Connecting to our roots
Our father, Petrus Nikolaus Johnson (Johansson), was born at Bynäset, Västerbotten, Sweden in 1908 and immigrated to Canada in 1927 to join his brother Andrew (Anders), building grain elevators in Alberta. Dad later became a Grain Buyer and Construction Superintendent for Searle Grain in Saskatchewan.
Our mother, Lillian Johnson, was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA in 1905 to Swedish born parents, Oscar and Cecilia Moe. Her mother, Cecilia (Jönsson), was born at Gyllemyra, Skåne, Sweden in 1879 and immigrated to the USA in 1900, and Mom’s father Oscar was born at Åhn, Jämtland, Sweden in 1880 and immigrated to the USA in 1902. They met in Minneapolis and were married in 1903. Our grandfather was a successful carpenter and contractor in Minneapolis where he built a large home for his family and a summer ‘stuga’ at Lake Darling, near Alexandria, Minnesota.
Despite their success and good life in Minneapolis, Oscar and Cecilia wanted to have their own farm and moved to Canada in 1912 to homestead Poplar Grove Farm at SE20-39-13-W2, Nora, Saskatchewan. The land was covered with trees and there were no roads, railroad, schools or hospitals. The nearest railroad and the town of Wadena were about 30 miles away. Our mother and her brother Walter, born in 1907, immigrated to Canada with their parents in 1912, and their sister Astrid was born at Poplar Grove Farm in 1913. They spoke Swedish fluently and Swedish was one of Donald’s first languages. When he was 3 years old, he had trouble conversing with English-speaking playmates, so our mother explained he needed to speak English.
Our parents bought Poplar Grove Farm in 1948 and our brother Wendell David Johnson bought it from them in 1972. Wendell operates the farm today and received the Century Family Farm award from the Province of Saskatchewan in 2012. Don had a long career in law enforcement and is now retired and living in Ottawa, Ontario. Gary had a long career in education and is a retired Public School Superintendent living in Wetaskiwin, Alberta.
We were raised with a strong Swedish influence. Our grandparents lived nearby and there were many other Swedish immigrant families living in and around Nora. We are quite familiar with and enjoyed Swedish baking and cooking and we grew up using Swedish food names such as: potatis, lutfisk, fisk, sill, ost, smör, mjölk, gröt, bröd, struva, pepparkaka, knäckebröd, and so on.
Story told by Donald John Oscar and Gary Petrus Johnson in the June issue 2018.
Swedish Rosettes
Ingredients:
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup flour
- 3 tsp sugar
- vanilla
Preparation:
Beat eggs slightly with sugar and salt. Add milk and flour. Beat until smooth. Heat the frying fat to 375ºF in a deep frying pan. Set the rosette (struva) iron in the fat to heat through. Place batter in a small loaf pan. Drain the fat off the iron (or blot on absorbent paper), then dip it in the batter so as to coat it almost to the top edge. Immerse it in the fat covering completely and fry until foamy bubbling stops or until golden brown. Remove from fat, loosen edge carefully with a fork so that rosette drops off and drain on absorbent paper. Cool with the more open side down. If first rosettes are not crisp, thin batter with a little milk. Reheat iron (iron must be hot) and fry remainder of batter in same manner. Keep the batter cool and stir from the bottom so it stays evenly blended. If the batter does not adhere to the iron the latter is probably too cool. For success in making rosettes it is important to keep both the iron and the batter at a constant temperature. Dip rosettes in sugar or sprinkle with sugar. Makes 40.