"Carl's Lounge" (Off-Topic Discussion, Traditional Knife "Tales & Vignettes")

Ok. Since this doesn't belong here, and I'm not sure I want to move it to Wine and Cheese. To the lounge it goes.
 
Some folks here may have read in a post or two thru the years that my paternal grandfather worked as a young man in the Eskilstuna knife industry. I recently have been reunited with distant relatives in Sweden who sent me this picture. I thought it maybe interesting as there is a vague mention of that industry in the newspaper article. My Grandfather and Grandmother purchased a Volkswagen van in Paris and toured Europe and Sweden after his retirement from Allis Chalmers. They then had the van shipped back by boat and then owned and drove it for many years after. Here is the picture and a copy of the translation. You will notice the term "slipare" was thought to be a trade term by the translator meaning something along the lines of sharpening, grinding or honing.




My grandfather is on the left, his brother on the right.

Here is the translation.

Bror from Wisconsin and Georg from Årby met after 34 years

Slipare (a trade which I could not translate. It must have something to do with sharpening, honing or grinding) Eriksson on Nygatan (New Street) had two sons. Year 1926 they were 28 and 24. Georg, who was the oldest had ended up at August Stenmans and became an expeditor. Bror had just gone through technical machinist school (the Swedish word sound a lot more old timey) in town and it was he out of the two who had gotten the adventurous spirit.

It was that year, 1926, he packed his bags and travelled across the wide waters of the Atlantic to seek his future in the USA. His uncle Anton, who had already rooted himself in Milwaukee Wisconsin as a special constructor welcomed him to tractor and farming machinery company Allis Chalmers, and there Bror remained. On thursday the brothers reunited in a midsummery Eskilstuna (Midsummer is Sweden's biggest holiday after Christmas and New Years). At that time they hadn't seen each other since 1932 when Bror was last home. -We recognise each other exactly says the two. all though we've gotten a bit older. Bror, wearing a USA coloured tie speaks an Eskilstuna accent as if he never spoke anything else in his life (Eskilstuna accent is interestingly part of what is known as the whining belt). Some times a ”well” is uttered or one or two americanised Swedish words but remarkably rarely. 64 year old Bror promises: – I haven't spoken Swedish in 34 years. – Who would i have spoken to then? His wife Bernice is American, his sons, a police and a sales engineer in the machine business, have never spoken anything other than American. I correspond (exchange letters) in Swedish on and off , that is all he admits. What about Eskilstuna nowadays? TEXT CUTS OF HERE has built he says. His childhood home on Nygatan he recognises, there is a furniture warehouse there now but for example Årby, it was the country side when I left. Thats where he is staying during his Eskilstuna stay, at his brother Georg's. - I have retired from the work as machine engineer. The company has 35-40 000 employes. BM is a bit smaller? (With BM he's referring to a Eskilstuna company in the same business as Allis Chalmers that became part of Volvo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_Construction_Equipment) But it would be fun to see their constructions too now that one is here! As a retiree he's going to take it easy. But since he has a ”house sales certificate” he could become a salesman if he wants to. But back home in Wisconsin there is no lack of homes, like in Sweden. Other than that, our home coming American remarks, Sweden is the country in Europe that most resembles Wisconsin. -– And if I make good money off houses I can soon come back to old Sweden and Eskilstuna. – Do that! says brother Georg.

And here is the caption translation,

Photo caption: Bror Ericson (has thus nuanced the spelling of his surname slightly) is now touring Europe during a couple of weeks in a camper bus bought in Paris. Here he's seen to the left together with his brother Georg, who has remained faithful to Eskilstuna.
 
That is awesome Ken! Thanks for sharing this glimpse into your family's past.

Is that how you remembered your grandfather?

- Christian
 
How cool is that, Ken! Neat that you have that article; thanks for sharing with us.
And, from looking at the photo.... you're a chip off the ol' block! ;)
 
kamagong said:
Is that how you remembered your grandfather?

- Christian
Click to expand...
I have very fond memories of my grandfather. He was a very intelligent man, and with the help of my grandmother raised two great sons.
There is a inaccuracy in the story however! I remember many times that he and my grandmother would switch to speaking Swedish, when they did not want young grandchildren to know what was being said;).

puukkoman said:
And, from looking at the photo.... you're a chip off the ol' block! ;)
Click to expand...

It is funny you mention that, I had never thought I resembled my grandfather in anyway, but was looking at the photo and thought, heh, in 6 years or so, I could look a LOT like him, :)
 
Pretty cool Ken!

Echoing what you said, my father and uncles have been resembling my grandfather more and more. I am about 34, my grandfather passed when he was 81 or 82. That was more than ten years ago. My father and uncles are reaching that age my grandfather was when I was growing up, they're in their 60s. I see all three of them picking up his traits and gestures. They used to poke fun at him, now they're doing the same stuff they kidded him about.
 
Hi all, just a few words to share what may help someone else out down the road. Last evening I received a frantic call from my wife asking to change some passwords. A business trip dinner and a careless bag left in the rental car(group carpooling) led to the loss of a work PC and an Ipad( non-password protected)...classic smash and grab and its like you are sitting on a park bench exposed. Well, it was a Swiss Army brand carryon bag;)
If only the bag had been placed into the trunk! This all could have been avoided. No worries about the lost things, they can all be replaced, but all of the data and personal info on these tablets is a very frightening thing to think about in the wrong hands. After a long night of changing passwords etc. , and today bringing her keys to the airport so the car could be driven home, and still changing passwords, I just thought I would share this so that if just one of you or your family members benefits from our bad experience, it will be worth it.
thanks for reading this...
 
Duane, very sorry to hear that you and your wife have had this trouble.

Jack
 
Ack! What a headache! Sorry that happened to you guys, Duane. Sounds like you're on top of it, though, so here's hoping there are no detrimental consequences.
 
Thanks Jack and Alex! We are certainly trying to be as proactive as possible. This really makes me reassess bringing electronics on trips, but in some places email is the only communication available, double edged sword these things they be!
 
Sorry to hear about this. Double check accounts, and double check banking information too. Hackers and thieves can take ten cents here or there and add up some hefty charges.
 
Scary. Some call me paranoid because I always encrypt my laptop harddisk, but if something like this happens I'd feel so much better (well, less bad) because of it.
But please people, at least use a decent password on mobile devices if you don't already...
 
silenthunterstudios said:
Sorry to hear about this. Double check accounts, and double check banking information too. Hackers and thieves can take ten cents here or there and add up some hefty charges.
Click to expand...
Yep, and many times there's a "test the waters" charge of just a dollar or two, to see if the account holder will notice. Then, if this slips by undetected and the victim thinks "It's ok, that account must be safe," then the crook slams it with a larger charge at a later date.

Sturzi, good point. A password on one's mobile device is absolutely crucial, now that our phones have become gateways into our online identities.
My dad, who has been a computer geek since before there were computer geeks, says "your password should be easy to remember yet hard to guess." Some of his passwords are ridiculous! :D
 
Insist on making a police report, it's your only avenue of proving identity theft. Change all bank account numbers immediately. We had a family member go through this and it took a couple of years to get it sorted out.
 
Just saw an American Bald Eagle flying overhead. Was in the back yard for only a few minutes, and one flew overhead. Noticed the shadow on the ground first. Was only about twice as high as the house.
 
I've been loading up my iPod with podcasts. BHK Outdoors radio, basic outdoors shows, regional history, Duck Dynasty/Duck Commanders interviews and, wait for it... Bigfoot shows. You cannot imagine how many bigfoot/sasquatch/yeti shows are out there. I've always liked cryptozoology since I was a kid, and found the show Coast to Coast AM about ten years ago. However, C2CAM is usually broadcast over night. You have to pay for podcasts, and while looking for C2C shows, I found the plethora of sasquatch shows. I was always fascinated by Bigfoot, and have heard stories from people in the MD/PA area that say they or others have seen the mythical beast. I don't put limitations on God, but I don't really see something such as sasquatch roaming around out there.

Anyway, there are some neat stories out there. Makes the time go by quicker at work. Best one I've heard so far has to be the Bigfoot Information Project, where the host supposedly went to an Oklahoma reservation casino to investigate a supposed incident caught on a security camera. I just get a kick out of stuff like this, especially Coast to Coast's call in segment. One call that stands out is a trucker talking about a large dog keeping pace with his rig on the highway. Sleep deprivation can cause some wild visions I guess.
 
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