Karlson, Karl Erik, surgical instrument maker — Portland — born in Ärila, Södermanland, on June 8, 1863. He was raised in Eskilstuna and learned his profession there. Lived in Stockholm from 1881 to 1887, when he went to Chicago. In 1887 he was awarded a medal for skillfulness by the Stockholm Craftsmen’s Association. After living for ten years in Chicago, Karlson moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he became the manager of a surgical instrument making shop. In 1905 he traveled to Portland and started a similar business with L. A. Crawford on No. 333 Burnside Street using the business name K. E. Karlson & Co. Two Portland area hospitals, St. Vincent and Good Samaritan, have chosen this company to handle their surgical and electrical instruments. K. is a member of Swedish Society Linnea, Maccabees, and Yeoman. In 1894 he married Emelia Skoglund from Värmland; they have three daughters.
