Preserving an Important Piece of Carver County History

On October 11, 2006, four Swedes traveled 4,000 miles to replace the roof of a Carver County granary. As you might guess, this is no ordinary granary.

The granary in question was built by Andrew Peterson, a Swedish immigrant who was known by his contemporaries for his experimentation with Russian varieties of apples. He was an important contributor to the establishment of Minnesota's apple industry. But what he is best known for historically are his diaries which span nearly 50 years, with the last entry just days before his death in 1898. These diaries served as an important resource for famous Swedish author Vilhelm Moberg while he did research for his classic series The Emigrants.

Mikael and Olle shaping a new rafter for the granary. Mikael was granted permission by a couple of local landowners to cut down a few trees that would work for the project. While most of us were amazed at this level of authenticity, Mikael simply responded, "That's how Andrew would have done it."

While Mikael cut the trees down with a chain saw, the finishing work was done with old hand tools

For Sven Lindfors,88; Olle Karlsson, 69; Pertti Skillermark, 67; and Mikael Karlsson, 41; Peterson and his diaries are important links to understanding Swedish emigrants and their pioneer lives in America. They belong to the Andrew Peterson Society in Sweden which, amongst other goals, wants to help preserve Peterson's farm in Carver County. After two years of fund raising, the Society was able to buy four plane tickets and pay for part of the building materials.

A group from the Carver County Historical Society listens to Mikael explain their work. Many visitors stopped by to talk with the men once the Star Tribune ran a story on the project.

Mikael, who is fluent in English, was generally the spokesman when visitors arrived.

During their 17 days in Minnesota, Sven, Olle, Pertti, and Mikael had to face snow, below average temperatures, and wind. No one heard them complain. They were thrilled to be there, working on Peterson's granary. Sven, at 88, has a very steady hand and was working to repair granary windows. The rest were working on the roof, but they had many interruptions, primarily in the form of people coming to see them work and wanting to meet them.

Inside the granary are notes, like this one, from generations ago. Before they left, the Swedes left their own mark. They signed one of the new rafters with their names, the date, and a message in Swedish that reads, "They came from Sweden."

Sven Lindfors, Pertti Skillermark, Olle Karlsson, Mikael Karlsson

More information on the visit and stories from individuals who were part of this project will be posted during November and early December, so please come back and visit. For more information on the Andrew Peterson Society, please check www.andrewpeterson.se.

The Carver County Historical Society Board of Directors held a dinner/reception in honor of the Swedes and John Eklund provided the entertainment. During the program, John told the crowd that his ancestors, the Justus family, arrived in Carver County in 1856 and likely stayed with Peterson or one of his Scandia neighbors before settling on Swede Lake near Watertown. He jokingly mentioned that he too has a Swedish granary from the 1870s that is in need of repair if they had any time to spare.

During the reception, Olle and Sven look at a map of Sweden with Gene Johnson, a trustee from the American Swedish Institute.