by Birgitta Hjalmarson | Oct 16, 2024 | Journal
A VILLAGE CAUGHT IN CHANGE In the mid-fifties, in the evenings, I used to walk with Hjalmar to the lake. I was a child of ten or so, sent to the country for the summer. Hjalmar was my great-uncle; he and his brother Gustav owned Torp, a farm in Kungsäter, a small...
by Birgitta Hjalmarson | Oct 15, 2024 | Journal
HOW THE NEW CHURCH WAS BUILT They say when God created Sweden he began with the south, and so it became fertile and good in every way. The Devil, meanwhile, ran farther north, where he created the district of Mark. On the surface it was...
by Birgitta Hjalmarson | Oct 14, 2024 | Journal
FINA’S CHURCHING Carl was not the first in line to inherit Torp. His brother August was two years older and thus the rightful heir. August, however, left for America. Thus Carl took over Torp. His sisters Mina and Augusta, as compensation,...
by Birgitta Hjalmarson | Oct 13, 2024 | Journal
HOUSE EXAMINATION You could recognize him from afar as he came up the hill towards Torp — his wide-brimmed hat, his erect posture, his landau pulled by his gray mare, the rod of his whip swaying in its stand. As he approached, did he...
by Birgitta Hjalmarson | Oct 12, 2024 | Journal
THE GREAT BRÄNNVIN BRAWL Ever since the inn closed a long time ago, travelers wishing to put up in Kungsäter have been out of luck. In my case the problem with accommodations is solved when my uncle Bengt offers me the use of the cabin in...
by Birgitta Hjalmarson | Oct 11, 2024 | Journal
AN INSPIRED MOVE For centuries weaving had been an important part of life in Mark. In almost every cottage women worked at their looms, often assisted by husbands and children. In the early 1800s, local middlemen began supplying these hand...
