Christmas card from Levida to her sister-in-law Ingeborg in Sweden

Joliet December 24, 1947

 Dear Ingeborg,

 I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year. I hope all is well with you, now that you are starting a new life. Thank you so much for your kind letter. It’s so nice to have letters but I’m slow responding to them. I’ve been very busy for a long time with fall cleaning. It’s a big house and I also have to tend to a sick person who can’t move a finger. I must also have lunch ready for Carla and Viola when they come home at noon. I’m getting a bit tired of this, in August I will have been here for four years. Thank you for the photos from Storbränna. You and Olle are so alike and he looks as happy as he was when I visited you. I only recognized Emma, Mrs Nyman and the teacher at Bölåsen. But his hair was so straight, what did you do to it?

 You asked me if you should send me spoons by post. I don’t know if there will be customs duties, but I expect there will be. Ruth sent me a needle she had had made from a ring and she sent it by post. I had to pay 1.75 dollars in customs duties. But someone will probably be visiting Sweden next summer, so you can send the spoons with them. It’s so kind of you to think of the girls. If you can, please send me a bottle of Tusca. I can’t get it here. It is such a lovely scent. I am so happy about the lovely brooch you and Olle sent me, but I felt so guilty for wanting it, I didn’t know it was so expensive.

 My sister Beda is now a widow. Her husband died three weeks ago. There have been so many deaths and so much sickness in the family in the past year. But we all have to die when we get old.

 Best wishes

Levida

                                                                               Lake Geneva
                                                                                              July 2, 1948

Dear Ruth.

I am now at this place, enjoying a wonderful rest. I sunbathe and swim. It's so nice to have a rest and to be near a lake. The boat passes by this place and takes us into town. Ellen wanted me to say that she has sent you a parcel containing clothes. You could perhaps change some of them so that they fit Kerstin and then send those you can't use to the Finland  Postwar Aid. I think a lot about Stöcksjö when I'm here. I wish you were here. It's so nice here, both indoors and outdoors. I've drawn a  line on the postcard  where our room is. It overlooks he lake. Love from me, Ellen and the girls.

Christmas card from Levida to her sister-in-law Ingeborg in Sweden

Lockport, December 2, 1948

Dear Ingeborg,

First of all I want to wish you a happy Christmas. I sent a packet of coffee to you and Olle a couple of weeks ago. I hope it will arrive safely, there was a strike so the ships could not sail. Olga made the mittens she sent you. She would have made a pair for Olle, too, but she’s been very sick. She is recovering now, but she is still weak. I also sent you a couple of tins of fruit so that you can make a fruit salad with whipped cream. I remember the Christmas of 1936 when we had a feast before I traveled up to Umeå and you went to Olle’s home. That fruit salad was wonderful. We had a wonderful time together. Please write and tell me what you are doing these days, now that you are retired. My pen ran out of ink, but I don’t want to go downstairs and fill it up. I’m writing this letter sitting in my bed.

Best regards

Levida

Christmas card from Levida to her brother-in-law Olle in Sweden

 Hollywood  December 26, 1950  

 Dear Olle,

 I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and that you will get your health back. I am with you all the time in my thoughts and I can see your little red cottage on the hill. Here in Hollywood there are high mountains with rows of white houses on the mountainsides. On the front of this card you can see the pepper tree in full bloom. They grow wild here. It is a wonderful place with sunshine every day. There have been two earthquakes since I arrived here. I was on my bed resting and the bed shook but I didn’t know what it was until John came into my room and told me.

 Best regards from us all
 Levida

Letter from Levida to her sister Ruth in Sweden 
(translated from Swedish) 

                                                                                          Joliet  December 8, 1952

 Dear Sister Ruth and Family,

Thank you for your letter. I was happy to hear that Oscar is feeling better, I hope that he will soon be really strong again. You’ve probably heard from Ellen that Beda’s husband’s suffering is now over. The weather was terrible the day he was buried, and as the cemetery is a hundred miles from Joliet, we couldn’t attend the funeral. Beda arrived in Joliet yesterday. She’s going to stay with Harry’s family for a week so I expect she’ll come and see us some day. Yesterday I was in Lockport for dinner. Bob left for Korea. Howard took him to Chicago and then he flew to California at 5 o’clock so he will be there at three in the morning. He’ll be leaving the USA by boat tomorrow. Dan is now in Germany. Bill will leave on January 4, but he doesn’t know where he’ll be stationed. I hope no harm will come to them. Bill is now engaged to a nice girl from Indiana, Marion Russel, whom he met at school.  He will be receiving his degree in music in June next year, so then I’ll have a music teacher in the family.

I had a long letter from Folke, it’s so nice to hear about how they’re doing, their children are so sweet. I'm sure Lars will become an artist since he draws so well and wins prizes even though he is so young. Children are a blessing. I hope that I will live long enough to see my children’s grandchildren. 

I’m sewing and knitting Christmas presents and I’m also sewing doll’s clothes for Mrs Grinton’s grandchildren, three nice girls. I’m going to Elsa’s this Christmas. Bill and his fiancée will be there, and I’m looking forward to meeting her. I’ve knitted her a light-blue woollen cardigan which I think she’ll look nice in, because she has blond hair. Victor pays me a visit every now and then. He usually brings Ellen and Ruth and then we all have a nice time and I serve coffee and buns. I can usually do what I please here, the old lady is in bed most of the time. I have to feed her and help her walk as she is quite weak.  I get up a couple of times each night to help her. I thank God every day that I’ve still got my health and that I can be of service to somebody who needs my help. But it is quite tiring sometimes, because I get so tied down.

I heard that Viola Granström is going to Umeå this summer and also to many other places in Sweden. She has sacrificed herself for her parents for a long time. I only wish she could take her father with her. I hope you will have a nice Christmas and that you will all be healthy, because that is a great gift. Please give my love to everyone and thank Folke for his letter. We have had two days of snowfall, but now the weather is nice again, it’s not cold.

Love

Levida

Letter from Levida to Ruth (translated from Swedish)

                                                                           Joliet May 14, 1953

Dear Sister and Brother-in-Law,

Ellen just called. She said she had received a letter from you saying that you had an operation. I hope you are feeling better now.

I’ve been away for four days. Elsa’s Billie got married last Wednesday. The wedding took place in the bride’s home in Elkhart, Indiana. The marriage ceremony was in the church that Marion Russel belongs to. It was a lovely wedding. I am so happy that Billie married into such a nice family. I hope they will be happy. Billie is now in the army. He thinks he won’t be sent abroad, as he’s in an army band. When Marion has graduated from the university in June, she will move to wherever Bill is stationed.

None of the Sisters came to Ruby and George’s wedding. Victor thought it was too long a drive, so they decided not to go. Victor is going to sell his home and move in with Genevieve and Stanley. They have bought a big house as the family is growing. Little Jane is so sweet, she’s just starting to walk.

Ellen is now a great grandmother again, Marge had a fine healthy boy on March 27 and Lois has adopted a two-month-old girl. So now Ellen has little children to brighten up her life.

I had a letter from Olga’s son Daniel Shoop. He is now in France. Before he returns to the US he intends to go to Sweden to see his grandmother’s home country. But it probably won’t be this summer, maybe the next. Robert Shoop is in Korea. He doesn’t like the climate there. He is 5 miles from the front so it isn’t so dangerous. I hope there will be peace soon so that our boys can return to God’s Country, as the USA is sometimes referred to.  We have it good here, we lack nothing, we get all that we need to nourish both body and soul.

I’m still in the same place, I have a whole floor to myself. But I eat with the Grintons who live on the other floors. I help her with the sewing and a little cleaning. I don’t get paid much, but it’s so peaceful and quiet here. I sit out in the yard and enjoy all the beautiful things there, the lilacs and the tulips, which are now in bloom. But some days  it is cold. We went to see Beda one Sunday a while ago. She is fine and we had such a nice time. We sang Mother’s old songs and talked about our childhood. Harry is still in a wheelchair, he can’t stretch his legs. But Beda believes he will be OK again. How is Oscar? I hope he’s alright and that you will get really strong again, don’t work so hard.  Ellen asked me to thank you for the letters you sent her. Please write when you’re better.  All the very best from us all.

Levida

Birthday card from Levida to her sister-in-law Ingeborg in Sweden (translated from Swedish)

 Joliet, July 15, 1952

 Dear Ingeborg 

"I’m thinking of you on your birthday and I wish you happiness with all my heart.”

I tried to translate the verses on this card so that you would understand them, and I wish you all that and a lot more, because you are such a nice person. I’m sorry I can’t do anything nice for you. Thank you for your letter.
I was glad to hear that you are healthy and that you have each other. You asked me if I will come to Sweden again. It would be so nice to see you again, but, as you said about Stina, the dusk of life has come. It may come to young people, too. Erik was only 58 and Olga 42. I wonder how long I’ll have to be around sick people, we live on borrowed time. Signe, whom I took care of for five and a half years, died in June. She had been paralyzed since 1939, so it was a blessing that she was allowed to leave this world. She was 70 years old and I miss her so much. I used to visit her often and I used to take her flowers and berries from our garden. We’ve had a terribly hot summer, so whenever there’s a cool day, we now get very cold. That is not so good for elderly and sick people. We usually sit out on the porch but on a cool day the old lady (?)  likes to get into bed, because she can’t get warm. She is not very well, she has become so thin and she has problems swallowing her food, so we have to feed her the way you feed babies before they get their teeth. It’s probably true what people say: When you get old, you become a child again.

Last Sunday I went to Lockport to say goodbye to Dan and Bob. Both of them have joined the army. Danny has now got his Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering. They made him a Lieutenant and he’ll be in the Army for two years. I was at the ceremony when he got his degree. It was a grand occasion. A nice university, a hundred years old, so they celebrated the centennial at the same time. There were many older people there who got various kinds of PhD:s. It’s good that the children can have an education, it makes them better people and they won’t have to work so hard. Bill will get his degree in August and then the Army will take him, too. I wish the horrible war would end soon. We’ll see what happens when we get a new president in November. There was a terrible squabble here last week over who was going to be the candidate for the Republican Party. It took them five days and we watched it on TV. It was really tiring, they had meetings until 2 a.m. Is Olle going to buy a TV? It so nice to be able to watch and listen to people. But there are too many commercials on American TV. I hope you can read my sloppy handwriting, I’m not very good at writing today, the pen moves too fast and that results in many mistakes. I hope you will have a pleasant birthday. Best wishes to you and Olle and thank your for everything you did for me when I was staying with you. It was a wonderful time. Please write soon!

 Levida

Christmas cards from Levida to her sister-in-law Ingeborg and brother-in-law Olle in Sweden (translated from Swedish):

 Dear Ingeborg,

 I wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy new year. Thank you so much for your letter. It is so nice to hear from you, I have read it so many times that I know it by heart.  I’m going to Elsa’s this Christmas to see her nice little home. She has bought such lovely furniture. I’m going to give her a Swedish cookery book that has been translated into English. She is very fond of Swedish food. Reading about the dinner you made for Olle made me so hungry. I have to stop now. Goodbye.

Condolence card, Joliet July 3, 1953 from Levida to her sister-in-law Ingeborg in Sweden (translated from Swedish)

 Dear Ingeborg,

I just received your letter. It was a blessing that Olle was relieved of his suffering. My deepest condolences to you, my dear sister-in-law, I wish I could be with you now. Erik also died in June, on the 15th it will be 19 years since he left us. I dreamed about him on Sunday night. In my dream he was so healthy and strong. Well Ingeborg, we now have to deal with our own problems. We must be happy and content with what happens, everything is after all in the hands of God. Thank you for being such a wonderful person. Be happy that Olle got so many flowers to enjoy. My advice to you now is that you should travel and try to get over your sorrows, get a change of scenery. 

Best regards from Levida.

Letter from Levida to her sister Ellen Alexander (translated from Swedish)

                                                                                   August 26, 1953

Dear Ellen and Family,

I have now been here for three days. Everything is so wonderful, a modern cabin by the lake, and the weather is so warm and there is a porch to sit on. We have a party there every night. I’ve been swimming in the lake twice,
even though the waves are quite high, but the water is so nice and warm. On Monday we went to Sturgeon Bay to shop. Mrs Grinton bought me a bathing suit so that I could go swimming.  Yesterday we went to Oyster Bay and walked around the island. We bought some nice sweet rolls at a Swedish bakery and fresh red and black raspberries. We have so much good food and fish. Everything is so modern, the kitchen in much nicer than the one in Joliet.

I sent Nona (?) a birthday card, she will probably get it in time. I wish you could be here, everything is so nice, one sleeps very well here and Mrs Grinton is the head chef. I am so happy that they let me come with them. Skip couldn’t be on his own while we were away, so he arrived here on Monday night.

My address is

Door County, WI, Jacksonport, WI

                                                                                                                    Joliet October 6, 1953

 Dear Ruth and Oscar,

 Thank you for your letter. It’s so good to hear from you. It is as though I can see and talk to you when I read your letters.  

Victor came over on Friday Sept 25 together with Ellen. We had a nice afternoon together. I read them your letter. On Saturday, Victor went to work at the butcher’s store. There, he became so sick that they had to help him home, and then he died on October 3, after having been sick for only a week. He was buried yesterday. He looked so young in his coffin. Everybody loved Victor, there were so many flowers at the funeral and people also gave a lot of money to the Swedish Old People’s Home in Joliet. We will miss Victor. He was always so willing to take us out for rides in his car. He always wanted to go somewhere. He had sold his house and had put his personal affairs in good order. It was as if he knew that his time was up. I suppose it will be our turn soon. I hope I won’t become a burden to anyone before I die.  

I was in Chicago to celebrate Elsa’s 43^rd birthday. When I got there she had just come back from the hospital. She had a tumor on her thigh which they had removed surgically. So now she has to stay home for a couple of weeks until the wound has healed. You asked me if she had remarried. She is a widow. Bill’s father is dead and so is Ash, so she was widowed twice. Her second husband only lived for 2 years after they were married. So Elsa now lives alone and works in Chicago. She has worked at the same place for 8 years now. She is very tired , so she was glad that she could stay home and get some rest.  

We have had a terribly hot summer. The last two weeks of August temperatures reached 95 – 100 degrees, but we were up north in Wisconsin where it was so pleasant and one didn’t have to sweat all day and night. It was hot in the sun, though, and the water was so warm. We went for a swim every day. It was right on the shore of Lake Michigan, so all we could see was blue skies and water. It was the best vacation I have had in a long time. I went with the family I’m staying with. But I took care of his mother when she was sick for almost two years and I never had any vacation then, so I got it this summer instead. If one does good to one’s neighbor, one will receive good back.   

I haven’t seen Viola since she returned home, but I will probably be invited there soon when the Granströms come home  from Michigan. She has been there the whole summer so they rented out their apartment when Viola went to Sweden.  

You told me how much housework you do and that you are so old. You should see all the rooms I have to clean. We have 14 rooms, 2 large porches, 50 windows, 3 long stairs, 19 steps, two large halls with high ceilings - 11 feet, mirrors that go all the way up to the ceiling. The mistress of the house had an old lady who came in once a week to do the cleaning, but now I do all the cleaning, because it gets so tiring to just sit in a rocking chair, my legs get so stiff and I get so old. Please excuse my bragging! I hope you are all well.

Best regards from your Sister Levida.

Get-well card  from Levida to her sister-in-law Ingeborg in Sweden (translated from Swedish)

November 23 1953

Dear Ingeborg,

Thank you for your letter. I’m sorry to hear that you are not feeling well, but you’ll get over it soon, time heals all wounds. I went through the same thing when my dear ones left me. I miss Victor terribly. He spent a lot of time with us. He often came to see me and to read the newspapers you send me. He was so sociable, cheerful and funny. May he rest in peace.

Thanksgiving is on Thursday this week. We are having 12 people over for a turkey dinner and I’m going to help with the cooking. I’m so grateful to God for the past year, for my health and for having been able to go for walks more often than in the past. This is a card we sent to our sick friends. I’ll write you a letter for Christmas. Keep well! 

Love 

Levida.

Letter from Levida to Ruth (translated from Swedish)  

                     Joliet  January 3, 1954 

Dear Sister and family,

I wish you a Happy New Year and good health both in body and soul.

Well, Christmas is over and so is all the Christmas hustle and bustle. We had a nice holiday. I was with the family I work for on Christmas Eve. The mother and father of the mistress of the house were visiting from Seattle, Washington and they stayed for a week. On Christmas Day, Howard picked me up and I had dinner at their place. I stayed until the next day and then he took me home. In the afternoon we went to Genevieve’s for lunch. She has such a nice home now. The little girl is so sweet and lovely, blond hair and red cheeks.

It was so empty without Victor, he was always so kind. Victor had received three letters from his cousins in Sweden and also Christmas cards. I read them to Gen because she can’t read Swedish and she doesn’t know anything about her father’s cousins, so they didn’t know that he was dead. Anders, whom Victor was staying with in Backholm, had died suddenly on the 1^st and the next one died on the 3^rd.  We never know when it’s our turn to go.
 

I thought my last day had come on the 26^th. I was so ill that night I could neither stand up nor lie down, I just collapsed with a terrible pain in my stomach. The doctor said it was the gall bladder that wasn’t working properly. They took two X-rays and I have to go back later and  have another one. I may have to have an operation. I am now very careful about what I eat and I’m taking medicine. It is terrible when one falls ill, it has already cost me 50 dollars. I hope I won’t have to go to hospital. Mrs Grinton was so kind to me, she brought me food twice a day, because for a whole week I was too weak to walk up the stairs. I’m now feeling quite all right again. 

Thank you so much for the Christmas magazine, Ellen sends her love and she, too, thanks you for it, but she can’t see to read anymore. She is quite well and had many people in her home for Christmas and New Year. I was there on New Year’s Eve. Hildur had some of her friends over and we had a very nice time. Ellen’s girls are so nice to her and help her a lot. I didn’t get to be with my children at Christmas because I was too weak to travel. Elsa came over on Monday after Christmas. She is feeling better now. 

Bill and Marion will be coming to Chicago on January 15 and I expect they will pay me a visit, because Bill has bought a new car. He has received the inheritance from his father, so now he can buy a house, too, and settle down and have a good life once he’s left the Army. The Shoop boys have been away from home for two Christmases now. They will be discharged next summer. Dan had sent home a nice gold clock under a glass dome from France and Bob had sent a lovely 56-piece china dinner-service from Japan. Mildred was so happy because the pattern was so nice. Daniel gave Sally a cuckoo-clock. I got a lot of nice presents and some money, but this year I couldn’t go out and buy any presents myself. It felt so strange to receive presents while being unable to give something back.  “It is more blessed to give than to take”. 

I was happy to hear that you spent Christmas at Arne’s home, that probably saved you a lot of work. I hope you will have a good year.

Love from you sister Levida.

Letter from Levida to Ruth (translated from Swedish)

                                                                                              Joliet May 31, 1954

Dear Sister Ruth and Oscar,

We were all wondering why we hadn’t heard from you in such a long time. Ellen was worried that something might have happened to you. But I told her what Oscar used to tell me: ‘No letters are good letters’. But we were very happy to receive your letter. We are so glad that you are well enough to take care of the household and Oscar again. It must be difficult not to have any help. I can see you in my mind’s eye whenever I want to, how good you were at doing the housework when I was staying with you. 

Yesterday Genevieve took us and Ellen and Hildur to Manteno to see Beda and Harry. Beda wasn’t feeling so well.  Harry was the same, except that he’d gotten heavier. 

I was sorry to hear that Folke has been sick, but he is so young, he will soon be alright. Beda had a letter from Edvin. He can’t work any longer so now he  just helps his wife out around the house. She sews clothes for her grandchildren. Bertil and Lois will have their fourth child in August and so will Richard Hubenet, they will have been married nearly five years this fall. As you can see, the Hubenet family will not die out! 

I’m enclosing a photo of me and Ellen that we took in Chicago when Axel Johnson’s boy got married. I will be moving out in four weeks’ time, as the house is now sold. I will move to the Salem Home for the Old in Joliet. It is too tiring to take care of sick people all the time, I’m not as strong as I used to be and I get tired very quickly. So I look forward to being taken care of now. 

I’m getting some money from Olle’s[1] inheritance, but I don’t know how to have it sent to me. And it won’t be much after it has been exchanged into US dollars, but it will be a small help. 

It was so hot earlier today that I nearly fainted, but then we had some rain that brought cooler temperatures. Ruth, don’t send any letters and newspapers to this address. I will send you my new address when I’ve moved in. It is a nice place out in the country with forests all around. I think I’m going to like it there. There is a bus into Joliet that stops practically at the front door. I will be able to go anywhere I want to, if I have the strength. 

Love to you all from us siblings over here.

Your Sister Levida.

Letter from Levida to Ruth (translated from Swedish)

(Someone cut the stamp from this airmail letter so parts of the text are missing)

                                                Joliet, September 21, 1954

Dear Sister Ruth and Oscar,

Thank you for your letter. I was sorry to hear that Oscar isn’t well. My health has improved a lot since I’ve come to this place,

I can now eat whatever I want, I get a lot of rest and I have nice company. There are so many nice ladies here whom I enjoy talking to, even though they are old. One of them is 91, she is so sociable.
 

When the weather is fine we sit out on the porch and knit. I have so much time for myself now. I get up at 6 in the morning, I wash and dress and then at 6:30 I go up to the second floor to wake three sick old ladies. I wash them and comb their hair and get them ready for breakfast. They are Swedish and very nice ladies.

On the first floor there is a German lady who is 94 years old. But she is so mean, she yells at me, and tells me to leave her alone. We have three nurses here, but only eight hours a day. Ten of the 54 people who live here are ill, so eight hours is not enough.

.........went to see Ellen. She is fine again....from Donald’s wedding in Michigan......Midlred couldn’t go because her husband is in the hospital. Kidney problems. ....I had a letter from Fritz. Richard ....they have a little girl. Bert Hubenet’s wife had a......so now the Hubenet family won’t die out....was so worried that he wouldn’t have any grandchildren.... now he has four.....we haven’t heard from Ed for some time....Knut died suddenly. Hilma is devastated. She lives with her youngest daughter now. All the children are married and have children themselves, so I don’t think Hilma can stay there. Old people need some peace and quiet.

I have had so many visitors since I’ve come to this place. Billie and his wife came to see me in August. Marion is now working as a teacher in Elkhart, Indiana. She is living with her parents until Bill gets out of the Army. I’m so glad that your children are doing so well, that is a great joy for parents. I remember what Mother used to say: ‘My children have done so well’. But we didn’t get as much education as young people do today.

The Friends of Salem meet here once a month. This month it was a Norwegian association. Pastor Åström spoke so well about how much better everything has become since we were young, but he said he didn't think this was good for the children.

Today is the first day of fall. I did some laundry today and put it out to dry. I was concerned the wind would blow it away.....it was so cold last night. Yesterday was a lovely day so I.....only my dress on, no coat. When I am.....go home, I take the bus  in front...stops right outside my door here...it takes.....hour to get home. 

 I have to stop now. I hope we will hear from....don’t worry about tomorrow.....we haven’t seen.

 Love from us all

Levida

Letter from Levida to her sister-in-law Ingeborg in Sweden (translated from Swedish):

 November 10, 1954

 Dear Ingeborg,

Thank you so much for the nice card you sent me for my birthday. I had many cards and presents. I said to Ellen that they are probably feeling sorry for me because I have moved to an Old People’s Home. I spent my birthday at George and Ruby’s place and I stayed for a week. Then George took us up to Chicago to see Elsie. I've gotten my sewing-machine back, it's been at Elsie’s since I left Lockport. So now I’m sewing things for myself and for the Home.

Yesterday we had a bazaar here, all the old people able to do needlework contributed something and we earned $50, even though we didn’t have very much to sell. Summer is over and it will soon be Christmas again. Then there will be festivities here at the home again. On Friday night we listened to a lecture by a Mrs. Larson who was from Lapland. She talked about how her family celebrated Christmas in Sweden and how they lived. For example, she told us about how they baked the nice thin crisp-bread that you always bake for Christmas. It really gave me a yearning for it and I wished I was back in Vattjom. It was a real feast when I got to taste your bread with two different kinds of cheese on it and the nice soured milk. We don’t have that kind of food here. In Chicago you can buy food that comes from Sweden.

Elsie wants me to celebrate Thanksgiving with her, but I think I’ll visit her closer to Christmas. I’ll go to a Swedish bakery and buy some blood bread and lingonberry jam and take it over to Ellen and cook it there. Ellen is feeling better now after having been ill all summer. Her daughter Mildred was recently widowed. Her husband died of cancer a couple of weeks ago. How are you? Good, I hope. I’m fairly well, I’ve put on two pounds since I moved here, but my stomach is troubling me. However, I’m glad that I can get up in the morning, go up to the second floor and take care of three old ladies, all of them Swedish and over 80. We have five people here who are 95 or older. I’ve been thinking a lot about you and what you are doing now. Are you travelling around, visiting old friends? Please remember me to everyone I know and whose greetings you have sent me. Thank you for everything you did for me when I was staying with you in Sweden.

 Levida

Letter from Levida to Ruth (translated from Swedish)

                                                                         Joliet December 3, 1954

 Dear Ruth and Family,

First of all I want to wish you a merry Christmas with all the things that are beneficial for both body and soul. Thank you for your letter and the nice family photo. It is a very good photo of you all. The children are so sweet, you must be very proud of  them and happy to have them so close to you. My grandchildren are grown up now, they are not little kids any longer, and they live so far away. Olga’s eldest boy Daniel, the one who was in France, is now getting married to a Norwegian girl from Indiana. She was born in America, though. A very sweet and kind girl. The wedding will take place in their home in Indiana this coming Saturday, December 5, so I’m getting ready for the occasion. I hope the weather will be nice so that we can drive there, Howard and Bob will each be driving a car from Lockport. Elsie will be travelling with George and Ruby. Ellen can’t come along, she gets very tired travelling long distances, but she is feeling much better now.

Mildred is now a widow, too, Harry was very sick so it was a blessing that his end came so quickly. Mildred works in an office, she is very good at book-keeping and has worked for 30 years now. You asked where Karin[1] lives now. She lives in Brooklyn, NY. On my birthday, I and Elsie were invited to George and Ruby’s home. I was very surprised when Elsie brought Karin. We had a very nice time. Karin stayed for three days at George’s, so we had time to talk about many different things. She had been to Copenhagen the previous year. Her mother died two months after her arrival there, and Karin had received an inheritance. Her father had died two years earlier and left them a fortune of 90,000 crowns. Karin is so beautiful, she looks like a 25-year-old girl.

Margaret[2] lives in California. She is married and has a little girl who is one year old. So when the old people leave this world, new ones come in their place. There are now ten widows in the family. None of us are considering remarrying. Nora[3] is fine, she lives with two rich widows in Evanston. Ester Strömbäck[4] lives by herself and works every day. So you can see that here in America women are hard-working, we don’t laze around! Christmas is approaching and we are getting everything ready for the holidays. There will be a lot of festivities, three churches will be coming here every Sunday until Christmas to serve coffee and sweet rolls and give us old people presents. I really like living here with all the elderly people, praise the Lord.

Love

Levida     

Letter from Levida to Ruth (translated from Swedish)

                                                 Joliet, January 9, 1955

Dear Sister Ruth and family,

 I just got the letter with the sad news you sent to Ellen. I know what it means to lose one’s husband, one’s support in life. But Oscar was ill for a long time and death relieved him of his pain and suffering. The first year was probably the hardest to get through, but with the help of God you will get over this loss. You have such nice friends and you also have your children and grandchildren to live for, they are such wonderful people.

 I have had the flu for a week now. I thought I was going to die, because I had such a strange dream about Mother. I spoke to her and whenever that happens, I know she’s calling one of us to  Heaven. But I guess my time wasn’t up yet. I’m feeling better now, but I’m very weak. Beda was in Joliet over Christmas. She was ill. She was staying with Harry’s Margaret. She’s now gone back home but we don’t know how she’s doing. I am so happy I got a place here at Salem Home. I don’t have to worry about illness and old age. Everybody was so kind to me when I was bedridden. Three nurses around the clock, one of them a Swedish woman from Lockport. So now I’ve been repaid for having been kind to all the sick people I’ve nursed.

 We had a lovely Christmas with music and singing. It all started a month before Christmas when people from many different parishes, both young and old, came to us and sang in the long hallways. We had decorated the dining room for Christmas Eve. Eight large tables with a big candle next to each plate and seven chandeliers on the piano and the buffet table. No electric lights except in the Christmas tree. I thought the room looked like a church in Hjorted on the morning of Christmas Eve. There was ‘lutfisk’ and ‘gröt[1]’ and we got a lot of Christmas presents, useful things that I can wear. I gave my last dollar to Harry. But the next day, a Mrs Hansson came over and treated us to coffee and sweet rolls. She gave me 5 dollars for having taken care of her old aunt. I remembered then what Mother used to say: ‘Give and you will be given back two-fold ’ , but I got more than two-fold back!

On Christmas Day I was in Lockport at the Shoops’. There were 11 people there. Daniel and his wife and Robert and his girlfriend were there. George and Ruby came over later in the evening. On Boxing Day, Elsie was here and so I got to see them all, except John and Billie. He is with his wife in Indiana.

Thank you for the nice Christmas card. I got so many through the Swedish Church from people I don’t know. Well, this turned out to be a long letter. I hope you will stay healthy. If you take one day, one moment, at a time, you will be alright. How old was Oscar? Martin and Lasse were 56 and 58, that’s not so old.

 Please give my love to everyone over there

Levida 

Letter from Levida to Ruth (translated from Swedish)

                                                                      Joliet, March 14, 1955

Dear Sister Ruth,

Thank you for your letter, and for what you enclosed with it. You shouldn’t have, I have everything I need for my body and soul. The children are so nice to me and give me money and clothes.

I’m so happy that you are healthy. I’ve been thinking about you a lot, I’ve been through the same thing twice. Be grateful that you still have your home. That was the worst part, having to leave one’s home. We both worked so hard to get it the way we wanted it. But it’s hard when your health fails you, and when no money is coming in to live on.

I’m feeling better now after that persistent flu. When one gets old it takes a lot longer to regain one’s strength. The doctor said I was overworked. I guess it was too hard for me at the Grintons, keeping that big house clean. I was glad when they sold it. Now they’ve opened a home for the sick there. They have 19 patients already. They have nice big rooms, lovely glass porches and a nice, shady garden. I was so happy there.

I sent you a couple of stockings in some newspapers, I hope you’ll get them. When they arrive, please let me know. I had four pairs for Christmas, but some of them are very thin. They will be good summer stockings.

Beda paid me a surprise visit last Tuesday. She stayed the whole afternoon. We had coffee and buns in my room and then she had lunch with us at 5.
We have dinner at 12. Yesterday I went to my church for breakfast. I was supposed to meet Beda there but she didn’t show up. I suppose she went home. She has to clean her old landlord’s apartment. He will be 88 soon and his children will be coming to his birthday party.

Ruth, our brother Edvin asked me if I knew when our siblings were born. He wanted to know, I don’t know why. I you have that information, please send it to me and I will pass it on to Edvin.

I hope you will have a nice birthday. All your siblings are fine. Karin has now married a Dane and will be going to Denmark next month, and to Paris, London and Stockholm, on her honeymoon. She is 53 years old.

 Please give my love to all our friends. I’ll never forget how kind they were to me. We had such a nice time when I was staying with you that winter. I only wish that I could have had some more money to pay my way with during my stay in Sweden, but I was so poor then. I also wish that we were young again and that we had our husbands and homes, then it would have been so nice to see you over here. You have had so many visits from the USA, Edvin is the only one who hasn’t been to Sweden.

 Please write soon! 

Love
Levida 

Letter from Levida to her sister-in-law Ingeborg in Sweden (translated from Swedish) 

June 10, 1955

Dear Ingeborg,

Temperatures have now dropped a little after 11 days of hot weather, it’s been up to 100F. On days like that, you feel like a dishcloth. On the 4th of July we had a summer party at the Home. We usually have those parties in the garden but this year we had to stay indoors, in the dining room, as it was so hot. We had a great time and played many different kinds of games. I won a prize, a handkerchief, as I had the highest number.

On Friday night a lady came and showed a color film from Sweden, most of it was from Skåne. She has a cousin there, in Landskrona, who was in the USA eight years ago. She is a teacher and her name is Anna Flint. She was a very good singer and she sang a lot in all the churches in Joliet and made a lot of money. Sweden seems to be so close now, as people fly a lot these days. It would be nice to see you one more time before I die. If I hadn’t fallen ill, I probably would have gone, but.... ‘Man proposes and God disposes’, I guess I wasn’t meant to travel to Sweden again. But I am content with my lot. Everyone has been so kind to me. I have everything I need, but John doesn’t write me very often. You know how Olle and Erik felt about letter-writing. But they think of you anyway. I had a long letter from John this month with $50 in it. They will be moving from Hollywood Boulevard soon. They have bought a two-storey house and they are planning a new building for their book store. They have both been working very hard. Elsa will be a grandmother in December, if all goes well. They have moved to Detroit. Bill is studying and intends to get his degree in January, so now I am crocheting a pair of baby shoes and a white, blue and pink blanket. But wool is so expensive. I’ll send you a card on your birthday, I know it’s in July, but I don’t know which day. A Miss Barret who lives here made the card. She is so crippled in her hands but she makes such nice cards from old stamps. I hope you’ll have a nice day. I’m enclosing a dollar bill. Buy yourself some cakes, pastries (the small ones) and think of me. We don’t get those things here in Joliet. I bought some twist rolls for 60 cents, but they don’t taste like Swedish rolls. Dinner will be served soon, so I have to stop. I’ll tell you more another time.

 Best regards

 Levida

Letter from Levida to Ruth (translated from Swedish)

                                                                                                                                                                                   Joliet July 5, 1955

 Dear Sister Ruth and Family,

 Thank you for your letter. I’ve been thinking about you a lot and I have been wondering why we haven’t heard from you in a long time. But I know what it feels like to be alone. But you have so much to be grateful for. You don’t have to go out and work for other people and you have such nice children and the grandchildren are so sweet. They seem so well-looked-after . Karin looks so much like Sigbrit.

I can now tell you that Billie and Marion are expecting their first child in the fall, so Elsa will soon be a grandmother. They live in Detroit, Michigan. Bill will be at school this summer studying for his Master’s Degree. In May, Beda and I went to Detroit together with Ruby and George to see our Brother Ed and Mamie. We stayed for two days. Ed has it good, he doesn't work any longer , but his health is deteriorating, he is getting old, he has a heart condition and has lost weight. But they have a nice little home and everything is so nice and clean there. Mamie is a good housewife. Bert and his family came over for dinner. They have four children and they are all so well-behaved. It was so nice to see them again. The next day we went to Grant Hubenet’s home for a lovely dinner. Beda stayed with us at George’s for two days, but I stayed for two weeks. I helped Ruby with the sewing and cooking, and mending George’s clothes. Ruby doesn’t have time, she’s a member of so many clubs and associations. I was happy to get back home again, because here you can rest your body and soul.

I have now been here for a year and time has passed so quickly. Eight people have died in that time, four men and four women. Two committed suicide. Two lost their minds. I am so grateful for the few things I have and for being able to get up in the morning and take care of a 94-year-old lady. She doesn’t have anyone to visit her, she doesn’t have children. The only thing she ever thinks about is her money. She never lets go of her handbag, she has it with her in bed when she sleeps and when she walks around in the corridors.

We have had such a terribly rainy June that my knees and arms are aching. When I sit down, it is really hard to get up. Old age is beginning to wear me down. I will soon be the same age as my mother was when she died. Ellen is not very well, but she is over 80, so it’s maybe only to be expected. Ed asked me if I knew when our siblings were born. If you have that information, could you please send it to me so that I can pass it on to Ed? Did you get the stockings I sent in the Swedish American xx[1]?  Or did they get lost?  

Karin Hubenet is now married to a Danish man from Brooklyn. They flew to Denmark and Germany, France, London, Sweden and they came to see me on their way to California. They showed me a movie they had filmed in all the places they had been on their honeymoon. It was in color. I’m so glad that Karin has found such a good husband.

Please thank Ebba for the nice letter, it was perfectly written. I said to Elsa that she writes better than anybody over here! Thank you for the photos of their lovely little children. Lars looks so intelligent. But of course  he has a lot of teachers in the family. Well, I’m running out of paper. I hope the weather is warmer now so that you can be outdoors. Yesterday Eric Rudén was on the radio. I though to myself ‘How are they going to cope with the heat over here?’ It’s been 93 degrees now for eight days. It’s cooler today. 

Love  
Levida

Letter from Levida to Ruth (translated from Swedish)

                                                                      Joliet, September 26, 1955

Dear sister and family,

 Thank you so much for your letter. I’m feeling much better now that we have got some cooler weather. I can’t stand the hot weather we’ve had this summer – and for 46 days in a row! I have arthritis in my knees and arms and it gets worse when it’s hot. But I am so grateful that I can get up in the morning.  

I spent three days at Ellen’s because she was feeling lonely. She is amazing, she can get down on her knees and scrub the floor. That’s more than I can do. We also went to see Beda one Sunday a while ago. Harry and Beda are fine. He wanted me to stay for a few days but it was so hot that I went back home again.  

Thank you for the photo of Sigbrit’s children. Sigbrit is the only one who lives close to you now, isn’t she? Did Folke manage to  find out about our ancestors? I can’t understand that Folke could have his operation free of charge. If he had lived in the US he would have had to pay for it. Elsa had a small tumor on her wrist that the doctor removed. The cost for two days in hospital was 63 dollars. She doesn’t know yet how much the doctors will have to remove.

I’m sending you a drawing of the Home so that you can see where I live. The dining room is twice as big now. The elevator will be operational by Christmas, so then we won’t have to walk up and down the stairs three times a day. I had a letter from Karin Nord. She complains about Sweden and wants to return to the USA. But I think people are better off in Sweden.
She was invited to Adele’s. How many children does Adele have now? Efraim, Selma’s husband, is so sick he can’t walk on his own, he needs someone to support him. We all have our ailments. I hope you will stay healthy and that you can go on living in your house. Ella said it was such a nice house. I don’t go and see them anymore, they came to Joliet before Christmas. I’ve put a cross where the elevator will be, it goes all the way up to the 4th floor.  

Please write again and give my love to all our friends. 

Your Sister Levida    

Christmas Card 2 from Levida to her sister-in-law Ingeborg in Sweden (translated from Swedish):

 December 4, 1955

 Dear Ingeborg,

 I wish you a happy and peaceful Christmas, my dear sister-in-law. How are you? I think about you all the time. I hope you are back home now and that you are feeling up to the big holiday.
 

I’m a little stronger now, although my knees are troubling me. Sometimes I can’t walk because they hurt so much. Everybody is cleaning and decorating their houses for the Christmas holiday. I had a black negro girl here who cleaned my room and put up clean drapes. So as you can see, I am now a Mistress, as long as I can’t do such things myself.

I spent Thanksgiving with Ruby and George. They drove me to their home and back. They have such a nice home and they are so happy. Next week the Association will have some festivities here. Three old ladies, sisters, who were in Europe last summer and took a lot of color photographs in Sweden and other places they visited, will come and show us their photos on Friday and give us Christmas presents.

 Best regards

 Levida

Letter from Levida to her sister-in-law Ingeborg in Sweden (translated from Swedish)

Joliet   December 26, 1955

 Dear Ingeborg,

 Many thanks for your Christmas greetings. Hearing from you was the best possible Christmas present. I was so worried when I didn’t hear from you in such a long time. I hope you are feeling better now after your operation, it’s so hard to be sick and weak.  

It is the day after Christmas Day today and it’s so quiet here, many of the residents are away for the holidays. We had a wonderful time on Christmas Eve. There were three pastors here who preached and sang and afterwards we all got Christmas presents, a lot of useful things that people had sent us. On Christmas Day, Ruby and George picked me up and we went to Ruby’s sister for a turkey dinner. I didn’t get home until 1 a.m. so I’m really tired and sleepy today. I can’t stay up that late any more.  

I’m so sorry for Elsie. She’s been in hospital in Chicago for two weeks. She slipped on the ice as she was walking to work two weeks ago and broke her right arm above the elbow. I haven’t been able to go and see her because my knees and legs are hurting so much. When she comes home, I’ll try to go and see her and stay with her for a while. I’ll ask the Director here if I can go with him the next time he goes to Chicago. I’m so glad you have Ingrid staying with you. It’s always better to have someone to talk to, someone one likes.  

I have such sweet neighbors here who live across the hall from me. We are all the same age. Their names are Mary and Rosa. Mary is great fun, and time passes so quickly when we sit together crocheting and talking. Pastor Nordling’s wife also visits us quite often. She says my room is so nice that I should take a photo of it and send it to the local newspaper.

 I’m so sorry I couldn’t send you some flowers when you were sick. But you were in my thoughts all the time. I prayed to God that he would help you get well. I’m enclosing two dollars with this letter, one for you and one for Ingrid. I wish I could send you more.

 Best wishes to you both

 Levida  

Birthday Card from Levida to Ingeborg

 To My Sister-in-Law on her Birthday

Congratulations on your birthday, my dear sister-in-law. I wish you good health both in mind and body. I have now been here for three weeks and time flies. I like it here but my room is not yet ready. I’m going to get a nice room with a big closet. So far I’ve been staying in two other rooms, which were also very nice. But my room will be even nicer and I’ll be moving in as soon as they have varnished the floor. They serve good food and good coffee here three times a day. There are 35 people who have their meals in the dining room and 12 who eat in their rooms. It is the Swedish Lutheran Home, a very nice place in the countryside and only a 10-minute bus ride from the city center. At 9 o’clock on Sunday mornings there is a service in the chapel, which is in the main building. Many different associations also come here and treat us to refreshments, so we never feel sad and gloomy. The Red Cross sisters come in once a week and show us how to make nice handicraft for the bazaar we are arranging to raise money for an elevator so that the old people who are not strong enough to walk up and down the stairs can get out and eat at the tables in the dining room.

A thousand thanks for all your letters. I should have written sooner but I can’t find my stationery. I know I packed it when I moved here. The same day I moved out, the Grintons were auctioning off all their furniture. The man who used to take care of their boiler and mow their lawns was coming to over to see how the auction went. As he was crossing the road, he was run over by a drunken driver. He died instantly. His wife and I were in the yard and saw it happen. Elmer Johansson was such a kind man. He was so sad when we both had to leave our employments that he cried. But he was very tired and now he can rest in peace. And I’m resting too, all I do here is sleep, eat and read. I feel quite well, but I’ve lost a lot of weight. I wish I could put on some more weight.

 You asked me how big my pension is. It’s only 26 dollars a month and I get to keep 5 dollars for myself. Have a wonderful time and please say hello to all our relatives.

 All the best.  Levida.

Letter from Levida to her sister-in-law Ingeborg in Sweden

Joliet January 31, 1956

Dear Ingeborg,

First of all, I hope 1956 will be a better year for you and that you will get your health back. Thank you so much for the Swedish magazine, there is so much good reading in it. No one speaks Swedish here, so it’s nice to have something to read in Swedish so that one doesn’t forget the language, as so many people do when they have been over here a few years. I find it hard to believe that it will be 50 years in April since we arrived in the USA. I was only 25 then and Erik was 30. I thought we were so old then!

We had a nice Christmas and we got so many presents from various parishes. There was a lot of singing and dancing and we had six big Christmas trees. I spent Christmas Day with Ruby and George and on New Year’s Day I was at the Shoops’ in Lockport. Daniel and Mary had come home from New Jersey and Bob was home from university with his fiancée. He is engaged to a girl from Joliet. But it’ll be two more years before he graduates.

The fourth generation has now arrived. Billie and Marion had a son on January 25 so now Elsa is a grandmother. She fell on the ice one morning four weeks ago as she was walking to her job. She broke her right arm above the elbow and had to spend Christmas at the hospital in Evanston. I was so sorry I couldn’t go and see her because of my aching knees and legs. I could hardly walk, but if I could have traveled with someone, I would probably have tried to go and see her. It’s sad that lives so far away and has to be on her own. She is better now and will go back to work on February 8.

I haven’t been so well lately. I receive treatment every week for my knees and my blood pressure is 220, 40 points higher than it should be. I have also got a wart on my tongue which the doctor is going to remove since it makes it difficult to eat. I’ve been to see him twice but it is not yet gone. When one gets old, one gets so many ailments.  Lucky are those who die young.  

How are you, dear Ingeborg? Are you getting any better? I see in the newspapers that it has been very cold in Sweden. You will feel better when summer arrives. We have had a mild winter and not much snow. It looks as though it will be an early spring. Did I tell you that John has moved? He bought a building on another street. He has to move 67 000 books and they are so busy that he doesn’t have time to write his mother a few lines. But John is a good son. He sends me money and books sometimes. I had so many useful presents from my children and grandchildren. Johanna, John’s first wife, gave me a nice winter coat. But I already had two, so I sent it to Elsie. She needs it because Chicago is so windy and cold in the winter. She lives near the great Lake Michigan. Please remember me to Ingrid who is staying with you and helping you. It is good to have someone to talk to. Please write and tell me how you are doing.

 Best wishes

Levida      

Letter from Levida to her sister Ruth in Sweden (translated from Swedish)                                                                                              Joliet January 30, 1956

Dear Sister Ruth,

I wish you a Happy New Year, even though we are already one month into the new year. First of all, I want to thank you for the Christmas magazine. There were so many nice articles in it. I gave it to Genevieve after I had read it. Pastor Nordling, who lives here at the home with his wife, read it, too. He was born in Arvika. He reads and prays in the dining room every morning and evening.

I wish he would do it in Swedish, but no one remembers that language any longer here at this Swedish Home. On Sundays we have a nice pastor from Lockport. He is Swedish and his name is Larsson, but he can’t speak a word of Swedish. But he speaks such good English that we elderly people can hear and understand what he preaches. We had a really nice Christmas holiday here. We got so many useful presents from various parishes. My grandchildren gave me so many useful things and my children gave me some money. I spent Christmas Day with Ruby and George. On New Year’s Eve I was at the Shoop’s and I stayed for three days. Daniel and Mary were home, and Bob and Dorothy. Bob is now engaged and plans to marry Dorothy this summer. I also have the pleasure to tell you that I’m now a Great Grandmother! Billie and Marion had a fine boy on January 25, 1956, so Elsa is now a grandmother. She is so happy that it was a boy, as she thinks he will be like Billie. I don’t care, as long as they are healthy.

People say that I’ve had many children and they have all been fine healthy children, that is really something to be grateful about. Lois had a little girl on December 4. Her name is Sally. She is so tiny and pretty, like a little doll. So now she has a nice family. They wanted four children and now they have them. But one boy and a girl died only a few days after they were born. The little girl they adopted will be three  in March.

So, Folke has moved. It’s sad when children live far away from their parents. I often think about Mother and Father who had so many children, and we all went off to America, you were the only one to stay in Sweden.

 Elsie slipped on the ice and fell over one morning four weeks ago as she was going to work . She broke her arm above the elbow and had to spent Christmas at the hospital. I had such a pain in my knees and legs that I couldn’t visit her at the hospital. But she is better now and I believe she will go back to work on February 8.

I see a doctor every week because I’ve got a wart on the lungs. I’ve been there twice and the doctors have tried to remove it but it is still there. My blood pressure is also too high, 220 over 70, and I get an injection once a week for the ache in my knees. It’s sad that old people should have so many ailments. But I am so grateful that I’m here and that I’m taken care of. I have a nice, warm room. Last night I went to the high school to listen to the St Olaf Choir from Minnesota. Any money left when everything has been paid for will go to the Salem House. I’m hoping that it will be a couple of thousand dollars, because the home needs to be repaired, it is nearly 50 years old. In April it will be 50 years since we arrived in the USA.

All the best and please write soon.

Levida

Letter from Levida to Ruth (translated from Swedish).

Someone cut the stamp from this airmail letter so parts of the text are missing.