On March 9, 2013, longtime area rancher Torsten Anderson passed away peacefully in his sleep at the Sarah Ann Hester Home. He was 104 years old.
Torsten was somewhat of a celebrity in the area, primarily due to his age (he would have been 105 in July). He simply knew just about everyone in the county, as well as their parents and grandparents. He was always ready to visit, tell stories about the early days in Dundy County, and answer visitors questions, even though they had been asked numerous times before by numerous visitors over the years. He was a warm and friendly man, and he will be missed for a long time to come.
Torsten was born July 13, 1908 in Osthamer, Sweden, and he was the third of six children. His father, Joakim was a skilled blacksmith, while his mother Ellen spent her days taking care of their home.
In 1886, Torsten’s uncle, Sanford Stoneberg, emigrated to America and soon began ranching in an area five miles north of Max, Nebraska. During a trip back to Sweden, Sanford spoke at length about the area and his ranch, letting it be known that there was room for anyone wanted to emigrate there and help out on the ranch. Torsten’s 21 year old brother Carl was eager to make the trip, but did not want to travel alone, so Torsten (then 17 years old) made the trip with him. Torsten remembered, “My brother wanted to come over, but he didn’t want to come alone. Most of us came to the United States because we needed money, a better chance to make a living.”
The two brothers made the long journey aboard the ship, “Gripsolm,” and they arrived at Ellis Island in New York in December 1925. After processing, they began the second leg of their journey by train, across the country to McCook, Nebraska, where their uncle Sanford would meet them. Their trip was not unlike many other such trips undertaken by many emigrants, and they arrived safely in McCook on December 2, 1925. The problem was, however, they arrived but Sanford did not. Torsten remembered, “Trouble was he met the wrong train. He got the wrong information from the steam ship company, and we had already been there. The train we were on wouldn’t stop in Max, so we got off in McCook.”
Standing in the ranch yard in 2003 Torsten was somewhat of a celebrity in the area, primarily due to his age (he would have been 105 in July). He simply knew just about everyone in the county, as well as their parents and grandparents. He was always ready to visit, tell stories about the early days in Dundy County, and answer visitors questions, even though they had been asked numerous times before by numerous visitors over the years. He was a warm and friendly man, and he will be missed for a long time to come.
Torsten was born July 13, 1908 in Osthamer, Sweden, and he was the third of six children. His father, Joakim was a skilled blacksmith, while his mother Ellen spent her days taking care of their home.
In 1886, Torsten’s uncle, Sanford Stoneberg, emigrated to America and soon began ranching in an area five miles north of Max, Nebraska. During a trip back to Sweden, Sanford spoke at length about the area and his ranch, letting it be known that there was room for anyone wanted to emigrate there and help out on the ranch. Torsten’s 21 year old brother Carl was eager to make the trip, but did not want to travel alone, so Torsten (then 17 years old) made the trip with him. Torsten remembered, “My brother wanted to come over, but he didn’t want to come alone. Most of us came to the United States because we needed money, a better chance to make a living.”
The two brothers made the long journey aboard the ship, “Gripsolm,” and they arrived at Ellis Island in New York in December 1925. After processing, they began the second leg of their journey by train, across the country to McCook, Nebraska, where their uncle Sanford would meet them. Their trip was not unlike many other such trips undertaken by many emigrants, and they arrived safely in McCook on December 2, 1925. The problem was, however, they arrived but Sanford did not. Torsten remembered, “Trouble was he met the wrong train. He got the wrong information from the steam ship company, and we had already been there. The train we were on wouldn’t stop in Max, so we got off in McCook.”
It was the middle of a cold winter night, and the two brothers were stranded. Neither one of them spoke or even understood English. A local McCook policeman came to their rescue. Although the policeman could not understand Torsten and Carl (nor they him), his parents were both Swedish, and through them, he was able to help the brothers. He took them to the McCook Hotel where their uncle Sandord eventually caught up with them, and the remainder of their journey was without incident.
The trip to the ranch had to be made horseback or by wagon, as there were no roads to the ranch at that time. When they arrived at Sanford’s ranch, the two brothers settled in for their new life. Sanford, who had been raising cattle and hay, began buying the surrounding land. Sanford’s brother Frank (another uncle of Torsten and Carl) stated a blacksmith shop, and was soon well known for his expertise in that trade. Torsten related that Frank was one of the best blacksmith’s anywhere in the area, and his ability to handcraft wood and steel wagon wheels was unmatched. Wagon wheels had to be absolutely perfect, or they would simply fall apart if used, Torsten said, and Frank’s wheels were always perfect.
Sanford’s ranch had two homes on it. One, which Sanford lived in, was originally a one-room cabin, only 14 feet by 18 feet. According to Torsten, Sanford moved his cabin from the far side of Indian Creek to it’s new (and still) location in 1902 or 1903, and he added on to it in 1917 – the same year he added the second house for his hired man and his family. In addition to the two houses, the ranch also had a barn, board corrals, a windmill and other out buildings. In mid-1927 Torsten moved into the new house, where he remained until moving into the Sarah Ann Hester Home in 2008. Sanford remained in the older house until he died. After his death his house remained empty for evermore.
By early 1926, Torsten was working full time for Sanford, and his brother Carl had hired on to work for a neighboring farmer, Albert Hansen. Torsten recalled, “Carl worked for Hansen’s a little better than one year and then came back to work with me here. Our uncle thought it better to part us so we’d learn English, and we did – one word at a time.” After almost 88 years, however, you could still hear the faint lilt of a Swedish accent in Torsten’s voice when he spoke, and he still spoke Swedish on occasion up to the day he passed, often as a joke to those that asked him for his stories and to answer questions. Torsten had only a grade school education when he arrived in America, and he never pursued more education. His long life, however, provided him with a knowledge and wisdom that comes only from age and longevity, and which is never found in any school.
As mentioned, there were no roads to the ranch in those days, and travel had to be made by horseback or wagon. During the winter months, a trip to town for supplies and necessities could be difficult and sometimes dangerous as they rode through knee-deep snow, often repairing fences along the way. It was a genuine western frontier lifestyle, tough and dangerous, and it required men with strength and stamina to survive it. Although he had what it took to survive, Carl only lasted a few years. He died of a ruptured appendix only 3 ½ years after arriving. “My brother worked through all the tough years in the beginning,” Torsten said. Today we can find it difficult to believe that someone can die from appendicitis, but back then the area was still an extremely rural frontier, and the closest doctor was approximately 30 miles (or more) away in Cambridge, Nebraska, and Carl did not survive the trip, Torsten recalled. Carl is buried beside his two uncles, Frank and Sanford Stoneberg, in the Dundy County cemetery just north of Benkleman.
Torsten said his parents assumed he would return to Sweden after Carl’s death, be he chose to stay in America. “I guess I was stubborn then, too,” he said. He continued to work for his uncle Sanford until 1938, when Sanford made him a full partner in the ranch. Torsten said, “He owned half the cattle and I owned half the cattle. The partnership lasted until he passed away. He died on my 50th birthday, July 13, 1958.” (Sanford died from complications resulting from being kicked by a horse.)
Torsten’s uncles were both bachelors, and Torsten liked to joke that, “That’s where I inherited my ability to be a bachelor.” And like his uncles, Torsten never married. He said, grinning, “Nobody proposed. I was so bashful I didn’t know the man was supposed to do that. I’ve lived most of the time alone.”
Torsten on his 104th birthday The trip to the ranch had to be made horseback or by wagon, as there were no roads to the ranch at that time. When they arrived at Sanford’s ranch, the two brothers settled in for their new life. Sanford, who had been raising cattle and hay, began buying the surrounding land. Sanford’s brother Frank (another uncle of Torsten and Carl) stated a blacksmith shop, and was soon well known for his expertise in that trade. Torsten related that Frank was one of the best blacksmith’s anywhere in the area, and his ability to handcraft wood and steel wagon wheels was unmatched. Wagon wheels had to be absolutely perfect, or they would simply fall apart if used, Torsten said, and Frank’s wheels were always perfect.
Sanford’s ranch had two homes on it. One, which Sanford lived in, was originally a one-room cabin, only 14 feet by 18 feet. According to Torsten, Sanford moved his cabin from the far side of Indian Creek to it’s new (and still) location in 1902 or 1903, and he added on to it in 1917 – the same year he added the second house for his hired man and his family. In addition to the two houses, the ranch also had a barn, board corrals, a windmill and other out buildings. In mid-1927 Torsten moved into the new house, where he remained until moving into the Sarah Ann Hester Home in 2008. Sanford remained in the older house until he died. After his death his house remained empty for evermore.
By early 1926, Torsten was working full time for Sanford, and his brother Carl had hired on to work for a neighboring farmer, Albert Hansen. Torsten recalled, “Carl worked for Hansen’s a little better than one year and then came back to work with me here. Our uncle thought it better to part us so we’d learn English, and we did – one word at a time.” After almost 88 years, however, you could still hear the faint lilt of a Swedish accent in Torsten’s voice when he spoke, and he still spoke Swedish on occasion up to the day he passed, often as a joke to those that asked him for his stories and to answer questions. Torsten had only a grade school education when he arrived in America, and he never pursued more education. His long life, however, provided him with a knowledge and wisdom that comes only from age and longevity, and which is never found in any school.
As mentioned, there were no roads to the ranch in those days, and travel had to be made by horseback or wagon. During the winter months, a trip to town for supplies and necessities could be difficult and sometimes dangerous as they rode through knee-deep snow, often repairing fences along the way. It was a genuine western frontier lifestyle, tough and dangerous, and it required men with strength and stamina to survive it. Although he had what it took to survive, Carl only lasted a few years. He died of a ruptured appendix only 3 ½ years after arriving. “My brother worked through all the tough years in the beginning,” Torsten said. Today we can find it difficult to believe that someone can die from appendicitis, but back then the area was still an extremely rural frontier, and the closest doctor was approximately 30 miles (or more) away in Cambridge, Nebraska, and Carl did not survive the trip, Torsten recalled. Carl is buried beside his two uncles, Frank and Sanford Stoneberg, in the Dundy County cemetery just north of Benkleman.
Torsten said his parents assumed he would return to Sweden after Carl’s death, be he chose to stay in America. “I guess I was stubborn then, too,” he said. He continued to work for his uncle Sanford until 1938, when Sanford made him a full partner in the ranch. Torsten said, “He owned half the cattle and I owned half the cattle. The partnership lasted until he passed away. He died on my 50th birthday, July 13, 1958.” (Sanford died from complications resulting from being kicked by a horse.)
Torsten’s uncles were both bachelors, and Torsten liked to joke that, “That’s where I inherited my ability to be a bachelor.” And like his uncles, Torsten never married. He said, grinning, “Nobody proposed. I was so bashful I didn’t know the man was supposed to do that. I’ve lived most of the time alone.”
Not all of the time, however, as there were periods when Sanford’s hired man and his family would live in the little house along with Torsten. He recalled, “When we had cattle and were putting up hay, I cooked for the man hired to help. He died though.” Torsten then smiled and added, “But he hadn’t had any of my cooking for several years when he died.”
Although he never moved back to Sweden (“They have socialism,” he once said, “I certainly don’t believe in that.”), he has made many trips there, visiting family and friends. He made his first return visit in 1954, traveling on the same ship he emigrated on in 1925 – the “Gripsolm.” His last visit was on his 90th birthday in 1998. When asked why he never moved back, Torsten replied, “I was just a kid, I was only 17, when I moved here. I grew up on this ranch.” He then grinned and added, “ I’ve been here 78 years. If I decide I like it, I think I’ll stay.” When asked why he didn’t retire (he was 86 at the time), he responded, again with a smile, “I’ve thought about it. I just never got around to it.”
During his lifetime, Torsten lived through 7major wars with U.S. involvement (WWI [1914-1918], WWII [1941-1945], Korea [1950-1953], Vietnam [1959-1975], Operation Desert Storm [Aug 1990 – Feb 1991], Operation Iraqi Freedom [Mar 2003 – Dec 2011], and Operation Enduring Freedom [Oct 2001 – Present Day] ) as well as dozens of smaller conflicts.
He lived through 19 U.S. Presidents (Theodore Roosevelt was president when Torsten was born, Calvin Coolidge when he arrived in America, and Barack Obama was in his second term as president when Torsten passed away).
And, he saw the birth of: Public radio broadcasting, Instant coffee, talking motion pictures, Life Savers candy, The crossword puzzle, and stainless steel; Fortune cookies, The pop-up toaster, The arc welder, The Band-Aid, and television; Frozen food, bubble gum, The Yo-Yo, Scotch tape, stereo records, and the drive-in theater; The photocopier, The ball point pen, The Jeep, synthetic rubber, The Slinky and Silly Putty; commercial air travel, The atomic bomb, The microwave oven, The transistor radio, Tupperware, The Frisbee, Velcro and the jukebox; Credit cards, Super Glue, The space program, the first man in space, and the first man on the moon; Video games, laser discs, VHS tapes, beta max, DVD’s, cassette’s and 8-Tracks and CD’s; Mr. Potato Head and diet soda; McDonald’s, acrylic paint, hand-held calculators, the internet, cell phones, computers, robots, and hundreds (if not thousands) of other technological advancements.
Up until the moment he did finally retire, just months before his 99th birthday – almost 13 years after making that comment, Torsten continued to work, usually several hours each day, on his ranch. He would hoe weeds, check (and repair) fence, piling deadfall, and generally maintaining his home and property. After living (almost always) alone in the small house for more than 80 years, Torsten (then just shy of his 99th birthday), moved into the Sarah Ann Hester Memorial Home, where he lived until his passing.
Torsten was survived by a sister, twelve nieces and nephews, and many grand-nieces and nephews, and many other relatives living in Sweden. He was a warm, wonderful and generous man, giving freely of his time and vast knowledge and wisdom. He will be missed by many for many years to come. Torsten is buried in Dundy County Cemetery, north of Benkelman.
Although he never moved back to Sweden (“They have socialism,” he once said, “I certainly don’t believe in that.”), he has made many trips there, visiting family and friends. He made his first return visit in 1954, traveling on the same ship he emigrated on in 1925 – the “Gripsolm.” His last visit was on his 90th birthday in 1998. When asked why he never moved back, Torsten replied, “I was just a kid, I was only 17, when I moved here. I grew up on this ranch.” He then grinned and added, “ I’ve been here 78 years. If I decide I like it, I think I’ll stay.” When asked why he didn’t retire (he was 86 at the time), he responded, again with a smile, “I’ve thought about it. I just never got around to it.”
During his lifetime, Torsten lived through 7major wars with U.S. involvement (WWI [1914-1918], WWII [1941-1945], Korea [1950-1953], Vietnam [1959-1975], Operation Desert Storm [Aug 1990 – Feb 1991], Operation Iraqi Freedom [Mar 2003 – Dec 2011], and Operation Enduring Freedom [Oct 2001 – Present Day] ) as well as dozens of smaller conflicts.
He lived through 19 U.S. Presidents (Theodore Roosevelt was president when Torsten was born, Calvin Coolidge when he arrived in America, and Barack Obama was in his second term as president when Torsten passed away).
And, he saw the birth of: Public radio broadcasting, Instant coffee, talking motion pictures, Life Savers candy, The crossword puzzle, and stainless steel; Fortune cookies, The pop-up toaster, The arc welder, The Band-Aid, and television; Frozen food, bubble gum, The Yo-Yo, Scotch tape, stereo records, and the drive-in theater; The photocopier, The ball point pen, The Jeep, synthetic rubber, The Slinky and Silly Putty; commercial air travel, The atomic bomb, The microwave oven, The transistor radio, Tupperware, The Frisbee, Velcro and the jukebox; Credit cards, Super Glue, The space program, the first man in space, and the first man on the moon; Video games, laser discs, VHS tapes, beta max, DVD’s, cassette’s and 8-Tracks and CD’s; Mr. Potato Head and diet soda; McDonald’s, acrylic paint, hand-held calculators, the internet, cell phones, computers, robots, and hundreds (if not thousands) of other technological advancements.
Up until the moment he did finally retire, just months before his 99th birthday – almost 13 years after making that comment, Torsten continued to work, usually several hours each day, on his ranch. He would hoe weeds, check (and repair) fence, piling deadfall, and generally maintaining his home and property. After living (almost always) alone in the small house for more than 80 years, Torsten (then just shy of his 99th birthday), moved into the Sarah Ann Hester Memorial Home, where he lived until his passing.
Torsten was survived by a sister, twelve nieces and nephews, and many grand-nieces and nephews, and many other relatives living in Sweden. He was a warm, wonderful and generous man, giving freely of his time and vast knowledge and wisdom. He will be missed by many for many years to come. Torsten is buried in Dundy County Cemetery, north of Benkelman.
What follows is a brief portion of a much longer video taped interview with Torsten.
With special thanks to Bill Donze
With special thanks to Bill Donze