It's been a while!

This morning, I found this:

Fishing on the Little Popple River

and then I went exploring, and found this:

Information on where our great-grandparents settled.

Our great-grandparents Andrew and Louisa Ekquist and their family were among the first settlers in this area, on a homestead plot on the Little Popple River. Then, as now, trout could be caught and helped feed the family those first years. According to the published information, they ate mostly potatoes and wild leeks, but we know the homesteaders were all avid berry pickers as well.

Susan Schubert

Roger and Karen's daughter Susan passed away on the 14th of December from complications of the Multiple Sclerosis she's had for many years. Susie was born April 18, 1963.  They had a lovely graveside service on the 19th of December in Olympia, Washington, where her body was laid to rest next to her maternal grandparents.  She will be greatly missed by her parents, and her two brothers, John and David Schubert, and their extended family. 

Cathy told me, "It is so hard to accept she's gone.  She was only 2 years old when we moved out West, and she captured all of our hearts immediately. Susie was flower girl at my wedding to Pete a few years later.  She continued to be a ray of sunshine for the whole family throughout the years. We miss her so very much."

We offer our condolences to the entire Schubert family. 

God Jul!

For all my Swedish relatives! Hope the tomtes look after all you very well this Christmas Season and for the coming New Year!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=570Sj8j-ZXE

Merry Christmas from my house to yours!

I haven't posted anything for a very long time. My youngest son has been in the hospital, most of that time in an Intensive Care Unit for the past 10 weeks, and things have been rather chaotic here.

He has a weak heart and was retaining fluid, and on the 6th of October, he went to the Emergency Room at his local hospital, and they transferred him to Regions Hospital in St. Paul to the cardiac unit.

Over the next few days they discovered that he had a very fast heartbeat and they were able to slow it down with his implanted defibrillator/pacemaker. The cardiologists decided to do an angiogram and a heart ablation to interrupt the part of his heart that was creating the problem.

On the day of the procedures, they couldn't do the angiogram because his liver numbers were too high, and when they went on to the ablation, within seconds he went into cardiac arrest. After mechanical cpr for 15 minutes, they thought there wasn't anything else they could do. Then they decided to use an Impella, an external heart pump new to their hospital, in an attempt to see what would happen. It was also the first time the Impella had been to the Intensive Care Unit, so the entire staff was educated on the use of the Impella. There were people in and out of his room all the time, but the medical staff had little time to tell us what was happening (and I don't think they quite knew what to expect.)

The Impella worked for several days, but he also had kidney failure probably due to the Impella and it was also affecting his liver and he was extremely jaundiced. The cardiologist the last day he was in Regions told us they didn't know what else they could do, so he was going to call the University of Minnesota Hospital to see if they would take him. Within an hour, we were told that the cardiologists had looked at his chart, they had a bed for him, and he would be transferred later that day. No more tests were to be run at Regions, the U wanted to do their own testing.

That evening, they loaded his dialysis machine, his ventilator, his Impella, his nurse, and him into an ambulance and took him to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at the U of M Hospital on campus. We followed, and they began telling us what they planned to do.

After testing, they were going to remove the Impella and send that back to Regions, and they were going to do open heart surgery and implant an Lvad (Left Ventricle Assist Device), an implanted heart pump and they were going to do this on Friday. He was in critical condition and we were to be "cautiously optimistic."  He made it through surgery. Unfortunately he had also been given blood thinning medication at Regions, so they weren't able to close up the incision until the following Monday. Which they did, and he tolerated all of this well.

Later this same week we were told that his Aortic Valve wasn't functioning well, so they were going to do another open heart surgery and replace this with a pig valve. We were again told that he was in critical condition and that we should be cautiously optimistic.  He survived this.

A few days later, he developed both an infection but they didn't know where, and then pneumonia. To make a very long story short -- he remained in Intensive Care Unit, with 12 doctors, a 24 hours a day nurse, and by the time we came to the week before Thanksgiving, we were told that he was now stable but we should continue to be cautiously optimistic. I think that's when we were told he was no longer critical, but still very ill. He continued making progress, getting rid of the breathing tube, going to shorter dialysis, he was no longer a deep yellow color, he was making progress.

Sometime at the beginning of December, he was moved from the ICU at the U of M to Bethesda Rehab Hospital. Things went out of control and nobody knows why, but he ended up the next day back in the ICU at the U of M, and remained there for a few days -- when they moved him up two floors to a regular ward, and he was able to walk 25 steps with a walker. He was there for about two days, and suddenly they were finding it difficult to wake him up.

So they transferred him back to the Intensive Care Unit where he still is today. On Tuesday, he was having all kinds of problems caused they thought from the Co2 in his blood. Something wasn't working correctly. He woke up with 4 doctors in the room, 3 nurses, a couple of technicians, an echocardiogram machine in his room, his mother and his wife. He looked terrified!

And they put him back on the ventilator and continuous dialysis -- that was Tuesday. Today is Saturday and he is no longer on the ventilator all the time, and they are talking about sending him back up to the 6th floor tomorrow.

He was the sickest of any of the patients they have treated in this manner, and most of their patients are in the Cardiac ICU for 3 to 5 days. He has been there for 9 weeks. They don't know what to expect or what problems they might run into. The U of M is one of two places who do Lvad surgery in Minnesota -- the other is Mayo Clinic in Rochester. He was in the right place at the right time, with doctors who decided to try to do what they could for him. They have been an incredible medical staff, working very hard to first keep him alive, and next to give him back quality of life.  Hopefully they are also learning from this as well. Once he gets through all of this, he will be put on the heart transplant list, or even a heart/kidney transplant list.

Today he is on a liquid diet -- his personal goal is to get to solid food within the next four days. Being a stubborn Swede, he is determined to have a traditional lutefisk dinner on Christmas Eve!

Riana was Swedish Lucia for him on December 13th; unfortunately, he was in dialysis when we got there, and only managed to eat half of a Saffron roll before we were told he could have NO food in the dialysis lab. We were able to leave him several saffron rolls in his room along with some Christmas cookies before we left.

Now he is hoping for lutefisk.

I cannot say enough good things about the entire University of Minnesota Cardiac Medical Team, surgeons, cardiologists, nurses, technicians, the entire team, the Lvad volunteer, the Cardiac chaplain -- all the people who have made all of this endurable for both my son, his family and his extended family!

I hope I have covered this with correct chronology, what has happened and when. If not, it's close and sometimes I wonder if I even remember who I am at times.  Trying to get ready for Christmas -- I have sent out no Christmas cards this year. I have thought of each and every one of you, wishing I was closer to all of you to give and receive big Christmas hugs. So consider yourself hugged! 

We all wish you a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.  Hoping you will be blessed in a spectacular way the way we have been blessed. 

God is good!

More on Krans Family Reunion

Just received this; although it's a Krans cousin reunion, anyone related through the Ekquist side of the family will be welcomed by our Krans relatives.

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Hello Everyone,

Just a reminder that we have a cousin reunion scheduled forSeptember 6 at Jeff and Kay’s farm (The Peterson Farm) in Homestead. Hopefully you have all set aside this date and will be able to join us. 

We are planning on having a late lunch between 1:30 and 2:00 p.m.  We will provide pulled pork sandwiches, drinks, plates and utensils.  We are asking that you bring a dish to pass and folding chair or two.

Nina Peterson,(Clarence Peterson’s daughter), who used to live at this farm when she was young, told Jeff that she knew many of the Krans family.  She said their families were good friends.  She knew many of the “Krans kids” and would love to come and share some history and stories .

So, not only will you be able to catch up with your cousins, we may just learn something! Also have heard from Lanny and Laurie Neely (Mary Ellen’s son) that they will be attending  from Massachusetts. Please pass this information on to any of those in your family that you think will come. 

Hope to see you there.

Jeff, Kay, and Kathy

Rhoda Osterberg Hoaglund

May 31, 2014 From The Iron Mountain Daily News Rhoda E. Hoaglund, 92, of Homestead, passed away on Wednesday, May 28, 2014, at ManorCare Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Kingsford, Michigan. Rhoda was born on Jan. 17, 1922, in Norway, daughter of the late Axel and Ida (Ekquist) Osterberg. Her family moved to the Racine/Kenosha, Wisconsin, area when she was 7 years old. She graduated from Kenosha High School in 1941. Rhoda joined the United States Navy during World War II and served from 1944 to 1946 as a specialist photographer. After her naval service, she attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison for one year. She married Ralph Hoaglund on May 29, 1948, in Norfolk, Nebraska. This year marked their 66th wedding anniversary. Rhoda worked alongside her husband for more than 25 years at the Florence County Co-Op in Aurora. She served as coordinator for Northeast Wisconsin Technical College Adult Education program for many years. Rhoda and Ralph also operated Peaceful Acres Maple Syrup in Homestead. In 1991 they won the top national award for North American light amber maple syrup. Rhoda was a long-time volunteer and supporter of the Caring House in Iron Mountain. She served on the board of directors for the Florence County Aging Unit, was a member of the Wisconsin Maple Syrup Producers and was instrumental in starting the kindergarten program in Aurora, Wisconsin. Rhoda enjoyed gardening, cooking, baking, and was an excellent seamstress. Her greatest joy came from spending time outside working in her garden and yard. She is survived by her husband, Ralph; children, Rhonda (David) LaBine of DePere, Wis., Wesley Hoaglund and Susan Reinheimer, both of Orlando, Fla; sister, Eileen Molinaro of Philadelphia; grandchildren, Andrea LaBine of Howard, Wis., Brian LaBine of DePere, Wis., Axel Reinheimer and Emily Reinheimer, both of Orlando; great-grandchildren, Olivia, Alexis, Shonn, Seth and Indica; great-great-granddaughter, Chloe. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by nine brothers and sisters; son-in-law, Barry Reinheimer; and her granddaughter, Heather (LaBine) Bahr. In accordance with Rhoda's wishes, private family services will be held at a later date. Burial will be in the Homestead-Aurora Cemetery. Condolences may be expressed to the family of Rhoda Hoaglund online at www.ernashfuneralhomes.com.

A Cousin's Reunion

I received the following message from Kathy, the daughter of Vernon Krans:

"We are going to have another cousin reunion.  I wanted to send you the basic information early so you can mark it down your jam-packed calendars.  So no excuses --- you have had plenty of notice!

 

It will be on Saturday, September 6, 2014.  Jeff and Kay will be hosting at  his farm in Homestead. In case you didn’t know, they purchased the old Erland Peterson homestead.  The Popple Creek ( or Crik, as we called it) runs through his property and the Claus Johnson homestead is across the road. (Claus Dr.), and is not too far from the Krans homestead. Brain Banks, who presently owns the old Krans place, has also invited us to the farm.  So it should be interesting to learn a few facts about our family beginnings.  Remember, we are now THE oldest generation so it is up to us to preserve our history to pass on to our children.  If you think your family would be interested in attending, please inform them about the date.

 

More details this summer."

What a wonderful chance to visit where our Swedish ancestors began their life homesteading in "Amerika." In April of 1883, the entire Ekquist family moved from Florence to this farm site in Little Popple, later called Burnsville, and finally Homestead, Wisconsin. This homestead was later considered to be the “stoniest and stumpiest land”in the area. Only 30 acres were workable. They joined the John Larson’s,and the Lars Peterson’s as the first pioneers in “Little Popple.”

It later became the Claus Johnson homestead; Julia Ekquist Johnson and Claus Johnson bought the Andrew Ekquist homestead after Andrew died.  Andrew and Louisa sold Charlie Krans 40 acres of land for $300 in 1895 where they built a house and raised a family. For many years after Andrew died, our Great-Grandmother Louisa lived with  Teckla and Oscar Lundwall, but returned to live with Ellen and Charlie where she died.

Here's more information about the Ekquist family:

http://nancyadele.blogspot.com/2012/06/ekquist-family-in-homestead-little.htm

It's also a wonderful opportunity to either meet or reconnect with other extended family members.