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Centennial Monograph: The Swedish People in Maynard

mhs-2019.194.pdf

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Title

Centennial Monograph: The Swedish People in Maynard

Description

A short account of Swedish people in Maynard.

Creator

Birger R. Koski

Date

1969-04

Identifier

2019.194

Document Item Type Metadata

Text

The Swedish people have been a minor part of the population in Maynard. We do not know when they first arrived in Maynard but assume that it was during the 1890's. The reason for this assumption is that our first news note in the Maynard News about swedes is dated April 1, 1904 telling us that a Sunday School has been organized at the home of John Nordberg. It takes a few years for any group to grow sufficiently to be able to organize, so the 1890's sounds like a good educated guess.

Sometime Just before 1913 the Hamar Lodge #126 of Scandinavian Brotherhood was organized. It had in its membership also some Norwegians and Danes. The membership at its peak was about 140, includIng those from surrounding towns of Maynard.

July 9, 1915 the lodge held its first semi-annual meeting. Officers were: President Charles E. Ekstadt, Vice-president Sanfrid Swanson, Overseer Carl Emanuelson, Marshall Mrs. Bernt Anderson, Assistant Marshall Mrs. Hulda McGlean, Recording Secretary Richard Swanson, Assistant Recording Secretary Esther Emanuelson, Financial Secretary Richard Johnson, Treasurer Bernt Anderson, Inside Guard Ernest Johnson, Outside Guard Oscar Johnson. The membership at this time was around 50.

January 26, 1917 at Odd Fellows Hall they elected the following officers: Charles Ekstadt, Richard Swanson, Rindi Johnson, Elin Swanson, Ernest Johnson, Carl Emanuelson, Girard Johnson, Sanford Johnson, Richard Johnson, Bennett Anderson. Marlus Rocko and Claude Nelson.

This fraternal benefit society weakened through the years so sometime in the latter 1930's it joined forces with the Lindberg Lodge of Waltham. Religious services were held by the Swedish Lutheran Congregation monthly in the vestry of the Finnish Lutheran Church In 1915. The Ladies’ Sewing Circle of the congregation held a bazaar in the same church December 2, 1913.

The mainstream of American life absorbed the energies of the sons and daughters of the immigrants, so as with all of the ethnic groups, the Swedes as a national distinct group has disappeared.

All dates from the Maynard News,
Hugo Emanuelson furnished the general information.

Paper read at the April 1969 meeting of the Maynard Historical Society by Birger R. Koski.

Storage

SU9-4