FAMILY STORIES

Carl and Christine Nygren

   In January of 1936, a job opened up at Ogallala in the Soil Testing Department for the Kingsley Dam. This job lasted until March of 1941.

   Julia Christine Ferguson was born January 24, 1913 in Lincoln. Her father sold hosiery throughout the south half of Nebraska for the Iron Clad Hosiery Company of St. Joseph, Michigan. He died in 1930, the same year Christine graduated from Lincoln High School. She worked her way through the University of Nebraska, earning a B.Sc. degree in Education in 1937.

   Thus, after a year's engagement, Carl and Christine were married June 20, 1937, and lived in Ogallala where Carl was employed. John was born October 8, 1940. The following March we moved to California, where Carl spent three months as a naval architect at Mare Island.

   We moved back to Denver, Colorado, and a job with The Bureau of Reclamation. During this stay in Denver, George was born January 29, 1945, and William was born October 8, 1946.

   In the spring of 1949, we moved back to Saunders County and farmed for ten years. During this period we bought and moved to the present farm location between Ashland and Ceresco. From 1959 until 1970 Carl commuted to Lincoln to work in the U.S.D.A. Soils Mechanics Laboratory. He is now retired and living on the farm which our son, George, farms.

   Carl spent 18 years from 1962 through 1980 on the Board of the Saunders County Historical Society. Christine was librarian for the Mead Public Schools from 1964 to 1975. She is still involved with her Extension Club, Retired Teachers Organization, and is on the Board of the Saunders County Care Center in Wahoo. Submitted by Carl G. Nygren, 1982

   George was born January 29, 1945 in Denver, Colorado, to Carl and Christine Nygren. In March of 1949, he moved with his family to a farm near Mead, Nebraska where he started school. In 1953, the family moved to a farm in the Ceresco-Ashland area and he completed his grade school education at District 41. He received his high school education at Mead, graduating in 1963. His most enjoyable subjects were vocational agriculture and shop. He was active in 4-H and FFA.

   Judy Ann Miller, daughter of Lloyd and Marie Miller, was born in the old Saunders County Hospital. She and her four brothers spent their childhood on her grandmother's farm north of Ithaca, known as the old Thoms place. After attending District 50 school at Ithaca, she graduated from Wahoo High School in 1960 and worked as a nurse's aide in the new Saunders County Community Hospital until she married.

   George and Judy were married in 1974 and set up residence on a farm place in the NE¼ S 34 of Green Precinct. They have three children: Judith Marie Christine, born May 19, 1975; George Carl Lloyd, born April 19, 1977; and Aaron John Henry, born May 14, 1981. J. Marie and George are now attending school in District 110 at Memphis. They are members of Zion Lutheran Church south of Ithaca which was Judy's family church.

George and Judy Nygren and Family

   George farms his father's ground plus some of his own, 62 acres of which is seven miles away, just south of Ithaca. He has also become interested in model tractors and is busy repairing and painting old models and making and selling parts, having sent parts to Canada as well as many states in this country.

   The entire family have enjoyed attending many toy shows together, some as far away as Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.

   John Fergus Nygren was born 8 October 1940 in Big Springs, Nebraska to Carl G. Nygren and Julia Christine Nygren. Carl is a Saunders County native and, after working in various locations in the Western United States, the family returned to Saunders County in 1949. John attended Saunders County Schools and graduated from Ashland High School in 1958. After attending Luther College for two years, he transferred to The University of Nebraska-Lincoln. John had a strong childhood interest in nature and art. He exhibited his insect collection at the Saunders County and Nebraska State Fairs and won many "Best In Show" and Blue Ribbons. When he entered the University, he chose an Art major over an Entomology major. He graduated from U. of N. in June, 1965 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Ceramics and Sculpture.

John Nygren blowing glass.

   John married Sharon Lee Neely, a fellow student from Lincoln and their only child, Anna Maria Christina Nygren, was born in Lincoln on 7 November 1964.

   John received a Master of Fine Arts Degree from Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan in 1967, and the family moved to Wilmington, North Carolina where John took a teaching job at Wilmington College. In 1968, John learned to blow glass. He taught Ceramics and Sculpture for one more year and then moved to Walnut Cove, North Carolina where he established a private glass studio, "The New Branch." This is the translation of the name Nygren. Since 1969, John's work has been shown in over 200 group and one-man shows in this country and abroad. His love of nature is evident in all of his pieces which depict landscapes, insects, reptiles or amphibians.

   Anna Maria Nygren will graduate with honors from South Stokes High School in June, 1983, and will attend college in the Mid-West. She attended Governor's School of North Carolina in 1982. She is listed in Who's Who of American High School Students 1982-83 and received a commendation from The National Merit Scholarship Program.

   John and Sharon Nygren live at Route 1, Box 140, Walnut Cove, North Carolina 27052 but come "Home" to Nebraska at least once every two years. By John Nygren

   John, my father, was born to Anders August and Efva Mathilda Nygren on October 20, 1871. He was born in a dugout in the very southeast corner of section 28 of Marietta Precinct, Saunders County.

Mr. and Mrs. John Nygren

   Dad was sickly and puny as a child and survived a mastoid infection which broke out, leaving a hole behind his left ear. He walked to District 67 school, completing 3 or 4 years, which evidently was considered enough schooling for life as a farmer.

   Dad told of the time he broke up a turkey shoot by killing or drawing blood from three turkeys with the 22 caliber rifle shells allotted him.

   In 1893, while his brother, Carl, was still home, Dad got permission to attend the Chicago World's Fair. Soon after his trip, Carl homesteaded in

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Antelope County where he died of pneumonia in 1896.

   In 1901, Dad's father sold the home farm and bought the NW quarter of section 4 in Wahoo Precinct. In 1903 his father died and his mother died in 1904. So Dad was batching.

   It so happened that two young Swedes, a brother, Carl, and his sister, Alida Swanson, arrived at the home of Mr. and Mrs. C.E. Olson of Colon in May of 1903. Mrs. Olson was Dad's first cousin. Dad courted Alida and married her in November of 1904.

   To this union were born: Ruth in 1905, Carl in 1906, Raymond in 1908, and Paul in 1909.

   We should have gone to school at District 42 northwest of Ithaca, but getting there entailed a mile of single trail in native grass, so Dad drove us to Mead, at first by horse power, and after 1916, in a 4-cylinder touring Studebaker, which we boys eventually drove.

   In 1912 (following the sinking of the Titanic), Dad rented the farm to his brother-in-law, Carl Swanson, and took the family including the four children to Sweden to visit relatives. The crossings of the Atlantic were done in the British ships, Lusitania and Mauritania.

   Even though the depression of the 1930's came along, these were halcyon days to remember. Mother annually raised a flock of chickens which she fried to perfection. Dad also had hogs, some of which were butchered at home.

   Dad served on the church board for years, both as a trustee and as a deacon. Mother belonged to the Women's Missionary Society.

   Four or five families in our community took turns entertaining in their homes in the wintertime. The men played Flinch or Pit.

   Dad died January 17, 1949; mother, January 23, 1955.

   Leland and I have both lived all our lives in Saunders County. Leland's great-grandfather, August Nygren, came from Sweden to homestead in this county, and his grandfather, John, was born in a dugout near what is now the village of Mead. Leland's maternal grandfather, Carl Samuelson, also came to America from Sweden. He served as pastor of the Alma Lutheran Church in Mead for nearly 30 years. Leland's parents, the Paul Nygrens, farmed in the Mead area until moving to Texas in 1958. They returned to Mead in 1970 and she passed away a short time later. Paul now lives in a trailer near us on "the home place."

The Leland Nygren Family

   My grandfather, John Karloff, came to Saunders County from Illinois and homesteaded north of Yutan. His wife, Minnie Miller, came to America from Germany as a young girl. My maternal grandparents, the George Schulzes, farmed and lived all their lives in the Yutan area. My parents, Mr. and Mrs. Orvin Karloff, lived in Leshara during my childhood and later moved to Yutan. They also farmed in the Yutan area. I can remember how much my dad liked to go duck hunting and how we enjoyed the fruits of his efforts.

   I attended grade school in Leshara with my twin sister, Myrna. I especially remember putting on school Christmas programs and playing "boys against girls" baseball at recess. We attended high school in Valley, Nebr., riding the bus across the river every day. We particularly enjoyed participating in music and drama activities. We were also active in 4-H work during our high school years.

   Leland attended high school in Mead where he played basketball and was active in FFA. He was also a member of Mead's first football team. Leland and I got to know one another through the community "singspirations" held monthly at the various churches in the area.

   We both attended Luther Junior College in Wahoo and were married one year after graduation. We moved on to the family farm and have been living ever since in the house which Leland's grandfather built. Leland and I have three children -- Keryl, David, and Dale -- all of whom attended Mead High School. The boys were active in FFA and they all took part in sports, music, and dramatics.

   During our early married years, we enjoyed taking part in the "Double Circle" couples club of our church and, later, we were members of the local "Twirling Eights" square dance club. I have been active in our church women's organization and Leland is on the church council. We have both worked with the Sunday School and sung in the choir. The most fun was when our whole family was singing in the choir together. I am currently a member of our church's bell choir. Leland has bowled for many years with the commercial bowling league in Wahoo and I am a long time member of the Tri-M extension club.

   We have always been grateful for the fellowship of good neighbors, family, and friends. Submitted by Leland Nygren

   Paul Nygren's grandparents, August and Efva Nygren, emigrated from Sweden in 1869 and moved to Nebraska in 1869. They homesteaded the S½ SE¼ Sec. 28 Marietta precinct, now owned by Oscar Behrens. Paul's father, John, was born there in a dugout in 1871. August sold this home place in 1901 and bought the NW¼ Sec. 4 in Wahoo precinct.

Paul and Linnea Nygren on Joy's Wedding day.

   On November 23, 1904, John married Alida Swanson who had recently arrived from Sweden. They had four children of whom Paul was the youngest. Paul graduated from Mead High School in 1927 and attended Luther College for a short business course. He then went back to helping his father and brother on the home farm and various other tracts as they became available, including land within the Nebraska Ordnance Plant. This was during the transition period from horse power to tractor power and he changed several implements over to tractor power.

   About 1930, Paul's 1928 Chevrolet coupe began showing up at the Lutheran parsonage in Mead. Rev. C.G. Samuelson had been pastor there since 1914 and it was his daughter, Linnea, that Paul was interested in. The courtship had to be postponed a couple of years because Linnea went to Hutto, Texas to finish school and cook for her brother, Rudolph, who was a young single pastor. However, when she came back from Texas, they were married and moved into a house on Highway 77, a quarter of a mile east of where August Nygren had homesteaded. They were blessed with four children, Allan, Leland, Mary, and Joy, all of whom graduated from Mead high school and had some college education. The family moved in 1949 to the home farm where Paul had been born.

   In the spring of 1958, Paul and Linnea leased the farm to Leland, turned the farm equipment over to their boys, packed a trailer, and took off for Henderson, Texas. They went to work with Linnea's sister and brother-in-law who had sole concession rights on the new Lake Striker. Soon they built their own fishing camp and enjoyed good fishing and boating for about ten years while making many new friends.

   Paul and Linnea's children have all married and have families of their own. Allan married Bette Behrens, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Behrens, and Leland married Myrtle Karloff, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Orvin Karloff. Allan's have three daughters, Laura, Allyson, and Amber and two grandchildren, Naiomi and Levi. Leland's have three children, Keryl, David, and Dale. Mary married William Dinges from Rockford, Illinois. They have one son, Aaron. Joy married Larry Duncan, a Texas classmate, and they and their daughters, Mellisa and Kuong Sue, now live in Wichita, Kansas.

   Early in 1970, Paul and Linnea moved back to Mead where Linnea passed away very suddenly the following July while working in her kitchen. Paul now lives in a mobile home on the farm where he was born.

   Raymond was born at the farm home of his parents, John and Alida Nygren, on April 22, 1908. He attended school in Mead and is a lifetime member of Alma Lutheran Church at Mead.

Raymond and Dolores Nygren

   Raymond married Dolores, daughter of John and Anna Johnson of Malmo, on September 19, 1937. Dolores, who was born November 14, 1913, attended school in Malmo for 11 years and graduated from Wahoo High School in 1930. She also attended Luther College one year and then began teaching in Rural School District 97 where she taught for 6 years until their marriage. During the summer of these 6 years, she attended Midland College in Fremont. Dolores was active in Edensburg Lutheran church in Malmo, serving as Sunday School teacher, pianist and choir director.

   After their marriage, Raymond and Dolores moved to their farm home near Mead -- an 80-acre tract owned by John Nygren. There being no house, John had a comfortable home built for $3,000. Another 80 acres, purchased from U.P. Railroad in 1880 at a cost of $10 per acre, was also a part of the farm place.

   Raymond and Dolores recently celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary, and during those years

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