Family Snapshot - my grandmother, Selma. Part 1

Although I never knew my grandfathers I felt very blessed to have two wonderful grandmothers. My maternal grandmother, Selma, lived to the age of 95 and died when I was 30 so we had many years of friendship and she was able to see me get married and start a family. She was always very taken with how my husband would often whistle to himself. She felt this was the mark of a very happy man!

Her life wasn’t easy. Her own husband had abandoned the family leaving her with four children to raise. She cleaned houses to do this. She had immigrated from Sweden as a young woman. She often told me that although they were poor they had a farm so the family always had food, unlike other people in her village. She also told me about the rich people whose properties she had to walk a long way round to get home.

My mother left school after grade 8 to help my grandmother clean houses since she was the eldest of the four children and they needed the money. My mother loved a chrystal bowl in one of the houses they cleaned and always filled it with flowers from the garden. One day the mistress of the house gave the bowl to my mother since she loved it so much and you can imagine what a thrill this was for my mother. I still have it and it is a very beautiful bowl.


My grandmother, Selma, (standing) and her sister Karin.