DAY 143 - Touring the Olson Home in Gardebyn (Part 2)

Aug 9 - Getting to know My Swedish Cousin

I was so excited to spend most of the day with my Swedish cousin, Annette.  She is also mayor of Rattvik, so she is a very busy lady.  I met her in the Mayor's office where she showed me around.

Her desk is beside her where she spent many hours each day working.

1596 - the beginnings of Rattvik were painted on the wall in the city council meeting room.

 Annette and I have the same great-great grandfather, Olaf Olafsson.

I grew to love this sweet lady who I had heard about for years.

District Judges during the past centuries - maybe some of my relations are listed.

 Annette and I went to meet Paul and Suzanne who had bought the Olson homestead house 7 years ago.  They were the first ones outside the family to own it and took pride in knowing much of its history and were eager to let us know and to preserve the past.

Paul had gone to the library and researched all the owners of the house since about 1600.

Suzanne displays a violin made from the wood found on the property from past building construction.  The Swedes save every scrap of lumber.  (Sounds like my dad and grandpa, too.) A friend who helped renovate the place picked up a piece of wood and had this beautiful instrument made for her. 

Note the Dalarna horse made on the scroll of the violin.

They have two boys and all are very musical.

 Suzanne took us on a tour of the inside of their beautiful home.  It had been re-built in the early 1900's over what was probably then a 300 year-old house.

Beautiful fireplace for the chilly Swedish winters.

                                        

Original doors and a staircase leads up to the 2nd floor.

Suzanne and Paul had worked hard to make this place their own - what a cute kitchen!

The ceilings were just beautiful with scrolling and artwork.

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Looking down from the 2nd story onto what used to be the horse stables.


 The road in front was getting really busy in the late 1800's, so Daniel Bohman put in a large dirt bump across the road so the buggies would go slower.  He is said to have invented the "first speed bump" in the whole area.

 See the pretty lake in the background.









  The ladies go into Suzanne's craft/sewing room where she helps to make garments.      

They discuss her boy's leggings/stockings for the folk costumes that her husband makes.

We pose for our picture on the front porch. Rich thinks we actually have some of the same characteristics - we're RELATED

The view is very nice overlooking the lake.  We have fun learning all about this old house and some of its secrets.

The cabinets that are in this house remind me of my dad's particular way of building.  He loved the light woods and the scallops.  His father and grandfather were also carpenters, so maybe the trade was down even from further back on the line.

What a colorful fireplace up in the master bedroom.

 Paul had gone back over to his shoppe where he makes folk costumes and fashions.  They had taken the old barn and re-designed it with a bathroom, an entry way, and a large area upstairs (in the hay loft) for a showcase room of costumes and where he measured and sewed the most beautiful pieces of costume.

Suzanne is describing how they used all the old wood for the beams, stairs, and door frames. 

They took pieces of wood to make the beautiful wooden floor, seen here.

Paul showed Annette an OLD shoe that he had found and kept.  See the horse shoe in the heel.

Paul is helping a customer

They have an area that displays many pictures and hats of the old times.

Suzanne and Paul playing folk music on their fiddles.

This is a storage door leading to the cellar under the home.

This little door was used as a potato chute that led to the cellar so they could store the potatoes in a cool spot.

A look at the front of the house where most everyone comes in at.

We now go to some other out buildings where there are many antique tools.

A farming tool

An old foot-tread sewing machine and other tools.

Looks like my grandmother's old machine.

 Many tools, skates, rakes, ladders, etc. were left when Suzanne and Paul bought the property.

A very old spinning wheel

Some tools of the time.

Lots of stories to laugh about.

Original large keys to fit the outbuildings.

      

 Can you see the name on the door of Olav Bohm?  1914 -This is 100 years old.  Cool!

   

 There is a signature on this back wall of about 1780 or so.  My camera didn't quite catch the date, however, but very cool history.

Ok - old Olson/Bohman home - we wish you could tell us all the stories from yesterday.

It was a wonderful afternoon - thank you so much for taking your time with us, Suzanne & Paul.

 Annette and Thomas and their two children had invited us to dinner at their old home.  My cousin, Sven had grown up here and it, too, had so much history.  It was close to Vikarbyn on about 120 acres.

The out buildings were in an L shape.  We had dinner just inside this part.

A sweet little country kitchen

Spiral staircase to a sitting room, a bedroom, and a family room

There was a nice balcony just off the sitting room.

This desk had some significance as it had been in the family a long time.

This room was just off the front entrance.  I love the windows.

Here is the front of their home, painted with Falun red paint.

Annette shows us the antique decor inside the barn where we ate.  I can't remember what these are.

 SO VERY cute - don't you think?

 Time for dinner.

Oedurves -

Fillet of Pork and Asparagus - very tasty.

Goat cheese Risotta with basil, garlic, and olive oil

Meet Caroline, age 19, Thomas, Annette, and their youngest son, age 14.

                         

Caroline with her horses - the mother and her colt

I think this is Sven's grandmother (Eunice Erikson) and his grandfather. I need to confirm this.

This is Annette's parents - Ingalil and Sven

Isn't Sven cute as a toddler?

This is their wedding day with Sven's two sisters behind them.

 Daniel Bohman, Jr. and his wife, Eleanor are pictured probably on their wedding day.  Remember him, the baby that was born in the little cabin (1899) in the woods from DAY 141?  He was born to Anna Hansdotter and Daniel Olsson who changed his name to Bohman when he took over the homestead.  He was the only son who stayed in Sweden, while the other 5 sons all moved to America. His son, Daniel, Jr. moved to Chicago, but never had any children.

Daniel actually reminds me a lot of my father, Emmet.  They, of course, would be cousins, also.

 Annette presented me with a special recipe book - "A Taste of Dalarna."  Can't wait to cook some of the traditional Swedish dishes of my ancestors. 

Thank you so much, Annette and family for the special dinner and wonderful day in Rattvik.