Funding for encoding
this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment
for the Humanities.
Biographical Note
Ellen Katarina Johnson (Eriksson) was born in
Dalarna, Sweden on September 20, 1900. Ellen's father died when she was five,
and she lived with her mother and brother in a small house near her
grandparents. In 1922, Ellen moved to the United States by herself in search of
a better lifestyle than what she had seen in Sweden. A woman on the trip
persuaded Ellen to move to the Pacific Northwest, despite Ellen's intentions to
settle in Chicago with relatives. Ellen chose to settle in Tacoma and
immediately found work as a housekeeper. She started attending night school,
but Ellen learned most of her English skills from the woman who employed her.
At the Swedish lodge, Ellen met her husband, and the two of them had three
boys. The family moved to Alaska for a short time, but Ellen decided to live in
Sweden for a year while her husband worked. She attained her United States
citizenship in 1944. Ellen did not forget her Swedish roots though; she kept in
contact with her cousins and returned for visits in 1929 and 1961. Ellen also
cooks traditional Swedish fare during the holidays. She can still remember some
of the language and maintains pride in her Swedish heritage.
Lineage
Maiden Name: Ellen Katarina Eriksson.
Father: Lars Eriksson. Mother: Britta Janson Eriksson. Brothers and Sisters:
Erik Eriksson. Spouse: (?) Johnson Children: Bertil Kenneth Leonard.
Content Description
This interview conducted with Ellen Johnson on April 19,
1979 in Tacoma, Washington contains information on personal background,
emigration, work, marriage, and return trips to Sweden. The interview was
conducted in English.
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
Ellen Johnson 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
25, side 1
015/01: FAMILY
BACKGROUND
Full name is Ellen Katarina
Johnson. Maiden name is Erickson. Born in Dalarna, Sweden on September 20,
1900. Britta Janson Erickson and Lars Erickson were her parents. Father worked
in a small boat building business and died when Ellen was five years old. She
had one brother, Erik, two years younger. He stayed in Sweden and never wanted
to come here.
25, side 1
049:
Knew all her grandparents. Mother was a widow and wove fancy
tablecloths and linens to make a living. They lived in a small two room house
on her dad's place. The other grandparents lived within walking distance.
25, side 1
063/02: EMIGRATION
Ellen emigrated in 1922 by herself. Why did she come?
"Well, that's a question. Why did I? I really couldn't say." There were hard
times in Sweden then; she noticed that older girlfriends had a hard time after
marriage. She thought there should be something better than living in that
small town of 3000. She was used to traveling and staying with an uncle in
Stockholm. So, she could have moved to a large city. But she "knew so many that
went here. I wrote to them, and of course, they bragged". She came with a lady
who was visiting and wanted to bring her mother back. Before that happened the
lady's mother was killed in an automobile accident. So, only the two came.
25, side 1
109: TRIP
They took train down from her home and came on the
Stavangerfjord out of Oslo. She remembers the beautiful Norwegian coastline as
they continued to Bergen. Took 14 days to reach New York and five days to cross
America to Tacoma. Ellen was going to relatives in Chicago, but the lady talked
her into the climate of the Pacific Northwest. Ellen didn't have enough money,
but the lady loaned her some and Ellen repaid her later.
25, side 1
105/03: SETTLING IN
Ellen stayed with this married lady in a newly built
home for about a week. Then she started a housework job, which she didn't like.
But she had no language or job skills, so she worked four years for a Swedish
woman married to a tugboat company owner who lived on the Tacoma's North end.
The job helped Ellen with the language; the lady spoke English to her but
explained the words in Swedish.
25, side 1
182: MARRIAGE AND
FAMILY
Ellen also attended night school
during those four years. "I would have gone longer, but I got married". She met
her husband at the Swedish lodge and Swedish doings on K Street. They had three
boys. The oldest is Bertil Johnson. [Discussion about another Bertil Johnson.]
The second child was Kenneth who was five years younger. After Ellen was
married, the family went up to Alaska. Her husband stayed in Latoosh ?, Alaska
while she went back to Sweden for one year. Her oldest son was a year and a
half when they left.
25, side 1
222:
She didn't worry about her husband, because he stayed in a
boarding house with good food and all. She returned to Alaska, but when she
became pregnant again [with Kenneth] she came down to Tacoma. Then she had one
more boy, Leonard.
25, side 1
241:
Ellen had no problems in America. The countryside here was
similar to Dalarna although the winters were colder and the summers shorter in
Sweden. The environment made her feel at home. To get her final citizenship
papers, she had to be here seven years but she moved around so much it was
difficult to establish residence. She applied for and received her final papers
in 1944; her husband had previously gotten his.
25, side 1
275:
Kenneth lives in Tacoma and works in Puget Sound National
Bank. She has seven grandchildren.
25, side 1
289/04: TRADITIONS
Christmas in Sweden was special. She made spritz,
fattigmann, etc. Her sister-in-law was good at making the Swedish meats; Ellen
did the lutefisk and turkey.
25, side 1
304:
Ellen was not active in church although the boys attended
Sunday School. Her husband lived in Alaska for six years, and she was there
nearly four-five years. She moved back here during the Depression and those
years were the hard times. Her husband said, " You can get a job if you're
willing to take any old thing that comes along". There were no opportunities,
so "he got fooled there", and he was out of work for a long time. They had
extra money from the AK job, but then the banks closed. Those were the worst
years for them. They first lived on 12th Street and then in University Place.
Husband worked in town for Puget Sound Plywood. He was one of eight to start
that company; they borrowed the money--a big risk--but it worked out.
25, side 1
346: RETURN TRIPS
Ellen kept in contact with her Swedish cousins by
writing to Dalarna and Stockholm. Her first visit was in 1929-30, and the
second was in 1961 when her mother was ill. She only stayed three months
because her husband was alone and not well. She enjoyed the first trip because
she still knew everybody. The second trip, 32 years after emigration, was
different because she knew so few people. They knew her so well, because she
had worked in a store before emigrating. "That way you're known. And that way
they knew me better than I knew them--even then, you know. That wasn't so much
fun. You were kind of disgusted with people. You knew you should know them, but
they never introduced themselves. That's Swedes for you".
25, side 1
388/05:
Ellen still remembers the language but needs to warm up
before she takes off.
25, side 1
408:
Her other two sons live away from Tacoma. They have visited
them in Houston, Vancouver, Washington, and New York--wherever they lived. One
son was a pilot--flew the small private jets--for an oil company, but is in
administration now.
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 :
Eriksson, Britta Janson
Eriksson, Ellen Katarina
Eriksson, Lars
Johnson, Bertil
Johnson, Ellen Katarina
Johnson, Ellen Katarina Eriksson--Interviews
(
creator)
