"Minnesota Historical Society. This Side of the River - A Story of Caretakers" (sidorna 38 - 41).
"Enter Aaron Carlson
The procession of lay persons making and shaping Salem's story is long and impressive, extending from the first chairman, A. G. Erickson, down to present. In any final reckoning, the story of one person could not be told apart from the stories of many others - the interesting and ubiquitous J. K. Merricks or a Peter Larson, Leif Hermstad, mrs Eng Olson (se not 1 nedan), Henry Gustafson, Harlan Erickson, Vi and Elmer Johnson, Ella Roggeman or Vera Jernall - not to mention those living caretakers of the mission in the current roster of Salem's membership.
The story of Aaron Carlson needs telling, however, if only because of his influence in the life of the congregation, the business community, and the denomination. One of six children, Aaron Carlson was born in Västra Fågelvik, Värmland, Sweden, to Carl and Maria (Olsson) Andersson on January 28, 1857. He received his early education in the public schools of his parish and was confirmed in the state Lutheran church. Inheriting the mechanical skills of blacksmith and carpenter from both of his grandfathers, Aaron became a carpenters apprentice. On April 14, 1882, at the age of twenty-five, he sailed from Oslo (then Kristiania), Norway, to New York; his destination was Minneapolis.
After working in the north woods during two winters, Aaron had the good fortune of meeting the well-known lumber merchant and president of the First National Bank och Minneapolis, Captain John Martin. Regnonizing the skills of this talented, hard-working young immigrant, Martin commissioned Aaron to biuld a wooden boat for use on an a nearby lake. So impressed was Martin by his skill and craftmanship that he got Aaron started in business. In less then ten years from his arrival in Amerika, Aaron went into business for himself, opening a small shop that employed six men. With a specialty in interior finishing, his business grew until he was employing as many as a hundred man, most of them Swedish immigrants. Se not 2 nedan.
The first mention of Aaron Carlson appears in congregational minutes for December 2, 1895, where thanks were expressed to him för a Thanksgiving Day offering for the poor. A few months later, on March 3, 1896, he was accepted into membership and became an active lay person. Not long after, he was chosen to serve as am member of the building committee for the nes church on Central Avenue. His willingness to pay his own expenses at the annual meetings of the Covenant and the Northwest Conference gave him voice and influence beyond the local congreegation. In addition to positions of leadership at Salem, he served as a trustee of the denomination, a member of the first scholl board of Minnehaha Academy and a successful fund-raiser for the school, and trustee and president of Veckobladet, a popular Swedish paper published in Minneapolis. He also occupeid several postions of trust in both business and charitable organizations wíthin the community.
Aaron Carlson's association with Turtle Lake began in 1901, when he bought and renovated and abandoned farmhouse and bulit two cottages alongside it for the use of pastors and other guests. Turtel Lake became a meeting place for pastors and later the Carlsons' permanent place of residence. In 1928 Aaron and Minnie graciosly offered their fine home on Hayes Street and 23rd Avenue, across from Windom Park in Northeast, as a home for the aged. It was dedicated in September of 1929 as "a resort for older pilgrims", Bethany Covenant Home. Freda Croner Klinka serv ed as its first matron. In 1960 the old Carlson home was demolished to make room for a more spacious nursing and residence facility.
One's impression of Aaron Carlson, formed by his many accomplishment and the memories of those who knew him, is of a dignified, portly man in a black frock coat, starched wing.tip collar, and gold-rimmed glasses, and an man always mindful of his immigrant origins and somewhat shy and diffident about his success. In his memoirs, Pastor C. V. Bowman speaks of Aaron Carlson's "indomitable will and ability to see progress clearly even when it was difficult". Without such qualities in lay leadership, Salem's story would have been much different. He asked mcuh and gave much! And there is no doubt thet the church also contributed much to his early struggle for survival as a young immigrant, and to his later success as a businessman."
Not:
1. Anna Elisabet född 1896 i Sverige (utvandrad 1898), död mars 1953 i Minneapolis Hennepin county, Minnesota. Gift omkring 1912 i Minneapolis med Engelbrekt Olsson född 1874-11-26 i Tarm, Västra Fågelvik sn (utvandrad 1895-08-09 till Minneapolis, Minnesota, attest 1894-12-15). Amerikansk medborgare 1902.
2. Flertalet av dessa kom från Aarons hemtrakter.
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