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Albin was an adventurous, hard working man that lived an interesting and successful life. He was born in 1874 on a farm named Bönemåla in Östergötland in Sweden. On his 19th birthday, Albin took a train to Gothenburg and got on board the boat Orlando that would take him to New York. |
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| The trip went via London and Southampton and took eleven days. Albin's destination was Chicago, where he would visit relatives, look for work and start his new life. Albin met an American woman, Jenny, and they married. Jenny had twin boys. The night after the delivery, Jenny died. Within two weeks, the two boys died too. Soon after, a sorrowful Albin returned to Sweden. |
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However, Albin was restless. Some few months later, he was back on the boat to America again. This time, in the year 1900, Albin had a business idea. He went to Decora, Iowa to build a cement factory. Fortunately for him, a rainfall wiped out the city's wooden sidewalks and Albin got the order to make new ones in concrete. From here and on, Albin's company turned profitable. In the photograph below, Albin stands in front with his arms crossed. The picture is from 1904. |
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It was then that Albin met my grandmother Hilma, also a Swede. They were married in 1902. Albin and Hilma had seven children one being my father. The cement factory did well and Albin quickly saved up money that would lead him and his family to new opportunities. |
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When reading Albin's letters from the time, I realize that his roots were deeply Swedish. He did not feel pleasure in living in the new land. He was longing to go home to his family and friends. With new riches, Albin decided to bring his family home to Sweden. My father was only one year old at the time. |
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In Sweden, Albin soon found the home that he would live in for the rest of his life. He bought a large farm including many lakes and great areas of forest. More than 100 people lived and worked on his property. Albin wanted to tell his friends in America about his new life. He then wrote to the Decora newspaper, "The Republican", a letter that was published in 1909, To read the article, click here. |
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My father, Earl had a good childhood on the family's new farm. Everybody in the family had to work to his or her capacity but it seemed as if everything was done with companionship. Albin was a religious man and often had festivities inviting people from his church. Both work and play had its time. From about age 20, Earl was an active photographer. He photographed life on the farm, festivities and play. These photographs are now, seventy years later, interesting windows to a very different lifestyle. There was no TV, radio or computers and people entertained themselves with their own creativity. |
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Earl moves to Jönköping to start opening restaurants.
When my father, Earl, was 25 years old, he decided to go into the restaurant business. He moved to Jönköping, Sweden and opened his first restaurant Mjölkbaren. Mjölkbaren served home cooked food. It was good food that filled you up at a reasonable price. The restaurant had a steady stream of customers and as time passed by, Earl developed the business and opened new restaurants and cafes at various sites in Jönköping and Huskvarna. |
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Earl had two restaurants in Huskvarna, above and below. Both of these are still in business today, but are not run by our family. The one below, Kroatorpet, is still a popular cafe with an excellent view of Lake Vättern and the city's lakefront. |
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It was at Kroatorpet that my parents met. They married and had four children. I was number 3 after my oldest brother Roland and my sister, Katherine. My younger brother's name is Raul. Earl was a good father yet sometimes a little eccentric. As he had grown up on a big farm and had been running restaurants, his shopping habits were a little different than most families' fathers. He used to buy everything in bulk. At home, we had more refrigerators than a small food store. Every year, after my dad came back from moose hunting, a mountain of meat was cut on the kitchen table and put into plastic bags for use the rest of the year. Now, years later, I am thinking about buying a second refrigerator. I guess that is how family culture is passed from generation to generation. |
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In 1996, when my father turned ninety, Jönköping's newspaper had an article about him. To read the article in Swedish or English, click here. |
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