treetrack'n

Jumping into the A to Z Challenge at the last minute

I'm taking the easy way out on this challenge and will be writing about my "dead people."

First out of the box is my grandfather, Carl Albanus Ahlborg. Extra credit for two "As".

Carving a model of , I think, Pilgrim Lutheran Church in Superior.

Grandpa was a hard working Swedish carpenter and my only Ellis Island immigrant. He came to the United States in 1903 after his mother had died and settled in Duluth, MN where he met my grandmother.

He was a founding partner in the Union Sash and Door Company and was its president until his retirement. And he made wonderful child sized furniture for us to play with. 

We lived with him and Grandma for a year in 1951. My father was in the military in Germany and we couldn't join him yet. I have wonderful memories of that year. Breakfast with grandpa before anyone else was awake. Rhubarb pie made from the rhubarb growing by the back door. The park right across the street. Sitting on his lap and reading stories. The scary oxygen system he used at night. I think he must have developed emphysema from the sawdust. 

I didn't see him much after that year except on infrequent visits when my father was stationed nearby. But every year on my birthday he sent a savings bond and a kiss.

Love you Grandpa