Kerstin Bernadotte

Getting around

Slow Steamboats and Public Distrust

Steamboats like the Egil were surprisingly slow for towing timber, averaging only two knots, meaning a trip could take up to 30 days. People often distrusted wood-fired steamboats, fearing they would catch fire or scare away fish.

At the table

Everyday meals of poor Swedish families

For poor families, a common, inexpensive mid-day meal consisted of a large dish of boiled potatoes, often supplemented with salt herring bought from a local merchant. To save money, bread was baked at home and hung on a pole to dry, as families were discouraged from eating fresh bread.

What people wore

Tar used to protect bare feet

Some men used tar on the soles of their feet at the start of summer, allowing them to walk barefoot across rough terrain like stones and pine needles after the tar dried.

Music

Widespread popularity of the fiddle

Although new instruments like the accordion and brass ensembles grew in popularity, the fiddle remained a widely played instrument, often found in almost every farmhouse by the turn of the century.

Daily life

Difficult school journeys for children

Children walking to school could face routes up to 5 km long, sometimes requiring them to carve paths through snow, and many were needed at home for chores.