Anna Laura
Anna LauraLundberg, the first child of Jonas Lundberg and Anna Johansdotter, was born 22 September 1890 at home in Svea, Miinnesota. Older siblings living in the household at that time were Huldah (13), Ellen (11), Hanna (8), Oscar (6), and Charlotta (3), children of Jonas and his first wife, Lena Svensdotter. Laura's sister Charlotta, one day short of her 9th birthday, died on 22 April1896.
Laura, as she was called, attended public school District #55 in Svea. The school was organized in 1872 and the 2nd schoolhouse had been constructed in 1886. We have a record of Laura being in school in 1903, but other school records from that period have apparently been lost and we do not know how many grades she completed.
On 28 May 1911 Laura's beloved father, Pastor Jonas Lundberg, died of a stroke suffered while he was delivering a sermon. He had not yet reached his 60th birthday.
On 12 July 1912, Laura's 16-year-old sister, Tina, died.
Marriage
Laura continued to live with her family until she married.
"On Wednesday, June 3 [1914], at three o'clock the Misses Anna Laura and Amy Elizabeth Lundberg, daughters of Mrs. Anna Lundberg of Beckville, were given in marriage, the former to Edwin A. Danielson of Rice Lake and the latter to Merritt H. Nelson of Danielson [Township].
When the guests had assembled at the church, Miss Esther Hegstrom of Willmar, sang "When Song is Sweet." She was accompanied by Mrs. Peter Danielson of Cokato.
As the bridal party entered, Miss Hegstrom played the Bridal Chorus from Lohengrin. The wedding procession was headed by the two grooms men Ernest Munson of Cokato and Karl Lundberg, the latter a brother of the brides. The bridesmaids, Ebba E. Person of Northfield and Alice B. Best, followed. The two flower girls, Clara Draxton and Ruby Westerberg then proceeded up the aisle bearing baskets of pink and white sweet peas. The brides entered together and were joined at the altar by the grooms. The ring service was used. The church had been very tastily decorated for the occasion.
The brides' gowns were white charmeuse silk trimmed in shadow lace and pearls, and made with trains. They wore veils arranged in cap effect with lilies of the valley at the sides, and carried arm bouguets of white roses. The bridesmaids had dresses of white chiffon and shadow lace over pink massaline and their flowers were pink roses.
Following the ceremony, a reception was held at the Lundberg home, which was attended by about a hundred and twenty-five of the immediate relatives and neighbors. A five-course dinner was served at six o'clock. The tables were adorned with snowballs, red carnations and ferns. Rev. Chelgren spoke a few appropriate words while the guests were seated at the table.
The out of town guests were Mr. and Mrs. Peter Danielson, Mr. Johnson, Miss Johnson and the Munson young folks of Cokato, Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Blomquist and family, Mrs. A. Westerberg and Ruby, Esther Hegstrom, the Misses Lindberg, and Mr. and Mrs. E.N. Munson of Willmar, and Harry Holm of New London.
Mr. and Mrs. Danielson will be at home after July 1st in Rice Lake where he has a position as buttermaker.
Mr. and Mrs. Nelson will reside on the August Nelson farm in Danielson [Township]." (Litchfield, Minnesota Newspaper, Saturday, June 6, 1914)
For more information about Ed Danielson's earlier life and his family, please go to Hans Nels Danielson.
Wood River
In August of 1915 Ed and Laura left Rice Lake and moved to the village of Alpha, Wisconsin, just East of Grantsburg. Ed became the buttermaker at Wood River Cooperative Creamery Association. Ed and Laura lived in the buttermaker's house, next to the creamery. Ed guided the building of a new, modern creamery building at a cost of $24,000 just across the road from the old creamery, opening in December 1924. During the 1920's many people did not have hot water at home and went to the creamery on Saturday night for a shower. (The Burnett County Sentinel, 25 September 1996)
The Wood Rivery Creamery building from 1924 still stands in 2008 as a part of a larger block-long creamery complex owned by Burnett Dairy Cooperative. They still use "Wood River" as a brand name for their premium cheeses.
Ed registered for the draft on 5 June 1917, reporting light blue eyes and dark brown hair at age 25. By the time he was 30, his hair had turned white. He did not serve in the military.
In 1930, Ed earned a $3,000 salary and paid $300 to live in the buttermaker's house. (Financial Statement of Wood River Creamery for the Year Ending December 31, 1930, contained in the files of the Grantsburg Public Library)
During his many years in Wisconsin, Ed was a member of the Grantsburg Band and the Free and Accepted Masons Lodge, and the family was active in the Angsarius Lutheran Church in Wood River Township.
All four of the Danielson children were born while Ed and Laura lived in Alpha: Lloyd Edwin (1918), John Lester (1919), (Laura) Lucille (1922 in Willmar, Minnesota), and Dale Curtis (1926).
Ed & Laura Danielson 1930
Ed left Alpha in May 1932 to start a private (meaning non-cooperative) creamery located 63 miles West in Milaca, Minnesota. According to the local newspaper article announcing his departure, Ed was a "fine person of jolly character". The article also noted that "Danielson and his nephew, R.W. Munson, are also owners of the Country Club Dairy at St. Cloud, Minn., which handles pasteurized milk and cream and manufactures cottage cheese. Mr. Munson is the manager of this concern, in which Ed will take no active part." (Grantsburg Area Historical Society)
On May 12th Ed opened the Ed & Ole Creamery in the Milaca Motor Building. According to their advertisements in the Mille Lacs County Times from 7 May 1932 to 13 October 1932, they offered the highest prices for cream in the area. The primary competition was the Farmer's Co-operative Creamery, affiliated with Land O' Lakes.
Indicating the severity of the Depression at that time, on 8 July 1932 the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a low of 41, having lost 89 percent of its value from its September 1929 high. Agricultural prices were also very low. This was not a propitious time to start a new creamery and by October Ed had sold out and turned over management of the creamery to O.E. Strand.
Ed and Laura and the kids left for Cokato, Minnesota, and then Willmar to be near family and old friends.
St. Paul
By 1936, the family had moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, where they lived for many years. Ed worked as a solicitor for Glendenning Motorways Inc., a laborer for Seeger Refrigerator Company, and an engineer for Sanitary Farm Dairies. Ed later worked from about 1946 to 1958 as a boiler engineer in the power plant at Brown & Bigelow, the large calendar printing operation located in the Midway area of St. Paul.
All four of the Danielson kids served in the military during World War II.
Lucille, Ed, Dale, Bud, Laura Danielson 1942
Laura Danielson died of tuberculosis on 11 December 1950 and is buried in Acacia Cemetery in Mendota, Minnesota. She had been ill for about one year.
Early in the 1950s, Ed married Louise Wotzka and adopted her young daughter, Diane. They divorced in the late 1950s.
Ed was a member of the Osman Shrine Temple in St. Paul and played the French horn in their band. He also liked to play golf. In the early 1960s he played mostly par 3 courses with a single club, a four iron, and frequently shot close to par. He held the club cross-handed. He almost always outplayed his grandson, Jack Danielson, playing with a full heavy set of clubs.
Around 1964, Ed built a small house in Alpha, Wisconsin, only about a mile from the Wood River Creamery and only a few miles from Laura's brother, Herb Lundberg, who lived in Frederic. Ed lived there until his health failed in 1970 and he moved to a nursing home in Albert Lea, Minnesota, near his son, Dale, and his family.
Ed passed away 6 October 1972 and is buried in Acacia Cemetery with Laura.
Ed Danielson 1968
Here are links to more information about each of Ed & Laura's children:
Lloyd Edwin
John Lester
Laura Lucille
Dale Curtis