Funding for
encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National
Endowment for the Humanities.
Biographical Note
Nels (Nils) Häggström was born on August 31,
1905 in Nyland, Sidensjö, Sweden. Nels had six brothers and sisters and lived
with an older sister after their mother died when he was five years old. Three
of Nels' brothers moved to the United States to find better jobs, and Nels
decided to join them in 1923. He immediately found work in the lumber business.
Unfortunately, it was a dangerous job, and Nels had a severe accident that left
him unconscious for two days and in the hospital for three months. After the
accident, Nels worked at Lyle Plywood in Tacoma. He attained his citizenship
after five years. Nels married Violet Larson in 1933, and they had one child
named Bernice. Nels can still speak Swedish and likes to preserve the
traditions, but he does not want to return to Sweden. Nels was confirmed
Lutheran and attends a Lutheran church with his family.
Lineage
Father: Olof Häggström Mother: Margot
Westman. Brothers and Sisters: Marta Häggström, Olof Häggström, Margot
Häggström, Jonas Häggström, Johan Häggström, Kristina Häggström. Half-brothers
and sisters: Bror Häggström, Valborg Häggström. Spouse: Violet Larson
Häggström. Children: Bernice Häggström Woodward
Content Description
The interview was conducted with Nels Häggström on July 20, 1981 in Tacoma,
Washington. This interview contains information on personal background,
emigration, employment, and Swedish heritage.
Use of the Collection
Restrictions on Access :
The oral history collection
is open to all users.
Restrictions on Use :
There are no
restrictions on use.
Administrative Information
Custodial History :
The Oral History collection
project was started during an experimental course on Scandinavian Women in the
Pacific Northwest. Students in the course were encouraged to interview women
and learn about their experiences as immigrants to the United States. The
project was continued and expanded with support from the president's office and
by grants from the L.J. Skaggs and Mary C. Skaggs Foundation, from the Joel E.
Ferris Foundation and the Norwegian Emigration Fund of the Royal Norwegian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The project was directed by Dr. Janet E.
Rasmussen. The collection was transferred to the Archives and Special
Collections Department.
Acquisition Information :
Related Materials :
To search and view Pacific
Lutheran University's digitized images, visit our
Digital Assets
Website
Processing Note :
The interview was conducted by
CHECK NAME 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. The recording quality is good
The collection was
transcribed by Mary Sue Gee, Julie Peterson and Becky Husby.
Bibliography :
Rasmussen,
Janet Elaine. New Land New Lives:
Scandinavian Immigrants to the Pacific NorthwestTacoma, WashingtonUniversity of Washington
Press1993
Additional Reference Guides :
Detailed Description of the Collection
The partial interview transcription
highlights important aspects of the interview. Numbers 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.
Cassette
71, side 1
038:
NELS HÄGGSTRÖM: Born August 31, 1905 in Nyland, Sidensjö,
Sweden. Sidensjö is close to the coast near Ornskoldsvik in Ångermanland.
71, side 1
103:
Central Sweden near coast. Nyland was a farming community.
Nels worked only one summer in Nyland. Rest of the time he worked for a farmer,
Johan Bystroem, in a community called Skaalevad. Skaalevad was called Nyland,
just as Sidensjö was.
71, side 1
141:
WORK: Did farm work. Even shoed horses. 13 when he started
working.
71, side 1
154:
CHILDHOOD: Wasn't raised at home. Mother died when he was 5
years old. Lived with older sister.
71, side 1
168
71, side 1
193:
BROTHERS AND SISTERS: Seventeen children. Marta, Olof,
Margot, Jonas, Johan, Kristina (still living in Sweden), from father's first
marriage. Nels was the youngest of kids from this marriage. Second marriage:
Bror.
71, side 1
193:
PARENTS: Mother, Margot Westman. Father, Olof Haggstrom. He
had a farm but wasn't very active.
71, side 1
240:
GRANDPARENTS: Never saw them. They were born in the same area
Nels grew up in. Nels remembers meeting one of his father's brothers and his
mother's sister.
71, side 1
264:
FAMILY NAME: Hägg is Swedish for chokecherry tree. One of
these trees was growing near a stream, which is ström in Swedish. Many of these
trees grew in the area Nels grew up in.
71, side 1
361:
His brothers came to Tacoma, Washington. Some friends from
their area came to Tacoma, Washington too. Nels came in July 1923. Almost 18
years old. Borrowed a total of 1000 Swedish crowns from farmers in the area.
Bystroem put out the money.
71, side 1
407:
One the farmers who'd loaned Nels the money died. Byström
wrote that he needed at least 100 crowns. Nels sent it. Wages were low in
America to. 35 cent per hour. Worked in the logging camp. Had to spend three
months in the hospital. Got $300 settlement from the state. Used it to pay off
the rest of his debt.
71, side 1
429:
TRIP TO AMERICA: Took the train to Gothenburg (Göteborg) on
the west coast of Sweden. Took a small boat from Gothenburg, Sweden to
Southampton, England. Took a big ship to America. Got seasick. Bad trip. Mostly
young boys and girls on the ship. Left home on July 15, 1923. Got to Tacoma,
Washington in August. Entire trip took about 30 days. Trip across the Atlantic
was 10 or 11 days. Landed in Halifax, Canada. Met a Norwegian boy who worked on
the railroad. Went to Vancouver, B.C. with him. Train wreck on the way. Train
tripped over in swampy area.
71, side 1
525:
IMPRESSION OF CANADA: Thought it was beautiful. Saw a lot of
Indians. Enjoyed the trip through the mountains.
71, side 1
536:
LANGUAGE: Has never had language problems. Can't get rid of
his accent.
71, side 1
550:
Stayed the night in Vancouver with the Norwegian boy. He paid
for Nels' breakfast and dinner. Came to Tacoma. Had brother's address. A
Norwegian at the station on Pacific Avenue paid his taxi fare to his brother's
house. There were a lot of immigrants in the neighborhood. German, Polish,
Italian, etc. Over 70% of the workers in the sawmill were immigrants.
71, side 1
595:
No problem getting work. Came on a Sunday. Started work in a
sawmill the next day. Starting wage was 40 cent per hour. Stayed at the mill
for three months. Worked in the woods because he could make more money.
71, side 1
627:
Worked for Cascade Timber Co, in Alder, Washington. Started
out as a "flunkee" in the boarding house. He liked waiting on tables in the
dining room but the pay was bad. Asked the foreman if he could make more money
doing something else. Loaded huge logs onto railroad cars.
71, side 1
650:
Logs at that time were 7-10 feet in diameter. Big tongs were
used to lift the logs on to the railroad car. Nels' job was to put the tongs on
the logs. A machine called the duplex would lift the logs. Nels' accident
happened on December 14. The man operating the duplex lifted the tongs too
soon. They hit Nels in the head. Knocked out. Taken to the hospital in
Eatonville, Washington. Unconscious for two days. In hospital for three months.
Pail $300 settlement. Injury or death common out in the woods. One or two
deaths per month. Left the woods. (See also I-407)
71, side 1
736:
WENT BACK TO TACOMA. Worked at Lyle Plywood. Pretty high up.
Got good pay.
71, side 1
750:
LEARNING ENGLISH: Brother told him to speak English.
71, side 1
761:
CITIZENSHIP: Brother took him to the Immigration Office to
apply for citizenship. Filled out the first papers. Citizen after five years.
Had one Swedish born and one English born witness.
71, side 1
781:
Had both American and Swedish friends while living in
Tacoma.
71, side
1
795:
SWEDISH ORGANIZATIONS: Swedish Order of Valhalla and
Swedish Order of Vasa. Doesn't go to meetings anymore. Goes to their breakfast
once a year with his grandson, Ken.
71, side 1
818:
GETTING HIS FIRST CAR WAS EXCITING. Bought a 1926 Ford
Roadster. Had a girlfriend in Olympia. Rented a neighbor's garage for $3.00 per
month. Tells about learning to drive. Left at 4:00am to drive to Olympia once.
The car cost $350.
71, side 1
886:
Stayed with the plywood company for 37 years. His position
was just short of a foreman.
71, side 1
894:
MEETING WIFE: Met at a house-warming party. She was only 13
years old. Her father let him take her home. She was 16 when they started
dating.
71, side 1
909:
MARRIED IN 1933: Bought a little house across the street from
her parents. This was on 25th and Cushman. A lot of Scandinavian people in the
neighborhood. They had a lot of friends who didn't understand Swedish so when
Scandinavian friends came to visit, they had to speak English. His wife's name
is Violet Larson. Her father was Swedish. Her mother was Norwegian.
71, side 1
935:
CHILDREN: One daughter, Bernice. She has a boy, Kenneth, and
a girl, Cathy. Bernice is a secretary for the nursing department at Pacific
Lutheran University. Bernice became interested in Sweden when her son Kenneth
went. Nels paid for him to go. He visited relatives. Went to school in Uppsala.
71, side 1
978:
SWEDISH TRADITIONS: Big Christmas Eve dinner. Open presents
on Christmas Eve. Sing Swedish Christmas songs. Kalvsylta (ground veal),
klenäter, spritz.
71, side 1
1007:
CHURCH: Belong to the Assembly of God. Minister from this
church married them. Nels was confirmed in the Lutheran church. Bernice, Cathy,
and Ken go to Good Shepherd Lutheran.
71, side 1
1018:
PROBLEM GETTING A BIRTH CERTIFICATE: Found name of minister
of the church he was confirmed in in Sweden. Wrote back to him and sent $10 for
four copies. Got the copies and the $10 back. He had to give copies to Social
Security, his union, etc. Sent $10 back to the minister. He gave it to the
church.
71, side
1
SIDE II 004:
Talks about a cream bowl made
of birch that their grandson brought back.
71, side 1
035:
Still have contact with family in Sweden. Talks about a
half-sister, Valborg, who came to visit. She told them what Sweden was like
today.
71, side 1
134:
IMPORTANCE OF SWEDISH HERITAGE: Still speaks Swedish.
71, side 1
151:
Nels name was spelled "Nils" in Sweden. He shows his Swedish
passport.
71, side 1
217:
Sings "Hälsa dem där hemma." This is a Swedish immigrant
song.
71, side 1
274:
Nels feels that the United States is his home. He feels his
father was wrong to marry a woman 30 years younger than himself when he already
had ten children he wasn't able to take care of. He was lazy. He could have
given more of himself to his kids.
71, side 1
338:
Nels doesn't want to go back to Sweden. It's hard for both he
and his wife to walk. Traveling difficult.
71, side 1
356:
As a boy, he never had time to go fishing or swimming. He was
busy working on the farm. He loved it. He loved the horses.
Subjects
This collection is indexed under
the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials
about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these
headings.
Personal Names :
Häggström, Bernice
Häggström, Nels (Nils)
Häggström, Nels (Nils)--Interviews
(
creator)
Häggström, Olof
Häggström, Violet Larson
Westman, Margot
Woodward, Bernice
Family Names :
Häggström family
Westman
family
Woodward family
Corporate Names :
Assemblies of God
Cascade Timber Company
Lyle Plywood
Company (Tacoma, Wash.)
Swedish Order of
Valhalla (Tacoma, Wash.)
Vasa Order of America. Lodge
Number 233 (Tacoma, Wash.)
