John Kalervo Gröhn
John Gröhn was born in Helsinki, Finland in 1914 and came to Canada with his parents when he was11 years old. Both his parentswere tailors in Finland. In Vancouver thay started working for a tailoringfirm in downtown. When thay had saved enough money thay bought a property on Hastings Street andbuilt a shop. It was…
Homesteaders on Read Island.
This is a story from my father John Gröhn’s collections of some of the immigrants he met inisolated spots on the coast.(Dianne Kilback)My acquaintance with Read Island started in the early 1950’s when my wife and I took a boattrip tp Read Island. We were staying at our summer cabin in Lund at the time…
Els-Britt Marianne Lindholm: Involved in the Swedish Community.
Els-Britt Marianne Lindholm nee Jansson was born in Stockholm in 1930.In June 1950, Els-Britt emigrated to Canada with her husband Olle fromStockholm.They traveled via Hamburg and England to Halifax on the ship M/S Homelandformerly M/S Gripsholm. They were looking for a better life and adventure.From Halifax they took the train to Montreal and then went…
Matthew Lindfors
The Swedish Press was recently sold to Kajsa Norman of Ottawa, who is now the new publisher. We thought it would be fitting to remember Matthew Lindfors, who for so many years was editor and publisher of the Swedish Press. Matthew Lindfors was born Mattias Mattiasson in 1899 in Offerdal, Jämtland. In 1922 he immigrated…
Solander Island
On the BC coast we have a small island that gets its name from a Swedish botanist, Solander Island. This island is situated just off the Brooks peninsula on the west coast of Vancouver Island and is now an ecological reserve. Daniel Solander was born in Piteå in northern Sweden in 1733. He enrolled at…
Carina Spencer – Swedish Honorary Consul
This month we would like to introduce to you our new Swedish honorary consul in Vancouver! Carina grew up in a small village called Figeholm on the east coast of Sweden in the province of Småland. She came to Canada in 1986 and spent her first year here as a nanny to a family in…
Winter at Hollyburn
Hollyburn ski camp 1927 to the left Rudolph Verne, Andrew Irving, Oscar Pearson, Ole Anderson and Axel Sneis built Hollyburn Lodge. During the winter you might cross country ski at Hollyburn. Afterwards, you might enjoy a coffee at Hollyburn Lodge. In the early 1990s all ski facilities on Black, Strachan and Hollyburn were referred to…
History of the Swedish Canadian Rest Home Association
Thora Johnson was a Lady with a vision. She recognized the plight of elderly Swedes, many of whom lived in deplorable conditions. In February 1945, she invited members of the Swedish community to a meeting in her home to discuss building a Rest Home for elderly people of Swedish descent. In the latter part of…
The Anderson Cabin
This simple log building was all that was needed for 20year old Swede Eric Anderson to secure farmland in the brand new province of British Columbia. Pioneer Eric Anderson’s nationality shows in the details of his home. Round logs have been hewn at the corners to fit together tightly in a distinctive style called Swedish…