CVIIl EST. 1906 La Palma, California March 2015 Number 1 www.orderofruneberg.org

President’s MessageInternational Order of Runeberg Supreme Board

IOR Website...............................................3Lodge News................................................4Resolution..................................................7SFHS Guidelines.........................................7Scholarships...............................................8Genealogy Corner.....................................10

WHAT’S INSIDE:

Greetings to our members& friends in Canada,Finland, and USA.

As most of you are aware, thedissolution of the International Or-der of Runeberg will occur onMarch 31, 2015, as was voted on atthe August 2014 IOR Convention.This was precipitated by a lack ofmembers willing to fill the IORBoard positions combined with adearth of younger members, espe-cially in lodges that have dis-banded. There are exceptions tothis trend, with some lodges bring-ing in younger members.

On the positive side, $9,000has been allocated to continueboth: (a) publication of the Lead-ing Star, which will allow continu-ing this newspaper that has beenin publication since January, 1906(109 years), and (b) publication ofour website,www.orderofruneberg.org.

Also on the positive side,lodges that have plans to continuemay use the “Order of Runeberg”in their name. For example, “Or-der of Runeberg, Lodge #205, NewHaven.” There are six lodges thatplan to continue independently af-ter the March 31 IOR dissolution.They are: Lodge #8, Dollar Bay;Lodge #102, Eureka; Lodge #106,Tacoma; Lodge #124, Vancouver;Lodge #126, North Bend / CoosBay; and Lodge #205, New Haven.

The seventh lodge, Lodge#105, Butte, is planning to dis-band.

The IOR Board encourages alllodges, whether disbanding or con-tinuing, to send in past IOR recordsof interest to SFHS. You will findwithin this issue of the LeadingStar, an article that provides theSFHS Guidelines to IOR forRecords of Interest. These guide-lines list, in order of priority, therecords that are important to

archive with SFHS. SFHS reim-burses the sender for the postage.

2015 is the 150th anniversary ofthe birth of Finnish composer JeanSibelius. Finlandia FoundationNational has a section of theirwebsite dedicated to Sibelius’ 150th

anniversary:http://finlandiafoundation.org/sibelius-150-calendar. This websiteprovides a calendar that includesdozens of events supported byFinlandia Foundation National.You may also learn more aboutSibelius at our website: From thehome page, orderofruneberg.org,select the “Cultural Topics”, thenselect “Sibelius & Finlandia”, or usethis link:w w w . o r d e r o f r u n e b e r g . o r g /culturaltopicssibeliusfinlandia.html.In addition to learning aboutSibelius, the web page has two linksto performances of Sibelius’Finlandia (Hunter College & NPR),and since these links will open in aseparate browser window, you’ll beable to listen to “Finlandia”, while

continued on page 2

2

The Leading Star / LedstjärnanInt’l. President: Stewart Lyons

Editors: Dale and Mary Lou Hjort

Subscriptions payable in advanceOne Year, U.S. & Canada $15.00Overseas $20.00

Resolutions, single column, per inch, $5.00

Advertising rates available upon request.

Address all correspondence to:Postmaster: Send changes of address to:The Leading Star, Attn: Dale & Mary Lou Hjort

7682 Tracy LaneLa Palma, CA 90623-1501

Telephone/Fax: 714-739-0932Email: d.mlhjort@juno.com

The LEADING STAR (ISSN No. 0744-7485) is published quarterly by theInternational Order of Runeberg for its members and others interested in theOrder at 7682 Tracy Lane, La Palma, California 90623-1501.

Correspondents: Information received by the first Friday ofthe quarterly month or as noted will be included in thatquarter’s issue.To correct our listing of your address, fill in the requestedinformation in the form below and send your old mailing label to:

Dale & Mary Lou Hjort 7682 Tracy Lane

La Palma, CA 90623-1501

Name:_____________________________________________

Street:_____________________________________________

City:_______________________________________________

State:______________________________ Zip_____________

Lodge & Number:____________________________________

___________________________________________________

President’s Messagecontinued from page 1

March 2015

at the same time, continue explor-ing our website!

With the IOR dissolution onMarch 31, there will be manychanges—two of immediate note:(a) On our website references toIOR will be removed, other thanhistory-related references. Also,“International Order of Runeberg”will be replaced with “Order ofRuneberg Lodges,” (b) As men-tioned in the December issue of theLeading Star, please think aboutand offer your suggestions for aLeading Star column to replacethis IOR “President’s Message” col-umn. You may email your sugges-tions to the Leading Star editors(Email: d.mlhjort@juno.com), ormyself(Email:stewlyons@gmail.com).In the 2/22/15 Board meeting itwas suggested that this IOR“President’s Message” column be

replaced by article contributionsfrom the six lodges, alternatingalphabetically. I suggest lodgemembers think about possible top-ics, and let Dale and Mary Lou orme know when you or your lodgehave an article to publish. OurLeading Star editors, Dale andMary Lou, suggest articles that are300–500 words in length.

I would like to extend congratu-lations to Vancouver Lodge #124,as the lodge celebrates it’s 90th an-niversary, with a dinner and enter-tainment on March 28 at the Scan-dinavian Community Centre inBurnaby, BC.

Lastly, I would like to thank allmembers of IOR for the opportu-nity to serve you during my 2010–2014, and this 2014-2015 extensionof IOR office term.

Stew Lyons IOR President

Change

The Leading Star will soonchange from being part of theInternational Order of

Runeberg to being a paper for theOrder of Runeberg. The format willnot change, but some of the con-tent will. There will be noPresident’s Message, as mentionedin Stew Lyon’s President’s Messagein this issue. Some suggestionshave been made then as to what toreplace it with. Let us know if youhave ideas or would like to volun-teer with an article. Please continueto send in news about your lodgesso we will have plenty of articles forthe paper.

Please note the article on page7 about the SFHS Guidelines forsending in records. SFHS will re-imburse the sender for postage.This may take time and effort to dobut will be a valuable treasure forfuture generations.

–DH

3 March 2015

IOR WEBSITE 2014

4 March 2015

LODGE NEWSLodge #106 Tacoma, Washington

There were 28 members presentat the Order of Runeberg meetingon October 4, 2014. Our speakerwas Paul Lundborg, a retired min-ister who attends the Gloria DeiLutheran Church together with hiswife Rose Ann Lundborg.

Coming up will be our Christmasmeeting in December on December6, 2014. It will be a potluck meet-ing and it will be held at St. Mark’sLutheran Church on CollegeStreet—continue on between 19th

and 21st. The church is across fromthe Mountain View ElementarySchool directly across the street.

A big welcome to all who will at-tend. There will be a singing grouppresent in December.

Birthdays in December are:Dianna Nelson—Dec. 5Larry Sandell—Dec. 14Carina Mohammadi—Dec. 31Carina and Joe have already

left for Puerta Vallarta and willturn back the 25th of December.

God JulSincerely, Marita AgnewPresident of TacomaLodge #106

Paul Lundborg,a story of Swedes inAmerica in 1862:“Death of a Dream”

From left:Virginia Ulrichand Eileen Scott

From left:Marilyn ThompsonMarita (Gustafson)AgnewRose Ann Lundborg

From left:Carina MohammadiBarbara SoderbergJoe Mohammadi

From left:Marilyn Thompsonand Patricia Backman

5March 2015

LODGE NEWSLodge #106Tacoma,Washington

Today would have been—“Johan Ludwig Runeberg’s 211th B-day.” He was born on the 5th of Feb-ruary 1804 in the Jakobstad Fin-land, which was a small city half-way up the Gulf of Bothnia. He wasa very educated man and spoke sev-eral languages.

Must say we have had somewarm and beautiful days lately. Therose bushes are beginning to showgreen leaves, the daffodils areblooming and so is the ChristmasCactus here in my “Office” where Iwork. It’s unbelievable how manyblooms it has had. This cactus wasa starter from my grandmotherSanna Amanda Karlsson inKantlax, Munsala, and then passedit on to my mother, PhoebeAmanda Gustafsson, and now tome, Marita Phoebe Agnew. I havea crocus plant that is also in bloom.

I’m looking forward to seeing alot of you at the Order of RunebergMeeting in February 2015.

Sincerely, Marita AgnewPresident of Tacoma #106 Lodge

P.S. There were 28 present this lastSaturday at the Tacoma Lodge#106.

Sincerely,Marita (Gustafson) Agnew

Christmas at the Agnews 2014, showing above the fireplace

Christmas tree 2014at the Agnews inOlympia, WA,Marita Agnew andMonica Mason

Sisters [left] Monica (Karlson) Mason and[right] Carol (Carlson) Hahn.Monica born at the hospital in Jakobstad,Finland; Carol born in Michigan, U.S.A.

An old spinning wheel made asa gift from her father inscribed:

“Sanna Amanda EriksdotterLaggar” year 1893

The yarn was spun and cardedwhen the sheep’s wool was

trimmed off.

6 March 2015

LODGE NEWSLodge #205 New Haven, Connecticut“Bowling & Pizza” event Our annual “Bowling & Pizza”event, held on January 25, was wellattended, including children, asshown in this article’s accompany-ing pictures. After an enjoyabletime bowling, George & BrendaNousiainen hosted the lodge mem-bers at their home. Following the“disposal” of six pizzas, everyoneenjoyed dessert—”make your ownsundae,” featuring a selection of icecream flavors, numerous toppings,and a variety of cookies. Of course,Brenda and George provided copi-ous amounts of fresh coffee forFinns, such as me. To view more pictures (in color),visit the New Haven lodge’s webpage at the Runeberg website:http://www.orderofruneberg.org/lodges/l205newhavenct.html or godirectly to the “Bowling & Pizza”event page:http://www.orderofruneberg.org/l205bowling15.html. Article submitted by Stew Lyons

Doug on left,Ken keeping score,Kirsti with a nice smile,Peter seated on right,and Lise bowling

Left to right: Aaron, Christian,Jamie and in back, Jason

That’s Jamie bowling

Enjoying their “make your own sundae” are, leftto right Jamie, Jason, Aaron & Christian

After pizza, everyone is enjoying ice cream sundaes!Foreground, L-R: Kirsti, Doug, Liisa, Noora & KaarinaBackground, L-R: Sandy, Glenn, Pekka, Roy & Lise

7 March 2015

John passed away quietly in hissleep on December 30, 2014, inTacoma, Washington. John wasborn on September 14, 1933, in Fin-land. John’s parents were Karl andAnni Sandstrom. His brothers wereRichard, Bror, Simon, and Gustav,each with a family, and two sisters,Hazel and her husband Bertel andGunvie in Sweden who is marriedand has 5 boys and 2 grandchildren.Only Hazel and Gunvie have severalgrandchildren.

He moved to the Tacoma area inthe 1970s, where he worked forPuget Sound Plywood for manyyears. John is survived by two sis-ters and several nieces and nephews

John OlofSandstrom,member of International Order ofRuneberg Lodge # 106,Tacoma, WA

in Finland. John also had twocousins, Marta Cederberg inTacoma, WA, and Greta Lindroosin Vasa, Finland. John also left be-hind Suzanne Edwards, his long-time companion and best friend.John loved to work in his flowergardens and his yard. He also en-joyed helping other neighbors withtheir yards and lawns. John lovedanimals, especially cats. John alsoloved to spend time at his home onLake Sammamish, which re-minded him of where he grew up.A memorial service was held inhonor of John at the ImmanuelPresbyterian Church in Tacoma,WA, on January 24, 2015, offici-ated by Rev. David R. Brown.

Rest in Peace.Your friend Marita

From childhood days in Orvais

The following guidelines were prepared by SyreneForsman of SFHS, specific to IOR lodges. Theseguidelines are provided to all lodges, whether dis-solving or continuing, and we urge lodges to send inpast records of interest to SFHS. Here is the list of records according to importance.Oldest are most important. ALL records are impor-tant, of course, because they tell the story of Swed-ish-Finn immigrants within a community.• Membership registers: If the member’s name inNorth America appears WITH their name in Finlandand their birth day, month, year, and parish, it is somuch easier to connect with the person’s records inFinland. SFHS’ genealogy office receives many re-quests for help in reconnecting with immigrants sepa-rated from home by the Atlantic Ocean. IOR recordsare the best kind of resources for such research.• Minutes of meetings: What issues and events didthe membership support? Who worked with whatcommittee? The most difficult question to answerfor a relative in Finland is “What was their life like?”• Scholarship records with applications are impor-tant as marks of your lodge’s impact on the future.Students who have studied in Swedish Finland willbring home a special awareness of the heritage andculture. Their contacts in Finland can have lifelongimpact.• Photographs, especially those with date, place,names• Newspaper articles, perhaps there might even bephotos, in media outside of the Leading Star. SFHS

has archived most Leading Star issues after 1957. Anyearlier issues from 1900 on, or even earlier, are muchsought after.• Memorial booklets about the lodge history• Lodge Charter, etc.• Banners, desk flags from partner lodges, and otherrealia• Each lodge may have been part of a larger communityevent, such as parades, competitions, Lucia pageant,fairs, other Scandinavian organizations. Articles andrecords of that involvement show where the lodge fitinto its geographic site.• Financial records of members are not important. Sickbenefit records, dues records should probably be con-sidered private information. Financial records of lodgeactivities on the other hand can give a picture of wherethe hall was located, who played for the dances, andother interesting materials. SFHS will reimburse the sender for the postage.TheSFHS address is 1920 Dexter Avenue North, Seattle, WA98109. Should a call be necessary, the phone number is206-706-0738.

SFHS Guidelines to IOR for Records of Interest

Looking for Relatives

I am looking for other relatives of Greta Liza Svens(b.1884), and relatives of Edward Oman/Ahman (b.1883),who came to America. They came from Vora, Vasa, Fin-land, about 1910. They are mygrandparents. Please con-tact me, Tom Martin, at temartin903@gmail.com

8 March 2015

RYAN CONNELL has been a member ofNew Haven Lodge #205 for 10 years. Hewill graduate from high school this yearwhere he has been involved in varioussports, captain of 3, and several com-munity groups. He is an outstanding stu-dent. His plan is to go to college and geta degree in sports communications witha goal of becoming a sports broadcasterfor ESPN. Journalism is also in his plansand he now writes for the school paper,is sports editor, and has established anonline sports website. He is a responsible,respectful, conscientious, mature studentwith a positive attitude. He has a pas-sion for sports and telling a story. Good Luck in your studies, and per-haps one day we will listen to youbroadcasting sports games.

The International Order of Runeberg Scholarship Program began in 2002;and thanks to many generous donations, we have awarded 37 scholarships.Since the International Order of Runeberg will be dissolved March 31, 2015, theseare the last 5 scholarships we will award. We are pleased to announce the 2015 scholarship recipients. They are Ryan Connell,New Haven Lodge #205; Austin Swanson, Eureka Lodge #102; Leanne Felton,Vancouver Lodge #124; Sten-Erik Andreassen, Tacoma Lodge #106; andMira Vuorensivu, Vancouver Lodge #124. These are all hard-working students withimpressive academic achievements. We can be proud of these members and send our“Best Wishes” for a future that will meet their goals and dreams.

2015 International Scholarship Winners

LEANNE FELTON joined Vancouver Lodge#124 14 years ago. She is a 1st year stu-dent at the University of Victoria with agoal of becoming an elementary teacher.She is Philanthropy Chair of the Upsilonchapter of Kappa Beta Gamma Interna-tional Sorority. In high school she was inthe TALONS program for gifted studentsand participated in in-depth projects, out-doors trips and cultural activities. It helpedher adjust to high school after beinghomeschooled for 2 years. In Musical The-ater, for 4 years, she progressed from cho-rus to lead character in “Footloose.” Shewas one of 16 in the elite Vocal Jazz En-semble. She maintained her place on theHonor Roll. Her piano playing was enjoyedat various events. Leanne volunteered atFast Brained Kids Gifted Association and

Odyssey of the Mind, where her teamplaced 20th in the World Finals, compet-ing against 825 teams from around theworld. She cut off 12 inches of her hairand donated to Wigs for Kids. Good Luck, Leanne, for a success-ful future.

AUSTIN SWANSON has been a memberof Eureka Lodge #102 for 7 years. He isa freshman at the College of the Red-woods. He is majoring in Kinesiology witha goal of becoming a physical therapist.He sees a need for blending physicaltherapy with sports medicine due to hisexperiences with playing team sports.Besides being a good, responsible stu-

9 March 2015

dent, Austin has been dedicated to de-veloping his talent as an athlete in base-ball and bowling. He would like to play inMajor League Baseball. He is a young manof integrity, strong work ethics with apositive attitude and is a dependableworker. Best of Luck, Austin, as you con-tinue your studies.

STEN-ERIK ANDREASSEN has been amember of Tacoma Lodge #106 for 3years. He is currently attending PierceCommunity College where he joined PhiTheta Kappa Honor Society. In the futurehe plans to transfer to Oregon State Uni-versity in Mechanical Engineering. He isan excellent student, very dedicated andhardworking. He enjoys building thingsand spends time building stage sets forhis church. He volunteers in the Life Cen-ter Singing Christmas Tree, a major mu-sical and dramatic production. He is will-ing to help wherever needed, manageprop distribution, run a spot light, handlefog machines, etc. He does all this with apositive attitude. He is dependable, dili-gent, friendly, respectful and reliable inall that he does. Best Wishes and we hope your goalof working for Boeing one day comestrue.

MIRA VUORENSIVU has been a mem-ber of Vancouver Lodge #124 for 13years. She graduated from Douglas Col-lege with a certificate in Dental Assistingin 2010. She has now been accepted toB. C. Institute of Technology, Bachelor ofScience in Nursing program. She was adental assistant for 3 years and was awell organized and confident team mem-ber. She took on complicated responsi-bilities and became head assistant. Shecompleted the Dental AnesthesiaAssistant’s Certification Examination withimpeccable results. She is motivated andstrives to improve herself. She has vol-unteered at the Finnish Manor Care Fa-cility and her experiences have confirmedher passion for patient care. She wantsto be a valued member of a larger healthcare team. We wish you Good Luck in yourNursing career, Mira.

Lorene Mara Scholarship Chairman

Thank you for awarding me withthis scholarship. It is an honor to re-ceive this scholarship as it is a way tohelp support my future endeavors incollege. I look forward to pursuing acareer in sports broadcasting and ad-vancing my education. Runeberg hasbeen an enjoyable experience and issomething that I am proud to be a partof. Thank you again for, helping mefurther my education. Sincerely, Ryan Connell

Thank you to the Order of Runebergfor awarding me this scholarship. Thisis an honor to receive this scholarshipbecause I will be able to continue ontowards my future. I am so happy tosee that so many others support me inpursuing a higher education. Thank you, Sten-Erik Andreassen

I am very proud and honored tohave received this scholarship fromInternational Order of Runeburg andthe scholarship committee. With thisscholarship, I will be able to continuemy education.

My family and I are very commit-ted to our local lodge. We continue totry to promote the Order of Runeburgin our area.

Once again, thank you very much. Austin Swanson

Hello! I’d like to express my gratitude forbeing awarded the Order of RunebergScholarship. Having been a memberfor most of my life, I am honoured toreceive this support from an organi-zation that I care about. This scholar-ship will go toward my second yeartuition at the University of Victoria,where I am pursuing a BEd in Elemen-tary Education. Once again, thank youvery much for this generous award. Leanne Felton

Dear Order of Runeberg, I want to express my sincere grati-tude for awarding me the scholarshipthis year. I am currently undergoingmy first year of Nursing school at theBritish Columbia Institute of Technol-ogy. Even though I only just started theprogram; I already feel a strong senseof belonging and that I am on the rightpath to a challenging yet rewarding

Thank You

career. I have just under 3 years aheadof me in the program so again, thisscholarship is much appreciated.Thank you so much for recognizingmy efforts and for supporting my ca-reer goals. Sincerely, Mira Vuorensivu

10 March 2015

Old Traditions inÖsterbotten

Education

When the Reformation was estab-lished in the Nordic countries, itbecame an important task for the

Lutheran Church to inform people ofthe Christian religion. This was foundin Martin Luther’s Little Catechism.But reading ability among the countrypeople was almost non-existent. Inwidely spread congregations with thepoor communication of the time, thepastor could not impart any teachingto the children. The church law of 1686required the pastor to direct his preach-ing to the main parts of the Catechismand in such a way to instruct the pa-rishioners.

According to a decree of 1644, theparish clerk was required to live in aparish cottage near the church and toread with the children. The rector hadto see that the youth of the congrega-tion learned to read. Parents also hadan obligation to teach their children toread the Catechism. But it was a longtime before this decree could be fol-lowed because many parents had littleor no reading ability.

In 1596 Uppsala Cathedral in Swe-den required the pastor to travelthrough his parish and gather the resi-dents for Catechism examination, andin 1686 the church law required a read-ing examination. Both parents, themaster and mistress with all the houseresidents as well as children and ser-vants were required to attend the ex-amination. It could be in progress forthree days and he who held the exami-nation paid for food and drinks. Assoon as the examination was over, adance was held and it could be inprogress for two days and nights withintermission only during mealtime.

In Nedervetil parish in the 1700s,Catechism and reading examinationsas well as training in writing were thefirst forms of teaching. Young peoplewere often noisy and ill-mannered inchurch, so in 1781 the church was re-quired to appoint a supervisor over thechildren during divine service. At areading examination in Murick thatsame year farm hand JakobGabrielsson was threatened with aschool whipping. At a reading exami-nation in 1775 Ahlskog’s maid KarinMichelsdotter was warned about slowbook learning and laziness.

The usual penalty for missing areading examination and for readingaloud poorly was the log punishment.With legs firmly shackled in the logs,they were punished by sitting outsidethe church door along the roadside forpublic inspection. This was a greatshame and far from pleasant. This pun-ishment was used frequently. (It musthave been similar to the pillory.) “Wis-dom should be knocked in with sticksto prevent lazy machines from takingsupremacy,” an old saying goes. Atreading examinations the young peoplewere threatened with whipping if theydid not read aloud better.

At the end of the 1700s people wererequired to memorize the Catechism,and parents were fined if their childrenhad not learned their simple Catechism

part by heart. This fine amounted toabout 90 öre or 12 pennis.

The parish clerk served as a teacherand went from farm to farm to teachthe children to read. The parents couldnot teach for they themselves could notdo much reading. One of the first am-bulatory school teachers in Nedervetilparish was Ängman’s widow. She wan-dered from farm to farm and taught thechildren to read. Another schoolteacher from that time was GabrielRönnberg, born 1736 in Sweden, whowas married to Magdalena LarsdotterFriis. He was a master gardener andcould read and write.

The teachers were poorly paid. Af-ter each child’s birth, a wife made amonetary gift to the church. Thismoney was used mostly to teach poorchildren, especially after the 1808–09war when orphans were found in greatnumbers. The parish school teacherwas the first pioneer in teaching. Pov-erty was their life and we cannot fullyappreciate their contribution duringthe 1700s and 1800s.

Wild Animals

One feature of daily life in a villagewas the struggle with wild animals. Itwas mostly wolves and bears that pe-riodically made life unsafe for bothpeople and cattle. Small children werenever safe outside. The family menwere out hunting or fishing most of thetime, so the women had to meet thedanger. Preventive measures weretaken. The early dwellings were builtwith such a narrow entrance that onehad to crawl to enter. The barn roof wasloaded with big stones to protect thestock against the bears. Traps wereplaced in surroundings and pits weredug in the paths used by the beasts. Aninner yard was built in the form of asquare where the little children werefairly well protected and under super-vision. A similar construction could beseen in the villages of Riippa and Pelo

June Pelo,A Dedicated Genealogist

Genealogy Corner

Genealogy Corner

11March 2015

in the 1800s. The last bear in the areawas seen in 1825 and the last wolf wasshot in 1950 near Terjärv.

Superstitions

People believed that magic couldbring them the luck—luck at fishing,good year’s crops, luck in brewing,well-being for the livestock, protectionfrom witches and the ability to trackdown thieves. Through witchcraft,people could also harm other peopleand animals. Through magic they feltprotected from illness, snakebite andwounds.

When the cows were released topasture in the spring, a cross wasdrawn on the ground with tar. Thecross protected them from evil spirits,it was believed.

When a pregnant woman sat at aloom and wove fabric, she did not leavethe weaving reed in the web becauseher birth pains would be long and dif-ficult. If there was a split in the fabricduring weaving, one had to lay 25pennis on the bolt of weaving. The fab-ric burst because someone put a spellon the loom.

If a child was sick, a dram ofschnapps had to be taken to the goblinin the attic and the child became well.

Easter was not only a big churchfestival but was also a resurrection ofnature and could not be ignored. Lifewas found in the form of Easter eggs,in fertility and vitality. In olden times,this was interpreted as a sign of life’smysterious power. People believed thatman could profit from nature’s secretpower over evil and good beings thatlived in plants and animals, water andstones, by fastening them to his prop-erty, his house or household goods. Atthe beginning of the 1800s and laterone could find excellent rams hornsover a door, owl wings spread out,runestones of trolls or hobgoblins un-der the churn, iron horseshoes over thedoor of a building, etc.

During Lent people tried throughall sorts of ways to indemnify them-selves. On the Tuesday before Lent theyate meat broth and boiled milk withbuns. They stayed outside all day, ei-ther running with a toboggan or onskis, or riding in an empty haywagonwith a horse on the road. And on thatsame day it was customary to hold abig dance in the parish.

On the Tuesday evening beforeLent, if a man went to the barn early,then the cows came home early duringthe summer. That same day someonehad to sweep the cottage floor and barnroof 9 times without speaking. If theydid that, there would be no flies in thesummer. They also had to eat 9 timesthat day.

On Easter evening if one sketchedan old witch on the door of the barn,the witch would not be loose in thebarn. If one neglected to do this, theEaster witch clipped wool with thesheep shears in the sheep pen. If thishappened, there would be bad luck thatyear, the sheep would not thrive norbreed. Otherwise, if the sheep weresheared, then singed, the wool was bet-ter.

In the remote farms and villages,witchcraft and superstition flourisheda long time. There was a group of farmsin Över Korplax called Kotkama wherethere were several witches who couldhave an effect on animals. One timesome horses were so bewitched thatthey would not stop kicking even afterbecoming soaking wet from the exer-tion. People tried to take them outsideand drive them, but they reared ontheir hind legs and stood still. So a cer-tain old woman was summoned whosaid she knew what the behavior of thehorses was about—that under the floorwas a bag containing a man’s bones.When the floor was taken up and thebag was removed, the horses stoppedkicking and standing on their hind legs.Among those same farms it was saidthat if one wanted to see the Easterwitch, he had to lie awhile on his backon the roof of the house until the witchappeared.

When the main road in Nedervetilparish went past the church and cem-etery, a traveler could see ghosts float-ing over the cemetery during the night.Sometimes the horses were forced tostop right in front of the church andthey would not continue. They shookand trembled with fright. But if a per-son said a prayer or spoke God’s name,the ghostly spirit disappeared and thetraveler could go on his way.

It was such an experience for afarmer from Kaustby when he was driv-ing home in the dark autumn from themarket in Gamlakarleby. When hecame to the church, the horse sprangloose from the cart. The farmer hopped

off and tightened the harness, but assoon as it was tightened, the strapsprang loose again. This happenedmany times. As quickly as the farmerfixed the harness and started to drive,the strap sprang loose. Then he real-ized that he had to cooperate with theghost and when he said a prayer, hecould continue his journey.

In Tast a long time ago there was abandit who died. When a man went tothe church to toll the knell for him, thebell stuck. No matter how he tried, hecould not make the bell ring.

Two brothers in Pelo village werelaying a straw-thatch roof on a sunnysummer day. They sat along the road-side near the barn while eating theirnoon meal, and from the past their latefather’s father walked by. Both saw himclearly. He was clothed in the sameclothes as when they last saw him alive.He went inside the barn but did notcome out. The brothers were not fright-ened, and went into the barn to seewhere he went, but the barn was empty.

One New Year’s evening a man sawtwo cows go out and scratch for grainin the snow. When he went out to lookat them, the grain turned into two menwho took him away to the edge of thewoods. Then they disappeared as ifswallowed into the ground.

During the Great War a Russiancourier was murdered at Tast. Afterthat no one would live on the farm be-cause all who attempted to live therebecame destitute.

Customs

When electricity, motorcars, tele-phones and other modern inventionsbecame commonplace, the old customsand practices disappeared. They weredependent on seasonal changes and ondeeply rooted experiences.

On parish farms people held smallcelebrations that brightened the week-days and gave renewed energy for thecontinuous harvest work. Afterhaymaking was over and all the grainin the fields was gathered, the barleyhad to be cut, and the turnips and po-tatoes were dug up. Then everyonegathered to celebrate with rabbit whichwas cooked with potatoes or turnips.

When all the grain was threshedand put in the grain shed, bread was

continued

Genealogy Corner

March 201512

Cats and dogs were treated withgreat love. It was maintained that whenpeople fell into sin, God threatened todeprive them of all food. But then thecat and dog stepped forward and askedfor mercy for mankind. God regrettedhis decision and the people were al-lowed to keep their food. In the fall the farmers thinned out theherd of animals they didn’t want to feedduring the winter. They sold the bestmeat and kept the worst. When theyslaughtered, rather than knocking theanimal in the head, they cut an arteryin the neck and the blood ran into acontainer. The children took part in theslaughter and stirred the container sothe blood did not coagulate.

Farmers in olden times had astrong bond with old customs and out-grown methods. A third of the groundalways lay fallow. This was particularlytrue of the back fields where theysowed rye. Fallow acreage was grazedover during the early summer by thesheep. Then it was plowed and har-rowed and kept black during the sum-mer by industrious harrowing. The18th of August was when they sowedrye, with a spring sowing day on the fol-lowing May 25th.

The farmers did not relax duringthe time between sowing andhaymaking. They had long fences torepair or rebuild. Large farms hadmany kilometers of fences to keep inrepair. In the early spring they cutwood for the fences which were heldtogether with split spruce branches. Agood fence could last up to 30 years.

Immediately after summer cameleaf taking time. They could not takethe leaves when the moon was waningbecause the sheep would not eat theleaves. Sheaves of leaves were dried ondrying hurdles and they needed a thou-sand leaves for the winter needs of thesheep.

In olden times all hay was cut witha scythe and grain was cut with thesickle. How heavy and laborious it was.We have only a weak conception of howthe men worked from morning to nightfor days until all was threshed. Whenhorses came into use, threshing timewas much easier.

There was an ancient practice ofbleeding to purge the body of impuri-ties. A horn cup was made from theshaved tip of a cowhorn, and a bit of

calf bladder was tied over the smallend. The afflicted part of the body waslanced with a copper axe, the largeopen end of the horn was placed overthe wound, and suction was applied bydrawing on the small end of the hornwith the mouth. This was usually doneby old women called Cup Women whopracticed this bloody handiwork. Thepatient usually went to the sauna afterbleeding, and then to bed for a goodnight’s rest.

The custom of cremation survivedyet at the close of the 1700s and the be-ginning of the next century. It was afrightful and unpleasant task. Duringthe winter months all the bodies of thedead were collected in the ash cellar atthe back of the church. They could notdig graves when the ground was fro-zen. After the first spring thaw, mendug a big common grave and all thebodies collected during the winter wereturned into the grave and burned. Themen who performed the job then gotdrunk with brandy because they couldnot bear the stench.

Tailors and shoemakers went fromfarm to farm and sewed clothing andmade shoes. Hides and skins weresmeared with tallow and pitch oil be-fore the shoe-maker began to work.Women dressmakers also wentaround. But usually the farm womensewed everything for their own needs.Other skilled workers who wanderedaround were the carpenter, watch-maker and tinsmith. Itinerant peddlersappeared with dishes, baskets, fabric,and geegaws.

As their wages, servants always gotshoes and wool. They were also allowedto sit at the same table as the master’sfamily and ate the same food. There-fore many of them stayed many yearson the farm. A lot of old customs were associatedwith festivals. Late in October peoplebegan to prepare for Christmas. Theyslaughtered sheep and cows and butch-ered enough animals to provide meatfor the entire year. The butchered meatwas salted down in a barrel and part ofit was smoked in the sauna. The bloodwas kept and baked into bloodbread.The guts and bowels were cleaned andfilled with sausage and roasted in theoven.

After this came the malting of ryeand grain. They needed malt in greatquantities for the beer they would

baked from the year’s harvest. Perhapsthere was some “firewater” at somefarm to slake the thirst if the mistressof the household did not serve the cus-tomary beer. These modest work par-ties were still held in the beginning ofthe 1900s; people also combined thesesmall occasions into a large festivalequivalent to the large harvest festivalscelebrated in the villages and parishes. When relatives came to visit, they ar-rived on Saturday afternoon and left onTuesday or Wednesday. They were fedand housed and not in any hurry toleave. They, in turn, were obliged to re-pay relatives with a similar feast.

When a woman had a child, it wascustomary for relatives to bring butter,meat, bread, raisin soup, wool, etc.They in turn were invited to stay andeat.

From earliest years, girls learnedall sorts of handwork, to sew an evenseam—at that time there were no sew-ing machines available—to knit, to setup a loom and to weave. They also hadto tidy up and tend to small brothersand sisters, so they had their hands full.In later years, the children in the housealso learned to read and write. Theywrote on slate with a slate pencil.

The boys stacked wood in a pile,helped those who wove, helped in thecowshed and helped those who didwoodwork. Knives were the most de-sirable treasure for boys. When theylearned to do carpentry work, theyneeded a knife.

In olden times the women took ad-vantage of every minute. In the springthey went to a far-lying pasture to bindbirch brooms and whisks for cleaninghouse. They also took their knittingneedles and knit stockings while fol-lowing the cows home. If the family waslarge, it was not easy to provide stock-ings and mittens. If there was a lack ofwool or if they could not keep up withsewing for all the family members, themen used rags in their boots. Knittingneedles were a woman’s constant com-panion.

If a cow was taken ill, it could becured as follows: soil from three differ-ent places in front of the doorstep wasblended with water and given as medi-cine to the sick cow. It was repeated forthree Thursday evenings and the re-sults were good.

Genealogy Corner

13March 2015

brew. The grain was soaked in wateruntil it sprouted. Then the sauna wasfired and the grain was kept there un-til the sprouts dried and becamestrong. It was then ground in the milland the malt was ready to brew. Therewas a large separate vat used for brew-ing. The home-brewed beer was sweetand good. On large farms they made athousand liters which provided drink-ing for the entire year. Yeast was notbought, but they took the sedimentfrom the brewing vat and saved it foruse during the year.

Many weeks before Christmas, thebaking was started for the many assort-ments of bread for the Christmas table.First, they baked hardtack (crisp hardrye bread). It had to be hard and dryand baked in such large amounts thatit lasted an entire year. Then they bakedsour bread, yeast bread and limpa (ryemeal bread), which were fermentedwith yeast that came from the brewingvat. The sour bread was made by put-ting rye flour in a dough tray and thenhot water was poured on it and it wascovered with a cloth. Flour was added3 or 4 times and the dough was left toferment for 3–4 days during which itacquired a sweet-sour taste. The breadwas baked with slow heat, usually sev-eral hours. The baked bread then satin the dough tray, covered with a cloth,overnight in the kiln to turn a darkbrown. Bloodbread was made by stir-ring salt and flour into the blood.

The last day before Christmas, theytidied up. The log walls in the housewere decorated. Benches made ofplaned boards were fastened to thewalls. Many people had little means forChristmas. Usually, they made someminor addition in the home. Some tookon the job of weaving rugs. They werea nice adornment for the heavilyscrubbed floors. The horses were alsogiven something that warmed andadorned them on the journey to churchon Christmas, so a horse-cloth was wo-ven. The old grandmother also receiveda warm garment, usually a large shawlof wool. In the 1700s it was still cus-tomary to spread straw or juniper twigson the floor on Christmas Eve day. Fa-ther Christmas greeted everyone andbrought presents. At six o’clock Christ-mas morning they all drove to thechurch with sleigh bells ringing—burn-ing torches shone here and therethrough the drifting snow. The torches

were dipped in oil and they burned un-til the return from church. The dayswere very short at that time of year, soit was dark most of the time. On thereturn trip home, the men drove incompetition because he who reachedhome first also had his harvest takenin first later in the year.

Brick Making

After Christmas, preparations be-gan for making bricks. Men went to thewoods and cut down trees and carriedthe wood home. On some farms claypits were dug and sand was hauled tothe pits. As soon as spring sowing wasfinished, work began on the bricks. Itwas slavery to beat the clay, but peoplewelcomed the additional income dur-ing those miserable times. Everyone onthe farm was used: men, women, chil-dren and horses. A large trough wasmade from logs and filled with water,clay and sand. These ingredients wereblended and kneaded by the hooves ofa horse which was led back and forthin the trough.

Near the trough was a plank onwhich the bricks were formed. Underthe plank was a water bucket filled withwater so one could easily take waterand add to the clay to form the bricks.Both hands were formed into fists topunch the mass into a wooden form,smoothed with the hands and thenwith a twitch the brick was moved fromthe plank and placed on a flat surface.The children then came with a sandbucket and with their hands, strewsand over the bricks so they would notcrack from the sun. The empty formwas then placed in the water and hadto be clean and wet before the nextbrick was formed. The bricks had to beprotected from rain and then fired forthree days.

Brick making was a gathering placefor all the elders of the village. Theytold amusing stories, played cards,drank coffee, and sang and dancedthemselves purple. About 10,000bricks were made in the summer andsold to the city. It was a craft that waslater taken over by industry.

When one reminds himself of all theold simple but useful customs thatwere cherished in the Swedish villagesof Österbotten since time immemorialby one generation after the other, werealize that people made no big de-

mands of life. They were satisfied withwhat their own village could give themfor variety and experience. It was natu-ral for them to follow the same customsof their forefathers for hundreds ofyears.

Weddings

Banns and weddings adhered tomany customs that no longer exist. Onthe Friday before Pentecost all thecouples who intended to post bannstraveled to the city to shop. The fiancépurchased the clothing and adorn-ments for his bride. They rode to thecity in a long parade with an escort ofthe best horses leading the bridal pairsin chaises from all the parishes in thearea. The road was lined with childrenwho gathered for hours to see thebridal couples. The couples who tiedthe nuptial knot during midsummerusually posted banns on PentecostSunday, and banns were also posted forthe next two Sundays. Pentecost wasconsidered the golden engagementtime.

In 1900 in one of the parishes, afarmer’s son was engaged to marry theprettiest girl in the parish. The full-grown village boys had advance newsof the event and they went to thebridegroom’s house and began, with-out permission, to empty the buildingsand sheds of the items stored there: oldcarts, sleds, barrows, plows, boards,rollers, dung carts and all sorts of largebulky things.These were placed on theroad leading to the bridegroom’shouse. They knew it would create aproblem for the engaged man to at-tempt to remove everything in order toreach the house. The small boys of thevillage searched for old pans, horsebells, cowbells and whatever they coulduse to make a noise when the engagedcouple came to the farm. In the eveningthere was a dance with coffee and bunsfor all.

In Gamlakarleby, as well as inKronoby, it was customary for the en-gaged couple to go around to the farmsto collect or beg for household items.The gifts consisted of wool, linen andother textiles or money. Several ordi-nances from the 1600s prohibited thecustom, but it did not deter the peoplealthough the custom existed for a longtime.

continued

Genealogy Corner

14 March 2015

Following is a description of a largewedding:

Several weeks before the weddingthe wedding yard and the nearby farmswere spruced up. The house was re-paired inside and out; windows werecleaned in the house, barns and out-buildings. Young spruce was collectedfrom the woods. Birch branches wereplaced around the benches whichyoung boys built.

In olden times a wedding pole stoodin the wedding yard. This has currentlybeen replaced by a triumphal archwhich was made by standing two longwhite poles near each other and drap-ing a white sheet between the poles.Lingon and crow-berry branches, andsmall juniper twigs were gathered andbound into a small garland that formedthe word: Välkommen.

A week before the wedding, a car-riage boy traveled around with invita-tions bidding people to the wedding.The day before the wedding everyoneon the farm was occupied. The bridebaked, beer was brewed, whitefish wasrinsed and pickled for use as meat forsandwiches, coffee was roasted andground by the small girls. Sugar waspurchased and shaved. Fresh Balticherring was rinsed and salted. The bak-ing of coffee bread required cinnamon.In more recent times gingerbread bis-cuits were baked. When the womenarrived at the wedding yard they car-ried a bundle which contained severalbreads and a large pat of butter on aplate. If they came from a well-to-dofarm, they had a contribution of meat—calf or mutton, all of which was a goodaddition to the wedding meal.

The evening before the wedding theground was swept and raked all the wayfrom the house to the main road. Ev-erything had to be as neat and clean aspossible for the guests because theolder married couples had plenty oftime between entertainment to wanderaround and see how things were. Whenone considers the large number of wed-ding guests (1500–2000 people), it isdifficult to understand how peoplecould undertake the task of treatingand entertaining such a large numberof guests for three days. But usuallythere was no other occasion for manyof the people to meet each other. Andthere was great harmony and helpful-ness in the old villages; they were sat-isfied with the good things of theirworld.

in 1945, 1,000 people were invited tothe wedding and the celebration lastedfor three days. Their wedding was oneof the last large weddings in the par-ish. It was during the postwar periodand all the food provided for the ban-quet was produced at Brännkärr.Edmund’s grandfather Alfred was afarmer with extensive land.

Edmund and Synnöve emigrated toAmerica in 1956 and lived in Spring-field, Massachusetts, in a house with13 rooms which they rented out. In1965 they built a new house and livedthere until 1975 when they moved toSebring Hills, Florida, where they havelived for 20 years. They are now theonly Finlanders remaining of the 22families in the neighborhood who livedthere 20 years ago. Every other sum-mer Edmund and Synnöve return toNedervetil to their little red stuga onKlockar-backen. When they are in resi-dence both Finland’s flag and theAmerican flag fly from the same pole.

On 9 July 1995 during a visit toNedervetil, they celebrated theirgolden wedding anniversary. Their sonTage insisted that they celebrate in Fin-land and he and his sons Jeffrey andMark went to Nedervetil to plan a bigcelebration at Gillestugan to which 350guests were invited.

Farm House

To the left of the entrance door wasa bed with a high frame. A farm handslept there. In the corner of the housebetween the gable wall and side wallstood another bed for some of the resi-dents. These beds were usually foundin small farms where children weremore abundant than in well-to-dofamilies. In the summer everyone sleptin the attic except for the young daugh-ters who slept in the loft. If there wereguests and not many extra beds, theirchildren slept in the attic. If the guestswere harvesters or haymakers, duringmeals they sat nearest the farmer andchildren and young people sat fartheralong the table. At the end of the tablewas a stool. It was required when spin-ning and when wool was carded. If aguest appeared, he sat on a stool. In theroom where the farmer’s family slept,there was a stool for the mother whonursed the baby in front of the fire inthe tile stove.

When the wedding day arrived,preparations were made for over athousand persons, to lodge them andtreat them with food and drink forthree days. The wedding was held on aweekday in the middle of the week, andthe marriage was performed in thewedding yard. The wedding chamberwas beautifully decorated with home-woven bridal sheets. The day before thewedding the young people madewreaths of berry and juniper twigswhich were hung around the weddingroom, and mirrors were borrowed tobe hung on the walls.

If the wedding was not held in thechurch, an altar was erected in thehouse. A bench was placed with twolong pillows on top, covered by afringed bridal sheet on which wasplaced a little square cushion coveredwith a little square white embroideredcloth and a colored paper flower wasplaced on top of it. A fringed sheet wasplaced on the floor before the altar.

The bride’s clothing was black silkand in many cases was borrowed fromthe pastor’s wife. Many of the gownswere altered many times because theywere worn by small and large-sizedbrides. The bride also wore a largebridal crown which was borrowed, pa-per flowers and silk ribbons.

The guests were richly provisionedand between mealtimes they played allsorts of jokes and pranks, lifted cartwheels, ran in sacks, ate bread hang-ing from a cord, and ran races. Oneprank was to hold a trial with a pros-ecutor, judge and jury. The one to beprosecuted received a summons. Hewas prosecuted for a crime of a humor-ous nature. The culprit could ask for arepresentative during the legal pro-ceedings.

At a wedding at Pelo village inNedervetil, Hansas Kalle (KarlHansén) danced himself purple withanother man’s wife. He was prosecutedfor undue advances to the wife and wassummoned to appear in handcuffs atlegal proceedings. He asked EmilHögnäs to be his representative at thetrial, and the judge was Judge GustafBishop from Kronoby who acquitedhim and he did not have to pay a fine.

Even into the 1940s large weddingswere still being held. When my friendsEdmund Brännkärr from Nedervetiland Synnöve Bodbacka from Terjärvwere married at Brännkärr, Nedervetil,

Genealogy Corner

15March 2015

The typical house had a polerunning along the ceiling from whichhung the hardtack—it was baked witha hole in the center. The sour breadand rye bread were kept in barrels oron a tray. The floor and tables werescoured with water and sand.

The benches were short and long,depending on the purpose for whichthey were used—for example, as an ex-tension to the bed. The farmer usuallykept some tools for repairing shoes ona bench, and another bench would holddrills, screw-driver, folding rule, etc.There was also a bench near the fire-place on which the dishes were washed.The axe bench was near the entrancedoor. The spoon holder was on the wallbehind the table. The wooden spoonswere not washed, but were licked clean!

In the floor of the fireplace was alarge trapdoor with steps to the cellarwhere root stock was kept. Potatoeswere also kept in the cellar. Some farmshad a revolving arm of metal attachedto the fireplace, with a candle holder atthe end of the arm. When the candlewas lit, one could see what was cook-ing in a pot. The main source of lightin a house was the fire in the fireplace.They also used tallow dip, potato lampswith a wick that burned with oil, smallsheet metal lamps with oil as fuel andthen later a ceiling lamp that consistedof a glass reservoir with a burner and aglass tube.

Some farms had a useful thing in alittle side room: a little round stool witha hole in the middle of the seat with achamberpot underneath for the young-est in the family. When the walls became so smoky theycould not be cleaned by thoroughscouring, they had to be redone. Theold plaster in the seams was removedand new lime plaster was applied.When it was dry, the plaster wassmoothed. Then distemper was mixedeither in red (cowberry) color or blueand applied to the surface.

Funerals

A relative was chosen to go fromfarm to farm and invite relatives, vil-lage residents and other acquaintancesto a funeral feast which followed theburial service. Some large funeral feastslasted for two days. One example of alarge funeral feast concerns the burialof Matts Isaksson Frij’s wife in 1842.

It was no small job to provide mealsfor those who attended her funeral. Itrequired 1 1/2 barrels of rye, 1 1/2 bar-rels of malt, 4 half-pecks of grain, 5pounds of coffee and sugar, 2 half-pecksof peas, 28 jugs of schnapps, 5 poundsfresh whitefish, 6 pounds salted white-fish, spices, 3/4 jug of rum, 1/2 jug mo-lasses, and 5 pounds of tobacco.

The village people were invited andthere was great harmony. During thosetimes people helped each other whenit was necessary. When they heardabout the feast, they helped with tidy-ing up so that everything was neat andclean. The men borrowed from thecommunity warehouse tables, seats,dishes, spoons, wooden cups. They alsocollected spruce and juniper twigs fromthe woods. These were chopped fineand strewn along the way from thesteps of the cottage to the road. Someof the very finely chopped twigs werestrewn on the cottage floor. The largebranches were placed in a green bor-der around the floor in front of the fire-place. The food tables were coveredwith a cloth and at one end stood a ca-rafe or a wooden jug containing home-brewed beer.

People ate many meals during thetwo-day funeral feast. The peas werecooked into a pea stew to be eaten withpork, or pea soup with pork. Beef wasroasted in a long pan in the oven andeaten with peeled potatoes. The saltedwhitefish was placed on a wooden platewith a knife and people cut off a pieceto eat with bread and butter as a firstcourse to the evening meal, togetherwith barley porridge cooked with milk.The fresh fish was cooked together withpotatoes and eaten as a first course. On the second day of the funeralfeast, it was the custom to warm up thefood remaining from the previous day.There was also bloodbread (kamstekt)as a first course to the first meal. It wasbaked the same way as French bread,then cut into pieces and water and porkwere added and it was cooked untildone. (I can remember, as a child, mak-ing bloodbread in our kitchen.)

There was a great quantity of maltwhich was brewed with hops and sugar.The hops was strong, sweet and madeexcellent beer that they drank at thefeast. At the end of the meal a psalmwas sung. Then the alms bowl waspassed to collect money for the needy. The guests were invited to the funeralat 8 a.m. at the home. The deceased

was in his coffin which rested on twostools, covered with a cloth. Then thecover was removed and the stools andseats were placed along the cottagewalls. The guests were greeted by thehost and hostess and then they stoodfor a moment of silence by the coffin.They were all dressed in black. Theywere invited to coffee from the coffeetable which stood near the hearth. Af-ter drinking coffee, they all stood whilethe parish clerk sang a psalm. A lid wasplaced on the coffin and screwed tight.Another psalm was sung in unison, thecoffin was carried out and placed on avehicle and accompanied by mournersfrom the home to the church.

It was a very old custom that the de-ceased in his coffin was placed in frontof the church on a catafalque. At theappointed time the parish pastor andparish clerk stood before the coffinwhich was then carried to the funeralchapel. The pastor and clerk led themourners who followed in a single line,all the while singing as they walked tothe funeral chapel. The women showedtheir reverence for God’s name as theycurtsied each time God’s name orJesus’ name was mentioned. This cus-tom is no longer followed.

When the burial ceremony wasover, the mourners proceeded to thechurch where a divine service held. Theservice was closed with thanks to thedeceased. (The funeral chapel was aseparate building located near the par-ish church.)

At Maria Frijs’ funeral feast, 70 li-ters of schnapps and 3/4 of a jug of rumwere consumed. The relatives reactedangrily to that quantity by opening le-gal proceedings against the widowerMatts Isaksson Frijs. The legal actionwas discontinued and the family wasreconciled.

In Karleby parish large funeralfeasts were in progress for two days forthe family, and three days for thecooks, helpers and neighbors who hada lot to do to clean up after the feast.Funerals in the parish were celebratedwith great solemnity with church bellsringing, the casket procession andguests invited to the home. Everyoneshowed respect for the last time to theirdear deceased.

Excerpts from“Karleby Sockens Historia I” and“Nedervetil KommunHembygdesbok”

June Pelo

Dale & Mary Lou Hjort7682 Tracy LaneLa Palma, CA 90623-1501

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