Ola Akesson

OLA AKESSON. - There are so many would-be farmers who are perpetually grumbling because they cannot get ahead. They say if they had some one to give them a lift they could do as well as others, though as a matter of fact others manage to succeed, even though they have no one but themselves to depend on. Such has been the experience of Ola Akesson of Bethel, Kansas. He is today a prosperous farmer and he has only his own industry and individual efforts to thank for it. He is greatly respected in the community.

He was born in Sweden September 4, 1841, and is the son of Ake and Bengta Anderson. Both parents were born in Sweden, where they farmed. Ola's mother died in 1868 and her husband in 1872 in the place where they had always lived. Ola went to the public schools in Sweden and then learned the trade of plastering and bricklaying and he also worked on his father's farm. In 1867, the year before his mother died, he left his home and came to America, going first to Illinois, where he worked as a brick layer and plasterer. The following year, in 1868, he went to Kansas City, Missouri, where he worked as a plasterer and he finished several houses in plastering. He has always been very handy in many directions and if he could not get one kind of work he would take another. In 1875 he came to Wyandotte county, Kansas, and farmed, and has been living here ever since, and has been able to make a good living for himself and his family.

In 1871, while he was living in Kansas City, Missouri, and doing plastering for the most part, he married Elizabeth Lindstrom, who was also born in Sweden, February 8, 1852, and had come over to this country. She died in 1903, leaving two children, Charlie and Ellen. They are both living at home with their father and together they run the farm.

Mr. Akesson makes a specialty of fruit growing and ships large quantities to the market each week. His son Charlie has charge of the fruit farm, while Mr. Akesson oversees the rest of the crops and his daughter is the housekeeper. Mr. Akesson is a Socialist, but he does not always vote the Socialist ticket. He picks the best man for any given office and votes for him. It is this desire to have the best that is largely responsible for his success. He is well known in the county and is universally respected.