Honoring Those Here Before Us

Sigrid “Ma” Carlson 7.2.1881 ~ 11.6.1972

I think everyone who has visited our  funky little house has heard the story of how it came to be. Now I’m finally getting around to sharing that story here! Yes I get to live in a  great little house and  play in a big, beautiful yard, but they’re not what I love most about living here. The best part is that  I regularly get to hear stories about what life was like around here in earlier days from my landlords who came here as children to visit their great grandmother, the builder and first resident of this very, very, very fine house.  Today is the "death day” of Sigrid Carlson, known as “Ma” to her all of her grandchildren, so I thought it was  the perfect day to honor her here.

As family lore goes, my house was built during World War II by Sigrid Carlson, a Swedish woman who emigrated to the US as a child. A quick check of public land records told me the house was built in 1942. The story goes that Ma purchased this piece of land,  including the lot adjacent to Fielding Street, for a whopping $69.00. While working as  the first “mail lady” in Whatcom County, Ma collected building scraps here & there to build this house. It’s actually built on a post & beam foundation, and was originally equipped with an outhouse in the back yard!

At the time, Ma was married to a man named Charles and had three grown children, but was, in effect, a single woman. In those days, couples did not often officially divorce, they simply separated. I recall my landlord, Gary, telling me that when they’d take their great-grandparents out to dinner, they’d first pick up one, then the other. Ma would sit in the front seat, Charles in the back, and neither would speak to the other while they were together. Sounds like fun family times to me!

Gary has a great collection of family photos, among which are a few of Ma that he allowed me to borrow and scan.  I really cherish these photos as they help me put a face on the stories I hear. She died 37 years ago, but Ma’s presence in this house remains inside its very walls.  I often feel like the caretaker of Ma’s place, and am constantly aware of what a privilege it is to be able to call her house our home : )

I love looking at old photographs like this one.  I have to wonder… where was she when this taken? What year was it?  Where has she just been and where is she going?  What is stowed away in that bag she is carrying? Who are the people in the background? And where did she get those great shoes?!

 

The above photo of Ma and her great grandchildren, Gary, Michael, Jeanne & Russell was taken in my yard. Jeanne is now the owner of my house,  but Gary is the the one who lives locally so I see him the most.  The three surviving siblings were here on Sunday to do a little work in the yard and I insisted on snapping a shot of them together while they were here : )

Mike, Jeanne & Gary  11.1.009

They tell me that as children when the family came to visit Ma, they’d pour out of the car and immediately let out a loud Tarzan-like call to alert the neighborhood kids of their arrival.  I’d prefer kids still use this method over a cell phone any day!

 

Five generations! Gary tells me Grandma Ida used to stay with Ma in this house when she was between husbands (she had five!) and Grandma Arlene lived here not too long ago as well! Including Gary, four generations have called this house home.

I wish I knew what year this was taken. It looks like a photo booth picture to me!

 

A couple months ago Asher and I went to visit Gary, who just happens to live right next door to the cemetery where many of his ancestors are buried… including Ma! I had been wanting to visit her grave for months just so I could share a photo of where she lives now.  On the other side of the tree in the upper left is a lovely view of Mount Baker. Not a bad resting place- hopefully it helps her forget that she ended up next to Charles after all! Here’s a shot of our tribute to Ma in our Halloween graveyard (where apparently she shares the view with Michael Jackson ; )

This is the one thing in the house I’m not allowed to change (as if I’d ever consider it!) This beam with what is believed to be Ma’s signature was discovered under the house when some work was being done. It was removed and worked into the interior of the house. If you look closely, you can see it on the beam in the picture below.