This is my grandfather Gustaf; the photo probably from some time in the 1950s (when he was around 50 himself), and he's probably sitting at his desk at the newspaper where he was working then. You don't see much of the typewriter - but it's there, to the right in the picture... ;-)
Recently I went through a pile of old inherited documents, primarily in search of a certain estate inventory deed - which alas turned out to be missing... So I'll probably never know exactly how the inheritance from my grandmother Sally's older half-brother Carl was sorted out after his death in 1928. While it seems that his brother Gustav took over the farm (Storegården) and remained living there (at least for some time onward), I suspect that the change in circumstances after Carl passed away may also have contributed to the three younger siblings - Hildur, Sally and Nils - all getting married and moving away from the farm almost at the same time, in the autumn of 1930. And their mother Selma moved away to live with her daughters too - although from what I've been told in the past I also seem to recall that a small cottage on the farm was hers for life, and she used to stay there in the summers.
While I couldn't find that estate inventory, instead I found another document that I did not know existed: A kind of curriculum vitae of my grandfather's life, compiled by my dad (probably in the 1990s) and based on various certificates and letters, but also Gustaf's cash-books that he kept through the years. Which saves me a bit of work, as going through those looking for clues was something I had had in mind to try myself. (And I still might, some time.)
On thing this CV tells me is that in spite of being born out of wedlock and raised in poor circumstances primarily by his grandparents, my grandfather was quite an ambitious young man.
Born in 1904, he graduated from elementary school (it seems only four years of it) in 1917. Basically he got "excellent" in Christianity, Swedish (reading, writing and grammar), math and handicraft; "good" in geography, history and drawing; "acceptable" in science and sports; and had also "participated" in gardening. He also seems to have been a conscientious and diligent student in general (well behaved and doing his homework etc).
Gustaf's leaving certificate from the village school ('folkskola'), 30 June 1917
In 1922 (18 years old) he took a correspondence course in book-keeping, and after that started keeping his own cash-book of his incomes and expenses. In 1923 he also took a correspondence course in stenography, and in 1924 a local typewriting course. His cash-book shows that in 1924 he also started writing short items for a newspaper (BN) in town; and he also did some proof-reading for them.
The cash-book also shows income from work at the farm Storegården, while work for the shoemaker keeps getting less frequent. I think this may also provide the answer to why and when (approximately) he moved away from the shoemaker's and went to live at Storegården instead. From photos I've understood that he was friends with my grandmother's younger brother Nils since their childhood and school years; and the family at the farm now probably encouraged his change of "career" (from shoemaker to journalist) by offering him a room at the farm in exchange for some farm work. (My conclusion since before is that Gustaf's room was not in the main farm house, but in a small cottage on the grounds - which would also have given him the privacy he needed for studying and writing.)
Certificates from courses in book-keeping, stenography and typewriting.
Gradually, he was working more for the newspaper. His cash-book shows that he started buying monthly train tickets, so was obviously going into town more often.
His career at the newspaper was partly interrupted by having to do military service in Göteborg (Gothenburg) from March through August 1925. (I've blogged about this before - that's when he and my grandmother Sally first started writing letters to each other.)
In January 1926, he starts working regularly for the newspaper; but also does some freelance writing for other newspapers.
1n April 1929 he gets a pay-rise as "assistant editor-in-chief" at BN. In September the same year, he and Sally get engaged; and in October he buys some furniture, and rents a flat or room in town. That he lived in town that year between their engagement and wedding, I've also learned from letters written to him by Sally during that year. Obviously his promotion required him to spend more time at the newspaper office.
In March 1930, he purchases a plot of land, and he and Sally start building their house. (Or rather, hire a builder to do that for them.)
In September 1930, he and Sally get married - and Gustaf also has expenses for a driving license.
- More to follow in a later post. -
Linking to Sepia Saturday 675
I, too, learned to type on a manual typewriter in high school except we had no electric typer to share. Thankfully when I graduated and went to work in an office typing marine insurance policies, I did it on an electric typewriter. In the video of the woman typing on a manual typewriter I noticed her fingers curled slightly and knew why - typing on a manual machine, you had to have strength in those fingers to press the keys hard enough to raise that arm to strike the paper! We're spoiled now - only needing the softest touch on computer keyboards.
ReplyDeleteAs always, am loving your stories about Sally & Gustaf. He certainly was a "go-getter". Kudos to him for knowing what he wanted and going after it.
Gail, I know what you mean, typing on a manual machine certainly required a lot more force. Thanks for following, even though it's sometimes hard to find photos to match I'm still finding Sepia Saturdays helpful in putting together my grandparents' "story" piece by piece...
DeleteI'll echo what you and Gail have said about learning typing in high school on manual typewriters. Fortunately I didn't have any jobs until electric ones were available...and I loved when the first correcting ones came out! Sorry, I may have been fast but I made mistakes, and if there was a carbon or two, yuk! Thanks so much for telling all about the studies that were needed for that important but very unrecognized office work!
ReplyDeleteThanks Barbara. I remember using carbon too - and stencil duplicators - and the relief of "correcting" typewriters and xerox-machines...
DeleteThat's great luck to find your father's notes on your grandfather's life. Kind of like having a research assistant with a time machine. Your family's stories always introduce an interesting historical perspective on how people used to live. Gustaf's ambition to find a better career than shoemaker was likely shared by many men of his generation. It often required learning "modern" business skills like stenography and accounting to rise above a tradesman's class. I have a shoemaker's cobbler anvil which I inherited from my father's older brother. It came in a mail-order kit that my uncle bought during the depression. The old magazines from that era are filled with advertisements for self-help courses and "be your own boss" programs.
ReplyDeleteRecently I discovered a cache of my father's school papers which I had not seen before. In his last two years of high school his English teacher required a weekly essay on various subjects and my dad save almost every one. There are dozens and dozens of my dad's personal opinions or observations on a variety of themes, some on historical or societal ideas that he wrote in 1944-45 when he was age 16-17. It's fun to read about his youthful dreams and ideas before he won a place at university in the army officer training program. I can hear not only my voice at that age but my son's voice too. And because they are written longhand they are much better than any typewritten story.
Mike, I have more papers saved from my paternal grandparents than from my own parents, probably because my dad collected those papers before me, so that I found most of them more or less "in one place". My maternal grandfather went through something of a similar climb on the "social ladder" - as a young man he worked at a sawmill, but then studied to become a teacher, and at the end of his career headmaster. But I have less details and photos from that side of the family.
DeleteWhat wonderful memorabilia you have! I would give anything to have such for my ancestors. While todays online researching has brought people to life in some ways, there is nothing like old photgraphs, bills, documents, and such.
ReplyDelete