    
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
Astrid Maria Rehn Lovestrand
A Guide to Her Oral History Interview |
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Administrative
Information
Creator:
Lovestrand, Astrid Maria Rehn
Collection Nr: t254
File Content:
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3 file folders
1 photograph
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 Janet Rasmussen
Transcribed by 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 Astrid Lovestrand on June 17, 1982
in Yakima, Washington. This interview contains information on
personal background, immigration, employment, Swedish community,
marriage and family, trips to Sweden, and Swedish heritage.
Also available is a black and white photograph of Astrid Lovestrand
at the time of the interview. The interview was conducted in
English.
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Astrid
Maria (Rehn) Lovestrand was born in Dömle, Deje, Värmland, Sweden
on April 4, 1906. Her father was the farm foreman on a large
estate where he and the rest of the Rehn family resided. Astrid's
mother Maria died when she was young and her father remarried
the cook on the estate. His new marriage gave Astrid one stepbrother
and four stepsisters in addition to her one full brother and
two full sisters. After attending school and being confirmed,
Astrid moved away from home to work at the age of 14. She found
employment as a housekeeper, but Astrid wanted to seek better
work in America. Many of Astrid's relatives lived in America
and encouraged her to come. After Astrid's father died, her
aunt, who lived in Yakima, Washington persuaded her to move
there. Astrid was a bit frightened because she did not know
her relatives well; nevertheless, in 1930, she decided to leave
Sweden for America. With the assistance of her family and of
women from the YWCA, Astrid immediately found work as a housekeeper
in Yakima. The family she worked for helped her learn English,
and Astrid had a pretty good handle on the language after only
three months. There was a large Swedish community in Yakima
founded by two Swedes who made a great deal of money from gold
in Alaska. Astrid's husband was the first resident of the Swedish
community. Astrid met her husband, Emil Lovestrand, at the Covenant
church they attended. He was fifteen years her senior and a
well-established farmer; they married in 1931. Astrid and Emil
had eight children-six girls and two boys. They all worked hard
on their orchard raising cherries, pears, peaches, apricots,
and apples. About 1949, Astrid went to school for training as
a practical nurse; she has worked as one since then. Emil passed
away in 1967, and Astrid sold their farm to their oldest son.
Astrid has traveled back to Sweden four times-in 1954, 1969,
1973, and 1979. She has not participated in any Swedish organizations,
but she taught Swedish at a local high school for people in
the community in 1980. There is still a fairly large group of
Swedish residents in her area.
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Full Name: |
Astrid Maria Lovestrand
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Maiden Name: |
Astrid Maria Rehn
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Father |
Alfred Johan Rehn
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Mother: |
Maria Elisabeth Carlsson (Barud)
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Paternal Grandfather: |
Alfred Rehn
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Paternal Grandmother: |
Maria Rehn
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Maternal Grandfather: |
Karl Carlson (Barud)
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Maternal Grandmother: |
Sara Carlson (Barud)
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Brothers and Sisters: |
Ruth Eklund
Elsa Broström
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Half-Sisters: |
Elsa Gustavson
Gunhild Larson
Maerta Rehn
Majken Johnson
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Step-Brother |
John Rehn
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Spouse: |
Emil Lovestrand
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Children: |
Barbara Neis
Phylles Tilton
Rita Vierleng
Bernard Lovestrand
Elsa Smith
Sharon Vance
Roland Lovestrand
Becky Thomas
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This collection is indexed under the following headings
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Personal Names |
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Lovestrand, Astrid Maria
Rehn, Astrid Maria
Rehn, Alfred Johan
Carlson (Barud), Maria Elisabeth
Rehn, Alfred
Rehn, Maria
Carlsson (Barud), Karl
Carlsson (Barud), Sara
Lovestrand, Emil
Neis, Barbara
Tilton, Phylles
Vierleng, Rita
Lovestrand, Bernard
Smith, Elsa
Vance, Sharon
Lovestrand, Roland
Thomas, Becky
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Family Names |
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Lovestrand family
Rehn family
Carlsson family
Barud family
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Geographical Names |
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Dömle, Deje, Värmland (Sweden)
Karlstad (Sweden)
Yakima (Wash.)
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Subjects |
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Emigration and immigration -- Sweden
Wiley City&Wiley Heights (Yakima, Wash.)
Sweden -- Social conditions -- 1945-
Family -- Sweden
Swede Hill (Yakima, Wash.)
Railway travel
Naturalization
Farming -- Sweden
Farming -- Yakima (Wash.)
Confirmation -- Sweden
Covenant Church (Yakima, Wash.)
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Occupations |
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Farming
Nurses
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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.
038 Astrid Maria Rehn Lovestrand. Her father took the name Rehn
when he became a "knack" or knight. Her maternal grandfather
chose his name in the same way. He changed it from Carlson to
Barud. He changed it back to Carlson when he and his family
went to America in 1907. They came with seven children. Had
twelve children all together. Kristine, the eldest daughter
came before the rest of the family. Her uncle in Minnesota sent
her the ticket. She sent for her sister, Sophie. Astrid's Aunt
Sophie, who lived in Yakima, Washington, sent Astrid a ticket
to come to America.
158 PARENTS: Astrid's mother Maria Carlson (Barud) had met Astrid's
father when her parents were going to leave for America so she
didn't want to go with them. She got married a year later. Astrid's
mother had an older brother who stayed in Sweden because he
was already married when the family emigrated from Sweden.
179 MATERNAL GRANDPARENTS: Settled first in either St. Paul,
Minnesota or Omaha, Nebraska after coming to the U.S. Astrid's
aunt and uncle, Sophie and Nels Nyström moved to Yakima, Washington
because they'd heard so much advertising about the land. Astrid's
grandparents and uncles, Axel and August Carlsson moved with
Sophie and Nels. Astrid's grandparents came from Norssocken,
Värmland in Sweden. Her grandfather ran the ferry across the
river, Norsälven.
249 CHILDHOOD: Astrid was born in Dömle, Deje, Värmland. Her
father was a rättare (farm foreman) on the big estate, Dömle
herrgård. The main building at Dömle herrgård is now donated
to the retired Swedish Lutheran ministers. Now it's called a
"stiftgård." They've built a church there as well. Astrid grew
up on this estate. The owner lived in the manor house. There
were two buildings on each side of the manor house. The "rättare"
lived in one of these buildings and the "förvaltare" (manager)
lived on the other.
312 PARENTS: Alfred Johan Rehn and Maria Elizabeth. (See also
I-158)
318 CHILDHOOD: (See also I-249) Born April 4, 1906. Born and
raised in Dömle, Deje. Went to school there and was confirmed
in the Lutheran church in Deje. The nearest big town was Karlstad.
333 BROTHERS AND SISTERS: One real brother and one step-brother.
Six sisters, two real sisters and four step-sisters. Eldest
sister, Ruth Eklund lives in Lindfors, Sweden. Her other sister,
Elsa Broström was adopted by the owners of the estate because
their mother died during childbirth. Her brother, Gustav was
born two years before Elsa. Astrid's father married the cook
at the estate sometime after their mother's death. They had
four daughters, Elsa, Gunhild, Märta, and Majken. All of Astrid's
brothers and sisters are living except for Märta. They are all
living in Sweden.
387 CHILDHOOD: (See also I-249 and I-318) People were poor during
Astrid's childhood, but they always had something to eat. Her
step-mother was good to them. Sewed clothes for them. She had
a happy childhood. They had to wear wooden shoes.
406 PATERNAL GRANDPARENTS: Remembers her grandmother. They lived
in Västergötland. Her grandfather was a "rättare" on a large
estate like her father was.
415 CHILDHOOD: (See also I-249, I-318, and I-387) Her father
got his job in Dömle by going to agriculture school. He stayed
on this job for a few years after Astrid's mother died. Later
he got a job on a bigger estate, Mölnbacka. They stayed there
until her father passed away in November 1920.
434 WORK: Astrid moved away from home when she was fourteen.
She'd been confirmed. She worked for some people her father
had gone to agriculture school with.
WORK: After working for these people, she started doing housework.
She lived in the homes where she worked. Got paid 20 crowns
a month. Didn't earn much.
466 REASONS FOR LEAVING SWEDEN: After her father died, her uncle
(maternal) in Sweden wrote to Astrid's aunt in Yakima, Washington.
Astrid's oldest sister Ruth was going to go first but then she
got married. Astrid wrote to her aunt then. It was a big decision
for Astrid to make because she didn't know any of her relatives
in America. When she was 23 years old, she decided times weren't
too good in Sweden. It was 1930 and the Depression had started.
When she came to America, the Depression was just as bad here.
503 TRIP TO AMERICA: Left home on a cold winter morning in 1930.
Took the train from Deje to Värmland to Göteborg (Gothenburg).
Took 22 days to cross the ocean. Astrid got seasick. Maybe wouldn't
have if the boat hadn't had to stop in the middle of the ocean
to wait for an iceberg to pass.
533 ARRIVAL IN NEW YORK: A lady from the YWCA met them. She
could speak Swedish. There were a lot of immigrants running
around.
545 TRAIN TRIP: The lady from the YWCA put them on the train
to Chicago. When they got to Chicago, they changed trains to
go to St. Paul, Minnesota. When Astrid got off the train in
St. Paul, a man was calling her name in the depot "Fröken Rehn!"
He took hold of her and she ran. She told a lady from St. Paul's
YWCA about the man. The lady told her not to be afraid because
she knew her name. The man turned out to be her great uncle
(her mother's uncle). His name was Ström. He was a free missionary
in Sweden. He was the one who sent a ticket for Astrid's Aunt
Kristine to come to America. Astrid's aunt in St. Paul invited
her for dinner. Astrid had a two and a half hour stop over in
St. Paul. The group of people Astrid had been traveling with
from New York separated in Chicago. Astrid was with the ones
who were going west. Ladies from the YWCA met them in New York,
Chicago, St. Paul, and Yakima. They all spoke Swedish.
618 ARRIVAL IN YAKIMA, WASHINGTON: Aunt and uncle met her as
well as the lady from the YWCA. The lady from the YWCA helped
her get her first job. Astrid was told that she could call this
lady and tell her that she was looking for housework.
650 WORK: First job was for a banker, Mr. Fletcher. This job
was temporary while their housekeeper was on vacation. Her next
job was with Mr. and Mrs. Davis in Yakima. He was the superintendent
of schools. She worked for them until she got married.
666 FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF YAKIMA: Loved it from the first. It
was spring when she arrived. Frogs were in the ponds. She'd
never heard frogs make so much noise before. Although she hadn't
met her relatives before, she felt as if she'd known them all
of her life.
680 MEETING SPOUSE: Started going to the Covenant church. Met
her husband-to-be there.
690 WORK: (See also I-650) Earned about $45 a month. Lived with
the people she worked for.
696 LEARNING ENGLISH: Learned it from the people she worked
for. Decided she would have to get away from the "Swedish colony"
if she was going to learn English. Learned a lot from the three
children of the people she worked for. Wasn't as self-conscious
about making mistakes in front of the children. They would correct
her mistakes.
712 WORK: (See also I-650 and I-690) Cooking was a part of her
responsibilities as a housekeeper. Cooking was difficult because
she wasn't used to American food. Hadn't seen squash, pumpkin
before. Steak in America different than in Sweden. Didn't understand
how to fix it. Hadn't seen a lot of different vegetables before.
Had to learn to read recipes. Learned English in about three
months. Learn quickly if you really put your heart into it.
She was really self-conscious about speaking English with other
Swedish people around her.
758 THE SWEDISH COMMUNITY: Her aunt and uncle's farm was located
about fifteen and a half miles out of Yakima. The community
there was started by two Swedes, Fridjolf Nilson and Nathaniel
Gottberg (?), who'd made quite a lot of money in Alaska from
gold. They heard about the land in the Yakima area. Dams such
as Rimrock nd Bumping Lake were being built and supplying water
to the area. These two men advertised the land in the Covenant
churches and the Lutheran churches in the Midwest. That is how
the Swedes ended up in this area. They divided the land up into
15-20 acre lots. They planted orchards. Her husband was the
first one in the area.
802 SPOUSE: Emil Lovestrand. A farmer boy from Minnesota who
came to Washington with his aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. August
Lovestrand. They had three children, Olga, Emma, and Fritz.
Olga still lives on the farm. Astrid met her husband through
her uncle who was married to Emma. Emil came to the area in
1910. There was nothing but sagebrush on "Swede Hill." 20-30
families ended up settling in the area.
850 CHURCH: Emil was Lutheran. There was a small group of Lutheran
there before the Covenants came. There were four or five Lutheran
families there. They bought land and built a church. This was
later sold to the Covenants. This church was there for many
years. New one is 10-15 years old. Services were sometimes in
Swedish. Preachers traveling through would deliver the Swedish
sermons. Nathaniel Gottberg (?) was a missionary and he would
sometimes give Swedish sermons. By the time Astrid came in 1930,
the church had been turned over the an English speaking minister.
895 SWEDISH COLONY'S ACTIVITIES: Had a smörgåsbord once a year.
Still keep up the Swedish traditions. They're letting the younger
people take over now. Astrid's daughters have been helping out.
Have the smörgåsbord every other year now.
907 STORES IN THE AREA RUN BY SWEDES: Was one in Wiley City,
Washington. Owned by a man named Rakström (?). He wasn't from
Sweden but his wife was.
924 MATERNAL GRANDPARENTS: (See also I-038 and I-179) Never
learned English. They passed away before Astrid came to America.
942 SPOUSE: (See also I-802) Emil had been in the area for 20
years when Astrid came in 1930. He was well established. Had
his farm. His oldest trees were 12 years old and bearing fruit.
He was living in a house with a bedroom, a kitchen, and one
more room. He built another house when they decided to get married.
He was 15 years older than her. Got married in 1931.
961 CHILDREN: First daughter was born in the fall of 1931, Barbara,
Phyllis, Rita, Bernard, Elsa, Sharon, Roland, and Becky. Six
girls and two boys. Gave her children American names because
she thought it would be embarrassing for them if people couldn't
pronounce their names.
Her husband spoke Swedish, but he made her promise that she
wouldn't teach her children Swedish. When Emil started school
all he could speak was Swedish and the other children laughed
at him. He didn't want his children to go through that. Now
the children wish they could speak Swedish.
993 TRIPS TO SWEDEN: Took Phyllis and Becky to Sweden in 1954.
Went by boat. Had to stay for three months before she could
get back to the U.S. She missed her family. After 24 years,
Sweden seemed backwards. They stayed with her sister. Didn't
have an indoor bathroom. Had to carry water in and out. Husband
passed away in 1967. Astrid went to Sweden in 1969, 1973, and
1979. Went to Germany too because Becky was married and her
husband was in the service there. 1973 went to Sweden with friends.
1979 went with three daughters, Barbara, Rita, and Elsa. They
met Astrid's sisters and brothers. Things had changed in Sweden
a great deal. Sweden is making more progress than other countries.
1052 ORCHARD: Mixed fruit orchard. Had Bing cherries, Royal
Anne cherries, pears, peaches, apricots, and apples. Three kinds
of apples. Had twelve and a half acres. Used horses on the farm
for years. Eventually earned enough money to buy a tractor.
Hard times.
1077 RAISING FAMILY: Raised her children during the Depression.
Got easier after WWII. Had to sew the children's clothes. All
of her kids went to high school. First four or five had to walk
three miles to school. Got a bus later.
SIDE II
058 "EARNING MY OWN WAY": Wanted to make enough money to pay
her aunt for her ticket to come here. She was working to pay
room and board. Wasn't making money fast enough. After a year,
she met Emil. He offered to pay off her debt. After they were
married, he liked to say that he had an imported wife. Her ticket
cost $150. That was a lot of money then. She earned $45 a month.
115 WEDDING: Worked for Mr. and Mrs. J.C. Davis. Mrs. Davis
offered to buy the cloth for Astrid's wedding gown. She also
had a seamstress sew the gown. It was peach colored, not white.
She had a white veil. Got married in the home of Mr. and Mrs.
Ed Carlson, friends of Emil's on Wiley Heights. Were married
by Rev. Upsal (?), the Covenant minister.
175 MEETING SPOUSE: Emil had a brand new Model A Ford when Astrid
met him. She met him at church. Her uncle was married to his
cousin. Uncle told Astrid that is she married Emil, he would
buy her a wash tub and a scrub board. He worked at the hardware
store in Wiley City. One day Astrid was thinning peaches for
her cousin, Clarence Nystrom. When she went in the house for
lunch, Clarence's wife asked her to watch her kids while she
went to the hardware store. When she came back, she told Astrid
she couldn't thin peaches anymore that day because they were
going to have a guest for dinner that Astrid would like to meet.
Emil came in his new car. He had to speak to her in Swedish.
After dinner, he took her for a ride in his car.
250 WILEY CITY & WILEY HEIGHTS: Official name for the area.
Got its names from a pioneer family. One of the Wiley's is still
living near the place where one of Astrid's daughters was living.
283 KEEPSAKES FROM SWEDEN: Didn't bring much with her. A couple
of suitcases and a trunk. Aunt told her not to bring too much.
Now, since she's been home so many times, she has a lot of Swedish
things in her house.
312 LIVING IN THE U.S. VS. SWEDEN: Everything goes slow in Sweden.
Here we are so free. When she first came here from Sweden she
felt that there were some things she wasn't good enough to do
because of the different class system. In Sweden one had to
curtsy and open the door for people.
373 CLIMATE: Loves the climate in Yakima. Thinks Seattle is
a lot like Sweden. Didn't realize how hot it would get in Yakima.
They would sit in Emil's root cellar sometimes during the summer
when it got too hot. She likes where she lives a lot better
than in Sweden.
406 IMPORTANCE OF SWEDISH HERITAGE: Means a lot. The Swedish
people are looked up to. Different government than the U.S.
government. Used to the U.S. system now, but proud to have been
raised in a country that has a king and queen. Saw them in Seattle
in the fall of 1982. Expected the king to be taller. Seemed
to be really easy to talk to. They didn't talk to the king and
queen, but saw others talking to them.
493 CITIZENSHIP: Became an American citizen in 1945. Had applied
for the first papers earlier but something happened so she couldn't
go through with it.
529 WORK: Always worked in a nearby fruit warehouse after their
harvest was picked. After Becky was about 2 years old, Astrid
took a course in practical nursing. She has worked as a practical
nurse since then. She's taking care of a blind lady now. Starts
work at 8am and quits at 3pm. Earns $900 a month. She eats breakfast
and lunch with the lady.
568 FAMILY FARM: Sold the land to her oldest son. Still owns
four acres. Had to sell the house with the acreage. Sold it
in 1973. It had six bedrooms. Was too big for her. They paid
cash for the house but didn't have the money for the land.
595 SWEDISH ORGANIZATIONS: Hasn't joined any.
600 TEACHING SWEDISH: Taught Swedish at West Valley High School
in 1980 for people in the community. The group she taught had
had company from Sweden and had been invited to visit relatives
in Sweden. They wanted to learn the Swedish language so that
they could communicate. She had seventeen students. Difficult
to teach so many at one time. Taught out a book she had from
Sweden. It was called "Mina Pojkar" by Gustav Gejerstam. Taught
how to bake Swedish bread one year.
678 SWEDISH PEOPLE IN THE AREA: Still a lot of Swedish people
around. Older ones are dying off, but some of their children
are still living in the area.
693 SPEAKS SWEDISH: Tells about her daughter who is a nurse,
and her daughter's children. Oldest daughter is director for
a volunteer organization for older people. One daughter is a
secretary for Boeing. Oldest son farms and works in a sawmill.
Her other son is self-employed. Works with cement. Becky is
a secretary for West Valley High School. Sharon has her own
shop of American folk art. Elsa doesn't need to work. She's
married to a millionaire. Astrid has twenty grandchildren.
787 LIFE IN AMERICA: Never could have had this good of life
if she had stayed in Sweden. Thankful to her aunt and uncle
who sent her the ticket to come to America. Fortunate to have
met her husband.
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