Around Swedish America in 
Day 2 - Powell River
Most emigrants have a pretty good idea of what it was that inspired them to make the big move. For Eric and Hilda Swahn of Powell River, the inspiration to move to Canada’s west coast came from a most unusual source - Lars Larson, the Duke of Mongolia. The Swahns are no longer but their story is worth telling. Their daughter Linda lives somewhere in Powell River but I don’t know her married name so I drive up to Eric and Hilda’s house in upper Powell River and remember the day I met them in 1995. The house has a splendid view over the water, and you could see the migrating whales during the summer. The Swahn home was full of Swedish mementoes, mostly collected by Hilda who was a talented cook and was featured with some of her recipes in the Swedish Press in July 1995.
In the late 40’s Eric was a postman in Västerås and Hilda, who had been Sweden’s first female letter carrier, was a housewife keeping busy making rag “trasmattor” carpets. In the building where they lived there was an 80-year old man who befriended them and often joined in in the rag carpet production. He told the young couple, who had not seen too much of the world besides their immediate surroundings, fascinating tales from exotic countries. Hilda and Eric, who had both had a tough childhood, loved to hear the stories and they also told Duke Larson that they would not mind themselves seeing more of the world. Lars Larson got to work and arranged for the couple to take care of a farm on Vancouver Island for a Hong Kong friend of his.
The extraordinary old man, who then visited the Swahns every summer until he died in 1957, had travelled to Mongolia in 1893 as a missionary. Lars Larson became a true friend of the Mongolians and he stayed with them for fifty years and that is how he received his title. Later on as a Swedish businessman, he fought through his books and in the United Nations, for the Mongolian people who were left ravaged by the Japanese WWII occupation. (I will tell his fascinating story later on in the 365 day trip).
Back to the Swahns. Eric took a leave of absence from the post office and he and Hilda, together with their daughter Inga who was 12, left by air for Montreal and then crossed the country by train. When they arrived in Victoria on Vancouver Island, Duke Larson was waiting for them. Now started a few tough years for the Swahn’s but they never considered moving back to Sweden. They worked at the farm until they managed to buy a house of their own. Eric got a job at a pulp mill close to Powell River where he stayed until retirement.