There
is a neatly handwritten, personal message in Swedish on the back of the 1911
post card sent
by "Nels" to "Mrs. S. Sjosttrom" in Marcus, Iowa. A photographic duplication of
the message is shown here, in hopes someone will take a run at translating it.
Walking along the street & reading the message
(Part 2 of two
segments)
The
post card is dated February 9, 1911, so the photograph could be no later than
then. Although some of the houses have changed in appearance over the decades,
many still exist and still are recognizable.
The
street lights are gone, however. They were replaced around 1950 by obnoxious apparitions
which are considerably higher with more powerful lights near the tops
overhanging the street. Safety and economy were judged more important than
beauty and gentility. They probably are, but some of us are occasional
risk-takers and will walk to the edge of the precipice to tempt fate and it is
not uncommon for a few people to sometimes place a greater value on the old
over the new.
Looking
at this photograph is like looking back in time -- glancing into the history of
the town I traveled from infancy to "almost" manhood. I visualize myself walking
on this sidewalk -- both in the context of observing myself and of seeing the
sights as though I am experiencing it at this very moment.
Then, I think of the generations who came before me and who walked there and drove
carriages and wagons there, some of them my ancestors and those of my own young
friends. Mind boggling ....
The
note on the post card is written in Swedish and was sent by Nels to Mrs. S. Sjosttrom in Marcus,
Iowa. This is what is says:
"Alskade
Mor, Jag härmed sänder mors två bj öoker. Jag har fått et par bref
från Ernest som säg in datt mor var icke frisk meu jag hojapas mor blix stnox
frisk igen. Jag hade tänks att kommma hem ingefär vid denna tiden men det slog
fel. Jag fick icke apotekare men skoll för såka få han imgam varen Här är
hoppen vch my kin annan sjvkdomy."
I am reasonably certain neither Nels nor Mrs. Sjostrom would mind me sharing it with you 110 years after it was written. In fact, you might wish to translate it. If you do, I hope you will share it with me so "we" can compare notes on our translations.
I am not certain my copying of the text is
completely accurate or how many dialects of Swedish might exist which could
affect local usage, but this is best I could do. I purposely am not including
my translation here so others will not be influenced by it.
There are times when,
it seems to me, it is a pity (possibly a tragedy) not all keep history alive in their minds and
understand the intrinsic value it has for us in our lives. Because we do not do
this, we are "condemned" to repeat our mistakes over and over as seemingly has
been our fate since forever -- or for a few hundred thousand years .... at least ....
But, perhaps, the challenge and the reason for life is to continue the struggle to transcend our fatal flaws .... whoops .... pardon me, while I catch a few minutes of football ....
5 comments:
Elskede mor--
Jeg herved sender mors to bjørketrær.
Jeg har fått ett par brev fra Ernst som
sier at mor var ikke frisk,men jeg håper mor blir straks frisk igjen.
Jeg hadde tenkt å komme hjemmen i fra ved denne tiden ,men det slo feil.Jeg fikk ikke apotekare men skal forsøke få han innen våren.Her er kopper og vel mye annen sykdom.Hels.
Betydning/Tolkning.En sønn skriver til sin elskede mor.Han forteller han sender mor sine to bjørke trær.Det var svært vanlig immigranter hadde med seg egne trær fra hjemlandet.Eksempler fra dette er bjørk og epletrær Han forteller han har fått brev fra Ernst,trolig hans bror eller nær bekjent som forteller at mor ikke var frisk men han skriver til mor at han håper hun straks vil bli frisk igjen.Han forteller han hadde håpet å reise hjemmenifra på denne tiden for å besøke mor?Eller hjemlandet?Men det slo feil.Han fikk ikke sin Farmasøyt lisens(Apotekare)Men vil forsøke å få han /det ,innan (Ingahn)våren. Ingahn ordet var vanskelig å tolke trolig et det en slang ord fra de svenske dialektene som fins i alt seks .Nordlanske svenske dialekten,Gotlandske dialekten,Sveamål,Gøtamål,Sørsvenska mål,Østsvenska mål.En lydfil hadde vært great!
Han forteller videre at det er mye Kopper og vel mye annen sykdom.Han avslutter brevet med Hels. Betydning hilse alle i slekten ,venner og bekjente
Informativ og interessant post.Jeg elsker slikt . Det er tilfeldig gøy at jeg også leser og studerer liv før i tiden.Slekstgransking er en av mine favoritter Spesielt de svenske og norske immigrantene til Minnesota og Dakota. Å lese skjønnlitteratur er å leve seg inn i bøkene .Folk som ikke leser bøker får rett og slett ikke nok trening i å leve seg inn i andres liv.Resultatet?De forstår seg ikke på folk.
Jeg er glad du viste bildet av dette brevet,skrevet av en sønn til sin mor om livet i Amerika.Jeg ser det er sendt til Iowa fra en by med Initialene M ..N kan det være Minnesota eller en annen plass der?Mankato?Manitoba?
Du skriver.."There are times when, it seems to me, it is a pity (possibly a tragedy) not all keep history alive in their minds and understand the intrinsic value it has for us in our lives..."
Det er vanskelig for alle og forstå dette viktige som har skjedd og skjer rett nå ,i historiemessig perspektiv.Vi arbeider oss i hjel for å betale livets kostnader som å leve og bo.Tenker lite på det som har vært og det som vil komme.Det er en politisk sak ,verden må rulle rundt.Men trenger vi alt av sosial status og ting?Det er en spiral som bare verdens millionærer forstår og ønsker å ha for sin egen tilregnede profitt,makt og formue som ofte har gått i arv.Men det kommer en dag for alle hvor en setter seg ned og tenker over livet.Er dette alt?Arbeide og slite fra en er født til en dødest?Er det dette den gaven en fikk ved å bli født inn i livet, verden ,er det slik vi har benyttet oss av den?Har vi ett ansvar for oss selv og verdens folk?Fremtiden!?
Jeg håper du vil skrive mer slike poster.Veldig givende.
Jeg skal snart publisere mine poster på min blogg og den vil være åpen slik at alle kan skrive.Amerika reisende MÅ jeg bruke mer tid på.Også fordi jeg selv syns det er lystbetont å studere slik gammel litteratur.
Jeg har prøvd å skrive teksten på, enkel norsk, slik at du kan translantere det riktig på engelsk.
Din venn i Norge
English translation as good as I can..
Beloved mother--
I hereby send my mother two birch trees.
I have received a couple of letters from Ernst as
says that mother was not well, but I hope mother will be well again soon.
I had planned to get home from at this time, but it went wrong. I did not get a pharmacist but will try to get him by spring. Here are smallpox and probably a lot of other disease.
Meaning / Interpretation. A son writes to his beloved mother. He says he sends his mother two birch trees. It was very common for immigrants to bring their own trees from their home country. Examples from this are birch and apple trees. He says he has received a letter from Ernst , probably his brother or close acquaintance who tells that mother was not healthy but he writes to mother that he hopes she will get well again soon.He says he had hoped to leave home at this time to visit mother? Or home country? But it failed.He did not get his Pharmacist license (Pharmacist) But will try to get him / it, before (Ingahn) spring. The Ingahn word was difficult to interpret, probably a slang word from the Swedish dialects, which are a total of six.
He goes on to say that there is a lot of smallpox and probably a lot of other disease. He ends the letter with Hels. Meaning greet everyone in the family, friends and acquaintances
Informative and interesting post. I love that. It happens to be fun that I also read and study life in the past. Genealogy is one of my favorites Especially the Swedish and Norwegian immigrants to Minnesota and Dakota. To read fiction is to live in the books. People who do not read books simply do not get enough training in living in the lives of others. The result? They do not understand people.
I'm glad you showed the picture of this letter, written by a son to his mother about life in America. I see it was sent to Iowa from a city with Initials M ..N could it be Minnesota or another place there? Mankato? Manitoba?
Du skriv .. "There are times when, it seems to me, it is a pity (possibly a tragedy) not all keep history alive in their minds and understand the intrinsic value it has for us in our lives ..."
It is difficult for everyone to understand this important thing that has happened and is happening right now, in a historical perspective. We work ourselves to death to pay for the costs of life such as living and living. Think little about what has been and what will come. It is a political issue, the world must roll around. But do we need all of social status and things? It is a spiral that only the world millionaires understand and want to have for their own attributed profits, power and wealth that have often been inherited. But there will come a day for everyone where one sits down and thinks about life. Is this all? Work and struggle from one is born to the dead? Is this the gift one received by being born into life, the world, is the way we have used it? Do we have a responsibility to ourselves and the people of the world? The future !?
I hope you will write more such posts.Very rewarding.
I will soon publish my posts on my blog and it will be open so that everyone can write. American travelers I MUST spend more time on. Also because I myself think it is pleasurable to study such ancient literature.
I have tried to write the text in simple Norwegian, so you can translate it correctly in English.
Your friend in Norway
"There are times when, it seems to me, it is a pity (possibly a tragedy) not all keep history alive in their minds and understand the intrinsic value it has for us in our lives."
Sadly, the current "cancel culture" seems bent on erasing history... or that which some might find offensive. Personally, I think pretending bad things didn't happen is a mistake. But maybe I'm just getting old and crotchety.
Anita .... this is the third or fourth time you have written a comment for me that has left me speechless for a few moments. The depth and breadth of your remarks are overwhelming. I will not attempt to reply to all you wrote, but I will make a comment or two about a comment or two in your work.
To begin, your translation is very much the same as my own and, rightly or wrongly, I am assuming someone who lives "next door" to Sweden would have a better grasp of the Swedish language than my own understanding.
Next, the penmanship of the note is excellent, which is rare among men in my experience and which puzzled me from when I first saw it. Usually, only men whose trade is drafting or architecture or something similar have "quality" appearance in handwriting.
I still think the final word on the note is "Nels," but I never have heard of a woman who calls herself and is called "Nels" by others -- so, your reading of the last word as "Hels. Meaning greet everyone in the family, friends and acquaintances" probably is the correct reading.
I am sure there can be other explanations, but your interpretation is the most logical. Leaving the matter there is fine, although it creates the question of who the writer/sender of the post card actually is -- a man with great penmanship or a woman.
The only other “question mark” post cards I have are one written by a cousin of my great-grandmother asking someone in a neighboring town of she is going to a dance next Saturday and another written by a school teacher newly arrived around 1912 in my home town telling someone she is there. I attempted some research through school records, but could only confirm there was such a woman teacher at the school at that time with that name.
Unfortunately, the dog ate those post cards. Seriously, when former wife No. 2 and I split the blanket, I expected to go on the road indefinitely and sent all manner of material, including post cards collected up to that point, along with my son for safekeeping. He no longer knows where any of that material is located. Such is life.
Back to the present.
Again, your comment was thorough, well written and logical, and I cannot adequately express how very much I appreciate it, Anita. Tusen takk, en million ganger, Anita, og vær alltid en kul norsk jente .... later ....
The athletic teams at my alma mater once were known as the "Indians." As a gesture of political correctness, the name was changed to "Mavericks" in 1977. The name of the professional football team Washington Redskins was changed to the Washington Football Team in 2020 .... uuuuffff ....
Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis has been name-changed to Bde Maka Ska (pronounced at least two or three ways including "b-day ma-KHA skah," depending upon whom you ask) because John C. Calhoun, a former secretary of state and vice president from South Carolina was a proponent of slavery. Bde Maka Ska means "White Earth Lake" in the Dakota language. Call me anything you like, but if the lake's name must be changed, why not simply change it to the anglicized translation? There are a number of instances like that I would be happy to list.
"Old and crotchety" definitely are not terms I would apply to you, Kelly. Realistic and honest are more my view of you. Later ....
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