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I went off to college with a
head full of mush and no money.
I needed a job. If there
were no job, there would be no college. I found a part-time
job and it was a dandy. It was a dream job??”if you were the
kind who had a lot of nightmares.
The job I had was cleaning
the toilets in a dormitory. I was qualified because I grew
up on a farm cleaning up after pigs, cows and chickens. All
those animals were much easier to clean up after than were
college students.
I didn??™t like the job very
much, but I needed the money. It was good, honest work and
nothing to be ashamed of. Sometimes, I would be working
away at my labor on a Sunday afternoon while it seemed like
the rest of the world was relaxing and enjoying itself, and
I would wonder. I would wonder how I ever came to be
involved in such an endeavor. I would wonder why I couldn??™t
have been born rich and have been able to bypass such menial
tasks as scrubbing porcelain while on my knees. Maybe it
was meant to be? Maybe it was fate?
My Great-grandfather
Sundstrom left Sweden and headed to Iowa many years ago.
Why Iowa? To quote a couple of characters in the movie,
???Field of Dreams,???
???Is this heaven????
???No, it's Iowa.???
It sounded like heaven to a
family struggling just to get by in Sweden.
Great-grandpa Sundstrom
accompanied by his wife and five children boarded a boat and
floated for days and days before arriving in New York. The
voyage was made to seem even longer thanks to the
seasickness that visited every family member. Once in New
York, they boarded a train and headed towards the state
where the tall corn grows. Algona was their destination.
My great-grandparents had saved as much money as possible in
order to give themselves a good start once they arrived in
Iowa and had begun a new life. They spoke no English, only
Swedish, but they had a sponsor in Algona who would be
helping them adjust to their new home.
Then an odd thing happened.
It was one of those occurrences that leads to an entire
change of circumstances that alters lives dramatically. My
Great-grandpa Sundstrom needed to use the bathroom on the
train. The old toilets on the train had a pretty simple
septic system. Whatever went into the toilet, went right
out onto the tracks. When my Great-grandpa came out of the
bathroom, he discovered that his wallet was missing. He
went back to the bathroom and searched for it. It could not
be found. There was no doubt that it had fallen onto the
tracks. He talked to the conductor about his loss, but the
conductor spoke no Swedish. My great-grandparents were in a
country that they knew little or nothing about. They had
five children who needing caring for and they were
completely broke. At least they still had their sponsor who
had promised my Great-grandpa a job once they arrived in
Algona. Great-grandpa had already paid for the train
tickets. They spent the trip being hungry. Some kind
travelers gave the children crackers and bits of apple.
When they arrived in Algona,
they were surprised to find that there was no one waiting
for them. They thought that perhaps their wires had become
crossed with their sponsor. My great-grandparents had
nothing to go by except the address of their sponsor. They
left the railroad depot and walked and walked, slowly making
their way to their sponsor??™s home. There they were informed
that their sponsor had died and along with him, so had the
promise of a job.
My great-grandparents had
many difficult years. My Great-grandma got a job cleaning
houses. They were proud people who refused to ask for much
help. They raised the children right there in Algona,
Iowa. My great-grandparents refused to speak Swedish while
the children were at home. They demanded that the children
learned to speak English fluently. The five children all
graduated from high school, something that neither of my
great-grandparents had been allowed to do. The four girls
all went on to further their education and became teachers.
A flu epidemic took one of the girls during her first year
of teaching. The son went to law school and became an
attorney.
Oh, and what did my
Great-grandfather Sundstrom do for a living that allowed all
of his children to lead productive and rewarding lives?
What did he do to make it possible for them to go to
college?
He cleaned toilets.
?©Al
Batt 2003
71622 325 St.
Hartland, MN 56042
SnoEowl @ aol.com |
