    
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 Linnea Beck Lundbeck
A Guide to Her Oral History Interview |
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Administrative
Information
Creator:
Lundbeck, Anna Linnea Beck
Collection Nr: t139
File Content:
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3 file folders
4 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 Anna Linnea Lundbeck on February
5, 1982 in Tacoma, Washington. This interview contains information
on personal background, employment, emigration, church and community
life, family, travel, and Swedish heritage. It also provides
photographs of Linnea's home in Sweden, Linnea as a young woman,
and Linnea and her husband Emil at the time of the interview.
The interview was conducted in English. Also see Emil Lundbeck
(SPEC T138).
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Anna
Linnea Beck Lundbeck, known as Linnea, was born on May 27, 1899
in Siknäs, Kalix, Sweden. The Beck family, which included eight
children, lived on a small farm provided for them since Linnea's
father, Johan Beck, was a soldier. Sadly, Johan died at an early
age after falling off a barge. The children worked a great deal
to support the family. Linnea attended school for six years
and then was confirmed. Her family celebrated Christmas in a
traditional way, but they did not attend church as is customary
because their farm was too far away. Linnea worked as a housekeeper
for a while before she moved to America. Her brothers encouraged
her to come, so she moved when she was 28 years old. Linnea
took a ship called the Gripsholm and then took a train to Tacoma
to meet one of her brothers. Soon Linnea found several jobs
as a housekeeper. In Tacoma she met her future husband, Emil
Lundbeck. They lived in Seattle for a brief period of time and
then returned to Tacoma; Linnea and Emil had one son named Floyd.
Shortly thereafter, Linnea attained her United States citizenship.
She has returned to Sweden once, and while Linnea enjoys living
in America, she maintains several Swedish customs. For instance,
she still speaks the language and prepares traditional Swedish
food, especially during the Christmas season. Linnea also treasures
some of the Swedish keepsakes that she has brought over from
Sweden.
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Full Name: |
Anna Linnea Lundbeck
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Maiden Name: |
Anna Linnea Beck
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Father: |
Johan Peter Johanson Beck
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Mother: |
Maria Emelia Rönnkvist
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Paternal Grandfather: |
Johan Peter Johanson
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Paternal Grandmother: |
Margareta Josefsdotter
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Maternal Grandfather: |
Gustav Erik Anderson Rönnkvist
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Maternal Grandmother: |
Anna Erika Rokström
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Brothers and Sisters: |
Elin Josefina Åström
Jenny Margreta Eriksson
Johan Edgard Beck
Petrus Beck
Arvid Heikel
Ester Maria Jacobsson
Astrid Johansson
Petrus Beck
Johan Beck.
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Spouse: |
Emil Lundbeck
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Children: |
Floyd Lundbeck
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This collection is indexed under the following headings
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Personal Names |
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Lundbeck, Anna Linnea
Beck, Anna Linnea
Beck, Johan Peter Johanson
Rönnkvist, Maria Emelia
Johansson, Johan Peter
Josefsdotter, Margreta
Andersson, Gustav Erik
Rokström, Anna Erika
Lundbeck, Emil
Lundbeck, Floyd
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Family Names |
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Lundbeck family
Beck family
Rönnkvist family
Johansson Family
Rokström Family
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Geographical Names |
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Siknäs, Kalix (Sweden)
Tacoma (Wash.)
Seattle (Wash.)
Liknäs (Sweden)
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Subjects |
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Community life
Emigration and immigration -- Sweden
Andreas (Steamship)
Stockholm (Steamship)
Christmas -- Sweden
North Pacific Plywood Company (Tacoma, Wash.)
Gripsholm (Steamship)
Valhalla Lodge (Tacoma, Wash.)
Scandinavian Fraternity (Tacoma Wash.)
Ocean travel
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Occupations |
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Farming -- Sweden
Domestics
Boardinghouses
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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 Anna Linnea Lundbeck. Maiden name was Beck. Father's name
Johanson but he took Beck when he was a soldier because it was
shorter. Born in Siknäs, Kalix, Sweden. This is in the northern
part of Sweden.
024 PARENTS: Johan Peter Johanson Beck & Maria Emelia Rönnkvist.
Father was a soldier so had to serve time in the army. He also
worked in a sawmill. Father drowned when he fell off a barge
while working. He was young when he died, little over 40.
054 Lived on a little farm, had 2 cows. This land was given
to him because he was a soldier. There were other soldiers living
close to them: Vaas, Beck, Stor, and Sik, who were all farmers.
Farmers provided land for soldiers. Linnea's father eventually
bought his land from the farmer.
078 BROTHERS & SISTERS: 8 children, 2 died when they were
small. 2 oldest sisters were working when their dad died, oldest
brother was getting confirmed.
084 Mother raised the children alone after he husbands death.
Having the farm helped. Had milk, picked berries in the fall.
Mother worked loading boats and baked bread for people. The
children helped out.
100 Linnea's brother worked at a sawmill a long ways away. In
winter he skied to work. In summer he walked and rowed to work.
105 Linnea and her mother worked on the boat. Loaded lumber.
Cut grass in the summer time on the farm. Carried wood home
for a fire.
126 BROTHERS & SISTERS: Elin and Jenny, 2 oldest sisters,
worked and supported themselves, did housework. They both stayed
in Sweden. Arvid worked in the sawmill. He lived in Tacoma.
All the children learned to work hard. It was a struggle but
they got by. Did not learn a trade. Ester did housework. She
had problems with her lungs and lived in a sanatorium for awhile.
Astrid lives in Sweden. Did housework.
168 GRANDPARENTS: Remembers paternal grandmother, Margareta
Josefsdotter. She lived in a little shack in Siknäs. She had
some tough times.
192 Linnea's grandmother was from Töre, which is close to Siknäs.
Her parents died when she was young. Her father worked in a
sawmill.
205 CHILDHOOD HOME: Remembers a big kitchen. Had a baking oven.
Mother put in an ordinary stove when her husband died. She then
went to the neighbors to bake bread. Took out the baking stove
because the new stove was more modern. Old ovens were dirty
and left dust all over.
228 Had a bedroom where the children slept in bunkbeds. Everyone
had a bed because someone was always away working.
244 Describes when her mother rowed with a casket to Kalix where
her children were buried because Töre did not have a graveyard
or church. Father was in the service and did not come home when
his children died.
250 CHURCH: Did not get to church much. There were homes that
a pastor came to preach to once and awhile. Went to church in
Töre when it was built. It was one Swedish mile away. Father
read from the Bible at home, had to sit still. Went to Sunday
school.
271 SCHOOL: Many families had 10-13 kids. Lots of kids in school.
Had three schools with about 40 kids in each school. Went to
school for six years and then had confirmation.
296 CHRISTMAS: Cooked and baked extra food. Bought little presents
for each other. Sent home presents when they began working.
310 Always had a tree. Did lots of cleaning. "Everything was
spic and span." Made decorations for the tree. Had candles on
the tree.
332 SPECIAL CHRISTMAS: Had rice mush and lutfisk for Christmas
Eve. Baked rye bread. Made sausage from the inside of the butchered
cows.
365 Did not go to church Christmas Day because it was too far
to travel in the winter. Sometimes went to meetings in homes
or in the schoolhouse.
386 Were told stories of trolls. Mentions the bäckebrus (?).
Did not really believe these stories but did read troll stories.
400 Linnea did housework in Sweden after school in the area
around Liknäs. Lived with the people she worked for. Worked
a few years before coming to America.
429 Linnea's brothers John and Arvid were in the U.S., John
told her "you can come and work whatever you are, you can dress
better here than in Sweden." Her younger brother sent her money
for the fare. Linnea's mother died right before she came to
the U.S.
445 Linnea decided to come to the U.S. when she was 28. "Wanted
to get out and see the world."
453 TRIP OVER: March 1928. Sailed from Göteborg. Boat was called
Gripsholm. A nice boat with lots of people. Many were sick.
Linnea was sick one day. Dancing, games for entertainment. She
knew one fellow on the boat from a place where she had worked.
492 Landed in New York. Had a physical in Stockholm before she
left. Her sister Jenny saw her off in Sweden. Did not bother
her leaving Sweden.
515 FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF NEW YORK: "It was big, people were
made up and we had fun at how they put lipstick on." Had one
day to watch people before they left New York on the train.
Saw black people. Had seen a few in Sweden. "Didn't make much
difference to me."
540 Did not speak English. Got by on the train. People helped
her. Ordered steak but it was so rare that they could not eat
it. One fellow on the train was studying some English so that
he could order some food.
585 Had a good time on the train. Cooks had a good time too.
A whole bunch came out to the west coast. She was the only one
coming to Tacoma. Met by her brother and sister-in-law. Also
friends from the old country Sven Swanson (?) met her. She stayed
with them for awhile.
627 Went to National with her brother and sister-in-law for
2-3 weeks. Got a job in an old boarding house in Tacoma. Was
not good pay, but it helped her learn the language. Mrs. Green
got her this job. Paid $35 a month. She did not always get her
money because Mrs. Green did not have it.
673 Went to LaGasa. He was a doctor in Tacoma. Did housework
and cooking for them. Learned some new ways to cook, no trouble
learning this.
SIDE II
009 Never had to wear any special uniform when working. Working
conditions were good. Did not like the doctor's. She describes
this.
040 Went to two other places and worked here.
045 SCANDINAVIAN LODGES: Played cards, had dances and parties.
Had a good time. Met friends at places like Valhalla. Lots of
Swedes in the area.
062 MOST EXCITING THING ABOUT COMING TO AMERICA: "nothing special,
nice to work, buy your own clothes, things like that."
064 Never belonged to many lodges or anything because she did
not want to have to work extra. Linnea belonged to a Scandinavian
fraternity in Tacoma. She thought the Swedes were cranky at
parties and such. When she moved she never joined another lodge.
078 Has never belonged to a particular church.
081 Met her husband in Tacoma after she came to Tacoma. He was
staying at her friends, the Swanson's, house.
092 Moved to Seattle. She wanted something different. Was angry
about a black woman coming to work where she was.
104 Times were bad so it was hard to make much money. Did housework
in Seattle. Went to San Francisco for a year and worked with
a friend. Came back to Tacoma because her fiancee was there.
127 Lived in Seattle after they were married. Emil was in longshoring.
Lived there until they bought into the Plywood Co. in Tacoma
and then they moved to Tacoma. Son born in Seattle at Swedish
Hospital.
143 TRIPS BACK TO SWEDEN: Took boat to Sweden the first time.
Had to fly home because of a boating accident on the Atlantic.
152 BOATING ACCIDENT: The "Andreas," an Italian boat, sank after
it collided with the "Stockholm." The "Stockholm" was being
repaired so they flew home through Iceland and Canada. This
was in 1956.
166 CHANGES IN SWEDEN: Lots of change in living. Have fancy
beds and bedrooms. More modern. People more pleasant. Have changed
for the better.
177 People used to think they were so big if they were a farmer's
daughter, etc. People are more equal now.
183 Landscape has changed a great deal. Farms are overgrown
with vegetation. In 1972, took a car from Stockholm and drove
up north. Stayed at Emil's home place for awhile. Linnea's sister
came to the U.S. and visited for 8 months.
209 CITIZENSHIP: Received this after Floyd was born. Did not
have any difficulty, went to school a few times.
218 SWEDISH CUSTOMS MAINTAINED: Language, some cooking. Make
special food for Christmas Eve, korsilta (?), pressylta, potato
sausage. Still have lutefisk for Christmas Eve. Make rye bread,
pickled fish, hardtack, and bake cookies.
256 Speaks in Swedish.
265 Used to do lots of handiwork. Does not do much now. Mother
processed wool and weaved in Sweden.
280 Had brought some keepsakes over from Sweden. Pillows, towels,
linen. Mentions some of the things she has.
322 Floyd spoke only Swedish when he entered school. Learned
English quickly when he went to school.
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