We arrived in Eksjö after a short drive from Linköping and met Margareta and Arne Thorsson. Margareta was in historical costume for participation is celebrations throught the day. After a brief stop for coffee, we walked down to the local museum and were give a guided tour by the museum staff. Arne then drove us all to a demonstration garden that was divided into areas of plants that were representative of different times in Sweden's history.
Bob, Margareta and Arne near the entrance to the museum
Museum Pictures
Historical Garden
Julie and I were honored to be guests of the local historical society for lunch. The food was great - lamb, fresh vegetables, potatoes and strawberries with whipped cream for dessert. Julie sat next to the chairman of the Eksjö kommun (extended community) and I sat next to Tore Sandh, who has been a driving force behind the 'Emigrantmonumentet', which was being dedicated that day. This monument is a celebration of the Swedes who emigrated to America during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Pictures of the celebration are Below.
Lunch with Historical Society
The afternoon and evening were nothing short of unbelieveable. During the afternoon, the town celebrated the emigrants who left Sweden for America and dedicated the town square that is a permanent reminder of those emigrants. I was asked to speak to the crowd. You can listen to my remarks by using the Flash Player below. The file is large though so I don't suggest listening if you don't have high speed internet access. Kärsten Olafsson, who is a Swedish emigrant that lives in Cleveland, translated for those in the crowd that did not understand English. There were also Swedish folk dancing, other Swedish music and speeches by Margareta, Tore Sandh and others. Stina and Ove had driven from Stockholm for the celebrations during the day.
Dedication of 'Emigrantmonumentet'
Kärsten, Bob and Margareta
Later in the afternoon, we drove to Mariannelund where a family reunion dinner was scheduled. On the way we stopped for refreshments with Stina, Ove, Stina's brother Jean and his wife Ulla. Many people showed up for the reunion dinner - some had never met each other. Thanks again to Inga Danielsson for his pictures. Inga is the man playing the accordian in one of the pictures. Several people brought displays and gave talks about different branches of the family. The weather was great, the food was wonderful and the chance to meet family was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Thank you all who attended and who planned this event.
The Drive to Mariannelund
The Reunion Dinner
Click on this group picture to see everyone identified
There were a number of local newspaper articles about the emigrants celebration and the reunion dinner. Here are some photos of those articles. They're extracted from video so they're not very good quality.
