Close to Home (#52Ancestors, Week 4)

Princeton, Illinois, is my dad’s hometown and the home of many of his aunts, uncles and cousins. Princeton is the county seat of Bureau County and in the 1960s and 1970s it had a population of about 7000. Princeton always seemed like the quintessential American home town, with its Main Street business district and friendly citizens.

When I was younger we would travel from Indiana to Princeton to visit my grandparents, Harry and Edna Peterson. But once we were in Princeton, there were many more people to visit. “Visiting” always seemed to be the main activity when we went to Princeton. Here are some of my recollections of the two Petersons (in addition to my grandpa) who stayed “close to home” and whom we visited once or twice a year.

Hildur Peterson

Hildur, my grandpa’s oldest sister, lived in Princeton almost her entire life. She was born in 1902 and died in 1987. She never married. She lived with her parents Herman and Cecilia until they died. According to the 1930 and 1940 census she worked as a bookkeeper or office worker for a family doctor, Dr. Nix, and my dad tells me that when the doctor retired she went to work in Alma Magnuson’s Dress Shoppe. Sometime in the 1950s or ‘60s Hildur moved with her parents from the big family house on Thompson Street to a smaller bungalow on West Peru. Her parents’ health declined and she became their primary caretaker. Her mother was in a wheelchair having had one leg amputated, and her father was eventually bedridden as a double amputee. After both Herman and Cecelia died, Hildur lived in a high rise apartment building in Princeton. This seemed very cosmopolitan to my younger self. I remember visiting her in her apartment and the rooms all seemed quite small—to me and my three energetic siblings. I’m sure there was plenty of room for her when we all left!

Hildur Peterson in her apartment

Here is what I remember about Hildur: She seemed very “proper,” but kind. She always wore dresses and hose, and sat with her legs properly crossed. She was a mean Scrabble player but would play with us anyway. She always remembered our birthdays with a card and small cash gift. She visited family back in Sweden at least once and kept in touch with them as well. She had a good sense of humor but was a staunch teetotaler and never went with the rest of us to Rip’s in Ladd, Illinois (Rip’s served the best chicken anywhere but were located in a bar).

Nina, the second Peterson child, was born in 1903 and died in 1989. (I wish I had a picture of Nina as a young woman) She never lived outside of Bureau County. Nina married Conrad Johnson in 1927.

Princeton Bureau County Tribune, 25 March, 1927, p. 8

I imagine that they were a popular couple because the newspaper reported that 40 of their friends gave them a charivari after they were married. Conrad was a farmer and raised Angus beef cows, a lucrative business. Conrad and Nina had four sons: Roland, Robert (Bob), Lyle and Doug. Roland and Bob went into farming also and lived around Princeton, too. I can’t remember what Roland farmed but Bob raised pigs. Lyle died tragically of spinal meningitis when he was in college. Doug suffered brain damage when he was born and lived with his parents all his life.

During the early years of their marriage Conrad and Nina lived on farms northeast of Princeton, but sometime in the 1940s or '50s they moved to a farm south of Princeton. When Conrad retired from farming they built a ranch house next door to his farm house, and it was also right across the road from Grandma and Grandpa’s house. When we visited Conrad and Nina’s, we always had cookies or some sort of homemade dessert on glass snack plates with glass cups for the punch. My brother and I sat as quietly as we could, finished our cookies and answered the adults’ questions, and then we were allowed to go down into the basement—oh, joy!—where we played with the pool table and the shuffleboard court which was painted on the floor.

Lillian Peterson Stickel, Nina Peterson Johnson, Sylvia Nelson Peterson, Hildur Peterson

By staying in Princeton, Hildur, Nina and Harry kept the home fires burning for other family members to come back. I know the family often celebrated a traditional Swedish Christmas Eve dinner together. The bonds between the Peterson siblings always seemed strong and sincere, and I'm sure that having a place to “come home to” has a lot to do with that. Thanks you, Hildur, Nina and Harry, for staying close to home.

The Peterson home on Thompson Avenue
where Herman and Cecilia raised their children

The Peterson home on West Peru.
Hildur lived here with her parents Herman and Cecilia.
The porch was not enclosed when they lived here.

Long Line (#52Ancestors, Week 3)

This week’s prompt took some thought. I don’t have an extensive family line that I have researched, there’s no occupation that keeps cropping up in the family, and we don’t even have anyone named Long.

However, I do have a characteristic that has shown itself consistently in my family for at least five generations back. So I’m choosing to focus on a long line of believers in the Christian faith that has become evident to me as I have researched my family.

Admittedly, it’s hard to judge anyone’s heart, especially the heart of an ancestor from long ago, but I do see that church was a “given,” a way of life, and the fact that faith continued to be important from one generation to the next tells me how sincere their faith was. In earlier generations I find obituaries that testify to the strength of faith in my ancestors’ lives, and in the later generations I can attest from personal knowledge that my family were strong believers.

My parents, Stan and Sarah Peterson, a Lutheran minister and his wife, brought me up in the Christian faith. Their belief and relationship with the Lord was a model for me as I grew. I have had the privilege of watching my parents live their lives, good and bad, knowing the Lord and having faith in His love and provision for them.

Burton and Verna Graf Falk

I knew three out of my four grandparents and can say from personal knowledge that they all believed in Jesus Christ.  My mom’s parents were Burton and Verna Graf Falk. I knew my maternal grandmother, Grandma Falk (Verna Graf Falk), pretty well. Verna grew up in a strict Seventh Day Adventist household but went to the Lutheran church when she married Burt. I know that she often attended Bible studies and I remember her reading the Bible from beginning to end every year; she would put a dot by each chapter after she read it. Grandma was also one who lived out her faith by volunteering (I remember her making “cancer pads”) and serving through church activities.

I don’t know much about Burton’s faith, he died when I was about four. I know he was baptized in the Lutheran church and that he attended church regularly with my mom and grandma.

Adrienne Falk Frazier

I also knew Burton’s sister, my mom’s Aunt Adrienne Falk, who was raised in the same Lutheran household as Burt but embraced a more evangelical faith in her adulthood. She always shared the gospel with us when we visited, and although her forthright talk sometimes made this quiet Lutheran uncomfortable, there was no doubt about where she stood and the faith that we shared, even if we lived it out differently.

Burton and Adrienne's parents were Eric Gustaf Falk and Helen Hedin Falk. Their obituaries list their membership at Grace Lutheran Church in Aurora, Illinois, the same church in which her granddaughter (my mom) was married. So not only was the faith passed down, but membership in the same church was shared as well.

Martha Bonin Graf and John Graf

Of Verna’s parents, her mom Martha Bonin Graf was the believer. Martha was born in northern Germany in 1875 and she died in 1958. Her obituary reads: “Forty-nine years ago she was baptized [at age 34] and joined the Seventh-day Adventist church in Elgin and remained true to her faith until the time of her death.” I don’t think that her husband John Graf went to church either as a young man once he immigrated to America or after he and Martha were married.

Edna Johnson Peterson and Harry Peterson,
as I knew them

My dad grew up in Princeton, Illinois where the First Lutheran Church (formerly the Swedish Lutheran Church) was a centerpiece of the family’s life. My dad’s father, Harry Peterson, didn’t or wouldn’t talk much about his faith but he attended church regularly. He served on the church council and was a deacon, usher, and served in many other ways at the Princeton First Lutheran Church. Harry’s wife Edna, Dad’s mom, sang in the church choir and was the choir director at one time. When I knew her later in life she attended Bible studies and I even have one or two of her reference books with some of her notes in it. I also remember that she would often shed tears when she prayed; when I was young I didn’t understand this but now I interpret those tears as an emotional response to her Lord.

Herman Peterson

Celia Anderson Peterson

Harry’s dad Herman Peterson was a member of First Lutheran Church in Princeton and served on the church council for many years. His wife Cecilia maintained membership at First Lutheran church in Princeton with her husband and was a charter member of the missionary society of that church. She raised nine children who also attended church and had a strong Christian faith. Celia’s mother Inga Anderson was a member of Zion Lutheran church in Kewanee, and she was also a member of the Ladies’ Aid and Missionary Societies of the church.

My dad’s maternal grandparents also attended First Lutheran Church in Princeton, Illinois. Edna’s father Theodore Johnson was a life member of the First Lutheran Church of Princeton (according to his obituary) and at the time of his death was the financial secretary of the church. His wife, Anna Lindgren Johnson, was confirmed in the New Bedford Illinois Lutheran church and held membership there and at the Princeton Lutheran Church when her family moved there. According to her obituary, Anna was a member of Ladies Aid and Missionary Societies, a member of choir and a Sunday School teacher. Her obituary testifies to the strength of her faith: “Early in her life she accepted Christ as her Savior and has lived a consistent Christian life.”

Swan Lindgren

Anna’s father (Edna’s grandfather) Swan Lindgren was also a member of First Lutheran Church in New Bedford, served as deacon for 27 years, also taught adult Bible class. His obituary also gives testimony to his character: “Mr. Lindgren gradually failed in physical strength during the last years of his life, but he retained his mental vigor to a large degree and his Christian faith was strong and conquering.”

Interestingly, Swan Lindgren’s second wife Anna was a friend of Celia Peterson (Herman Peterson’s wife). The two ladies were often mentioned together in church news items, as in this article where they entertained the Woman’s Home and Foreign Missionary society of the Swedish Lutheran church (1919)

And the faith continues. My sisters and I share a strong faith in Jesus, and I am always encouraged at our Peterson reunions to hear the faith stories of my dad’s cousins. In fact, one of his cousin’s sons is a missionary in Central America.

Now we work and pray to instill a love of the Lord in our own children, so that they will live knowing the Lord and be light to the world as we are called to do. An old saying is that the church is one generation away from extinction. As I look back over my family history, I am inspired to see that I come from a long line of Christians who have kept the faith in their lives and have planted it in the generations that followed.

Favorite Photo

The Hedin family

Back row: Bruce Foley, Esther Hedin Foley holding baby Esther Hedin, Helen Hedin Falk, Gustaf Falk, Frederick Nyberg Hedin, Andrew Hedin, Hazel Hedin Schwinof, Ollie Schwinof, Elsie Blank Hedin, Verner Hedin, Burton Falk

Front row: Ruth Foley, Norma Falk, Louisa Nyberg, Milton Foley, Adrienne Frazier

After some pondering I have chosen this photo of the extended Hedin family as (one of!) my favorite photos. I believe it first came into my possession from my mom’s Aunt Adrienne Frazier who had labelled everyone’s names on the back. What a gift to get me started on researching my mom’s side of the family. This photo really opened up lots of research avenues for me.

Why do I like this photo? First of all, it shows four generations of one family with the matriarch, Louisa Nyberg, seated in the middle. Louisa was born in 1823, her great-granddaughter Esther (the baby in her mother’s arms) was born in 1916. That’s almost 100 years of family!

I also like this photo because of the variety of clothes that the family members are wearing. From Louisa’s dark knitted shawl to the drop waist dresses of the young girls, you can see almost 100 years of fashion in this photo. The middle-aged women wear their dark skirts and white shirt waists, and Louisa’s daughter Fredericka (born in 1849) wears a dark dress more reminiscent of the late 1800s.

Another reason I like this photo is because there are so many personalities in it. Louisa the matriarch is in the middle, a tough woman from Sweden who came to live with her daughter late in life. She probably spoke little English. Her daughter Fredericka stands behind her next to her husband Andrew Hedin. What a mustache! Andrew and Fredericka Hedin are also from the old country (Sweden) but immigrated to Illinois where Andrew opened a shoemaker business. Doesn’t he look like a craftsman? Other personalities that I love in this photo are Bruce Foley on the left (with the straw chapeau) who was a mining engineer and lived with his family all over the country. His wife Esther stands next to him with their baby daughter also named Esther. Wife Esther was an artist but looks like a no-nonsense person. At the other end of the photo is Verner Hedin, standing tall and well dressed; he worked in the post office and has a proud bearing. His new bride Elsie stands beside him. My grandfather Burton Falk is in front of Verner and I just love the jaunty way he is wearing his cap. I could go on and on…

This photo intrigued me when I first got it because of the one person who was not in the picture: Andrew’s other son Conrad. My mom told me that he was the “black sheep” of the family and no one really talked about him. After some digging I found out his real story. He wasn’t a black sheep but there is a reason why no one ever spoke of him….but this is a topic for another post.

Finally, I like this photo because of the background. The house behind the family has sweet scalloped siding, shutters on the windows and delicate lace curtains. I don’t know whose house this is but it looks well kept up and inviting. Everyone in the photo looks happy and comfortable with each other. It’s a family I’m proud to belong to and I’m sure they’ll pop up again this year in my #52Ancestor posts!

Fresh Start

One day I would like to write my paternal grandfather’s story out in full. Today I will hit the highlights and show how he made a fresh start when he was almost 60 years old.

Harry Nels Peterson was born in Kewanee Illinois in 1905. He grew up on a farm outside of Princeton, Illinois. A move to a farm in Putnam Illinois cut short his education and he never graduated from high school. By the time he and his family moved back to Princeton around 1926, he was working full time on his dad’s farm.

I believe that something inside Harry wanted more than farm life. Once back in Princeton he procured a job at a Larkin grocery store in town. He also owned a car. From this photo you can see that he was quite a dapper man.

Harry must have been successful at Larkin because he became manager of one, then both, of the stores in town. 

  

He married Edna Johnson in 1932 and their only son Stan was born in 1936. Harry was a loving, involved father, dedicated husband, and hardworking businessman. In 1937 Kroger bought out Larkin and Harry began working his way up the ladder at Kroger. He became regional then district produce manager for Kroger’s, and was a deacon at First Lutheran Church in Princeton. 

Around 1961, about the time that his son got married, Harry received what must have been devastating news from Kroger. A new policy had been put in place and anyone with an upper management position was required to have a master’s degree. All of a sudden, Harry was unqualified to do his job.

Kroger gave him two options. He could take a job as a manager at the new flagship store in Peoria, or he could take early retirement. Managing one store after years of being a regional supervisor was a demotion Harry couldn’t stomach. He took early retirement.

Princeton Bureau County Republican,
17 August, 1972, p. 9

A fellow church member, Malcolm Lewis, was an insurance salesman and worked for Country Companies. Lewis helped Harry get a job at Country Companies and Harry started at the bottom of the insurance business. But he didn’t stay there for long.

Harry’s natural people skills served him well as he learned the ins and outs of selling insurance. He must have known so many people in town through church and the grocery business. Soon he was winning awards, trips, and accolades galore. He never retired; when he died on August 8, 1978, he was still employed by Country Companies.

Princeton Bureau County Record, 25 April 1978, p. 15

I only knew my grandfather as an insurance salesman, and a successful one at that. I remember his car that he used for business calls, the back seat and the front passenger side were full of papers, files, and notes. I remember hearing about several trips that my grandparents took: to Morocco where he rode a camel; to Spain where he attended a bull fight; and cruises to Alaska and the Caribbean. Not bad for a farmer boy with a 10^th grade education. Although Harry’s fresh start was forced upon him, he weathered it well and came out on top.