Fredrick, Ada, Anna, Göta, Victor and Mina

Brita Boberg Kindeskog at 15 in 1933.
This must be her confirmation photo.

"Then we have Grässvederna, that was on the way down to the road. In Grässvederna, there lived Farbror Fredrick and Tant Ada. This was Tant Ada’s home farm that she had inherited from her parents. Her parents lived in a little house in the yard. Little houses like that for the old folks used to be called undantagsstugor, set-aside cottages.  Tant Ada had a sister named Anna. Anna didn’t live there all the time because she had different jobs in different places. Anna had had a baby with Farbror Fredrick’s brother who had left for America. He didn’t know he had fathered a child. She was named Göta.  She lived with her grandparents in the little house.

Well, Göta was a little older than Brita but she used to come play too. And how silly they were in those days. I don’t know where they pretended that Göta came from, but they had a birthday party for her once. Mama had bought a special pair of embroidery scissors that were made in the shape of a blue heron or bird like that. In those days all girls learned embroidery. Brita went to that birthday party and when Göta opened that present, she called, “Mama! Titta vad Brita har givit mig!” (“Mama! Look what Brita gave me!”) She ran up to Anna to show her, and Anna slapped her across the face. Göta was not supposed to call her Mama when anybody outside the family heard it. Aren’t we all glad that some things have changed?

Well, Grässvederna was part of Kjettestorp, but Kjettestorp also went

When we visited Kjettestorp with Mom, she always liked

to have us go out the back way from Norrgård and walk

the path down to the schoolhouse. This is in 2000. Mom is 

the one in the hat, Henrik is in front of her, 

and 3-year-old Marcus is the one who wouldn't stay

on the path, so I had to chase him down. Amanda

must be behind mom :)

down into the valley where the school was. Next to the schoolhouse lived an old couple named Victor and Mina. Victor was such a miser. He couldn’t spend money on anything. When they were trying to get electricity to Kjettestorp, it would cost them less if every place in Kjettestorp would pay so much to draw in the lines. Victor said, “You’re telling me that I push a button on the wall and light comes out in the ceiling? How can that be safe??” He wouldn’t be part of it. So Victor and Mina carried around their oil lamps. I always thought that that couldn’t have been very safe for those two old people.

Kjettestorp schoolhouse in 2000. 

Mina, they used to say, was so mean to Victor. I remember one time when I was working for the school teacher. We would get the mail from the store. I’d take the mail to Victor and Mina when I picked up the schoolteacher’s mail. Well, Victor and Mina’s house had a great big window next to the back steps, so you came up by this window. I came there one time with their mail, and I happened to look in and I saw Victor in the kitchen scrubbing something on a scrub board, washing something. When I knocked on the door, I heard Mina hollar, “Gå i ni kammern! Hon kommer!” In other words, “Get in the other room! She’s coming!” Victor was a little deaf so she had to hollar. Then when I walked into the kitchen, Mina stood there scrubbing. “Oh I’m washing a little bit today,” she said. So I gave her the mail, and I curtsied and said goodbye. When I went out, I glanced through the window and she stood by the door to the other room, “Kom ut och tvätt igen! Hon gick!” (“Come out and wash again. She’s gone!”) I couldn’t help but chuckle all the way home."