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.
008 FAMILY BACKGROUND: Frank Buorklund was born Thor Franke
Björklund in Bovallstrand on January 25, 1904. This small port
town is on the west coast of Sweden in the district of Göteborgs
och Bohus län. His mother was Maria Amundsen and his father,
Frans Björklund; both came from this same district. Frans was
a fisherman and a stonecutter. He and 11 other men had shares
in a boat and fished for herring and anchovies from July 1 till
Christmas inside the fjords around Oslo. Fishing was very good
from 1919 to 1928.
081 Frank worked at a big quarry near his home and as a fisherman
also, having his own net.
103 BROTHERS AND SISTERS: There were nine children in all. They
lived in a small house in a small fishing town. Two sisters
and an older brother emigrated before Frank.
117 CHILDHOOD: Mother was a housewife except during WWI when
she worked on a farm. The older children including Frank went
fishing in the morning until 9-10 o'clock. Then it was Frank's
job to sell the fish, 20 to a "tjog" (score, unit of measure).
He biked into the country to trade them for something to eat.
It was also his job to care for the younger children at this
time.
149 SCHOOL AND CONFIRMATION: Frank attended for four years from
age 7 - 11 plus one year of confirmation. During the war, the
army took over the schoolhouses, so there was no school. Beginning
at the age of 12, he spent the war years fishing, while his
father and brother worked in Norway.
179 Memories of those years are of "all hard work" (fishing
for two weeks at a time) and a mother (always kind and working).
204 CONFIRMATION: His class contained older kids, up to 21.
In Sweden, one had to pass in order to be married, so some moved
from place to place until they passed. Frank attended confirmation
one year earlier than usual because he came from a poor family.
He also worked one month for the minister cutting wood, carrying
water, and scrubbing the kitchen floor. This confirmation year
also substituted for his last year in regular school. He attended
every day from 8 to 4, walking one-half Swedish mile, summer
and winter. Passed with no problem.
247 WORK: After the job at the minister's, Frank worked on a
farm from 3 -4 am to dark. There was no rest, so after one month
he went back home. Then he began work at the stone quarry, drilling
holes in stone using a hammer and a drill (a steel object which
was hammered into the stone to make a space for the stonecutter's
wedge). He was paid 3 cents a small hole and 5 cents a large
hole. Did that until he was old enough to cut stones. Stonecutters
were well paid (by the piece), and could earn 32 crowns a day.
At this point he lived at home - fishing from July to Christmas
and working in the stone quarry the remainder of the year from
1919 - 1928, except for a short time when he worked for the
government as a stonecutter, remodeling an old fort in the town
of Varberg.
311 CHRISTMAS: Was a nice time. Mother made headcheese and lutefisk.
320 FAMILY NAME: Bjorklund is a taken name. His father was a
Hermansson, but in the early 1900's he paid five crowns to change
from -son style of name to a less common name. Bjorklund was
Americanized to Buorklund by his older brother, Pete.
349 PETE: Pete (Per) emigrated in 1919 at 22 years of age, first
to Canada and then to Spokane. Both he and Frank emigrated to
escape the high tax (52% on each crown). Pete married Anne Madsen
in Spokane and was a contractor.
378 SISTERS: Astrid and Marta immigrated to Chicago where they
had friends in 1922 and 1927 respectively. Marta ran a delicatessen,
which sold Scandinavian food - Man's (?) Delicatessen (Nils
Man (?) was her husband). Astrid worked for a clothing manufacturer,
then for Mr. Dryden (a well known man and big game hunter during
the 1920's and 30's) as a chambermaid. There were nine Swedish
chambermaids in this home.
419 EMIGRATION: Frank emigrated in the fall of 1929. Besides
the high tax, Frank wanted a better life. He'd heard about America
through Pete's letters, visiting Swedish Americans, and newspaper
headlines. The visitors "always had gold teeth and a silver
dollar dingling in their pocket". The newspapers encouraged
emigration to America not Canada because of job opportunities.
Parents wanted Frank to stay and help support the family. But
when his brother sent him a ticket, Frank did what he wanted
and emigrated on the "Stockholm" on September 29, 1929 from
the port of Göteborg. (After this trip, the "Stockholm" was
bought by Norway and used in whale fishing.)
478 His parents weren't happy, but Frank returned quite a few
times to visit in Sweden. He didn't know how things would turn
out in America, but there was no future in stonecutting.
504 WORK: Pete was the rigging foreman working on the construction
of the Paulson building, so Frank got a job as a laborer. He
was laid off after two weeks because he couldn't speak English;
there was some concern for his safety not being able to understand
English. Later, he got the job back, earning 65 cents an hour.
He also worked a second job cleaning Pullman (railroad) cars,
earning 42 cents an hour. He deposited his savings in the American
Bank and lost it during the Depression. Arriving in 1929 during
poor economic conditions caused him problems, but as a young
person, he hadn't thought about it beforehand.
537 BOAT TRIP OVER: Had to have $20 and a friend to stay with.
Sailed directly to New York in 12 days. About 900 young people
came over at one time, and met new friends on the boat at dances
every evening.
561 NEW YORK: Had to wear a nametag with Chicago on it and was
helped by Swedish speaking people to catch his train, which
stopped at Niagara Falls on the way to Chicago. He bought food
on the train by pointing out his selection. As for tips, he
always held out his hand, and they took what they wanted; his
$20 was gone before he reached Spokane.
590 CHICAGO: Frank spent two weeks in Chicago with his sister
Marta. The deli was on 3364 North Clark St. and most everything
was Swedish: the food, the language, and the neighborhood. He
got along fine, but didn't like Chicago as it was too big and
there were too many gangsters and raids. There was a bootlegger
in the store's neighborhood. One evening the police raided and
shot two of the bootleggers who fell into his sister's garbage
cans. Hard to walk around Chicago after dark.
634 The Swedish paper printed in Chicago was the Svenska-Amerikanaren.
He met some of the people who worked at the paper.
645 SWEDISH FOODS IN AMERICA: Easy for the store to procure
Swedish foods from a Swedish salesman: anchovies, salted herring,
delicacies, and a Swedish sausage "Göteborgskorv". The deli
advertised on the radio and was well patronized by the Swedish
community.
670 SETTLING IN DURING THE DEPRESSION: Frank traveled on the
Northern Pacific; the country looked pretty good, but lonely.
Spokane looked like a clean, nice sized city. He was satisfied
with an inland city, as he gave up fishing due to sea sickness.
When he began fishing, there was no problem, but the condition
worsened. This had happened to his father also. Spokane's climate
was nice and sunny, but its Scandinavian community didn't compare
to Chicago. Frank went to dances in Forest Hall in Spokane sponsored
by Scandinavian lodges. It cost 50 cents every Saturday night
and was a main way to meet other Scandinavians. There was also
a Scandinavian rooming house called Chicago Hotel and Johnson's
Fish Market on Sprague Avenue, which sold salted herring, lutefisk,
and anchovies. Frank did not join any lodge, but attended Our
Saviour Church, which originally was Norwegian. The Svenska-Amerikanaren
was available at a local cigar store on Washington and Main
- also, Swedish Christmas cards.
SIDE II
053 SETTLING IN: Frank first resided at Mrs. Wall's boarding
house at 220 S. Cedar paying $35 a month for room and board.
Most of the eight boarders were Scandinavian. Mrs. Wall was
Irish and her husband Welsh.
090 PROBLEMS WITH LANGUAGE: Tells a story about repeating his
first American phrases (swearing learned at work) to Mrs. Wall.
When he found out what he said, he didn't speak English for
a month. Was also released from the Paulson job due to his lack
of English. Didn't work all winter, but got the two jobs in
spring, at Paulson's and with the Pullman cars.
141 SCHOOL: Went to night school and citizenship school. The
night school was held three evenings a week at Lewis and Clark
High School. The class went from fall to spring and contained
mostly Scandinavians and Germans.
171 CITIZENSHIP: Was asked four questions and that was enough.
He received citizenship and also Americanized his name to Frank
T. Buorkland.
208 BANKING: He patronized the American Bank ran by a Swede
named Johnson. Had saved $1400 to buy a house. He was purchasing
a new suit at "Upstairs" when the bank closed. Eventually, he
got 50 cents back on the dollar. Besides losing his savings,
he lost the Pullman job on March 15, and Elsa went back to work
and paid his room and board for the summer.
266 GOLD MINING IN IDAHO: Frank, Pete, and a German fellow scraped
enough money together to try gold mining close to Elk City,
Idaho, for three months in 1930. Finding only a little gold,
Frank then wrote to his sister in Chicago and moved there in
the fall of 1930. Elsa remained in Spokane working as a live
in maid for Mrs. Burns on 1500 Cedar. (She joined Frank in Chicago
in late 1930.)
285 MARRIAGE AND FAMILY: Frank met Elsa Eklund in 1927 at a
dance in Ulebergshamn, Sweden (near Bovallstrand), where she
was born. She was 16 at the time and the only daughter; her
father had immigrated to New York and worked as a carpenter.
When she emigrated from Sweden in the spring of 1930, she stopped
in New York to visit her dad but he couldn't get off work. She
continued to Chicago visiting Frank's sister for a month. As
a lone, female traveler, she had no problems; learned English
quickly and began work for Mrs. Burns immediately upon arrival
in Spokane. After Elsa and Frank returned from Chicago in May
1932, she became a cook for rich people on the south side of
Spokane. She had liked the job at Mrs. Burn's house for which
she received room, board, and $35 a month, but cooking paid
better. She worked with and learned cooking from Mrs. Johnson
(Swedish).
392 MARRIAGE: They were married November 29, 1931 in Spokane.
Rented a place on the north side from Alice Bjork (maiden name),
a friend originally from a town on the west coast of Sweden.
418 CHICAGO: 1931 - 1932. Frank worked at the deli earning $5
a week and roomed in back of the store. Elsa joined him in late
1931 and began work as a maid in the spring of 1932. They saved
enough money to return to Spokane (Notes from back of family
background sheet: Confusion about dates here. They were actually
married in 1931; he went to Chicago, and she came later.
454 Pete lived on his savings in a Spokane boarding house during
the Depression.
463 CHICAGO: Frank and another person (Helga Bergkvist) clerked
at his sister's store. (See side I - Helga and her two sisters
owned the deli after Frank's sister.) Frank and Elsa had saved
$80 when they returned to Spokane.
473 WEDDING: Small - attended by Pete and a good friend, Edith
Bjork at Salem (Swedish) Lutheran Church parsonage on the north
side. November 29, 1931 was a very cold Sunday. Alice gave them
a reception with coffee and cake.
498 HOUSING: During the Depression, they had an apartment at
Alice's and then bought an older home on 11th and Perry, which
they remodeled and moved into in 1934.
511 WORK IN THE 1930'S: Elsa and Mrs. Johnson worked steadily
for four years as caterers, making 75 cents an hour. Frank's
job with the Pullman cars paid 42 cents an hour. He worked there
40 years being promoted to assistant foreman. Benefits from
this job included free railroad travel and an expense account
on out of town jobs: Chicago, St. Paul, and San Francisco. During
the war when the railroad was taken over by the government,
he traveled quite a bit.
563 CHILDREN: He has two, Stanley and Sonja. Frank thought the
children were awfully nice, but were cared for by his wife exclusively.
Swedish was not spoken in the home or taught to the kids. Stanley
lives in Spokane and is a teacher, having earned bachelor and
master degrees from the University of Washington and a doctorate
from WSU. Sonja was born November 7, 1944, and lives in Spokane
with Frank. She attended business school and worked for Aetna
Insurance. The children were encouraged to do what they liked.
634 RETURN TRIPS TO SWEDEN: The first of many was for six months
in 1937. They stayed at Elsa's home, visiting and fishing for
mackerel just for fun. After the war in 1948, Elsa and the children
lived in Sweden for one year; Elsa was an only child and she
wanted to see her parents. Elsa and Frank visited in 1953 and
every five years thereafter. The last trip was in 1977; Sweden
always seemed peaceful and nice - no locked doors.
684 SWEDISH HERITAGE: Frank can still write, read, and speak
Swedish. He knows how to make headcheese, lutfisk, Swedish ham,
and pickled herring.
701 SPEAKING SWEDISH
747 End of tape.
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