Another Trip to Sweden

Øresund Bridge towards København

Hyby Church cir 1100

We drove over to Sweden last Monday to visit some living family.

Häkan Asmundsson submitted information on two of Norma’s ancestors to DISBYT, a digital genealogy site.  She contacted him and asked if they were related or if he knew any relatives that might be alive today. He is related through marriage. Häkan’s relative is married to Mari-Louise Asmundsson, born Nilsson.  Her father’s mother's father, August Larsson Ahlgren was a brother to Norma’s mother's mother, Maria Larsson Thorson.  Mari-Louise is a second cousin to Norma.

Some friends, the von Scheel family went on vacation to the US and gave us their car to take care of while they were gone. That gave us a wonderful opportunity to go to Sweden and meet Mari-Louise, her husband, and their son Anders.

Hyby Church cir 1100

We arrived in Kävlinge, and drove to a lovely farmhouse where we were met by Mari-Louise, Nils-Eric, and Anders. Then we began the afternoon adventure of finding some of the sites where Norma’s ancestors lived.

Hyby is the place in which many of Norma’s ancestors were born.

They undoubtedly attended church in the old white church which was built in the 1100s.  Imagine the building being over a thousand years old.

The 1869 house as it looks today

In the 1800s, 92% of the people lived or worked the farms and most of Norma’s ancestors were farmers. Today Anders works 3 very large farms growing sugar beets and spring wheat on leased land which is owned by the government. Close by his house is the largest sugar refinery in Europe.

We drove through Bara and the surrounding rolling farms.

Lomma is located near the western coast of southern Sweden. It was an important site for many of Norma’s ancestors. Alnarp, Lomma was once known as the Kungsgård (Royal Farm). It was a large area which was probably mostly farmland. Years ago, a large estate would have a slot or castle where the owner's family lived. There would be other smaller dwellings where the farm workers lived. Only the Slot and perhaps the museum building are left today. The rest of the area has been converted into a beautiful University for Agriculture.

Pig Stalls in 1869

September 4 1955, Norma’s cousin Margery Thorson Richardson wrote in her journal as she and her brother Alvin visited Malmo, Sweden.

"One of the most thrilling days of our trip! . . .  we proceeded to try to find my 2nd cousin, Carl A. (Axel) Ahlgren. . . .We left church early and chatted with Carl, a tall, blonde and handsome Swede (81 years old now). He took us in his car to Lomma, about 6 miles from Malmo. He showed us the house where Grandma Thorson (Maria) and Aunty (Kristina) grew up; also where Grandma went to school.

Norma's Grandmother's house

“The Ahlgrens have a lovely home, and they are very refined, intelligent, good-looking people. Carl showed us a snapshot of him and Carl and a letter written to him by Mary Henriksen mentioning Aunty and Grandma's names. Then I knew for sure he was my second cousin.”

We likewise had the opportunity to visit the house where Norma’s grandmother lived when she was a child.  Norma and Mari-Louise stood in front much like their grandparents had done in 1869.

We enjoyed afternoon tea and cookies with Anders, Mari-Louise and Nils-Eric followed by a homemade raspberry layer cake.

Norma's grandmother's house in Lomme

Their home is large and very comfortable. It is surrounded by Nils-Eric’s sugar beet, and wheat farms (now leased and farmed by Anders).

Driving over to Sweden and going home we traveled across the 7,845 meter Øresund Bridge; an experience we have looked forward to since we arrived in Denmark.  It is a toll bridge which costs $50 dollar each way.  You can understand why it has taken a year to go across.

That’s our second Swedish trip in a nutshell; however, the most exciting thing that has happened this week is the arrival of the Prophet’s letter to Jake (Angie and Zach), calling him to serve in the Arcadia, California Mission.  By tradition, the whole family, or at least a large part of it, gathered for the opening of the letter.  We, of course, could not be in attendance except through Skype.  Thanks to Skype we were there and heard every word and saw him when he read the letter.  We all know that he would not be called there if the Lord didn’t have something special waiting for him.  He reports to the MTC in about two months.  We are very excited for him.  This is the first missionary in our family since Bo was called to Tennessee in 1988 and Karen called to Temple Square in 2006.  We’ve waited a long time for the Grandkids to turn 19 and now we will have a nice flock of missionaries during the next 19 years.

Make Comment if you know what it is

Well this was a long one.  Hope you enjoyed it.

Love

Mom and Dad

Ældste and Søster Larsen