    
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
Erik Wilhelm Molund
A Guide to His Oral History Interview |
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Administrative
Information
Creator:
Molund, Erik Wilhelm
Collection Nr: t230-231
File Content:
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3 file folders
6 photographs
2 sound cassettes
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: Interview is difficult to follow
at times.
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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 Erik Molund on February 28, 1983
in Tacoma, Washington. This interview contains information on
personal background, emigration, employment, return trips to
Sweden, marriage, travel, adjustment, heritage, and church life.
Also available are photographs of Erik Molund's family home
in Sweden, Erik and two of his brothers, Erik and his wife Elsa
as a young couple, and Erik and Elsa at the time of the interview.
The interview was conducted in English with some Swedish throughout
the interview. Also see Elsa Molund.
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Erik
Wilhelm Molund was born on April 12, 1892 in Vedby, Sweden.
Erik's mother Hannah passed away right after he was born, and
his father Aron remarried the woman who raised Erik, Hilda Davidson.
The family lived on a small farm; Erik's father worked as a
tailor. Erik attended school during the winter from January
to June. He had one older brother named Eskil, two stepbrothers,
and two half-brothers. Eskil moved to America and encouraged
Erik to join him. Erik left Sweden in 1911 at the age of 17,
and he lived with Eskil in Texas working on their uncle's farm.
They both found extra work as janitors. Eskil stayed in Texas
for three to four years, but Erik stayed for only two. Then
Erik found a variety of jobs and traveled to many different
places like Kansas, North Dakota, Minnesota, and finally back
to Texas. In 1922, Erik went home to Sweden to marry Elsa Nilsson.
They both returned to America and lived in Iowa a short time
before moving to Tacoma, Washington. Erik worked in a shipyard
and then in construction; he was close to 70 when he retired.
Erik and Elsie took a trip to Sweden in 1957. They are active
in the Scandinavian Vasa Lodge and are involved in their church.
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Full Name: |
Erik Wilhelm Molund
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Father: |
Aron Molund
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Mother: |
Hannah Molund
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Step-Mother: |
Hilda Davidson
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Paternal Grandfather: |
Anders Andersson
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Brothers and Sisters: |
Eskil Molund
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Half-Brothers: |
Knut Molund
Gustav Molund
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Step-Brothers |
Erik Davidson
David Davidson
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Spouse: |
Elsa Anna Maria Nilsson
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Children: |
Elmer William Molund
Inga Marie Molund
Dorothy Bernice Molund
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This collection is indexed under the following headings
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Personal Names |
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Molund, Erik Wilhelm
Molund, Aron
Molund, Hannah
Andersson, Anders
Molund, Eskil
Molund, Elmer William
Molund, Inga Maria
Molund, Dorothy Bernice
Molund, Elsa Anna Maria
Davidsson, Hilda
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Family Names |
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Molund family
Nilsson family
Andersson family
Davidsson family
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Geographical Names |
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Vedby (Sweden)
Resmo, Öland (Sweden)
Tacoma (Wash.)
Carizio Springs (Tex.)
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Subjects |
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Family -- Sweden
Sweden -- Emigration and immigration
Ocean travel
Lusitania (Steamship)
Marriage service -- Sweden
School attendance -- Sweden
Sweden -- Social conditions -- 1945 -
Vasa Lodge (Tacoma, Wash.)
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Occupations |
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Farming -- Sweden
Farming -- Tex.
Janitors (Tex.)
Construction industry
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Genre/Form |
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Oral histories
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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.
TAPE 230
SIDE I
015 Erik Wilhelm Molund was born in Vedby, Förlösa, Kalmar Län,
Sweden on April 11, 1892 (Family tree indicates birth date of
April 12).
076 PARENTS: Aron and Hannah Molund. Mother passed away right
after Erik was born. Stepmother, Hilda Davidsson raised him.
Erik's parents were both from the Förlösa area.
120 GRANDPARENTS: Doesn't remember them. He was quite young
when they passed away. Paternal grandfather's name was Anders
Andersson.
154 FAMILY NAME: Erik's father didn't want the name Andersson
so he and his brothers took the name Molund. The name came from
the place where they were born. Molund means a place with lots
of trees.
208 FATHER'S OCCUPATION: He was a tailor. Had a little shop
where he sewed. Had a machine for sewing long seams. Did a lot
of sewing by hand. Sewed a lot of overcoats lined with sheepskin.
Worked day and night, didn't sleep much.
259 CHILDHOOD: Lived on a small farm. Had a cow, a pig or two,
some chickens. Father took care of the animals. Gave him a chance
to exercise. He did this in the evening. He'd have to turn on
the kerosene lamp in the evening when it got dark. All they
had for light was a big kerosene lamp hanging from the ceiling.
Father would have to carry wood to the house in the evening
too. Step-mother was a seamstress. Sewed women's clothing. She
would have the children take out the basting stitches when she
was finished with a piece of clothing.
331 BROTHERS AND SISTERS: Older brother, Eskil. Two step-brothers.
His step-mother had two boys before she married Erik's father.
She and Erik's father had two children together. One of these
died of the measles when he was 7 years old. Step-mother's boys
were names Erik and David. Erik's half-brothers names were Knute
and Gusta. Gusta is the one who died of the measles.
Eskil came to America. He was living in Iowa when Erik came
to America. He worked at the Guggenheim (?) copper mine on Latouche
Island in Alaska. Erik tells about Eskil's marriage and the
death of Eskil's wife and child. Wife died of appendicitis while
pregnant. Eskil stayed in Tacoma for a couple of years after
that. Then he went back to Alaska. Was in Juneau. Went to the
dentist. Found out he had gangrene in his mouth. Died in three
days.
529 CHILDHOOD: (See also I-259) Went to school. Always had to
go to the store to get thread and other sewing supplies. Had
to walk one Swedish mile (10 kilometers). A long ways to walk
with a big bag of groceries. Got dark early in the winter. Sometimes
had to walk in snow. Would get home about 8pm.
589 WORK: Got a job watching cows when 11 years old. There were
three families with one cow each. They ran loose in the summer.
He stayed with the people he worked for. Did this for three
summers.
614 SCHOOL: Stayed at home and went to school in the winter.
School started in January and ended in June. Coldest time of
the year. Made the kids walk in the snow. Kids didn't have very
good shoes. People were poor. His parents made enough money
to feed to family.
646 CHRISTMAS: Got mostly homemade presents. Couldn't afford
to buy much. Got stockings, gloves, and scarves. Would usually
butcher a pig for Christmas. Would have "dopp I grytan." Cooked
the head of the hog. Dipped rye bread in the juice. Did this
on Christmas Eve. Had rice and lutfisk for Christmas. Sometimes
had "dopp is grytan" for New Years Eve too.
710 WORK: (See also I-589) Got too big for watching cows when
he became 13. Got another job on a farm. That was the year before
he got confirmed. Made his own living driving horses and plowing.
They gave him a couple hours off once or twice a week so he
could go to the classes at the pastor's. Had to start taking
care of himself at an early age because there wasn't room for
everybody at home. The young ones were getting bigger. The house
had two rooms and a kitchen. The kids slept in the shop. On
the farm, had to get up at 4am to feed the horses. Had to be
out in the fields by 7am. Got dark at 3pm in the winter.
810 IMMIGRATION TO AMERICA: Eskil went to America when he was
18 years old. He went to an uncle's place just outside of Austin,
Texas. After he'd been in the U.S. for a year, he sent a ticket
to Erik. Erik left home in 1911, at the age of 17. It was exciting
to come. Sweden didn't have the fruit stores with bananas and
fruit from California and Florida like the U.S. did. Had to
have $25 to go through Ellis Island. Had to have a physical
examination. Things weren't very good in Sweden so father understood
why he left.
876 TRIP TO AMERICA: Left home on New Years Day 1911. Took the
train to Göteborg (Gothenburg). Traveled by boat across the
North Sea to Liverpool, England. Took three days. Passengers
slept on deck on the floor. Took Cunnard Line's "Lusitania"
from England to New York. Was traveling alone, but met many
Norwegians and Swedes on the boat. Many Europeans on the boat.
Had to stay one night in England. "Lusitania" was too big to
come in at low tide. Smaller boats took them out to the ship.
2000 people on the ship.
955 ARRIVAL TO NEW YORK: Had to get vaccinated first day, even
thought he had already been vaccinated. Was going to Texas.
Made arrangements to travel by ship to Savannah, Georgia. Took
a train from there to Texas.
976 TRIP ACROSS THE ATLANTIC: Took about six days to cross the
ocean. Service and dining on the "Lusitania" wasn't like it
was in later years. The dining room was similar to those in
logging camps. Long tables and tin plates. Tables had holes
to hold the plates in place. Late, the dining room was operated
in the same manner as a restaurant.
1008 FIRST IMPRESSION OF NEW YORK: Saw the Statute of Liberty
first. Had to go through Ellis Island where they gave you a
"hej på dej" and let you in or sent you home. Many were sent
home.
1030 TEXAS: Went to his uncle's in Carrizo Springs. Didn't have
problems on the train. Knew the name of different foods in English.
Brother was to meet him at the train station. Some confusion
here. Brother and man he worked for went to San Antonio to meet
the train there. Erik missed them. Got a ticket that would take
him to Carrizo Springs. Got to the town where his uncle lived
in the evening. People welcomed him. They played the fiddle
and sang. He saw cowboys, Mexicans, and Negroes. A man with
a mule brought him to his uncle's place, 3 or 4 miles out of
town. Got there at 11pm. Everybody was asleep. (Tape ends abruptly).
TAPE 230
SIDE II
033 Uncle gave him a dipper of water on the front porch. Showed
him his bed, Erik slept in late the next morning. His brother
still hadn't returned from San Antonio.
088 UNCLE'S FARM: Uncle, Alfred Molund had a cotton farm 16
miles south of Austin, Texas. Erik's father had three brothers,
Olav, the eldest, was a tailor in Sweden. One came to America.
The other went to Stockholm and opened a brewery. They would
sell beer on the streets in those days. Erik and Eskil worked
in the cotton fields during Erik's first spring in the U.S.
They plowed fields. Used 2-6 mules. It got hot in Texas, but
he got used to it. Blood get thinner because of the climate.
Lost weight because he sweated so much when he was working.
244 LEARNING ENGLISH: Learned English while in Texas. Learned
some Spanish as well because he worked with so many Mexicans.
Mexicans worked hard but they got mad quick.
264 FARMING: In 1914 went to O'lidea (?) on the Gulf of Mexico.
Rented 100 acres. Had four mules. Normally cotton was sold at
16-20 cents per pound. In 1914, it was sold for 3-4 cents per
pound. Had to pay the pickers. The black pickers were good workers.
They could pick a bale a day. A bale of lint and seed weighed
about 1500 pounds. They earned about 60 cents per 100 pounds.
Erik couldn't make a profit on the farm. Had to get a janitor
job in Ft. Worth ($ 30 a month plus room and board) to pay off
his debts. Did this in six months. He had rented the land. For
every four bales, Erik only got one.
426 FT. WORTH, TEXAS: Brother, Eskil worked as a janitor for
an attorney in Ft. Worth. Erik got a job there too. The attorney
had a cow, a horse, and some sheep. Had a big apartment house.
Erik could make $20-25 per month extra by cleaning tenants apartments.
Also cut grass and did yard work at the Lutheran church in Ft.
Worth. Eskil stayed there for 3-4 years. Erik stayed only for
two years.
517 MOVE TO THE NORTH: Was still single. Had paid his debts.
Decided to move north towards Wisconsin with the harvest. Took
a train from Texas to Kansas. Went to a Swedish church in (?),
Kansas, near Kansas City. He met a Swedish farmer at the church.
Got a job stacking wheat. Erik was comfortable with this work.
Had done the same work at home. Earned $5 per day. The farmer
wanted Erik to stay for the winter.
622 Erik wanted to move along north with the harvest. Went to
North Dakota. Stayed for a couple of months. Worked for a farmer
who had a thresher and moved from farm to farm. When it started
to get cold in North Dakota, Erik went to Minnesota to dig potatoes.
Got a job but didn't say for more than a few days. Didn't like
the work. Went to Minneapolis/St. Paul with a friend. Got a
job in the woods in Wisconsin through a firm in St. Paul. Stayed
for the winter.
687 Moved back to Texas. Brother was still there. Got a job.
Stayed for a year. Erik and his brother went to Iowa. Got jobs
digging tunnels for irrigation pipes. Engineers mapped out where
the tunnels would go. Iowa has many lakes like Minnesota. They
dug tunnels towards the water. Tunnels were so big that one
could walk in them. About 12 guys would work together. They
slept in tents. Took over a year for them to finish this contract.
Made pretty good money.
766 TRIP TO SWEDEN: Went home to get married in 1922. Erik and
Eskil had 1918 and 1920 Fords. Erik wanted to take his car to
Sweden but he would have had to take it apart to ship it there.
Talks about driving in the countryside in Iowa after they came
back from Sweden.
848 MARRIAGE: Came home to Sweden on December 15. Called Elsa
in Stockholm. Erik's parents were still living. Stayed with
them over Christmas. Erik picked Elsa up in Stockholm after
Christmas. Stayed in Stockholm for a month. They got married
on April 22. Had to see the Swedish consulate before he could
get married because he'd been out the country for so long. They
asked if he'd been married before.
976 MOVE BACK TO THE U.S.: Went back to Iowa. They had friends
they wanted to see on the West Coast. Drove to Minneapolis.
Erik sold his car there. Came to the West Coast by train that
fall. (For more details see Elsa Molund's interview t229).
1004 TACOMA, WASHINGTON: Worked in Todd Shipyard. When the shipyard
closed he got a job doing construction work. First job was building
the Veteran's Hospital on American Lake. Worked on many schools
in the Tacoma area. 1930, joined the Cement (?) Union. Union
pays for medicine he needs and 20 percent of his doctor's bills.
Erik was close to 70 when he retired.
1123 TRIPS TO SWEDEN: (See also II-766) Erik and his wife went
to Sweden in 1957. Many changes. A lot more cars. People drive
everywhere. Roads have been straightened and paved. They stayed
in Sweden for three months.
TAPE 231
SIDE I
007 IWW: Erik tells about the IWW's who traveled in boxcars
on freight trains. They traveled mostly in the grain producing
states. Erik traveled this way when he followed the harvest
from Kansas City to North Dakota. (See also Tape 230 II-517
and II-622) The IWW's were like a union. They would throw those
who weren't members off of the train. All members had red membership
cards. One could join in Omaha, Nebraska.
091 CHURCH: Erik belonged to a church in Ft. Worth. Has always
belonged to a church. Had held offices. Was deacon. Has taken
the collection for 10-12 years. Was instrumental in helping
the church get its debt paid off.
154 SWEDISH ORGANIZATIONS: Belongs to Vasa Lodge. He has never
held an office but his wife has.
175 SPEAKS SWEDISH.
239 ARCHIVES: Talks about the archives in the big cathedrals
like in Uppsala, Sweden.
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