Funding for encoding this finding aid was
provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the
Humanities.
Biographical Note
Mattias Sundberg was born in Stöde, Sweden on
November 30, 1891. His father, Lars Eriksson, worked in the woods while his
mother, Anna-Lisa Persson, worked as a seamstress. Mattias lived with his
paternal grandparents on their farm until they died. Mattias has an older
sister and three younger brothers, although five other siblings died when they
were quite young. After Mattias' mother died when she was 53, his father
remarried and had three more children. When he was eight years old, Mattias
began working in the woods with his father. As soon as he had been confirmed,
Mattias moved away from home and worked in Sweden and in Norway. He joined the
army when he was 21 and worked on a farm during World War I. Mattias' cousin
encouraged him to move to America where the work was better. Mattias then wrote
an appeal to the king to be released from the army, and he moved to America in
August of 1917 with his brother. The two Sundberg men met their cousin in La
Conner, Washington and began working for him as fishermen. They also worked in
lumber and on farms. Mattias came down with the Spanish flu in 1918, at which
time he had to take a hiatus from work. Shortly thereafter, he was fairly
severely afflicted with rheumatism. In La Conner, Mattias befriended a Swedish
family who taught him to bake and cook in their restaurant. He became a cook
and found jobs in a variety of places-first in his own small restaurant in
Everett, then on fishing boats in Alaska, at the Alaska Road Commissioner's
camp, and at a mining camp. Mattias struggled with learning the English
language, but he finally did and became a United States citizen while he was in
Alaska. Mattias appreciates his heritage but has not been involved in Swedish
organizations. He has taken trips to visit Sweden again and maintains that the
Swedes are not as polite as they used to be.
Lineage
Full Name: Mattias Sundberg. Father: Lars Eriksson. Mother:
Anna-Lisa Persson. Paternal Grandfather: Mattias Sundberg. Paternal
Grandmother: Anna-Kaisa Sundberg. Maternal Grandfather: Per Henriksson.
Maternal Grandmother: Greta Henriksson. Brothers and Sisters: Kristina
Henrietta Sundberg, Lars Emil Sundberg, Per Samuel Sandberg, Jonas Walfred
Sundberg; there were five other children who died at a very young age; Mattias
also had three half-siblings.
Content Description
The interview was conducted with Mattias Sundberg on April 23, 1982 in
Seattle, Washington. This interview provides information on personal
background, the army in Sweden, emigration, employment, and Swedish heritage.
It also contains a photograph of Mattias Sundberg on his first 4th of July in
America (1918) and Mattias at the time of the interview. The interview was
conducted in English with some Swedish used at different times in the
interview.
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
Inger Nygaard Carr 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
168, side 1
022: Mattias
Sundberg
Born in Stöde, Sweden. Stöde is
in Västernorrlands län, about three Swedish miles (30 kilometers) north of
Sundsvall. Born on November 30, 1891.
168, side 1
063: PARENTS
Lars Eriksson and Anna-Lisa Persson. Father worked in the
woods. Mother was a seamstress.
168, side 1
104: GRANDPARENTS
Maternal grandfather, Per Henriksson was a tailor
from Johannisfors, Sweden. Grandmother was named Greta. Grandfather worked in
the woods in winter and sawed lumber in the spring. He did many things.Paternal grandfather was Mattias Sundberg. Grandmother was named Anna-Kaisa.
They lived on quite a large farm. Grandfather was a carpenter and grandmother
took care of the place. Mattias and his parents lived on the farm with his
grandparents; he was 10 years old. Farm sold in 1901. Smaller place bought in
the same area. Mattias lived with his grandparents until they died. Grandfather
died in 1902. Grandmother died n 1905. His parents had rented a small farm in
the area. They moved to grandparents farm. Mattias remembers getting equipment
to cut and rake hay. They had cows and goats. They grew potatoes.
168, side 1
300: BROTHERS AND
SISTERS
One sister, Kristina Henrietta,
two years older than Mattias. She stayed in Sweden. Lars Emil, year and a half
younger, came to the U.S. with Mattias. Worked in the woods. Per Samuel, Jonas
Walfred. Five children born that died when very young. Mother died when 53.
Father remarried. Had three more children after Mattias left.
168, side 1
409: CHURCH
Went one Swedish mile (10 kilometers) to church. Went fairly
often. Confirmed when 14. Parents were Christian people.
168, side 1
423: CHILDHOOD
Started working when 8 years old. When not in school,
he was with his father in the woods. He cut wood and peeled logs. Childhood was
"no vacation." They weren't allowed to run around on skis, they had to
work.
168, side 1
455: CHRISTMAS
Similar to Christmas here. They ate better food. Had a
Christmas tree. Got new clothes. They ate rice for Christmas.
168, side 1
484: WORK IN
SWEDEN
Came to the U.S. when 26. Before
then, worked in Sweden and in Bergen, Norway at an iron factory. He moved away
from home after confirmed. He was in the army in Sweden when he was 21. WWI
broke out during his second year in the army. Sweden was neutral so they just
watched the border. He worked in Jämtland, Sweden during WWI doing farm work.
Moved to Bergen, Norway when 23 or 24. He was tired of working in the woods.
Better climate in Bergen. Not much snow. Saw American boats coming and
going.
168, side 1
572: DECISION TO
EMIGRATE
Had a cousin, Gunnar Ashland (?)
in La Conner, Washington, who came home for a visit. He said Mattias should go
to America with them but there wasn't enough time. He had to write a letter to
the king to get dismissed from the army. It took from Christmas to August to
get permission. He was home for Christmas 1916. Left for America in 1917.
168, side 1
617: TRIP OVER
Sailed from Oslo, August 1917 with his brother. Trip
took two weeks. Trip was wonderful. Ship was called Bergensfjord. Sailed
directly to New York. Entertainment on the boat. They danced and had fun.
Mattias never got seasick. He had read about the U.S. No new feelings about
U.S. as they approached the coast of New York.
168, side 1
662: TRAIN TRIP
Stayed in New York for a couple of days. Came on a
Saturday and had to wait until Monday to take a train. It rained and thundered
and was awfully hot. He and his brother sat up all night from New York to
Chicago. They shared a sleeping car when they got to Chicago. They were dirty
with soot from the train when they got to Seattle. They stayed in a hotel in
Seattle, WA for one night and then took a train to Mt. Vernon, Washington.
Gunnar Ashland had a bus driver meet them at the train station and then they
took the bus to La Conner, Washington.
168, side 1
712: LANGUAGE
DIFFICULTIES
All he could say in English
was "Are you going to shore?" There were lots of Scandinavians on the train. He
met one who'd been to La Conner before. (See I-737 and I-1077)
168, side 1
737: WORK
Worked for his cousin, Gunnar Ashland, fishing. He got fish
poisoning in his hand. The doctor in Mt. Vernon "cut up" his hand. It took a
month to heal and by then fishing was over. His brother met another cousin and
worked in logging camps. They learned English from other people. "Not many
could talk good English." They learned the wrong way. He worked in a sawmill in
La Conner in 1918. The mill closed. He got another job at a mill in Seattle. He
got the Spanish flu during Christmas 1918. He wasn't in bed much. They said
booze would keep him from dying of the Spanish flu. After New Years, he started
working again. Worked during the summer for a friend in La Conner that raised
cabbage. He got all kinds of work in La Conner. He never went back to fishing.
He worked on farms.
168, side 1
882: COOKING
A Swedish family moved to La Conner. They were bakers.
Mattias worked at their restaurant and learned to bake and cook.
168, side 1
891: 1919
Got rheumatism. Had to walk on crutches. 1923 cooked on
tugboats in the Sound. He borrowed some money and opened his own restaurant in
Everett, Washington. It was in Victor's Hotel. It's gone now. Meals were cheap.
His brother's wife cooked part-time and waited on tables part-time. He sold the
restaurant after a couple of years. He couldn't make enough money. Went to
Alaska in the summer or 1926. Cooked on a fishing boat. Came back in the fall,
out of a job. Took a job cooking east of the mountains. Stayed until springs.
Went back to…
168, side 1
928: ALASKA IN 1927
Got a job with the Alaska Road Commission as a cook.
Not easy work. Everything was in tents. Hard to raise bread in cold weather.
Good cooking facilities, a big stove. Got time off in the winter when it was
too cold to work. He worked there for 30 years all together. Got appendicitis
while working for the Alaska Road Commission. Was flown to a hospital in
Fairbanks, Alaska. Found out it was kidney stones. Cooked for seven years in a
mining camp before WWII. Went back to the Road Commission. Retired in 1956.
168, side 1
1077: MOST DIFFICULT THING
ABOUT COMING TO AMERICA
Learning English.
Couldn't go to school; had to earn a living. Difficult times between jobs.
168, side 1
1095: SICKNESS
Got rheumatism in 1919. Couldn't walk. Had to spend
money on a chiropractor. Went to Soap Lake, Washington to try and get cured.
Felt good while there. Saw a doctor when he came back. Doctor said body needed
more air. He couldn't wear heavy clothing. Slept in the nude.
168, side 2
130: COOKING FOR THE ALASKA
ROAD COMMISSION
Hard to cook for sixty
men. There was a night cook that helped with the baking. Mattias made all the
cakes and pies. He baked ten pies everyday before noon. He also baked ten
loaves of bread. One day he'd make white, the next brown. Worked 12 to 13 hours
per day. Somebody else peeled the potatoes. Mattias cooked a lot of meat,
mostly beef and pork. They served some fish. Mattias liked his job.
168, side 2
211: CITIZENSHIP
Became a U.S. citizen in Alaska. He had to study
some. He'd learned the language by them. He read a lot of English books.
168, side 2
258: WAGES
Paid by the month. First got $5 a day with the Alaska Road
Commission. Got room and board too. They slept in tents and had to have their
own blankets. When social security started in 1937, they got a big raise of 50
cents an hour. They had to pay interest on their wages. They made about $90 a
month and had to pay room and board.
168, side 2
320: NATIONALITIES AT THE
ALASKA ROAD COMMISSION
Quite a few
Scandinavians. A lot of Russians worked there. They'd escaped to England during
the Revolution and then come to the U.S. People of all nationalities worked
there, even Negroes. Mattias had seen Negroes before, first when he was 20 and
then on his journey to the U.S.
168, side 2
354: REACTION TO
INDIANS
He was afraid of Indians when he
first came to the U.S. because of the Indian stories he'd read as a boy.
168, side 2
410: CHURCH IN
AMERICA
Seldom goes to church;
occasionally a Christmas service.
168, side 2
416: SCANDINAVIAN
ORGANIZATIONS
Never had time for that. He
has spent his last 25 years taking care of his place and going to dances.
168, side 2
441: TRIPS BACK TO
SWEDEN
First trip back was after he'd
been gone for sixteen years. The schools had changed. When he was in school all
they taught was religion. When he went back to Sweden, his nephews were able to
fill out their income tax forms by themselves because arithmetic was taught in
school. Hymns and history of the Bible were taught after school and in Sunday
school. They had to study religion for confirmation but it wasn't the school's
major responsibility.
168, side 2
584:
He speaks in Swedish.
168, side 2
595: TRIPS TO
SWEDEN
Sweden wasn't the same. Home was
the same. People weren't the same. They weren't as polite as they used to
be.
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.
