G.051.01-03 The Last Big Log Drive, Galeton, PA

Before we follow Gustaf and Gerda back to Sweden (1911), here are three  unwritten postcards from Galeton, Pennsylvania, where Gustaf spent most of his years in America, working at a sawmill and/or lumberyard. (Cf post from 2012-08-31, 1910 US Population Census).

I don't know if Gustaf bought these cards while he was still living in Galeton, or if some friend sent them to him later. There is no printing year on the back of the postcards. In the sidebar, under the heading 'Helpful links', I have some links to web pages related to the history of Galeton and the Pennsylvania lumber industry. So far, I have not found any reference to "the last big log drive" though.

Originally (or when the postcard album got into my hands), these three cards were at the back of album (with some other unwritten/ undated ones). I managed to move them to page 51, as in my opinion they clearly belong in the context of the end of Gustaf's years in America. Even if he may have acquired the cards later, it seems plausible that a decline in the Pennsylvanian lumber industry was part of his decision to return to Sweden. 

The Last Big Log Drive, Galeton, PA.

The Albertype Co., Brooklyn, N.Y.
Domestic 1 Ct. - Foreign 2 Cts.

54040 - Hardwood Mill, Galeton, Pa.

The Rotograph Co., N.Y., City. (Germany.)
Domestic One cent. Foreign Two cents.

54306 - Edgcomb Hotel, Galeton, Pa.

The Rotograph Co., N.Y., City. (Germany.)
Domestic One cent. Foreign Two cents.

Linking to Sepia Saturday 562 

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Dessa tre vykort satt ursprungligen någonstans längst bak i vykortsalbumet (tillsammans med andra oskrivna och odaterade kort) men jag flyttade dem till sidan 51, eftersom de utgör en passande avslutning på Gustafs år i Amerika. Tryckår saknas på korten och jag vet inte om Gustaf köpte dem medan han själv var kvar i Galeton, eller om möjligen någon annan skickat dem till honom senare. Hur som helst verkar det sannolikt att nedgången i den amerikanska timmer/trä-industrin påverkade Gustafs beslut att återvända till Sverige 1911. 

Under rubriken 'Helpful links' i blogg-marginalen finnst några länkar till webbsidor om Galeton och träindustrin i  Pennsylvania, men jag har inte så här långt lyckats hitta någon direkt referens till "The last big log drive".

G.050.01-03 Happy New Year 1911

 

Godt och Solljust Nytt År
Happy and Sunny New Year

To: Mr. Gust. Ekman, Galeton Potter Co., Box 342, Pa. U.S.A., Nort-America

Många hälsningar från Elin. 
(Gustaf's svägerska, gift med hans bror Oscar)
Many Greetings from Elin. 
(Gustaf's sister-in-law, married to his brother Oscar)

To: Mr. Gustaf Ekman, Galeton, Potter Co., Box 342, PA.
From: Gerda  (Chicago, Dec 30, 2010)

Käre bror! 
Hjärtligt tack för julpresenten, den var utmärkt fin. Det var meningen jag skulle sända dig [en], men kunde ej få den i tid. Jag tänker snart sända den. / Syster Gerda

Dear brother,
My heartfelt thanks for the Christmas present, it was very nice. I intended to send you one, but I couldn't get it in time. I will send it soon. / Sister Gerda 

To My Sweet Valentine

To: Mr Gust Ekman, Galeton, Pennsylvania, Box 342

From:  Anonymous, but the handwriting looks very much like Gerda's ... (Sent from Chicago 14 February 1911

Detta är de tre sista vykorten i albumet som är addresserade till Gustaf i Galeton. I mitten av februari 1911 var båda syskonen alltså fortfarande kvar i Amerika. Jag vet inte exakt när de återvände till Sverige, men nästa "tidsbevis" är ett vykort från augusti 1911, som visar att de då båda var tillbaka i det gamla hemlandet. 

These are the last three postcards in the album addressed to Gustaf while living in Galeton. So in mid February 1911, both siblings were still in America. I don't know the exact date when they returned to Sweden, but the next dated piece of evidence is a card from August 1911, proving that by then, they were both back in Sweden. (Coming up in a post soon.)

G.049.01-03 - Merry Christmas 1910

These Christmas cards tell us that at Christmas 1910, Gustaf was still living in Galeton, and Gerda in Chicago.

Handembossed POSTCARD
H.L. Woehler, Buffalo, N.Y. (Made in Germany)

To: Mr Gust Ekman, Galeton, Box 342, PA
From: Gerda (Chicago, 23 Dec 1910)

God Jul och många klappar önskas dig hjärtligt från syster Gerda

I wish you a Merry Christmas with many parcels,
with love from sister Gerda

To: Mr Gustaf Ekman, Galeton, Potter Co, Box 342, PA, U.S.A.
From: Carl E (Gustaf's brother at the family farm in Sweden)

Storegd d 1/12 1910
Käre Broder Gustaf,
En glad och fridfull jul och dertill ett Godt Nytt År tillönskas dig Hjertligt af Carl E.

Dear Brother Gustaf, I wish you a merry and peaceful Christmas and also a Happy New Year, with love from Carl E 

A Merry X'mas
Copyright 1908, P Sander N.Y.

To: Mr Gust Ekman, Galeton, PA
From: ? (Galeton, Dec 26, 1910)

Et Godt Nyår till Dig 
Happy New Year

G.048.03 - Anticipating Farewells (?)

 

A. Waldemar
Nr. 461 - M.M. VIENNE - M. Munk

To: Gustaf Ekman, Galeton, Box 342, PA
From: Gerda (Lake Geneva, Sep 30, 1910)

Käre bror!
Mycken tack för brevet. Jag kommer att gå (=resa) in till Chicago nästa måndag. Om du vill vara snäll och skriva så jag har brev der då med min gamla adr. / Syster Gerda

(Framsidan:)
Om du vill låta mig veta om du fått brev från bror Oscar ännu.
Jag skulle ha skrivit brev men har ej tid.

Gerdas val av vykortsmotiv tillsammans med att jag vet att både hon och Gustaf skulle komma att återvända till Sverige något halvår senare, får mig att undra om det väntade brevet från Oscar kanske hade något att göra med deras planer angående detta.

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Dear brother,
Many thanks for the letter. I will be going in to Chicago next Monday. Will you please write so that a letter will be waiting for me there then, at my old address. / Sister Gerda

(On the front of the card:)
If you will let me know if you've received a letter from brother Oscar yet.
I should have written a letter but I don't have time.

Gerda's choice of postcard, together with the fact that I know that both she and Gustaf would be going back home to Sweden in 1911, makes me wonder if perhaps the letter they were awaiting from their brother Oscar had something to do with those plans.

G.048.02 - Norrköping, Hamnen (c.1910)

 Happy New Year 1911 - and welcome back to Sweden!

To: Mr Gust Ekman, Galeton, Potter C, Box 342, PA, U.S. America
From: Oscar (one of Gustaf's brothers back in Sweden)

Poststämpel ej läsbar, men kortet troligen sänt i december 2010 eller januari 2011. Oscar var född 5.1 1872 - presenten som omnämns kan ha varit en födelsedagspresent. Och efter cirka 8 år i Amerika är  Gustaf på väg att snart flytta hem till Sverige igen (våren eller sommaren 1911).

Käre Bror!
Hjärtligt tack för presenten och bref idag. Skall snart skrifva bref. Roligt se du är kry, och dess bättre äro vi äfven alla krya nu. Kärt se att du tänker komma åter snart. Får nu tillönska ett lyckosamt godt nytt år. Hjärtliga hälsningar från oss alla! / Oscar

Dear Brother,

Heartfelt thanks for the present and your letter today. I will write a letter soon. Glad to see you are well, and thankfully so are all of us now. Good news that you are planning to return soon. Wishing you a happy and prosperous new year. Best wishes from all of us! / Oscar

The card is not dated but was probably sent in December 2010 or January 2011. Gustaf's brother Oscar was born 5 January, 1872. The present mentioned may have been a birthday present. And after about eight years in America, Gustaf is now planning to return to Sweden, in the spring or summer of 2011.

Linking to: Sepia Saturday 591

"... an unknown lady, striding purposely into the future. Little does she realise that there is a lawn roller coming up behind her ready to flatten all her dreams! Such is life."
(A. Burnett) 

A short re-introduction of this blog for Sepia Saturday: 

In the autumn of 1902, Gustaf (elder half-brother of my grandmother Sally) emigrated from Sweden to America. He spent most of his eight years there working at a lumber yard in Galeton, Pennsylvania. His sister Gerda emigrated at or around the same time, and worked as a maid at various addresses in Chicago. She too returned to Sweden in 1911. (Whether brother and sister actually also travelled together across the Atlantic, I've not yet managed to establish.)

In Gustaf's old postcard album, I'm now reaching the end of their America years. I'm still only half way through the postcard album, though. New adventures are awaiting - especially for Gerda. For example, when returning to Sweden in 1911, she would hardly have foreseen that in 1914, she would find herself stuck in France as WWI broke out...