven was born, Sven and his family,
Sven and an Iranian mountaineer, Sven building a courthouse
in Oklahoma City, and Sven at the time of the interview. The
interview was conducted in English. Also see Hans Fredrickson.
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Sven
Fredrickson was born on February 24, 1907 in Kolsebro, Sweden.
One of ten children, Sven grew up working on the family farm
and attending school during the summers. Sven loved the Swedish
Christmas traditions as a child, including selecting a tree,
decorating the house, eating the traditional food, and going
to church. Sven worked in a variety of ways as an adolescent;
he helped fuel the trains during World War I, aided a blacksmith
in town, and laid cement for a new dam. Still, Sven thought
there would be more work in the United States, so he moved there
with his uncle's sponsorship in 1923. Sven found work in lumber
camps and in a molding business. He went to school to learn
English and picked it up quickly. In 1928, Sven returned to
Sweden to celebrate his father's birthday. When the Depression
hit, Sven moved to Oklahoma to find work. He had a carpentry
job and also worked in the oil fields. Sven moved around for
different jobs, working in Oklahoma City, College Station, Denver,
Corpus Christi, and Arkansas. While living in Denver, Sven met
his wife, and they married in 1940. Soon after, Sven received
orders to join the Army. As a Master Sergeant, Sven oversaw
the building of bridges and roads. He traveled to such places
as New Zealand, Australia, India, Iran, and Russia. When Sven
returned from the war in 1945, he invested in Puget Sound Plywood
with his brother Hans. Sven built houses and did some contracting.
He had two children, Cynthia and Robert, but tragically his
wife died of cancer. At the Vasa Lodge, Sven met Edith Carlson,
whom he married after his first wife's death. Besides being
a member of the Vasa Lodge, Sven participates in the Masons
and Valhalla Lodge; he has served as president at Valhalla Lodge
four times. Sven returned to Sweden in 1956, 1964, and 1977.
He sees that many changes have taken place, but Sven still tries
to retain Swedish traditions in America.
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Full Name: |
Sven Fredrick Fredricksson
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Father: |
Fredrick Anderson
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Mother: |
Emilia Olson
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Maternal Grandfather: |
Olof Jonsson
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Maternal Grandmother: |
Kristina Jonsson
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Brothers and Sisters: |
Lydia Ingeborg Fredricksson
Ingrid Fredricksson
Signe Agusta Fredricksson
Carl Edvin Fredricksson
Hans Fredricksson
Magda Linnea Fredricksson
Otto Valfred Fredricksson
Seth Geron Fredricksson
Allice Fredricksson
Tore Fredricksson
Hildegard Fredricksson
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Spouse: |
Edith June Fredricksson
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Children: |
Cynthia Ethel Fredricksson
Robert Sven Fredricksson
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This collection is indexed under the following headings
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Personal Names |
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Fredricksson, Sven Fredrick
Andersson, Fredrick
Olsson, Omilia
Jonsson, Olof
Jonsson, Kristina
Fredricksson, Hans
Fredricksson, Cynthia Ethel
Fredricksson, Robert Sven
Karlsson, Edith June
Fredricksson, Edith June
Pearson, Alva
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Family Names |
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Fredricksson Family
Andersson Family
Olsson Family
Jonsson Family
Karlsson Family
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Geographical Names |
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Kolsebro (Sweden)
Tacoma (Wash.)
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Subjects |
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Puget Sound Plywood (Tacoma, Wash.)
Sweden -- Emigration and immigration
World War, 1939-1945
Church and community Life
School attendance -- Sweden
Confirmation -- Sweden
Drottningholm (Steamship)
Christmas -- Sweden
Pearson, Alva
Depressions -- 1929
Vasa Lodge (Tacoma, Wash.)
Freemasonry (Tacoma, Wash.)
Valhalla Lodge (Tacoma, Wash.)
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Occupations |
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Farmers -- Swedish-Americans
Construction industry (Tacoma Wash.)
Logging -- Washington (State)
Armies -- Non-commissioned officers
Carpenters -- 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.
020 PERSONAL: Sven Fredrick Fredrickson. Father was Fredrick
Anderson. Sven was born in Kolsebro, Sweden, close to the Baltic
Sea.
064 Father was a farmer, had 30 acres, 8-10 cows, pair of oxen.
Raised potatoes, sold milk, wheat, and rye. Used rye for bread.
101 PARENTS: Fredrick and Omelia Anderson. Mother's maiden name
Olson. 10 children in the family, five girls and five boys.
Two girls died very young.
133 BROTHERS & SISTERS: Ingrid and Signe are the two that
died. Oldest sister Lydia Ingeborg lives in Milton, WA. She
married Andrew Olson.
154 Carl Edvin retired now. He was a seaman finisher. Worked
at Plywood Plant. Hans lives in Tacoma. Magda lives in Sweden,
married to a Pederson. Otto Valfred has dad's farm now and is
retired.
202 Seth Geron works for the government in Sweden, drives trucks,
does road work. Allice, she worked in a country store in Sweden
with her husband. Tore works at Puget Sound Plywood. Hildegard
born 1924, lives on a farm in Sweden.
240 GRANDPARENTS: Maternal - Father was a carpenter, built the
church in town, Olaf Olson. Mother also baked bread, made cheese.
Nice lady. They lived close to the family. Sven does not remember
his paternal grandparents.
290 Had timber on their farm. Cut this and sold it. Children
were well fed. Plenty of oatmeal and eggs. Had a garden with
vegetables. Made pea soup.
336 Mother milked the cows, did baking and cooking. Kids helped
with the chores, all kept very busy.
366 Grandfather built the log house they lived in. Fireplace
was only source of heat. Wood stove used to cook on. Did some
cooking on the open fire. Had 2 bedrooms, 2 beds in the living
room.
428 BIRTHDATE: February 24, 1907
432 SCHOOL: Walked 10 blocks. Went to school in the summer,
closed in the winter. Went through the 6th grade, then an additional
6 weeks each winter for 2 years. Like junior high.
484 CONFIRMATION: Took 8-9 months. 9 miles to church. The minister
took care of the 'church book.' Kept track of births and deaths.
Went to church on holidays mostly. Christmas morning at 5:00
A.M. Sunday school closer to home in a little chapel. Anyone
could come.
560 Had bazaars to raise money for the church. Sold cookies,
coffee. Mother went to church more than father did.
590 Minister came to the house to question people on what they
knew about the Bible.
615 CHRISTMAS: During the summer picked out a tree on the farm.
The Sunday before Christmas they went to cut it down.
637 CHRISTMAS EVE: Presents. Decorated the tree, used candles
because there was no electricity. Had ham and rice pudding.
653 CHRISMAS MORNING: Up at 2 A.M. to go to church. Horses and
sleigh outside waking people up. Rice pudding for breakfast.
684 Christmas Eve for breakfast had lutfisk and potatoes.
695 CHRISMAS DAY DINNER: Had beef, ordinary dinner. Mother made
many of the gifts.
726 Kept tree up for 13 days. Had kids over. Took candy and
apples off the tree.
771 TROLLS: Father always told stories.
780 WORK: During WWII age 12, used peat to burn instead of coal
on the locomotives. Young people stacked this peat up. He lived
with his Uncle.
818 Built a dam. They wanted young people to help with the cement.
Sven was also a Blacksmith's helper. He gave money to his father.
854 Worked in the winter also putting tar around turbines.
871 CAME TO THE U.S.: Wrote Uncle, Mr. Pearson, to sponsor him.
Sven had heard of America, it sounded good. More work than in
Sweden.
909 Uncle sponsored him to come over. Sister Lydia also wanted
to come.
924 TRIP OVER: Left Sweden the 28th of April 1923. Took the
Swedish-America ship "Drottningholm."
931 ELLIS ISLAND: Took 1 day. Checked health. Needed railway
ticket and money to get through.
938 BOAT TRIP: Nice boat, little seasick. Went 3rd class like
most of the immigrants. Took 8-9 days. Entertainment and church
services.
968 TRAIN TRIP: From N.Y. to Chicago a special train for the
immigrants. Chicago to West coast took Northern Pacific.
973 LANGUAGE: Did not know any English when he came. Managed
to get by. Learned about money quickly.
986 Trip over cost him $317.00, from Sweden to Tacoma.
991 Met at the train by Alva Pearson and her husband. Alva had
a half-brother who came over the same time that Sven did.
1010 First time he had ever seen a banana was in N.Y. Also the
first time he saw a tomato was here. Many different nationalities
here.
1041 FEELINGS LEAVING SWEDEN: "You're young and the whole world
plays in front of your eyes." Sven was never homesick.
1055 FIRST IMPRESSION OF U.S.: Could not see much of N.Y.
1067 LANGUAGE DIFFICULTIES: Not many. Went to night school at
Central School taught by Miss McDonald. Describes school in
some detail.
1084 Lived with Alva when he came for 10 years. She was like
a second mother.
SIDE II
039 Laid off at Shops. Got a job making boards for boxes, separating
boards and loading them on a truck. Worked 8 hours a day.
080 Used to walk on the logs in the water for fun. Fell in once
in the cold winter.
110 Got another job running a molding machine for $3.35 a day,
6 days a week. Easy work. Learned to sharpen knives and put
them up. Foreman was good to him. Worked in the woods as a second
loader.
177 Worked at St. Regis doing cement work. Got 50 cents an hour
for 9 hours. Used scaffolds when building.
222 LUMBER CAMPS: Fine. Had barracks. Cot to sleep on. Good
food.
247 TRIP TO SWEDEN: Stayed 3 months in 1928. Celebrated his
father's birthday.
294 DEPRESSION: Hard to get a job. Did some work laying steel
in logging camps, on the railroads. Good pay, hard work.
325 Stayed at boarding house, 24 boarders. Did dishes in the
evening and got a decrease in board. Regular $6.50 a week, Sven
paid $2.50.
370 Went to Oklahoma to look for work during the Depression.
More jobs back east than in the west.
398 Bohemians gave him a job as a carpenter. Got union wages.
$1.00 an hour. More work in Oklahoma because the government
was doing building - barracks, etc. Worked for Phillips Petroleum
in Oklahoma City, he did work in the oil fields.
509 Got a big job in Oklahoma City at the County City building
in 1936. $1.5 million job.
520 NRA - National Recovery Act provided work for many during
the Depression.
555 Sven worked on State building in Oklahoma and got a job
in College Station, Texas. Stayed here for 11 months. Worked
in Arkansas with Manhattan Construction Company. Got job in
Denver on airplane hanger. Worked in Corpus Christi, Texas on
$200 million job.
625 Met wife at Vasa Lodge in Denver, Colorado. She was also
Swedish. Wedding was small, 1940. Left for Texas after they
were married.
655 Moved back to Denver as a carpentry foreman. Had learned
carpentry from his Uncle in Sweden.
673 CHILDREN: Robert Sven is a commercial fisherman. Cynthia
is married to Bill Frost. Has 2 children. Lives in Cle Elum,
Washington.
699 Sven had orders to go in the army when he was in Denver.
Got job as a Master Sergeant. Bridge building construction for
Special Service Engineers, 1942. Hard day leaving for the service,
leaving the family behind.
730 ARMY: Training in Alexandria, Louisiana, then to California.
Went to New Zealand, Australia, India, and Iran. Stayed in Iran
for 2 years. They built roads for Russia; supplies were delivered
on these roads. Special assignment was given to go through Siberia
to China and deliver trucks. Russia would not let them go through.
Put a bridge up over the Rhine and Danube Rivers. Got out of
the service in 1945.
810 Did not do any fighting in the army, but was trained to
fight during his training. Received a Bronze Star Medal for
fast, good work on the bridges. Sven was in charge of the company
on the Danube. Inger reads the citation given to Sven during
the war.
872 Bought a share of Puget Sound Plywood. Wanted to move back
to the West coast. Brother Hans already had shares in Puget
Sound Plywood.
892 Sven built some houses in Tacoma. Worked at Plywood Company.
Did some contracting. Built his house.
934 Wife died of cancer. Remarried to Edith Carlson. Sven had
first met her when he came to the U.S. Met at Vasa Lodge.
957 SWEDISH ORGANIZATIONS: Belongs to Masons, Vasa, and Valhalla
Lodges. Has been President at Valhalla four different times.
The lodges look out for people, visit sick people in the lodge.
975 TRIPS BACK TO SWEDEN: 1956 - flew back by himself. 1964-
daughter was picked to go to Sweden by Vasa Lodge. The whole
family went with her for 6 weeks. 1977 - changes, biggest change
is that everything is bought, no gardens, no baking. More cars.
1024 Family house is still there. Brother lives there.
1030 SWEDISH TRADITIONS MAINTAINED HERE IN THE U.S.: Family
gets together in Tacoma every now and then.
1053 Sven still speaks Swedish, speaks a few words.
1073 Explains a bit in Swedish what it means to be a Swede.
Good example of the language.
1094 Story from the army, stationed on the Rhine River.
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