Just Over the Hill the Sun IS Shining

About the Book

“Just Over the Hill the Sun IS Shining” is a story of Maria, a Swedish immigrant at the turn of the twentieth century.

Maria is leaving her close-knit family, home and country to make a new life in America.  Her home was one of few in the farming hamlet which lies in the foothills of the mountains separating Sweden from Norway.  They were hard working people ever ready to help each other.  Come Sunday an exodus was made in home hewn boats to the little church nestled among trees on the other side of the lake near their homes.  Winter brought out the sleighs and sound of bells.

Eighteen year old Maria is leaving behind the security, comfort, parental guidance, seven siblings and the home she cherished.  She carried with her the dreams most eighteen year old girls have, her moral standards, a lover’s dream of marriage and family life, every day living, understanding others, adventure, travel, love of the Lord, people and dreams.

Her dream to see America was realized when she left her sanctuary to help her Americanized sister and husband who ran their small family owned boarding house in an Upper Michigan mining village.  Her first task was to learn the language of her new home.  Maria met many obstacles: ridiculing, mocking, teasing and laughing at her Swedish clothing.  But she always showed her determination, love and understanding as she worked through them.  She lived her philosophy and devotion to people’s needs regardless of color or creed.

This book enumerates her struggles through the years to marry the one she truly loved to relocate in northern Minnesota on the Mesabi Range, to raise a family, educate them and prepare them for a meaningful and good life.

About the Author

I was born in Gilbert, Minnesota in 1915. Gilbert is one of may small villages on the Mesabi Range where many iron ore mines sprung up due to rich ore deposits. I was eight when my dad passed away. I would walk down to a small stream near our home. I would sit on a rock and write my dad a letter of love and loneliness for him. When I finished I would tear it up, throw it into the rill and hope it would be carried to my dad. My heart ached for an answer I never received.