My grandfather Olaf came to America in 1887 at the ripe old age of 16! yep, 16.... What I did not know is that he was 94 years old when he passed in 1964 when I was 12 years old and he was married in 1903 to Mary Katherine Fustrum at Dwight, Kansas then to Anoka, Minnesota in 1905 where he had a dairy and grew sweet potatoes. My Dad was born in Anoka and here is the most unusual thing ever: dad's birth certificate and his legal name his entire life was "the 6th son of Olaf and Mary Olson". Dad found out his real legal name when he was 84 years old. Dad went to school during the winter on a sleigh pulled by a horse with sleigh bells from Sweden. We still have those bells today or I should say, my nephew Richard Crow has them in his office (Ground Zero Storm Shelters) in Perry, Oklahoma. When he did not ride the sleigh in winter he skied to school on skis he and Uncle Olie (Rollien) made by hand. They boiled the wood in water and shaped the wood into skis. One pair of those skis is located in Minnesota with my cousin David. Another strange thing I learned was when there was a giant party at Don Conner's house with a giant bond fire and everyone came from all around to ICE SKATE! For the first time I learned that my dad had a pair of strap on ice skates and could skate. Don had a large lake behind his house where we had the party. I think my dad was about 16 when they moved to Wamego, Kansas where he ultimately graduated high school.
Grandad moved to America because his father told him if he stayed in Sweden he would raise potatoes and become an alcoholic because taxes were too high and you would never be able to get ahead. America was the land of opportunity. Grandpa didn't know anyone here and none of his relatives were here but as he made some money he paid for the trans-Atlantic voyage of most of his brothers and sisters. Now I don't know about you but I cannot imagine letting one of my kids leave me for ever at the age of 16, no matter what the circumstances were. That is correct, grandad never saw his father or mother again. Two sisters moved to the Seattle area and the only brother I knew moved to Kansas near Cedar Vale and lived with the Johnson family who were relatives. He was an expert stone mason. Actually I think there were two brothers but just not sure.
Grandad was my buddy and I tried to spend every Saturday with him. We would sit by his pot bellied stove and play checkers and eat cinnamon rolls and drink Nehi pop (strawberry and grape). Of course Granddad would drink coffee which he drank from a saucer and he smoked a pipe which I loved the smell of. I loved the way he would smoke his pipe and blow his mustache when he released the smoke. Sweet memories.
Well, thanks for listening and What do you learn in the Osage?
- Family is more important than any money
- Time given to a child pays back for a life time
- Cinnamon rolls are still my favorite food group
Thanks for listening,
gary
gary@thepioneerman.com
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