By consulting family records and Google maps, we found Lönneberga, the rural district in Småland where Debi's great great-grandfather was born. Our time was limited, so we chose a couple of places mentioned in the records that we could easily reach, one of which was Lönneberga. (The other was Krisdala.) We had to get back on the E4 motorway to Stockholm's Arlanda Airport, where we needed to drop off our rental car that afternoon, but we were able to spend an hour or two driving around.
Postcards, at right and below, show the Småland terrain. It's beautiful, but it doesn't look exactly like good farmland -- the area is now sort of a woodsy resort destination for weekenders from Stockholm, and we were told nobody tries to farm it anymore.
Lönneberga (pronounced luna-BERR-ya) is located on a two-lane blacktop (No. 129) in Hultsfred municipality (kommun) -- a local government unit similar to our townships in Illinois -- in Kalmar county (län) near the Jönköping (yon-SHUPP-ing) county line (if you care about such things, its latitude and longitude are are 57° 33' 0" North, 15° 43' 0" East). A pretty little town, with a housing estate, like an American subdivision, on one side of the road and a nice little restaurant -- Lönneberga Boa -- on the other. Surrounded by evergreen forest set in rolling hills. Some pasture fields, but mostly lakes and woods.
The restaurant was open, and it was around lunchtime. So we went in.
Lönneberga Boa was a smallish restaurant, across the county road from the housing estate. Reminded me of cafes in our resort areas on the East Coast, with wood paneling on the inside, prints on the walls -- including an old (1920s-ish?) group portrait of the Swedish royal family -- and a modest selection of crafts and tourist kitsch on sale.
Lunch was kroppkakor - pork meatballs surrounded by potato dumplings in a white sauce (cf. German Fleisch Knödel) that tasted like a combination of American-style Swedish meatballs and potato baloney. Served with a lingonberry sauce on the side. It was quite good. Filling, though. Very filling. Debi had a fruktkaka dessert that was nothing at all like an American fruitcake.
Picture at right shows Kroppkakor, fruktkaka and knäckebröd (hardtack or crisp bread) with lingonberry sauce and dill pickles.
The rural area where the Edmund family lived before coming to America in the 1860s is called Sjoarp (SHOW-arp). Owner of the restaurant said it is no longer occupied year-round, but vacationers from Stockholm have second homes there. The Wikipedia page on Hultsfred kommun indicates the area has been losing population over time: "Much of the geography is taken up with forests, a notability for the entire province of Småland, with some few scattered areas suitable for agriculture."
Local histories, several of which are available on the World Wide Web, also give the picture of an area where people scrabbled for a living on small farms hacked out of the woods.
The Lönneberga Historical Guild (hembygdsgille) hosts a food and craft fair in the fall and maintains a homestead museum (hembygdsgård) near Lönneberga church (for an English translation, Google keywords Lönneberga Mat och Hantverk and click on "Translate this page"). Its website also features a map that shows Sjoarp, which is pretty out-of-the-way. The guild's organizational website has an interesting hodgepodge of information (Google keywords Lönneberga hembygdsgille and click on the link that says "Translate this page") compiled by local historians. Among other things, it mentions historical records going back
to the 1300s, an essay on farming and an account of emigration during the 1800s from another community in Hultsfred commune.
Edmund family records
Edmund family ancestors from Lönneberga were:
- Petter Admundson, farmer in Sjoarp, Lonneberga Parish, Kalmar County, Sweden. Born Mar. 8, 1805 in Hasselby Parish, Jonkoping County, Sweden. Married Stina Cajsa Jonsdotter, born Mar. 30, 1811, in Lonneberga Parish. Came to America probably in 1870s, after their children came here. (?) Petter died in Woodhull, IL in 1881. Stina died in 1911, in Woodhull, IL.
- Anders Johan Admund (Adman), son of Petter and Stina, born Nov. 3, 1833, at Sjoarp farm #2, Lonneberga Parish, Kalmar County, Sweden. Emigrated to America June 26, 1865? 1868? Died 1918 in Orion, IL.
Emil i Lönneberga
Among the touristy items on sale in the restaurant were several black-and-white glossies of a tow-headed little boy. He's Emil of Lönneberga, the title character of several novels by children's author Astrid Lindgren. Better known than Emil in the United States is Pippi Longstocking (Pippi Långstrump in Swedish), another character of Astrid Longren's -- Emil and Pippi are kindred spirits, if not exactly brother and sister.
At any rate, they're proud of their namesake in Lönneberga.
While the Emil books aren't readily available in English, used copies turn up regularly on Amazon.com and other online booksellers. And there's a good synopsis on an Astrid Lindgren fan page called Pippi's World. In 1971 a Swedish-language movie simply titled Emil i Lönneberga came out. It was very popular, and several clips (all in Swedish or Norwegian) have been posted to YouTube from time to time.
Emil and friend, as portrayed in the movie.
Wikipedia has this: "Emil of Lönneberga (from Swedish: Emil i Lönneberga) is a series of children's novels by Astrid Lindgren, covering twelve books written from 1963 to 1997. Emil, the title character, is a prankster who lives on a farm in the district of Lönneberga in Småland, Sweden. The books have been published in 44 languages. In most translations, the original illustrations by the Swedish illustrator Björn Berg are used."
Adds the Wikipedia profile, "[Emil] has fair hair and blue eyes and looks like an angel, but is not, as he also has a prodigious knack for getting into trouble. Contrary to what most people around him think, Emil is not malicious, but does not think about the consequences of his actions. He even states at one point that 'you don't make up pranks, they just happen'."
Pippi's World, the Astrid Lindgren fan website, has some perceptive comments:
The fact that Emil of Lönneberga lives in a farmhouse is of great significance! This is where he has unfettered freedom to do his pranks. Most of his pranks are targeted at saving people he love from some problem that he perceives. They are endearing also, like the time when he gives food meant for guests to some poor people because he feels their need is greater. This is labeled a 'prank' in his own home, but the intentions are definitely noble and give him good brownie points for character.Speaking of character, Emil is really quite good at heart. He also knows to reciprocate goodness, which is seen in his behavior with Alfred, the farmhand, who is one of Emil's best friends. For all Alfred's trust and good faith in him, Emil reciprocates by even saving his life at one point of time.
There's a copy of the 1971 movie version available on YouTube. It's in Swedish, and I didn't watch it all, but a trailer gives a feel for the characters ... and an idyllic -- idealized? -- impression of what a youngster from Småland might remember from the early 20th century when Astrid Lindgren was growing up. There are more YouTube clips, all in Swedish. Details on the 1971 release available on the Swedish Film Database website.
1 comment:
Thank you for reposting this. This is an amazing tribute to family and tradition
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