Latah County Oral History Collection

Laura Schrager: Ruth Anderson Kjellberg has lived her entire life on Burnt Ranch near Troy. She reads a written statement on this tape about early life on the ridge and early religious services. In addition, she recalls the early morning Christmas service, Luther League, Peter Carlson party games, hoeing beans and shopping in Moscow.

Earlier this year, that should be done.

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Pioneer men and women arrived and settled in this area in 1883 and 84. Among them was Karl Anderson, who arrived from Ashtabula, Ohio, in 1884 after working at that place for three years. After he arrived in Sweden. Carl took up the homestead on what is now Burnt Ridge. He and two other bachelors shared the same cabin. Land had to be cleared.

It's everywhere you look. There was brush great with the privations of these early settlers. Their earnings were very meager. Working at sawmills which were located some distance away. One year the sawmill company went broke, and the men did not receive one penny for their hard labor until that year, as their only conveyance to wash their own two feet.

They were only able to come home on weekends. Part of these weekends were spent in carrying water from the stream clear down at the railroad track. One of these pioneers, Andrew Westberg, who brought his wife with him from Sweden, saw it there one day. He did not dare tell his wife about it, for fear she could become frightened.

Being left alone all week. When he arrived home that weekend, he found his wife's headscarf. If he was crossing the little stream close by, he then feared the worst had happened. His fears were ungrounded, however, if he found his wife well and happy. The nearest place where these pioneers could get their supplies was in Moscow. They had to walk all this distance until they had earned enough to buy a team of horses and a number wagon.

It was not easy carrying a sack of flour on their back and any other groceries which were needed. One time Anderson was trudging along the road, tired and hungry when he noticed the basket on top of the snow along the roadside. He picked it up, ate it, and felt good from it. He concluded that a higher power had seen that it was placed there just for a hungry man.

Another family arrived in 1906. This party was instrumental in getting the telephone into the homes of these settlers. One person he could not persuade to get a telephone was his brother in law. One day a horse fell into the well. The brother in law's place. Kjellberg asked him if he didn't wish he would, had the telephone so he could call for help.

When the telephone was shown in stores, Anderson's mother arrived from Sweden at the age of 70, about the year of 1888, not being able to cope with the language. He was taken clear over to the state of Utah, where her trunk was stolen with the few belongings she had. She was very tired when she arrived at the cabin, having to ride from Moscow in the lumber wagon.

Anderson's sister, Sophia Anderson, arrived from Ohio in 1894 to keep house for her brother. A few years later, the town of Vollmer, later called Troy, came into being no gravel. Imagine the horses plodding knee deep in this mire and mud through Main Street, who had a buggy ride through town. These early immigrants walked clear to the Landwehr country to worship at Delia Chapel.

Their future hope lay in organizing a church where they could worship God. Pastor Peter Carson came to bring God's word to these pioneer settlers as he started out from Moscow on foot. Anderson would meet him with his horses, number wagon. Pastor Carson ate many a meal at the home of these bachelors. Pastor Carson conducted worship services in the various homes, and in December 1886, a group of these pioneers met and organized the Lutheran Church with 17 charter members.

Laura Schrager: I wanted to have you tell me the names of the, the other two men who came out, with your father. Ruthie. Both. Johnson from All.

Helen Kellberg Anderson: India. Only Oliver Johnson and August Johnson.

Laura Schrager: It was August, and, and,

Helen Kellberg Anderson: They were not related.

Laura Schrager: now, did they know each other before?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: You know each other from Sweden?

Laura Schrager: Did your father ever talk about, his life in Ashtabula, Ohio?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: My uncle.

Laura Schrager: Your uncle?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Well, he worked very hard there. And.

At the docks, hauling coal and wheelbarrows.

Laura Schrager: Did, did your uncle ever talk about the wheat harvest in 93? Or any particular bad times that they had? Yeah, I don't.

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Remember too much about it, but he did mention the hard times they had at that time. They were very hard.

Laura Schrager: Had things changed a lot by the time you were born and remember.

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Oh, I think so. It was quite a depression during those years. I don't know yet how long they lasted.

Laura Schrager: You know.

Helen Kellberg Anderson: I measure only for them, and my grandmother passed away. But I remember a few things about her.

Laura Schrager: Oh, what do you remember?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Well, I remember when we moved into this house. We lived in a in a sort of a shack before down in the orchard, and and my brother and my aunt and uncle were carrying the store, moving the stove in, and I and grandmother came behind him, he with her cane, and I was carrying the coffeepot. And when he came into the house, my uncle said, now we must have some coffee.

Laura Schrager: So that was what you did.

There was something else I remembered, which was, the, the cross that your mother made when, Peter Carlson.

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Yes. My aunt.

Laura Schrager: Your aunt.

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Sophie Anderson. She made a cross out of out of tin cans and shattered it so it held water. And then she filled it with pansies. It was really beautiful, but it was quite heavy. She had sand in there, too, so that they'd stay in.

Laura Schrager: Were you young when you passed away?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Yes, I was quite young. I don't know just how old. I don't know, probably seven, eight years old, I don't know. I really don't know who.

Laura Schrager: Did you have when you were young? Were there things that you did around the house, you know, chores that you had to do?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Oh, yes. When I got old enough, I milk cows, took care of the chickens, helped my. And, clean the flower beds. She hadn't raised a lot of pansies. Another flowers.

Laura Schrager: when you were at home, you spoke Swedish, and.

Helen Kellberg Anderson: We always spoke Swedish. My uncle could manage the American language pretty well, but my aunt was not very good. And so we always spoke Swedish. When I started school, I didn't know much about the English language. I even spoke Swedish to the teacher when he asked me questions.

Laura Schrager: What did. What did you think about? What did you. Oh, you didn't say anything.

Were there other children that didn't know English when you went to school?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: I don't remember, I don't think so.

Laura Schrager: Did it take you? Was it hard to learn?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: No. I think it came quite easily.

Laura Schrager: Did, Do you know anything about the tuberculosis that was on the ridge here? The, children that died?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: No. Not much. No.

Laura Schrager: It never. It didn't affect you at all.

Helen Kellberg Anderson: my husband had two sisters that died from it. And.

Laura Schrager: what kind of things really did you do for, you know, for fun?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Well, we had literary societies at the schoolhouse.

And there were debates carried on about different things. And we had young people, society, Little League, we called it from the church and we met in the various homes in the evenings during the summer, after the programs, we'd play games outside on the lawn. We have a lot of fun.

Laura Schrager: Was that religious at all?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: The programs were.

Laura Schrager: Did you take part in those programs?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Yes.

Laura Schrager: What did you ever do there?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: I don't remember much about them. I think we mainly spoke. I don't remember much about the programs.

Laura Schrager: Do you remember any of the, games that you played afterwards?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Well, we played a lot of Swedish games and saying to them party games, we called.

Laura Schrager: Do you remember any of them?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Only in Swedish.

Laura Schrager: Could you say no to me.

Helen Kellberg Anderson: In Sweden.

Laura Schrager: And then tell me afterwards what they.

Helen Kellberg Anderson: You know. Well, I know, I know one in English. We're sailing eastward, sailing westward, sailing over the ocean. You, sailor boy. If you want a good mug, you better be quick in your motion.

Laura Schrager: There were movements that went with them.

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Yeah. Yes.

Laura Schrager: Do you remember any of the Swedish ones?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Oh, I don't know. Not from good. No. It's been quite a while.

Laura Schrager: When did they start doing those cardigans?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Oh, that was when we grew up.

In our later teens, I guess.

Laura Schrager: Did the church have other activities that you went to or anything?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Well, I don't remember too much in church services in the morning in sandwich.

Laura Schrager: Were those in Swedish when you were young?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Yes.

There wasn't near as much activities in the church then as it is now.

Laura Schrager: Did most of the people on the ridge belong to the church?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Yes, most of them did.

Laura Schrager: Did they all go into town together?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Well, each in their own regard.

Laura Schrager: Did you go to families for, you know, for dinner?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Yes, we did then a whole lot more then than we do now.

It seems that the cars have taken over now. And you go farther, longer distance. You know. Then we stayed close by. More so.

Laura Schrager: Do you remember much about school in the, you know, new days when you went there?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Well, we went to school in a one room schoolhouse on a grade one teacher. And at one time we were 44 pupils. Quite a bunch for one teacher. Did they get them?

Laura Schrager: Would you have trouble with the teacher?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Have trouble? Sometimes. Some of the boys did. Sometimes.

Laura Schrager: Did you, Did you go through eighth grade?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: I finished eighth grade at Peoria.

Laura Schrager: What did you do after that?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Well, national schooling I had because we didn't have any conveyance to go to try the high school at that time.

Laura Schrager: I meant more what you you know, after you left school, what you did with them.

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Well, then I worked on the farm up to the. We raised beans and out at that time, and there was. And I had been going around to different neighbors.

Laura Schrager: You know, for the neighbors.

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Yes. How long? Didn't mind assemblies much then. Now?

Laura Schrager: That's hard work. And. Well, what do you do?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: And then? Well, they were planted in rows, so we had to hawk the weeds. And then in the fall, when they were ripe and we'd bunch them. When they were dry, they'd come along and pick them up and put them in stacks. After a while, threshing.

Laura Schrager: What else did you grow around here? What else did your uncle grow?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: We know ten barley.

Laura Schrager: He had an orchard too.

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Yes. He had a lot of fruit trees, apples and mainly prunes. We had a large prune out. You.

Laura Schrager: Do you remember? When do you remember much about that? Did you pick prunes?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Well, I was really too little to pick much at that time. The main thing was for grandma to keep in the. Keep me in the house, so I wouldn't go down there and bother them when they were picking prunes.

Laura Schrager: When did they stop that orchard? When did they stop? Did they, chop it down?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: They put it off the trees after a while. I don't know just when.

Laura Schrager: Were there any other people on Burt Ridge when your uncle came here? Or was he with those three men? Pretty much. The first settlers out here.

Helen Kellberg Anderson: And we're. I think the Westbridge family came. He, him and his wife came earlier.

And they were probably a few others that didn't come from Sweden. Maybe 2 or 3 families.

Laura Schrager: Do you know what lake your uncle lives? Were you?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Well, I don't know exactly, but I think they had a hard time of it in Sweden. And everybody went to America. And I guess it was just sort of a fever that everybody went here. Got this would be a better country, I guess.

Laura Schrager: How long was he in Ashtabula?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Three years. From 1881 to 1884.

Laura Schrager: Did you go to Moscow much when you were young?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Once a year. We went there to do a lot of shopping. Usually in the fall of the year on a team of horses and cherry. We didn't make those trips very often because that would take quite a while. You know. And my uncle brought hay along for the horses to eat in the fields stable, and we'd do our shopping at the Williamson store.

And he was we have taken that. We came, you know, that was a far distance to come. And he ran a cafeteria there. So he'd always give us a good free dinner.

So that was quite a treat. Yeah.

Laura Schrager: Once a year. Did you ever you could get your whole what you needed for the whole year to school?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Well, maybe this was mainly clothing.

Laura Schrager: When did you get into Troy? Much?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Well, we went in Troy every week. Of course.

Laura Schrager: But you didn't go into sharp relief and not.

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Get groceries and things.

Laura Schrager: Did you know? Did you know your husband for a long time before you got married?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Oh, yes. We grew up together here on the same ridge.

Went to school together.

Laura Schrager: Were you very old when you married?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: I was 26.

Laura Schrager: Did, did your husband, did he stay at home before you? He married you.

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Did he? Yes. He was at home working on his father's farm. They were a large family, so there was a lot of work to do.

Laura Schrager: Were you close friends for a long time before you got married?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Yes.

Laura Schrager: Did you, Did you work out at all?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: No, I didn't. I did plenty of work to do right here.

Laura Schrager: I know you told me a lot more than you come in. You know you're giving me charades, but I don't have any more questions. But I know that there's more that you can say about your. You know, your life. You know, you.

Are there any more things about, you know, that your uncle told you that you remember?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: No, I don't remember too much. I often wish I had found out more from him. But I was young then, you know. And I didn't think. And those things.

And I wish I had.

Laura Schrager: Was it many, many years that they got their water from the creek and that they hold it up here and.

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Well, I suppose they dug the cistern as soon as they could. And when they had the means of getting it hard from town, I don't know just how long it was.

Laura Schrager: For them, for me, for.

Oh. Did they, when you were young, did they have beer? Your Christmas service?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Yes, we did, and we enjoyed that. So much. 530 on Christmas morning. And we'd ride to town and in the sled and go and buy horses. Sleigh bells. That was beautiful, cold. And, you know, we didn't mind that. Just a lot of fun. And in the early morning, my aunt could get up and have a candle lit in each window upstairs and downstairs.

And that was my job to watch those candles run up and down the steps to see that everything was okay. And that was a lot of fun. When we went to church, we blew them out. Of course.

It's dark on our way to church, and when we came out, it was like they might.

Laura Schrager: How was that fun? Just. Was everyone really happy?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Yes, yes, and it was traditional and we missed it after it was gone.

Laura Schrager: Why did they do it? Why don't we?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: When I think it was mainly because the people in town didn't want to get up that early in the morning. So now we have it at 11:00.

Christmas Eve in the evening.

Laura Schrager: You probably was easier for you to get up at 530 than to stay up to 11 and room.

Helen Kellberg Anderson: I didn't mind it one bit.

Laura Schrager: Did you get presents for Christmas too?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Yes, we we did. We gave a presence on Christmas Eve.

Laura Schrager: I don't know that. The only thing is, do you remember Peter Carlson? Little? Did you know him?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: You know, I don't think I remember him only by pictures. No, I don't. That was really before my time.

Laura Schrager: Would he come out to try and give?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Yes. He'd been.

Laura Schrager: Was there another pastor who was the early pastors and.

Helen Kellberg Anderson: And. Well, they came from Moscow because the church there were organized earlier than Troy. So there was and J.W. Nelson and George Anderson and Reverend Beckmann, he was the first one really.

Laura Schrager: Were they all, you know, good. No.

Helen Kellberg Anderson: Yeah. Yes. Oh, yes.

Laura Schrager: And they stay around here?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: No, they just came down. You couldn't go on the train at that time. Probably had I don't know when the cars came in. Really. Not for the early ones. No.

Then when our church was organized in church and we had a regular pastor later on, that's what.

Laura Schrager: When was that about.

Helen Kellberg Anderson: 1886

Laura Schrager: That's when they organized. What were you going to say later on?

Helen Kellberg Anderson: And the pastors would come up to the schoolhouse in the country and Sunday afternoons and preach.

Laura Schrager: To. Was that for the school children? No, just for those people.

Helen Kellberg Anderson: It was a little harder to get into town than when we had to ride on horses. And yet.