Memoirs of William Holmquist

I can remember way back when when I was 2 1/2 years old and my parents moved from Bissel and Sedgwick Streets on the north side of Chicago, near Lincoln Park, to 6613 S. Green St. on the south side. I remember standing in the front room, my thumb in my mouth, looking up at the casket where my mother lay, having died of Spanish influenza. We were four boys: John, Eddie, Wilhelm and Waldemar. Dad had his hands full with us and he soon remarried, as we were not angels.

What happened in the years up to six years probably was about what any other family would experience with four kids. Dad married Emma Charlotte Lock in the early years after mother's death. I'll start at the time of six. I well remember having a boat ride in the Jackson Park Lagoon and stopping at the Field Museum and walking up the many steps to enter the building. This was the 1893 World's Fair. The architecture of the building was a fancy scroll work, etc., much different than it was in later years. The midway looked great to me. I remember sitting on top of a freight car of the Monon railroad, watching a big warehouse burn to the ground, John Ed and I. A Mr. Gust Johnson found us there, having looked all over for us.it was dark and we had strayed from home. I remember the Iowa Building and the German Building of the Fair. They stood for many years. The big ferris wheel at 55th and Cottage Grove, the swimming pool across the street, were place Dad took us to many time. I have a book of this World's Fair and also admission tickets and souvenirs.

My parents had two roomers at our home, Mr. Lindstrom, who after a few years left for Suwanee River area to work and we never heard from him, and Miss Emma Johnson, a half sister of Dad's. She also left a few years later, went to New York and married a bricklayer, Mr. Hultgren. Didn't hear from her until late in life and I shall comment on that later.

Some of our playmates in the neighborhood were Willie Lake, who moved away, Fogelsong whom I'll mention later. Dad said that I had plenty of time to go to school, so I didn't start until I was eight. Speaking only Swedish in the home, I had to learn the English language. I knew just a little English. I was sent to a Swedish school to learn good Swedish. This school was a Lutheran school on 66th and Sangamom St. A high fence surrounded the church, and of course I was always climbing the fence. Other playmates were Willie and Harry Rowe, Bert and Zora Patchin, Eddie Wiley, Elmer Newstrom, Fay Holland, Arthur Yhreastrom, Mollie and Laura Butler. They were a great bunch of kids; most of are now dead. There was also Frank Rabsch, now living in Milwaukee.

I remember wooden cedar blocks on the streets, the ditches in front of our house, the gas lamps which were lit every evening at dusk. A man would come on a bike with a pole in his hand and a light on the end of the pole. He would return in the morning to turn off the lights. There were not buildings from 66th Street to ^5th, and from Halsted to Morgan. The Ringling Brothers Circus stake their tents here in the summer. Oh yes, we got into the circus, always by crawling under the canvas. We also followed the circus parades.

The Salvation Army marched from their headquarters at 66th and Halsted and we often followed them from 66th to 63rd and back again. Well do I remember when all four boys were led by Dad to the Army. We wore little velvet suits and Fauntleroy ties and white collars folded over the suit jacket. Dad picked me up from a ditch I had fallen into. The Army Captain always put the drum on the floor and folks threw change on the drum. We were thrilled. Every Sunday we attended they gave us a little 1 x 2 ' card with a picture of a bird on it. After four Sundays we got a bigger card, etc., and at Christmas time a big bag with an apple, orange, nuts, candy a book and a toy. That was worth going all year, every Sunday.

At age ten to 15 we were in grade school. Evenings we often met the boys of the street on the corner, but we had to be in by 8 o'clock. Often we got in fights. Many colored children were in our classes. We played 'pump, pump, peedaway and 'policeman' in the school yard. The name of the school was Kershaw.

I remember the magic lanterns and mile banks at Christmas. A 50 cent toy was fine from Santa Claus.

The street cars had straw on the floor for heat, no stoves, drawn by horses. I can hear the clang, clang of the bell the motorman stepped on. Later there were electric summer cars. We always like to be chased by the conductor, down one aisle, then on the running boards, finally had to jump. Ed had a paper route. He always flipped cars. He was on the way to 63rd for papers and was knocked off and badly hurt.

I remember upside down Johnson's clothing store where I worked as a messenger boy. Johnson's picture on all advertising was upside down, therefore the name Becker Ryan and in earlier days Lederer Dept. stores were where Sears Roebuck now is. I remember the starving Cuban in the circus side show. A man was hypnotized lying in the front window of the dime sore ore two days with a big rock on his stomach.

We often walked to Washington Park to watch the automobiles. They were just coming on the streets: Holzmobiles, Electrics, Steamers, Pierce Arrows, Whites, Maxwells. We often walked to Washington Park dragging a toboggan sled, 18ft. long. We were 16 on the sled once and when we hit the bottom of the slide, Bang! it snapped and that was the end for that day. We repaired it and used it in Hamilton Park, on the hump back toboggan.

I remember Luetgert's sausage factory at 63rd and Wallace. Leutgert had murdered several persons and buried them in the basement.

There were the Western Indiana, Monon and Chesapeak [Chesapeake] and Ohio Railroads, then on the ground, later years elevated. Our Sunday School often had their picnics at Cedar Lake and we took the Monon train. Once the four of us were late getting down to the train. We had to run to get it. I had a 16 qt. basket of lunch and had to throw it in the ditch in order to make it. At the picnic everybody felt sorry for us and were were fed well.

Halloween was a big day - two days. We burned gates, fences, big wooden garbage boxes - anything that was wooden. What a bon fire! Put a buggy on a barn roof after taking the wheels off. Threw rocks through the family entrance of saloons. The family entrance, a door into the back room, was where ladies with their families could sit and drink. Some of the things we did were, going into Intemulle candy store, asked for a penny's worth of various kinds of candy, and when bag was full we ran out the door; brought in a package of laundry to a Chinaman. Layed it on the counter and ran for our life. The package had a dead rat in it. That wasn't nice. We always had a flooded prairie in winter for skating. One was at 6th and Halsted. Had a girl friend I always like to sake with name Carrie Seaberg. Her father was a building contractor. (During the depression, many years later, she was found dead, a suicide, after losing her savings

Often in winter time Dad walked us to church at 59th and Emerald, the Swedish Baptist church; one Christmas morning in two ft. of snow. That was rough but we enjoyed it. Every Christmas our Uncle John (Jack he was called) came to us and always had gifts for all of us. Never will forget a big blue and white sled he brought us.

We were always in touch with Aunt and Uncle on my mother's side and were often together. They lived in Brighton Park, 35th and Artesian Avenue. Their name was Larson.We often played together - Ellen, Charlie and August. They moved to Sterling Ill. where Uncle Jack worked in a foundry and blacksmith. He was a blacksmith. The children were living still, except for Ellen Charlie and August have a million dollar hardware factory in Rock Falls, across the river from Sterling. We had many good times there together until Mrs. Larson died, and a few years later Mr. Larson died. I had a date one time with Charlie's cousin, Amy. I was about 17. Never saw her again until about 50 years later in Shorewood Hills, Mich. She wanted to know where I went.

April 13, 1904, I got 100 in arithmetic paper. I was in the [missing text] grade. Ed and I were in the same room at school and he wanted to graduate together. I flunked and Ed passes into the higher grade. Then I packed my books and left the class room, never to return.The principle wanted me to come back and he would let me graduate with Ed. It was too late At 17, I was out of school. The next day I got a job in the mail order department at Sears Roebuck on Desplaines Avenue, looking up lost orders. My next job wa at Tipton Machine works at 63rd and Wallace. In the front was a bicycle shop and I worked there. Then I was put into the machine shop, working on cars, but I didn't like that. I then found a job at the Fashion Livery Stable. Here I could drive the Electric Show Cases (I called them) like a carriage. I would drive them to the owner in the morning and get them in the evening, riding the street car home each time. I liked this job very much. I don't remember what I was paid.

During the our growing up years, the summers, about seven of them, we spent in Grovertown on Dad's farm. We raised potatoes, pickels, blueberries. Every day we went to the pickle factory in town with pickels. I still have a souvenir pickel with a pin attached. We use to walk to town with blueberries, the four of us, each carrying a bucket with 16 quarts. We had the best and cleanest berries and got two or three cents more a quart, usually 8 cents a quart. We took it out in trade, groceries, etc. Mr. Uncapher, the store keeper, always gave us a big scoop of candy - how we grabbed for those candies. We would work for Uncle Andrew Nelson, and after a day's work walked a mile and a half to go swimming. We had a place where we went in wearing or birthday clothes. A Mr. Olaf Wilson, a sailor, taught us all how to swim by throwing us into the lake. This was a happy time - summers at Grovertown.

After working at the livery stable, I had a job as fireman for the Swedish American Telephone Co. Then after a short time I was promoted to work on telephones and switchboards. I worked after that for Florsheim Shoe Company, tanning boots. The first day I worked until noon, went for lunch and never went back, not even for what little money I had coming.

I took a job at George and John Rayfields Repair Shop (later manufacturers of carburetors). That didn't last long. Had a Maxell down and was assembling it when my helper dropped a bolt in the transmission. We didn't take it out, and the trouble that caused gave us our 'walking papers'. Now what was I to do. Had many other little jobs. Worked for Paul Becker Butcher Shop at 6732 So. Halsted Street.

One day I started walk to find a job. Walked all the way down to the Loop. Found the Western Newspaper Union, a large Printing Company. I landed a job at $14.00 per week. This was June 1, 1906. I got appendicitis and was in the hospital three weeks. John Hastie, my superintendent, came up to see me and I got my wages each week I was gone. He said that he had never seen so many flowers as I had, tubs full, vases and jugs, said that I must have many friends. After six months I quit and got a job in a job office, S. J. Natheson Printing, at 35th and Halsted. Got about $9.00 a week, but I was now learning a trade. I decided to learn the business. I was an apprentice at Western Newspaper Union, Aug. 13, 1906. Stayed at S. J. Natheson until March, 1912, when I joined the Chicago Typographical Union No. 16. My working card number was 343. I paid $15.00 initiation fee. Now I was on my own getting $19.50 a week, union scale. From here on I had to try out what little I learned of the printing business. I thought I would like to learn the monotype key board, so in October, 1913 I left Chicago for S. Louis to go six weeks to school. I lived with a printer who came from Chicago same day I did. He lived in St. Louis. I got a room and board at this home. He had a lovely daughter who was engaged to marry a coal miner living in Collinsville, Ill. After five weeks stay there, I was asked to be best man at their wedding. They were to elope. They did and I was best man. Her dad did not approve of it which is why they eloped. Well, when her father got wind of what had happened, he asked me to leave. That was O. K., only had a week to go when I was to return to Chicago. On Thanksgiving Day I was invited to the home of Mr. Robert Peterson for dinner. Mr. Peterson was Western representative of the Baldwin Locomotive Works. The whole family, and I joined them, went to a foot ball game, then came home for dinner. Some spoiled suet put in the turkey ruined the turkey so we would up salman croquets.

I returned to Chicago. Got a job at Hillison Ethen Printing Co. I was to set periodical ads, that's what the boss said. What was a periodical ad? Well, I set an ad to try out. Gave the boss a proof of the ad and he called me to the desk and said, 'Where did you learn to set periodical ads?' I was fired but finished the day distributing type. I tipped over a case of type I was so nervous. I was nose and looked at the ads being set by the other men and I got the principle and idea of how it was doe. Fired, disgusted, discouraged, I walked six doors south to the G. P. Englehard Printing Company, walked in and found I knew the foreman there. He said, 'Hello Bill, are you working? No? Want to take the place of this man, he's going to Paris for six months. Can you set periodical ads?' I told him I could. I knew I would make good. Stayed there one year. Now I thought I was pretty good. I got my first union card on May 20, 1912, now getting $22.50 per week. I began brainstorming, going from shop to shop, getting experience and learning various ideas and styles of printing.

I was converted January, 1912, baptized March 17, 1912. Got into the Lords work. I was president of the Englewood Swedish Baptist Young People's Society. Membership was around 300 or more.

In 1916 I was married to Miss Lillie Newman. In 1917, December, she died from child birth in the South Shore Hospital. It was Dr. Dahlberg's first death in 500 confinement cases. Lillie [Lillian] predicted she would be buried on the last Sunday of the year, and the last day of Sunday burials, and so it was. I had bought a small print shop at 99th St. near Rock Island Railway depot, called Walden Station. Much evening work kept me in the shop a lot. We lived on 110 and Princeton in Roseland. Now a baby girl was my main concern. I had to move closer to the office. Val and Nellie lived at 9807 Vanderpool Ave. just around the corner to the office. I lived with them for about two years. I made about eight moves with the baby, various friends taking care of Lillian. The first world war was on and having the baby I was put in Class 4-A by the draft board. The government ruled non-essential business should cease, so I sold my office equipment to a firm in the loop, Chandler Printing Press Co. The I went to work at the steel mills in Gary. I lived with Val's mother-in-law Nellie's mother. I worked in a lumber yard, then in the machine shop and then in the steam fitting department. When Armistice was signed I returned to Chicago.

When I was living with Nellie and Val, Esther would come and visit them every week and walked by my office to catch a train. Would see her often and spoke to her. Finally, to make a long story short, we were going steady. In the meantime I was back in young people's work and very busy.

On July 19, 1919 I started work at the American Newspaper. Had just got enough of the newspaper work to like it.

January 10, 1920 we got married, Ester and I. We eloped to Professor Olaf Hedeen's home in Morgan Park. Ester Sabel and Fredrick Jaenicken, owner of the Jaenicken Printing Co., stood up for us. Prof. Hedeen had a spread for us of lots of good things to eat. Jaenicken presses a $20.00 gold piece in my hand as a gift. We lived in Morgan Park. We now had the baby with us. Three weeks after we got married I was laid off at Chicago American. The foreman promised me three days a week so I stuck around for three months. Then I got the situation that I held for 39 years.

I was back in young people's work. In 1925 and 1926 I was city-wide young people's president. The organization comprised 23 different young people's societies in Chicago and surround area. This entailed a lot of evening committee meetings and rallies, etc. We had summer assemblies for young people at Bethany Beach. We were raising a family now. Had two children and a third one on the way. Esther really raised the children, I was out so much. Shed did a good job, all raised and married. So much transpired in the years. We had many friends - had moved a couple of times. In 1925 my dad died; my step-mother died about 20 years later.

We owned a little house at Pretty Lake, Ind. where Mom and I took all our children on week-end trips.We often had beach parties at 63rd St. Beach. We owned a1925 Studebaker car which was dedicated to the Lord. We often picked up 14 or 16 kids to take to the Laflin Gospel Hall, nearly every night for a couple of weeks. We won a Bible for having the biggest family present. Often went skating a Washington Park Lagoon and on the Midway. We sued to take many trips to Museum of Science and Industry. We let the children, when about 8 and 10 years old, attend the 1933-34 World's Fair alone. They would take lunch, ate samples given away at the Fair. They always had a good time.

So much happened that can't be said as it would fill volumes. had a two year newspaper strike.

Ed died when he was 54, of lockjaw. John died in 1950, age 66.

In November 1953, I retired from the newspaper and we moved to Harbert, Michigan. Rented a new home, just finished, by my cousin Dave and Esther Lovegren. We live there 1 1/2 years. The in the Fall of 1954 we rented an apartment at St. Petersburg, Florida for the winter. We liked it so well that we bough a little home. That wa the first week of March 1955. The Nellie had a stroke and we went back to Michigan at once. Moved down to St. Petersburg the next year. For five summers we worked for Mrs. Atwill and her son who had a summer home at Lakeside, Mich. We liked it very much. Mrs. Atwill died after three summers and we work for Wm. Atwill, stock broker in Miami Beach for two summers in Lakeside. Earned enough to put us on our feet.

We were making new friends and had to adjust our lives to a new way of life. Learned a lot, saw a lot, had lots of experiences and met many friends and made new friends.

Now, about Willie Lake, whom I mentioned before. During the first world war, war bonds were being sold, and one day I went into the Commonwealth Edison Building. There was a crowd inside the door. A man with a scale was selling bonds and weighing people He would guess their weight; if he missed he gave them a Babe Ruth bar. I was in the front line. I saw he was eyeing me. Finally he pulled me up in front and said to the crowd, 'I know this fellow, but he doesn't know me.' Well, he said my name, where I lived many years ago. Also said he would guess my weight. He said, 'When I was 10 years of age I moved away from the neighborhood at 66th and Green.' I was 8 then and he remembered.It was Willie Lake, hadn't seen him since he moved away. We reminisced, talked of old times; when we turned around the crowd was gone. He guessed my weight too, right on the head, no candy bar! Haven't seen him since.

About Miss Emma Johnson, mentioned before. We had some friends from Mich. staying with us about six years ago, here in St. Pete. Some friends of theirs came to visit, a lady and a man and wife. In our conversation I mentioned the experience of Emma Johnson going to Brooklyn and married a mr. Halgren. Never heard from her. 'Oh,' the lady said, 'I knew her. I took care of her during her sickness. Shed dies after a lingering sickness.' Small world, eh? Now about Mr. Fogelsong. We were invited to the Blades home one evening and two of the other guest invited were Mr. and Mrs. Fogelsong. In our conversation we were talking about 66th and Green St. Fogelsong said, I lived there when I was 10 years old, at 6623 Green a few doors south of where we lived. He knew all about the boys and girls we played with and he remembered me. After all these years we should meet here.

Well, we lived lived here now for 11 years - 1966. We've been married 46 years, have four lovely children, all raised and married. Lillian married Ray Johnson, four children: Dr Howard, Karen, Warren and Ronnie; June married Cornell Ridderhoff, two children: Warren and Mark. Marian married George Calhoun, two lovely adopted children: Debbera and Kimberly. Bill married Marion Saxe, two children; Scott and Eric, a third on the way. We have ten lovely grandchildren and three great grandchildren. We are happy and Rich with all our children and grandchildren The Lord has been good to us. We have everything we need - nice church, home a good pastor.

Much could be written of many experiences and things that happened down through the years that lie behind. Hope the Lord will give us a few more years of happiness together.

Scan of typed original:
Memoirs of William Holmquist 1966

Memories transcribed by Lennart Holmquist in 2015.

Contact me, Lennart, about corrections or additions you would like to make to the family information on this web page or contact me if you have any questions at family@earthwander.com

Footnotes