The Andrew Peterson Society

The Andrew Peterson Society

A lot has happened since the seven year old school boy claimed that Karl Oskar came from Sjoarp. Most people in Ydre today know who Andrew Peterson was. Some of them set about searching for facts in the mid 1990s, which resulted in the Vastra Ryd Local Folklore Society arranging Andrew Peterson Day in the summer of 1998, 100 years after Andrew Peterson´s death. The event took place in Sjoarp - the farm where Andrew was born and raised. A memorial stone was placed along the road to the farm, and solemnly unveiled on this day. The occasion attracted some 800 visitors, many of whom wore period costumes, which created an authentic atmosphere.

In the summer and fall of 2002, there was an exhibition based on Andrew Peterson´s life. It was shown at Byggnadsvard Qvarnarp in Eksjo and in the former vicarage of Vastra Ryd. During the exhibition, a group of people finally decided to do what had long been discussed, and the Andrew Peterson Society (A.P.S.) was founded.

Anders Huggert, Hans-Goran Saldner and Gunnar Karlsson at the memorial at Sjoarp.

The Andrew Peterson Society is a non-profit association with many great ideas and visions that we intend to implement in the near future. The association´s declaration of intent contains the following:

"The organization aims to create an interest in and add to the knowledge of Andrew Peterson´s life and work before and after his emigration. It is also a purpose to increase the knowledge of the Swedish society that Andrew Peterson left behind at the time of the emigration. The organization also aims to increase awareness of the significance of emigration for the development of society, and work towards bringing to life the memory of Andrew Peterson and his achievements and the times in which he lived.

To attain these goals the purpose of the society shall be:

• to initiate and carry out research into Andrew Peterson´s life, and to compile an account of his achievements and the times in which he lived

• to preserve and care for the environment, buildings and documents pertaining to Andrew Peterson and the time in which he lived

• to make the amassed body of knowledge and the collected material available to the public.

The wording is deliberately rather unspecific since it was difficult to foresee the future or where it will all end up. Our research about emigration may start with Andrew Peterson and then lead on to other interesting areas of study that can not be foreseen, so therefore it would not be wise to make the statutes too rigid and limit our area of work at this time. At present the projects include the following:

Until 2007 Andrew Peterson’s diarie’s only existed on microfilm in Sweden. But after a lot of studies and writing during 2005 and 2006 from members in our Society, the diarie’s are now more accessible and available in our exhibition.

There is a lot of material available in the form of books, articles, photos, genealogic material etc. that are being organized into a permanent exhibition with the easy-to-find archives about Andrew Peterson.

Andrew Peterson«s farm in Waconia is an object of great interest. We want to be involved in the careful restoration and the long-term preservation of the buildings and the entire farm area.

We will, if possible, arrange an Andrew Peterson Day every year from the summer of 2003.

There is some literature in English about Andrew Peterson, which we plan to have translated into Swedish.

This is by no means all that the Andrew Peterson Society plans to do, only some examples of what we are working on at the moment.

As mentioned before there are plenty of ideas and visions in the Andrew Peterson Society. However, at present the missing component is funding. Up until now, the whole project has been done with the help of willing volunteers who have generously donated their own time and energy and money. We think it has been and still is fascinating and a privilege to work with the Andrew Peterson project, but with more people to help, volunteering their time, and providing funding we can achieve our goals faster and in the near future. Everyone is welcome to join us as members of the Andrew Peterson Society. If you are interested in joining or wish to support us in some way otherwise, please do not hesitate to contact us.