Tag Archives: gumption

Immigrant Great Depression- Depression

Deacon Recalls His Immigrant Grandmother’s Gumption – and Discovers Her Struggle with Depression While he was growing up in Chicago, Deacon Don Grossnickle loved visiting his grandmother Maja, an immigrant from Sweden, and listening to her stories about her home country’s “enchanting winters, the Christmases, the sleighs, the horses, the beautiful lakes,” he recalled during aContinue reading “Immigrant Great Depression- Depression”

Monstrous Depression Relived: Stacked Deck for Immigrant Survival

Only a few living souls can look backwards at what it was like for those who fought hard to survive the vissicitudes of America’s Great Depression’s crush on the human spirit. Inspiring me my whole life, Grandma Maja’s story has inspired me to take my troubles in stride as hers were monstrous by comparison. StoriesContinue reading “Monstrous Depression Relived: Stacked Deck for Immigrant Survival”

Swedish Strong and Tough With a Courageous Heart

My Swedish Grandma Maja was one of the strongest and toughest people I have ever met. It takes me a whole book to explain how very strong she was in proving herself as an immigrant. I built my own life celebrating the example of gritty resilience Maja demonstrated. At the very same time, this strongContinue reading “Swedish Strong and Tough With a Courageous Heart”

Chicago Swedes Genealogy & Recollections 1871-1933

The Great Chicago Fire and the demand for builders and construction workers attracted many Swedes from 1871 until 1924 when US curtailed the welcome. Chicago became the home of our Swedish family roots in America. Swedish life for our family began in early 1900 when Albert Källgren emigrated to Chicago from Sollefteå Sweden seeking prosperityContinue reading “Chicago Swedes Genealogy & Recollections 1871-1933”

Swedish Love Letters: Genealogy Tears and Years

In 2004 I found in a dusty attic, my Grandma Maja’s Sweden to America steamer trunk filled with buried treasures. Dozens of photos, artifacts, and more. What a happy shock. Maja and I were reunited as I tenderly examined each special piece of her lifetime memories she left behind. It had been over 30 yearsContinue reading “Swedish Love Letters: Genealogy Tears and Years”

Swedish Immigrant Great Depression Kids- The Fallout

Grandma Maja was one of the finest teachers I have ever met. Her three children , Delores, Peter, and Linnea without a father learned the meaning of a lifestyle philosophy: “a stitch in time saves 9”. The incredibly hard times of America’s Great Depression tested the character of widow Maja and her three Swedish AmericanContinue reading “Swedish Immigrant Great Depression Kids- The Fallout”

Published Book Review from The Daily Scandinavian

My Swedish Grandmother September 11, 2020 Tor Kjølberg, Ph.D., Editor in Chief Don Grossnickle, the grandson of Maja Källgren Witterström, spent 14 years dusting off photos and archives he found in his grandmother’s steamers trunk on a journey to revive her memory and proclaim her dramatic and inspiring story. Read more about the fascinating storyContinue reading “Published Book Review from The Daily Scandinavian”

Living Monuments to Ancestors as Tributes

The feeling to leave a tribute behind to honor my Swedish Grandmother Maja carried me through the ordeals of publishing a book. But, Why? How? “WE are the “living monuments” to our ancestors. Shirley Abbott once said, “We all grow up with the weight of history on us. Our ancestors dwell in the attics ofContinue reading “Living Monuments to Ancestors as Tributes”

Swedish Edge? Culture, Heritage, Tradition

I grew up believing that my very Swedish grandmother was invincible and slaying a dragon would be no big deal. Not that she spent one minute of our 21 years together trying in any way to convince me of her super powers. I somehow just knew she was like a knight, a powerful Viking SwedeContinue reading “Swedish Edge? Culture, Heritage, Tradition”