The Old Country Newsletter – Moose & A Violent Week

Did you get this newsletter sent to you from someone you know? Click on the button below to subscribe for yourself. All you risk is to learn something (perhaps even about yourself.)

Statistics you didn’t ask for

As Sweden's moose hunting season draws to a close, hunters across the country reflect on another successful year. The season, which varies by region, generally runs from early September to late January. Each year, approximately 80,000 moose are harvested, maintaining a stable population of around 350,000 animals. This tradition engages about 300,000 hunters annually, highlighting the cultural significance of moose hunting in Sweden. As the season concludes today, attention shifts to wildlife management and conservation efforts to ensure the health of moose populations for future generations.

In other news

🚢 Yet another damaged undersea cable. Swedish authorities, including Säpo, have boarded and investigated the vessel Vezhen, suspected of involvement in the damaging of a cable between Gotland and Latvia. The ship, sailing under a Maltese flag and originating from Russia, has been seized near Karlskrona as part of an ongoing investigation into potential sabotage affecting Swedish and regional interests.

⚔️ Kungsbacka’s municipal housing company, Eksta, is facing potential fines of up to three million SEK after illegally excavating a site that included remains from the Viking Age, Bronze Age, and Neolithic period. The company admits wrongdoing in proceeding without required archaeological studies during a housing project but argues that the proposed fines are excessive.

🚨 Henrik Landerholm, the Swedish Prime Minister's security advisor, whom we reported on last week following a number of scandals, has resigned following the launch of a preliminary investigation into his handling of classified documents, including leaving secret files at a course venue. The investigation, led by Säpo, concerns negligence with secret information, which carries potential penalties of fines or up to one year in prison. Prime Minister Kristersson now faces criticism regarding the recruitment.

Quran Burner Salwan Momika Shot Dead in Södertälje

Legacy Lanterns – shedding light on the stories of the past

A Personal Edition — Philip’s search in the New Country

This is a personal story about how I located the grave of one of my ancestors while visiting the U.S. It was previously featured in The Old Country, but with so many new readers joining us since then, I thought it would be a good time to share it again. I hope it inspires you to reflect on your own connections between the old country and the new—and perhaps even share your own story.

In the summer of 2022, my girlfriend Lisa and I realized a dream that I had nurtured for many years: we traveled to the U.S. and drove coast-to-coast. During the course of seven weeks, we spent the night (or several nights) in New York City, Washington D.C., Tonawanda, Toronto (which is located in America’s 51st state, if I’m not mistaken?), Detroit, Chicago, Saint Louis, Tulsa, Amarillo, Albuquerque, Flagstaff, Page, Hatch, Las Vegas, Bakersfield, Sonora, San Francisco, Santa Rosa, Los Angeles and, finally, Honolulu. It was the biggest trip we had both ever been on. And it cost us all the money we had saved whilst working part-time during our school years.

It was worth every dime.

For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by the stories of the Swedish emigrants that left for the New World between 1850-1920. My girlfriend and I are both originally from Småland, where I dare say that almost every family has at least one relative that emigrated. For Lisa, that was her great-grandmother. During one of our days in New York City, we took the ferry to Liberty Island and Ellis Island. For many migrants, Ellis Island was the first American soil that their feet touched. Today, the museum offers an opportunity to search in their archives for registry documents of family members that went through Ellis Island.

Here, we found the documents for Lisa’s great-grandmother. It was a moment of reverence for both of us, as well as Lisa’s family at home — especially for the more senior members who the opportunity to meet her a very long time ago.

My grandfather’s older (much older) brother also left Småland for the USA. He settled down in Michigan and started a family. A few years earlier, I found an online obituary of his son, who had passed away another few years earlier in Ann Arbor. The son of my grandfather’s brother passed away when he was older than my grandfather is today.

When Lisa and I had spent the night in Detroit, our next destination was Chicago. As fate would have it, our travels led us through — Ann Arbor. We had to re-route our drive from time to time while crossing the country. Therefore, I never assumed that we would actually get to Ann Arbor. Consequently, I was ill-prepared.

Initially, we stopped at a random cemetery. There, I started to search the internet from front to end to try to locate again the obituary of my grandfather’s deceased nephew (who, again, was born before my grandfather). The obituary stated that the memorial service for my relative had been held at the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church.

So we went there.

Outside the church, construction was taking place. And we were alone. That is, until a biker stopped and made his way toward the church. I asked him for directions for the cemetary, as I could not see one. He was new to the area and couldn’t help me. However, while we were talking, a group of ladies exited one of the church buildings. I stated my business to one of them, who led me inside the church where she presented me to another lady that worked there. Together, we went down through the basement of the church to find a memorial garden for ashes. We went through all the plaques but couldn’t find my relative’s name.

So, together we went back up through the church and exited the building. The lady that worked at the church went into an office and later came out with a big folder containing information about every ceremony that had taken place in the church. After a surprisingly short search in the folder, she told me that my relative had been buried at a cemetery just north of Ann Arbor, called Washtenong Memorial Park.

Thanks to the enormously helpful women at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, we continued our search by driving north. Upon arriving at Washtenong, we realized that a ceremony was taking place at the far end of the park. Therefore, all offices were vacant. We spent more than an hour strolling around, randomly looking for the name of my grandfather’s nephew. After a while, we realized that we would soon have to leave for Chicago, if we wanted to arrive before the sunset. Still, no one had returned to the office.

Here we were. So close, but still not close enough.

Just when we had reluctantly decided to give up, a janitor returned to the office. I immediately explained my situation to him. He was, like most Americans we had stumbled upon, more than happy to help. He searched through their digital archives for the name of my grandfather’s nephew. It took quite some time and my hope was beginning to fade.

“I think I found it!“

He gave me a map of the mausoleum. We went to the hall that he had marked on the map and found the number we were looking for well up on a wall. Once again, the helpful janitor hurried away to retrieve a ladder.

He came back.

I climbed the ladder.

And there it was. The name of my grandfather’s nephew. His urn. An American flag. And some pictures. The resemblance between the man in the photos and my grandfather was evident.

About 100 years after his father had left Sweden and Småland, a relative from the old country was able to visit the son’s final resting place. And pay respect.

I was so thankful for being there, and for all the help that we had received from the kind people we had met throughout the day.

It felt momentous, not just for me but for my family at home — and especially for my grandfather.

Do you have a story from the past that could be worth sharing? I bet you do! Or would you like to see something else in the newsletter and have suggestions for topics? If so, please reach out!