Overview of the Collection
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Repository Name:
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Robert A.L. Mortvedt Library
Scandinavian Immigrant Experience
Collection
Archives and Special
Collections Department
Pacific Lutheran University
Tacoma, WA, 98447
253-535-7586
Email:archives@plu.edu
http://www.plu.edu/archives
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Collection Number:
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t119
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Creator:
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Fredrickson, Sven Fredrick
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Title:
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Sven Fredrickson Oral
History Interview
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Dates:
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1981 (inclusive)
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Quantity:
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3 file folders
6 photographs
1 sound cassette
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Languages:
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English
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Summary:
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An oral history interview with Sven
Fredrickson, a Swedish immigrant.
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Biographical Note
Sven Fredrickson was born on February 24,
1907 in Kolsebro, Sweden. One of ten children, Sven grew up working on the
family farm and attending school during the summers. Sven loved the Swedish
Christmas traditions as a child, including selecting a tree, decorating the
house, eating the traditional food, and going to church. Sven worked in a
variety of ways as an adolescent; he helped fuel the trains during World War I,
aided a blacksmith in town, and laid cement for a new dam. Still, Sven thought
there would be more work in the United States, so he moved there with his
uncle's sponsorship in 1923. Sven found work in lumber camps and in a molding
business. He went to school to learn English and picked it up quickly. In 1928,
Sven returned to Sweden to celebrate his father's birthday. When the Depression
hit, Sven moved to Oklahoma to find work. He had a carpentry job and also
worked in the oil fields. Sven moved around for different jobs, working in
Oklahoma City, College Station, Denver, Corpus Christi, and Arkansas. While
living in Denver, Sven met his wife, and they married in 1940. Soon after, Sven
received orders to join the Army. As a Master Sergeant, Sven oversaw the
building of bridges and roads. He traveled to such places as New Zealand,
Australia, India, Iran, and Russia. When Sven returned from the war in 1945, he
invested in Puget Sound Plywood with his brother Hans. Sven built houses and
did some contracting. He had two children, Cynthia and Robert, but tragically
his wife died of cancer. At the Vasa Lodge, Sven met Edith Carlson, whom he
married after his first wife's death. Besides being a member of the Vasa Lodge,
Sven participates in the Masons and Valhalla Lodge; he has served as president
at Valhalla Lodge four times. Sven returned to Sweden in 1956, 1964, and 1977.
He sees that many changes have taken place, but Sven still tries to retain
Swedish traditions in America.
Lineage
Father:
Fredrick Anderson. Mother: Emilia Olson. Maternal Grandfather: Olof Jonsson.
Maternal Grandmother: Kristina Jonsson. Brothers and Sisters: Lydia Ingeborg
Fredricksson, Ingrid Fredricksson, Signe Agusta Fredricksson, Carl Edvin
Fredricksson, Hans Fredricksson, Magda Linnea Fredricksson, Otto Valfred
Fredricksson, Seth Geron Fredricksson, Allice Fredricksson, Tore Fredricksson,
Hildegard Fredricksson, Spouse: Edith June Fredricksson. Children: Cynthia
Ethel Fredricksson, Robert Sven Fredricksson.
Content Description
The interview was conducted with Sven Fredrickson on November 30, 1981 in
Tacoma, Washington. This interview contains information on personal history,
employment, emigration, family, the Army, church and community life, and
Swedish heritage. It also provides photographs of the house where Sven was
born, Sven and his family, Sven and an Iranian mountaineer, Sven building a
courthouse in Oklahoma City, and Sven at the time of the interview. The
interview was conducted in English. Also see Hans Fredrickson.
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.
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.
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.
Related Information
Bibliography
Rasmussen, Janet Elaine. New Land
New Lives: Scandinavian Immigrants to the Pacific NorthwestTacoma, WashingtonUniversity of Washington
Press1993
Additional Reference Guides
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.
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| Andersson, Fredrick |
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Fredrickson, Sven Fredrick--Interviews (creator) |
| Fredricksson, Cynthia Ethel |
| Fredricksson, Edith June |
| Fredricksson, Hans |
| Fredricksson, Robert Sven |
| Fredricksson, Sven Fredrick |
| Jonsson, Kristina |
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Jonsson, Olof |
| Olsson, Omilia |
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Pearson, Alva |
| Andersson Family |
| Fredricksson Family |
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Jonsson Family |
| Karlsson Family |
| Olsson
Family |
| Drottningholm (Steamship) |
| Puget Sound Plywood Company (Tacoma, Wash.) |
| Swedish Order of
Valhalla (Tacoma, Wash.) |
| Vasa Order of
America. Lodge Number 233 (Tacoma, Wash.) |
| Kolsebro (Sweden) |
| Tacoma (Wash.)
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| Christmas |
| Confirmation |
| Depressions -- 1929 |
| Emigration and
immigration |
| School
attendance -- Sweden |
| Swedish-Americans--Northwest, Pacific--Inerviews |
| Swedish-Americans--Social life and customs |
| World War,
1939-1945 |
| Oral
histories |
| Carpenters |
| Construction
workers |
| Farmers |
| Loggers |
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.
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Cassette Counter
020:
PERSONAL
Sven Fredrick Fredrickson. Father was Fredrick
Anderson. Sven was born in Kolsebro, Sweden, close to the Baltic Sea.
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Cassette Counter
064:
Father was a farmer, had 30 acres, 8-10 cows, pair of oxen.
Raised potatoes, sold milk, wheat, and rye. Used rye for bread.
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Cassette Counter
101:
PARENTS
Fredrick and Omelia Anderson. Mother's maiden name Olson. 10
children in the family, five girls and five boys. Two girls died very young.
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Cassette Counter
133:
BROTHERS &
SISTERS
Ingrid and Signe are the two that
died. Oldest sister Lydia Ingeborg lives in Milton, WA. She married Andrew
Olson.
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Cassette Counter
154:
Carl Edvin retired now. He was a seaman finisher. Worked at
Plywood Plant. Hans lives in Tacoma. Magda lives in Sweden, married to a
Pederson. Otto Valfred has dad's farm now and is retired.
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Cassette Counter
202:
Seth Geron works for the government in Sweden, drives trucks,
does road work. Allice, she worked in a country store in Sweden with her
husband. Tore works at Puget Sound Plywood. Hildegard born 1924, lives on a
farm in Sweden.
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Cassette Counter
240:
GRANDPARENTS
Maternal - Father was a carpenter, built the church in
town, Olaf Olson. Mother also baked bread, made cheese. Nice lady. They lived
close to the family. Sven does not remember his paternal grandparents.
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Cassette Counter
290:
Had timber on their farm. Cut this and sold it. Children were
well fed. Plenty of oatmeal and eggs. Had a garden with vegetables. Made pea
soup.
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Cassette Counter
336:
Mother milked the cows, did baking and cooking. Kids helped
with the chores, all kept very busy.
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Cassette Counter
366:
Grandfather built the log house they lived in. Fireplace was
only source of heat. Wood stove used to cook on. Did some cooking on the open
fire. Had 2 bedrooms, 2 beds in the living room.
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Cassette Counter
428:
BIRTHDATE
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Cassette Counter
432:
SCHOOL
Walked 10 blocks. Went to school in the summer, closed in the
winter. Went through the 6th grade, then an additional 6 weeks each winter for
2 years. Like junior high.
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Cassette Counter
484:
CONFIRMATION
Took 8-9 months. 9 miles to church. The minister took
care of the 'church book.' Kept track of births and deaths. Went to church on
holidays mostly. Christmas morning at 5:00 A.M. Sunday school closer to home in
a little chapel. Anyone could come.
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Cassette Counter
560:
Had bazaars to raise money for the church. Sold cookies,
coffee. Mother went to church more than father did.
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Cassette Counter
590:
Minister came to the house to question people on what they
knew about the Bible.
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Cassette Counter
615:
CHRISTMAS
During the summer picked out a tree on the farm. The
Sunday before Christmas they went to cut it down.
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Cassette Counter
637:
CHRISTMAS EVE
Presents. Decorated the tree, used candles because
there was no electricity. Had ham and rice pudding.
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Cassette Counter
653:
CHRISMAS
MORNING
Up at 2 A.M. to go to church.
Horses and sleigh outside waking people up. Rice pudding for breakfast.
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Cassette Counter
684:
Christmas Eve for breakfast had lutfisk and potatoes.
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Cassette Counter
726:
Kept tree up for 13 days. Had kids over. Took candy and
apples off the tree.
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Cassette Counter
771:
TROLLS
Father always told stories.
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Cassette Counter
780:
WORK
During WWII age 12, used peat to burn instead of coal on the
locomotives. Young people stacked this peat up. He lived with his Uncle.
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Cassette Counter
818:
Built a dam. They wanted young people to help with the
cement. Sven was also a Blacksmith's helper. He gave money to his father.
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Cassette Counter
854:
Worked in the winter also putting tar around turbines.
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Cassette Counter
871:
CAME TO THE
U.S.
Wrote Uncle, Mr. Pearson, to sponsor
him. Sven had heard of America, it sounded good. More work than in Sweden.
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Cassette Counter
909:
Uncle sponsored him to come over. Sister Lydia also wanted to
come.
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Cassette Counter
924:
TRIP OVER
Left Sweden the 28th of April 1923. Took the
Swedish-America ship "Drottningholm."
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Cassette Counter
931:
ELLIS ISLAND
Took 1 day. Checked health. Needed railway ticket and
money to get through.
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Cassette Counter
938:
BOAT TRIP
Nice boat, little seasick. Went 3rd class like most of
the immigrants. Took 8-9 days. Entertainment and church services.
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Cassette Counter
968:
TRAIN TRIP
From N.Y. to Chicago a special train for the
immigrants. Chicago to West coast took Northern Pacific.
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Cassette Counter
973:
LANGUAGE
Did not know any English when he came. Managed to get
by. Learned about money quickly.
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Cassette Counter
986:
Trip over cost him $317.00, from Sweden to Tacoma.
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Cassette Counter
991:
Met at the train by Alva Pearson and her husband. Alva had a
half-brother who came over the same time that Sven did.
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Cassette Counter
1010:
First time he had ever seen a banana was in N.Y. Also the
first time he saw a tomato was here. Many different nationalities here.
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Cassette Counter
1041:
FEELINGS LEAVING
SWEDEN
"You're young and the whole world
plays in front of your eyes." Sven was never homesick.
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Cassette Counter
1055:
FIRST IMPRESSION OF
U.S.
Could not see much of N.Y.
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Cassette Counter
1067:
LANGUAGE
DIFFICULTIES
Not many. Went to night
school at Central School taught by Miss McDonald. Describes school in some
detail.
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Cassette Counter
1084:
Lived with Alva when he came
for 10 years. She was like a second mother.
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Cassette Counter
039:
Laid off at Shops. Got a job making boards for boxes,
separating boards and loading them on a truck. Worked 8 hours a day.
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Cassette Counter
080:
Used to walk on the logs in the water for fun. Fell in once
in the cold winter.
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Cassette Counter
110:
Got another job running a molding machine for $3.35 a day, 6
days a week. Easy work. Learned to sharpen knives and put them up. Foreman was
good to him. Worked in the woods as a second loader.
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Cassette Counter
177:
Worked at St. Regis doing cement work. Got 50 cents an hour
for 9 hours. Used scaffolds when building.
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Cassette Counter
222:
LUMBER CAMPS
Fine. Had barracks. Cot to sleep on. Good food.
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Cassette Counter
247:
TRIP TO SWEDEN
Stayed 3 months in 1928. Celebrated his father's
birthday.
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Cassette Counter
294:
DEPRESSION
Hard to get a job. Did some work laying steel in
logging camps, on the railroads. Good pay, hard work.
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Cassette Counter
325:
Stayed at boarding house, 24 boarders. Did dishes in the
evening and got a decrease in board. Regular $6.50 a week, Sven paid $2.50.
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Cassette Counter
370:
Went to Oklahoma to look for work during the Depression. More
jobs back east than in the west.
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Cassette Counter
398:
Bohemians gave him a job as a carpenter. Got union wages.
$1.00 an hour. More work in Oklahoma because the government was doing building
- barracks, etc. Worked for Phillips Petroleum in Oklahoma City, he did work in
the oil fields.
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Cassette Counter
509:
Got a big job in Oklahoma City at the County City building in
1936. $1.5 million job.
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Cassette Counter
520:
NRA
National Recovery Act provided work for many during the
Depression.
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Cassette Counter
555:
Sven worked on State building in Oklahoma and got a job in
College Station, Texas. Stayed here for 11 months. Worked in Arkansas with
Manhattan Construction Company. Got job in Denver on airplane hanger. Worked in
Corpus Christi, Texas on $200 million job.
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Cassette Counter
625:
Met wife at Vasa Lodge in Denver, Colorado. She was also
Swedish. Wedding was small, 1940. Left for Texas after they were married.
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Cassette Counter
655:
Moved back to Denver as a carpentry foreman. Had learned
carpentry from his Uncle in Sweden.
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Cassette Counter
673:
CHILDREN
Robert Sven is a commercial fisherman. Cynthia is
married to Bill Frost. Has 2 children. Lives in Cle Elum, Washington.
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Cassette Counter
699:
Sven had orders to go in the army when he was in Denver. Got
job as a Master Sergeant. Bridge building construction for Special Service
Engineers, 1942. Hard day leaving for the service, leaving the family
behind.
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Cassette Counter
730:
ARMY
Training in Alexandria,
Louisiana, then to California. Went to New Zealand, Australia, India, and Iran.
Stayed in Iran for 2 years. They built roads for Russia; supplies were
delivered on these roads. Special assignment was given to go through Siberia to
China and deliver trucks. Russia would not let them go through. Put a bridge up
over the Rhine and Danube Rivers. Got out of the service in 1945.
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Cassette Counter
810:
Did not do any fighting in the army, but was trained to fight
during his training. Received a Bronze Star Medal for fast, good work on the
bridges. Sven was in charge of the company on the Danube. Inger reads the
citation given to Sven during the war.
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Cassette Counter
872:
Bought a share of Puget Sound Plywood. Wanted to move back to
the West coast. Brother Hans already had shares in Puget Sound Plywood.
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Cassette Counter
892:
Sven built some houses in Tacoma. Worked at Plywood Company.
Did some contracting. Built his house.
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Cassette Counter
934:
Wife died of cancer. Remarried to Edith Carlson. Sven had
first met her when he came to the U.S. Met at Vasa Lodge.
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Cassette Counter
957:
SWEDISH
ORGANIZATIONS
Belongs to Masons, Vasa, and
Valhalla Lodges. Has been President at Valhalla four different times. The
lodges look out for people, visit sick people in the lodge.
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Cassette Counter
975:
TRIPS BACK TO
SWEDEN
1956 - flew back by himself. 1964-
daughter was picked to go to Sweden by Vasa Lodge. The whole family went with
her for 6 weeks. 1977 - changes, biggest change is that everything is bought,
no gardens, no baking. More cars.
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Cassette Counter
1024:
Family house is still there. Brother lives there.
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Cassette Counter
1030:
SWEDISH TRADITIONS
MAINTAINED HERE IN THE U.S.
Family gets
together in Tacoma every now and then.
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Cassette Counter
1053:
Sven still speaks Swedish, speaks a few words.
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Cassette Counter
1073:
Explains a bit in Swedish what it means to be a Swede. Good
example of the language.
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Cassette Counter
1094:
Story from the army, stationed on the Rhine River.
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