Bernard John Holmquist

Back in the States

Before the war Bud had been working at his apprenticeship as a tool and die maker under two occupational deferments from military duty because of the need for machinists in industry. He had served two years of a four year apprenticeship, June 1942 to August 1944, but had not finished his apprenticeship because he enlisted in the marines. Now he continued his apprenticeship in August of 1951 while going to school. Apprenticeship was four years but he stretched it out by working longer hours during the war (1942-44) and shorter hours while going to Northern Baptist Seminary on Washington Boulevard in Chicago (June 1950 - August 1951). He received a Certificate of Completion as a tool and die maker from the United States Department of Labor's Washington D.C. Apprenticeship Program.

His father had been right. Bud would need the skills learned at Protectoseal after leaving the marine corp. Bud's training at the company gave him the skills to support himself while going for his seminary and university degrees later.

Bernard John Holmquist: Employment History

Doris Rinell to America

Oscar and Hellen were spending time in Chicago on their way from Sweden to China, and Bud heard that they were in town in a hotel, but he did not remember who told him. Out of curiosity and politeness he called them. Its so happened that they were alone for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day so he invited them out to his home. They were very glad to have somewhere to go for Christmas Eve. Hellen mentioned to Bud that he had been not writing Doris lately. She had been sick during this time with polio and kidney stones, but he did not know anything about it. Bud wrote to her and the romance was off immediately. Bud had not been going with anyone at the time, and he did not remember that she was going with anyone either.

Bud sent Doris little gifts. Doris sent him a knife almost right away - years later he told his son, Len, that he never really used it much.

Bud asked Doris to marry him and asked her to come to the States, so they could spend some time together and she could meet his family. If she still felt good about it they would marry. In order for Doris to enter the USA she was required by immigration to have $500 on deposit to return to Europe should the marraige not take place. Bud asked his father for a loan and bought a $500 U.S. Treasure Bond. Dollan got a ticket on the ship Mauretania,

(1948) Rinells to Sweden and America

Bud enrolled at Wheaton College in the town of Wheaton, Illinois about twenty-six miles west of downtown Chicago. Also entering Wheaton was Bud's cousins Bill Holmquist and Charles Holmquist and friend Charles Gardner.Charles later married Jeanne Hedberg, Bud's high school girlfriend.

Doris arrived in America on 20 December 1948.

Bridal Shower

Elaine Holmquist and perhaps Dotty or someone else threw a bridal shower. Held at Salem Baptist church. Sandwiches, cakes, cookies, coffee, tea. Many people brought something. Opening gifts. Blankets, 3 radios, towels, things for the home.

Wedding Day

On January 30th 1949, a cold winter day they drove with Bud's brother, Al and his wife Hazel, from Chicago out to Wheaton College for their wedding. They would have taken the Plymouth. but John T. refused to have his muddy car washed for the wedding. He said it would be too expensive. Bud refused to put his bride into a dirty car. Al said they could ride with them.

Since Bud's mother had recently died. Bud thought that it was not appropriate for Doris to wear a white wedding gown. After all the family was still in mourning. Doris was too shy at that time in her life to disagree though she regretted it later. She wore instead a blue dress suit. Though she had a veil she did not wear it. The blue suit did not go with the veil. They were married by the president of Wheaton College, V. Raymond Edmond, and in the living room of his home. Best man was Virgil Olson, and maid of honor Elaine Holmquist.

Bud's father was in charge of the cake for the reception. Doris thought he would come in with a two or three layer cake. The cake was only one layer and nothing special. She felt like crying. The one layer now frills cake probably reflected John's personality. He was an engineer. A cake was needed and he produced a cake. He wasn't thinking of sentiment. He was filling a job order. If he knew that a layered cake was important and desired, he would probably have produced it. John was an engineer, but he also had a soft heart.

Marriage Certificate

After the wedding they drove to their wedding reception in Chicago at John T's home in, attended by about five couples.

They didn't have enought money for a fancy honeymoon,and they only had a week. They drove out to the family farm in Indiana on this cold winter day. The only heating was the wood-burning stove in the kitchen in the kitchen. The first full day of their honeymoon Bud was working on a school paper. Dollan was writing thank you notes to the many people who gave them gifts, and almost all of whom she didn't know.

Fridhem

Soon after getting married Doris got a job a Fridhem a Swedish old people's home in Chicago. She did not even a Licenced Vocational Nurse (LVN). She had attended the Red Cross School of nursing in Sweden, but she didn't graduate due to her being infected with the polio virus. However, she spoke Swedish. She spoke Swedish nearly all the time while at work with aging Swedes, most of whom probably were immigrants. Doris was at Fridhem about a year, almost all of 1949.

Wheaton College 1950 - 1953

Bud finished his classes at Wheaton in 1950 but couldn't graduate yet because he hadn't finished his language requirements.

In July of 1950 Doris gave birth to a boy. They named him Lennart John Holmquist. Lennart had been the name of a good Swedish friend of Doris years before and John was Bud's, and Bud's father middle name. And, it was the name that Johannes, Bud's grandfather went by in America. However, the little fellow went by the name of 'Lennie'.

On September 10, 1951 after working for Protectoseal for five and a half years Bud left the company. His letter of recommendation written by the Personnel Director states:

At the time of leaving, Mr. Holmquist was thoroughly familiar with all phases of tool room procedure, and was capable of operating all types of tool room machines and equipment. He was able to sharpen dies and tools; construct from either prints or rough sketches, blanking, forming, and drawing dies from punch presses. He also built special tools and fixtures for turret lathes, milling machines and other production equipment.

His record with our Company was excellent, and we highly recommend him as a capable, reliable and conscientious person.[Letter from E. A. Anschicks, Personnel Director, The Protectoseal Company, Chicago, Illinois to Whomever It May Concern, August 13, 1952.]

Bud, Doris and little Lennie often attended Bud's old church in Chicago, Salem Baptist. One time the pastor was making polite conversation with Lennie.

"Do you watch television, Lennie."

Lennie shyly shook his head yes.

"What is your favorite TV program?"

"Hamm's beer!"

Bud turned red with embarrassment. The baptists thought the alcohol was a sin.

Lennie liked the Hamm's beer commercial because in the commercial were cartoon bears, and a memorable jingo "From the land of sky blue waters ... "

Conservative Baptist Seminary, Denver, Colorado 1951-52

Bud decided to continue on with his schooling and attend seminary. At some time Bud spent two quarters at Northern Baptist Seminary in Chicago. Perhaps this was just before he and the family left for Denver. He had applied to Western Conservative Baptist Seminary in Denver and was accepted. Just before leaving for Western Conservative Dr. Virgil A. Olson, well known in some Christian circles, offered Bud a position as Youth Activities Director at his church, a paid position, which Bud declined.

Bud quit his position as president of Senior Young People's Society, they loaded up their green '46 Plymouth with some things including their infant son, Lennie, said good-bye to the family, and drove to Colorado. They found a small cramped basement apartment in a house in Englewood. It had a wringer washing machine in which Doris remembers catching her fingers. The rollers pulled the fingers in and then the hand and then the arm. The off switch was on the opposite side of the machine from her free hand. With a stretch she managed to reach the switch and turn off the machine and then reverse the direction of the rollers.

Bud and Doris invited guests over to the house one day. In preparation for the 'get-together' Doris made a thirteen-egg angel food cake. When his mom was not looking little Lennie grabbed a chunk out of the cake and shoved it into his mouth. Doris used chocolate frosting to fill in the hole when she iced the cake.

When Easter came around they did not have enough money for food. The manager of the Christian Service Center found out about their situation and brought over a turkey, and all the trimmings.

The seminary met for classes in the beautiful mansion of the Denver Post newspaper. Bud attended only two quarters, taking classes in church history, Greek, and homiletics. It was the end of the school year, and though Bud liked everything about it - the school, the students and the faculty - they decided to return to Chicago for a variety of reasons. First, their next baby was almost due, and Doris knew and trusted her doctor, Dr. Walker, in Chicago. Secondly, Doris found it hard to breathe in the high altitudes of the Denver area. Thirdly, Francis Holmquist, wife of Bud's brother, Rusty, was dying of cancer. Bud wanted to give his brother support. Lastly, Bud really wanted to work with the Baptist General Conference (the old Swedish Baptist conference), which was a different baptist group than that of the seminary in Denver.

Doris contacted her doctor and asked if she was too far along in her pregnancy to make the long trip from Colorado to Illinois. "Well, as you are traveling when you get to a city get an idea of where the hospital is in case you need it. Also, get out of the car and walk around the block. Then you might make it."

They loaded up their car again and headed for Chicago. The trip went without incident and they arrived at Aunt Almeda's home where they stayed for some weeks. Meilynn was born at the hospital on May 28, 1952. Having four other people in her home, and two of them being babies was too much for Aunt Almeda. Hope Rodberg from church arranged for the family to move in with a generous couple from church, Ruth Anderson and her husband. Ruth became Doris' American mom.

In 1953 Bud finished his language requirements and graduated from Wheaton College with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.

Bethel Theological Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota

Bud wanted to continue his seminary work and applied to Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, a Swedish Baptist seminary. He was accepted. At first they stayed in the dorm because it cost less. Later they found lodging in a two story wood house, on Keewaydin Place, owned by an old man with a long white beard named Mr. Graber. Mr. Graber was in poor health, bedridden and needed caring for. Doris cooked his meals and took care of the old man for a reduction in rent. During that time Bud's father, John T. Holmquist, visited them and stayed a few days. Yet at another time Doris' mother, Hellen, visited. She may have been on her way to or from Korea.

Hellen Rinell in America: Minneapolis Minnesota, circa 1953

One day little Lennie was missing from the house. He had walked out the door and continued on down the sidewalk. Bud took after him, but quickly returned and said to Doris, "You get him. He doesn't have a stitch of clothing on him."

To further make ends meet Bud spoke on some weekends at temperance meetings on the evils of alcohol. He made a few bucks speaking at such meetings and got some practice preaching. He, also, did some work for an ammunition company, Twin Cities Arsenal, which manufactured 30 caliber, 45 caliber and 60 caliber bullets. Bud worked at a grinder, which had diamonds embedded in the grinding wheel, making tungsten carbide dies. The company even sent Bud to school for three months for further training.

He then worked at a company called the Auto Engine Works in north St. Paul where he ran a big radial drill press. The company cut gears and did work on auto engines. During this time Bud's father died. This together with Bud wanting to make more money elsewhere made him decide to quit work at the company. In retrospect Bud thought it would have been good to stay on because it would have contributed to the stability of the family, especially during this difficult period after the death of his father.

Bud took a job at the Northern Ordinance Company, also known as Northern Pump Company. where he ran a large jig borer, a multi-thousand dollar machine. He told them initially that he didn't know how to run the machine, but they told him they would show him how to do it because he had a lot of previous tool work. Bud eventually quit Northern to attend seminary full time with the help of 2000 dollars that he and each of the kids had inherited from their father.

During this time Bud, Doris, Lennie and now little Meilynn made a surprise visit to Chicago to attend the marriage of Rusty to his second wife. Afterward, Elaine drove them back (don't know if Elaine drove all of the them back at this time - may have been just Doris and Meilynn) in her new Chevy which she had paid cash for with her inheritance. While driving back they encountered a tornado. They found a hotel made of brick and stayed for the night. The next day they saw telephone poles leaning over, barns blown down and airplanes from a local airport that had been tossed into the air and dumped by the tornado as a child would leave toy airplanes.

Bud graduated from Bethel with a Masters of Divinity. They stayed on for a while longer living off of the inheritance. Bud had thought they should move out to California to start life anew. When the inheritance had gotten down to 250 dollars they thought they should leave or never make it out to California.

All together Bud spent two quarters at Northern Baptist Seminary in Chicago, a year at Western Conservative Baptist Seminary in Denver (A.C.B.S) in Denver, and two years at Bethel Theological Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Up until this time Doris was a Swedish citizen. She became an American cititzen on April 8, 1953 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Certificate of Citizenship: Doris Hellen Holmquist

California

They packed up the '46 Plymouth, and hitched the a small red open trailer that Bud's father had made to the round ball hitch in the under the back bumper of the Plymouth. The trailer was piled high with household items and Bud's many books. The back seat of the car was stuffed with things too except for a tiny cubicle in which Lennie 'holed up'. Meimei sat between her dad and mom in the front seat. And, Doris was four or five months pregnant.

Stopping by the American Automobile Association (AAA) office they asked for directions. The agent gave them a route that brought them across Nevada and to Donner Pass, difficult, high in altitude and a bit scary route during the 1950s. The trip from Minnesota to California took several days. After making the ascent and descent from Donner Pass they continued south down much of the length of California to the town of Reseda in the San Fernando Valley about an hour drive from downtown Los Angeles.

Reseda, California

They had no place to go and little money. Bud went to the very small First Baptist Church of Reseda and asked where they may rent an apartment, and was directed to a small duplex next to the church. It was a small faded blue, adobe looking plaster building with a plowed field behind. They had the apartment on the left as you look at the duplex. It had one bedroom, and a small living room and a tiny kitchen. They put up a notice on the church's bulletin board giving a list of all the things they needed such as furniture and kitchen utensils, pots and pans. In a short time members of the little baptist church donated nearly everything they needed.

While living in this small apartment Doris father, Oscar visited. He was returning to Sweden after working with the United Nation forces in Korea where he was a Mandarin Chinese and English translator. He arrived by bus, probably Greyhound, and they picked him up in the town of Tarzana near Los Angeles. He was wearing his UN officer's uniform. Kids who saw him thought he was a general in the US military. Actually, he was a captain with the UN. Not having a spare room for him to use they borrowed a small fold out bed and he slept in the kitchen.

That summer was hot. Lennie remembers a water pistol and water hose war with neighborhood kids. He had no water pistol, but another kid loaned him one, a very small black squirt gun, which need refilling only after five or six shots. By the end of the war he was drenched to the bone, but had one of the best times in his young life up to then.

Bendix Corporation, California, 1954-57

Bud still wanted to get into the ministry, but he needed to find work first to support his young family. Someone told him about Bendix Aviation which was not too far from their new home in Reseda. Bud applied and got a job as a tool and die maker, a job which again he did not enjoy, but for which he could at least make a living. He started work on the following Monday, which was a very good thing. After their long trip from Minnesota, purchasing gas, and food along the way, and paying rent for the apartment they had little money left.

They lived in this little duplex for several months.

Granada Hills, California

They then moved into a little suburban house in Granada Hills, a community in the San Fernando Valley.Home address at this time in Granada Hills was 15913 Los Alimos Street. 'The Valley' as it was called had not yet been completely absorbed into the urban sprawl of greater Los Angeles, and still contained some citrus orchards and windbreaks of eucalyptus trees. Little Lennie was put into kindergarten at Granada Hills Baptist Church. His opinion about the school was, 'I don't wike it. I dont wanna go.' However, authorities higher than himself thought otherwise. He would spend the next two years, kindergarten through first grade, in that little two room school. Beside the two rooms was a small church sanctuary that looked little like a traditional church. First it didn't have a tall steeple and secondly, like the school rooms, it was made of stucco, the building material of choice in California at that time and the building material of choice for the next fifty years at least. And, if he remembers correctly the church was green.

The classroom floors were of linoleum. The desks of wood and metal tubing stood in rows and columns facing the teacher, and the long rectangular black board. A large square bulletin board hung to the right of the blackboard. Above the blackboard was the alphabet in small and big letters scrolled out on a long 8 inch high piece of cardboard-like material stretching from one wall to the other.

Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz.

An American flag about three feet long and attached to a black stick stuck out on about a 45 degree angle from the wall above right of the bulletin board. Lennie and the other children talked to the flag every morning after putting their right hands over their hearts.

I pedge eagence to the flag of the u-nie-did states of merica, and to the public for which it stands, one nation, under god, invisible wid libirty and justise for all.

The exit door was to the right, a bank of windows made up much of the wall to the left letting in an invasion of California sunlight. The scent of eucalyptus and orange blossom wafted upon the occasional breeze entering the glass and metal-framed windows. Heavy gray rubberized canvas curtains hung from ceiling to floor gathered in columns to the right and left of the windows.

Bud began work at Bendix on August 12, 1954. He would come to work a number of jobs at Bendix including that of a lathe operator, which was his first job at Bendix. Bud worked as an Engine Lathe Setup Operator from August 12, 1954 to November 26, 1954, a Milling Machine Setup Operator from November 26, 1954 to February 27, 1956, Tool Room Machine Operator from February 27, 1956 to March 1, 1956, Model Shop Machine Operator from March 1, 1956 to June 25, 1956, Toolmaker from June 25, 1956 to October 1, 1956, Model Shop Machinist from October 1, 1956 to October 31, 1956 and an Experimental Machinist from October 31, 1956 to March 29, 1957.

He worked at Bendix until March 29, 1957 at which time he left for military service in the U.S. Navy.

Footnotes