Hestra

I find it ironic that as I finally logged in to do a little blogging of my own, I discovered that Dennis' most recent blog follows along the same lines as what I was thinking. I guess what it comes down to is that a large portion of this trip is focussed around our heritage and discovering (or re-discovering in Dennis' case) where we've come from. However, much of Dennis' last post originates from Norway but for mine we have to move a little farther south to Sweden.

A few weeks ago I was wearing my t-shirt commemorating 100 years of Hedlin farming. I started thinking about how a little over 100 years ago my grandfather and his brother homesteaded at Watrous. Canada is such a young country and we tend to think it’s pretty amazing when a farm or a building has been in existence for that period of time. Right now, I’m in the process of arranging a visit to the original Hedlin (or Huvudsson) farm in Sweden, near Boras. Hestra had been in the Huvudsson family since the 17th century – that’s a lot of family history! My grandfather was only 19 when he left the family farm in Sweden to come (via North Dakota) to Saskatchewan. I find that hard to imagine, especially since he never went back. Most of his siblings also emigrated, leaving an unmarried sister and brother to farm Hestra with their parents. Hestra has since passed out of Huvudsson hands and is currently operated by the son of the couple who bought it. His mother is still living on the farm as well. She has been most gracious in allowing us to come and visit and see where my grandfather grew up. I never met my grandfather (although I vividly remember my Uncle Oscar) and I hope this will give me some sense of connectedness. In preparation I’ve been re-reading snippets of a book my Uncle Alan wrote, it mostly focuses on the Watrous years but includes some history of the family Huvudsson (with archival information provided by my Uncle Charles) and some remembrances of my grandmother and my great-uncle Oscar. I’ve enjoyed delving into my family history and look forward to seeing it come alive.