Part three of a series on Swede Bottom They constructed small log barns for the oxen and covered the roofs with wild slough grass, cut with, “old-time scythes.” There was no “tame grass” for many years, according to Ben Benson, who in 1853, at age eight, was one of the first Swedes to settle in what became known as Swede Bottom, just east of present-day Houston in Houston … [Read more...]

He was a cowboy. There was no doubt. He never missed an episode of “Gunsmoke.” He’d seen all 635 episodes at least twice. He thought Marshal Matt Dillon should have been president. He even listened to the singing cowboy, Gene Autry, when his ears had a vacancy. He tried watching a TV series called “Yellowstone,” but found it resembled “The Godfather” or “The Sopranos” more … [Read more...]

Part two of a series on Swede Bottom Ben Benson turned eight years old on the Atlantic Ocean shortly after leaving Sweden with his family, among five families, on the way to the Root River Valley in Minnesota Territory. As a senior citizen, Ben left a written account, the basis for this series, which began last week with their arduous three-and-a-half-month immigration … [Read more...]

He’d been a spunky boy. Everyone said so – his parents, teachers and family elders. He had way too much energy for those who weren’t morning people. “You’ve got spunk,” Lou Grant said to Mary Richards on the first episode of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” And then Grant added, “I hate spunk.” Reuben loved spunk. He worried he was losing something that had defined his … [Read more...]