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Last Updated: Feb 15, 2010 - 2:25 PM |
Many people around Stromsburg have probably noticed a distinguished looking man walking around town with a bag containing a lap top computer and a Nikon digital camera. Erik Andersson came to Stromsburg from Ockelbo, Sweden and has been in town for about the last three weeks. Ockelbo is a town of about 2,500 people located on the west side of Sweden about one third of the way up from the country’s southern border.
Erik and his wife Birgitta have been heavily involved in the genealogy club in Ockelbo. They publish a magazine twice a year dedicated to the history and genealogy of their town. In doing research they discovered that a large group of people left Ockelbo back in 1856 led by Lewis Headstrom to build a new city in the United States. The group of about 155 men, women and children first tried to settle in Illinois. When that attempt failed, they came to the area that would eventually become Stromsburg, Nebraska. Erik said with a smile that they originally intended to build a big city. “It isn’t so big, but it’s nice.”
Erik first began to explore the idea of coming to Stromsburg in late May. He was able to get in touch with Stromsburg mayor, Grace Gerrard. Grace then enlisted the help of the town’s official historian and newly crowned Swedish Festival King, Charles Noyd. Arrangements were made and Erik made the trip to Stromsburg. He got to town a few days before the Swedish Festival with the intent of finding older residents who still knew the Swedish language and to search the archives in the library for information about the connection between the two sister towns.
Erik has been in journalism for 40 years and has worked for 4 different newspapers in Sweden. During the time he has spent in the area Erik has visited Swede Home and enjoyed walking through the cemetery and seeing many familiar Swedish names. He also was able to connect with Swedish speaking residents in Stromsburg who still retained some of their abilities to speak the old language.
During the interview with The Polk County News Erik showed many of the pictures he had taken of the Stromsburg area during his visit. It was interesting to see the view of someone who was looking at the town from a Swedish historical perspective. Many of the pictures he took had a direct reference to the town’s ethnic heritage from the big Valkommen sign in the city square, to the Victor Anderson building, Swedish dance girls in their costumes and the newly elected Swedish Festival King and Queen. He also took an interesting variety of pictures that depicted various parts of the town and its residents. Interestingly, Ockelbo, also has a claim to upcoming Swedish royalty. A young man from the town named Daniel Westling is engaged to the Crown Princess Victoria.
Erik also had some interesting genealogy information for Mike Branting. It turns out that his father’s father’s father was a cousin to one of the most famous politicians in Swedish history, Hjalmar Branting. Hjalmar began the Swedish Social Democratic Party and won a Nobel Prize.
Erik began the trip back home last Tuesday. The next issue of the genealogy magazine will be published in December and the entire issue will be dedicated to Stromsburg. There will be a lot of people interested to read the information and perspectives related by someone from the town that the Stromsburg fore-fathers came from. Maybe at some point we can send our own delegation to Ockelbo to return the favor.
© Copyright 2009 by polkcountynewspaper.com
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