NEWSLETTER # 13 JUNE 2006

THE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

It has been another busy winter and spring for SRIO. The main areas of activity have been reaching out through lectures and talks, initiating a new oral history project, and getting a great deal closer to the completion of a book-length manuscript of the Swedish experience in the state of Oregon. Those of you who have followed our activities know that we have published a series of booklets dealing with various aspects of Swedish immigration history, and that these articles, diaries and oral history excerpts are meant to be gathered into a single volume. With three more publications soon to be released, we are in position to start assembling the manuscript and looking for a publisher. As we have worked on this project, we have become aware of the wealth of material still unexplored. No single book will ever do justice to – and fully cover – all the activities of the Swedes in Oregon, and much remains to be done. But we hope that our initial efforts will spark additional interest in this fascinating subject, and that more research will emerge as a result of it. The SRIO website has experienced increasing traffic, and our webmaster Herje Wikegård has kept adding more of Ernst Skarstedt’s biographies of Oregon Swedes from his hard-to-find 1911 volume Oregon och Dess Svenska Befolkning. The original photos associated with these biographies will be added as soon as we can solve some technical issues with “water marking” the images. Trevlig sommar!

RECENT SWEDISH IMMIGRATION TO THE US

During the last fifty years Sweden has changed from being a country of immigrants to becoming a country of emigrants. People from Greece, Turkey, former Yugoslavia, Chile, Iran, Iraq and many other countries around the world have come to Sweden seeking a better life for themselves and their families. Today, in a total population of nine million, over a million people were born abroad. Still, during the same period, some emigration from Sweden has continued and every year an average of 1,500 to 2,000 people have found their way to the US. Many have come to the Far West, and some have ended up in Oregon. The current estimate is that there are approximately 1,000 Swedish-born individuals in the state. Following SRIO President Lars Nordström’s recent volume of oral histories of Swedish immigrants to the Pacific Northwest after the Vietnam War, De nya utvandrarna, there has been growing curiosity in this little researched subject. In March 2006, Lars visited Riksföreningen Sverigekontakt in Göteborg, as well as Emigrantregistret in Karlstad, to talk about the work of Swedish Roots in Oregon and about post-war emigration to the USA. In May, Lars also spoke on the same subject at the Scandinavian Heritage Foundation lecture series at PSU in Portland and at Astor Lodge in Astoria. SRIO is planning to include a chapter on this subject in its book on the Swedish experience in Oregon.

ORAL HISTORY PROJECT INITIATED

Ever since its formation in 1999, SRIO has discussed the need to initiate an oral history project documenting the memories of post-WW II Swedish Americans in Oregon before they are lost, and this spring the project finally became a reality. With initial assistance from Judy Peek, Ross Fogelquist has now started to record experiences of various individuals in the Swedish-American community in Portland. We look forward to sharing these stories as soon as the material has been transcribed, edited and made ready for publication. SRIO could use help with both transcription and editing, and anyone interested in volunteering in this project, please contact Ross Fogelquist.

CONFERENCE IN SWEDEN

SRIO will be represented by Vice-President Laurel Peterson and Secretary Barry Peterson at this summer’s Swedish Bridge Conference, which is to be held in Karlstad. The conference is organized by the Swedish Council of America and Emigrantregistret in Karlstad, with the purpose of strengthening ties and increasing collaboration between various Swedish and American organizations. If you have not already visited Emigrantregistret, just go to: www.emigrantregistret.s.se

PUBLICATIONS

SRIO will soon publish three new booklets, “Trapped in America: Excerpts from Anton Swanson’s Diaries, 1908-1911,” “Winter Crossing: Anna Birchman’s 1890 Emigration Diary,” and “The Latest Wave: Swedish Immigrants Coming after the Vietnam War.” Please look for them on the publication page of our website. So far, SRIO has published eight booklets on the Swedish experience in the state of Oregon, and they all belong on the “Required Reading List” of anyone interested in the Swedish history of the state. All are available from Swedish Roots at the nominal cost of $2 per copy. Please check our website for details.

TALKS

If you belong to a group or organization that would like to schedule a Swedish Roots in Oregon presentation, please contact Lars Nordström for further details. You can reach him through the SRIO website, his personal website www.larsnordstrom.com, or at the new mailing address below. SRIO offers these talks for free.

PLEASE SUPPORT SRIO!

There are many ways you can support the study and the dissemination of the Swedish history in the state of Oregon. Buying our booklets is one obvious way to support our work, but you can also make a donation. SRIO is a registered, non-profit organization, any donation is fully tax-deductible. Any financial assistance is greatly appreciated. Tack så mycket!

AN OPEN INVITATION

Are you interested in the Swedish history of the state of Oregon? Would you like to be part of a small, friendly and dedicated research group? Would you be able to attend meetings about once a month in the Portland metropolitan area? If so, we would love to hear from you.

SWEDISH ROOTS IN OREGON

An Immigration Research Project

8740 SW Oleson Rd

Portland, OR 97223