Letter from Beda to Ruth (translated from Swedish)

                                                                          (no date) 

My dear Sister and Brother-in-Law,

I wish you a Happy new year and good health. Thank you so much for the letter Oscar wrote. I hope the operation went well and that you were able to celebrate Christmas together. I spent Christmas together with my family. My grandson will be home from the Army on 21 January. He is now a vice-corporal. The sisters are fine. I asked Levida to send you some newspapers. She doesn’t have to leave the house to mail them, whereas I have a long way to the post office. I hope Oscar will get his health back. It would be wonderful to meet you but maybe that will have to wait until we’re in Heaven. I can’t travel long distances any more. Do you remember Johan Viberg?  We are wondering whether he is still alive. His stepdaughter wrote me a letter. Harry wrote my Christmas cards and we hope to hear from you soon.

Love

Beda

Letter from Beda to Ruth (translated from Swedish)

                                                     Manteno, September 2, 1958

Dear Ruth, 

I have waited such a long time to reply to your letter. The reason is once again sad news. As you can see, we are once again bereaved: we no longer have a brother. He ended his days quietly. He died on Wednesday night at 6 o’clock. Mamie went into the bedroom and asked him how he was. He said he was OK, he was just tired and wanted to sleep for a while. Then he told her to go and have some rest, too. He also asked her to open the window before she left the room. At 6 o’clock she went back to the bedroom and then he had fallen asleep, never to awake again. He used to weigh 180 lb but at the time of his death he only weighed 69 lb. He had sand in his lungs, but it wasn’t tuberculosis. He always worked in foundries where he made moulds out of sand. He had been sick for a long time. When Levida and I were there, he was in such a bad way that we thought his time was up. But, ‘Man Proposes and God Disposes’, so Levida went first. Mildred Alexander, Ruth and I went there by car. Beverly and Paul came and picked me up on Thursday night and took me to Joliet and then we left on Friday morning. It takes 8 hours to drive there. The funeral was on Saturday. Ellen and Hildur were on vacation at Margaret’s, so they flew there. Ellen could not make such a long trip in a car, it was very hot that day.

 When I came home, I had to go to and see a doctor and have injections for my nerves, so I haven’t been able to write until now. I’m better now, but I have high blood pressure and the funeral didn’t make things any better. But I’m glad that he had a minister there to pray with him so that he is xx[1] and has gone to meet those who have gone before him. It will be our turn one day. As you can see, there is another obituary. Our cousin died of a heart attack and he had also had diabetes for many years.

I had a letter from Mamie. She said that Bertil, their son, is so good to her,
he visits her every day and looks after her, but he misses Ed a lot. She is handicapped, she has a clubfoot, so it’s difficult for her to walk. 

My son’s daughter and her husband were here last Sunday. They have two nice children and Harry had such a great time with them. The girl looks just like Harry did when he was little. She will be 2 in December and she speaks so well! We have so much fun when they visit us. He is getting better every day and I believe that with the help of God he will be able to walk again one day. He has been granted a social pension, a pension that those who are unable to work can get when they are 50 years old. Can you believe, Ruth, that he will be 51 next January? But he looks so good and is so youthful, not at all like a cripple.

 I am glad you got the parcels. Did you have to pay customs duties? A Swedish friend said she had sent a parcel and they had to pay 3 crowns in customs duties. I have another nice pair of shoes that I have packed, they might fit Sigbrit, and a dress. It is brand new, Beverly bought it at a sale and had it drycleaned. If it doesn’t fit, maybe you can sell it?

I hope you had a nice time at the wedding. I’m going to one on Saturday. I bought a new dress for the funeral and a new hat and shoes. Black is the fashion over here this month. It is xx[2] and low-cut so I should be able wear it to the wedding. Americans don’t dress in black for funerals, Ellen was wearing a light blue dress, but I prefer black, it shows respect for the deceased. My old landlord is still alive.  He has been sick since Christmas. He will be 91 in April. I am still his nurse, but he wants me to sit with him all the time. His children rarely visit him. When he first fell ill, he gave them 38,000 dollars, but there is no gratitude in this world. Children are rebelling against their parents, just as it has been predicted will happen at the end of the world. They are returning from the war, with bodies and minds totally shattered. They murder and they steal, and they drink so much that one hardly dares to go out after dark.

 I suppose you are busy making preserves now. They will come in handy when winter comes. And your children will be visiting you, it must be hard when Christmas nears. John’s and my anniversary was on 21 August. Each day is deducted from our allotted time on earth and will never come back. I have to stop, I can hardly hold on to the pen any longer as my fingers are so stiff. I hope you can read this.

 Love

 Your Sister Beda