Stone walls as artistry

Many times, I have stopped and admired the stone walls around the cemetery at By church. Stop when you’re there. Take a look. I’m sure that you’ll agree with me that they are a work of art. Stone blocks that weigh between 150 and 1500 kg, carefully laid on top of each other so they look like – you guessed it – a puzzle.

To find out about how these phenomena were created I went direct to the source, Lars-Erik Bäckman at Bäckmans Stenhuggeri in Karlstad. According to him, behind these walls there is a production process, which I will relate here from start to finish.

Handmade from Bohus granite

The specific wall that fascinated me is alongside the main entrance to the new kyrkogård at By kyrka. According to Lars-Erik it is handmade from Bohus granite. He adds that this type of wall is called a blocksten mur. In other words, it’s a wall consisting of rectangular, square and triangular and other shaped blocks. See the accompanying picture.

After the church ordered the wall, first step in the produktionsprocess was when people from the quarry in Bohusland visited where the wall was to be built to determine how long and high it would be. With this information, they returned to the quarry. There they selected the granite that they would shape by hand to form the puzzle-like wall. Each block was numbered to eliminate any guesswork when it came to assembling the wall at the cemetery.

Next the blocks are transported to the cemetery Where they are assembled by following the numbered scheme. The puzzle-like wall that can be seen from outside the cemetery is matched by another puzzle-like wall that can be seen from inside the cemetery. The two walls are separated by about a half a meter. This space is filled with small pieces of granite that were chipped away from the blocks that were finally put in place with the help of machinery. 

Vegetation can be seen between the two walls in the accompanying picture. Lars-Erik points out that this vegetation decomposes to soil and this can cause problems. If this space fills completely with soil and then freezes and expands during the winter, this can damage the wall. To prevent this from happening, a fiber cloth is laid over the stones about 20 centimeters below the top of the wall. 

Other kinds of walls

Blocksten murar aren’t the only kind of walls that appear in cemeteries. Nor is granite the kind of material used to build them. In fact, there are examples of two other kinds of walls built from different materials in the Säfflepastorat. 

The wall at the cemetery at Tveta church is made of rounded gnejs blocks stacked on top of each other. See the accompanying pictures. This wall also features the space between two walls as described above. The gnejs in this wall is probably from a local source, which means it was built with lower transportation costs.

Recently a slantstabilisering wall was installed at Bro kyrka. See the accompanying pictures. A kallmursblock wall made of skiffer from Norge is what is seen when you first look at the wall. If you could look behind this façade, you would see two-meter long by one-meter wide back and one-meter high nätlådar placed end-to-end and filled with stones to hold the earth from sliding downhill.

As was said at the end of each Looney Tunes cartoon, “That’s all folks!” The produktionsprocess behind these walls is deceptively simple. Nonetheless, they demand a lot of hard work and, clearly, skilled artisans.

Stenmurar är som konstverk

Många gånger har jag stannat för att beundra stenmurarna kring kyrkogårdarna vid By kyrka. Stanna till när du är där. Titta på dem. Jag är säker på att du kommer att hålla med mig om att de är ett konstverk. Stenblock som väger mellan 150 och 1500 kilo, prydligt lagda på varandra för att sedan se ut som – du gissade det – ett pussel. 

För att ta reda på hur dessa fenomen skapades gick jag direkt till källan, Lars-Erik Bäckman på Bäckmans Stenhuggeri i Karlstad. Enligt honom finns bakom dessa murar en tillverkningsprocess, vilken jag kommer att berätta om från början till slut.

Handgjord av Bohusgranit

Den specifika mur som fascinerade mig är bredvid huvudingången till den nya kyrkogården vid By kyrka. Lars-Erik talade om är den handgjord av Bohusgranit. Han tillade att denna typ av mur kallas för en blockstenmur. Med andra ord, det är en mur som består av rektangulära, fyrkantiga och triangulära och även stenblock i andra udda former.

Efter att kyrkan beställt muren, var första steget i tillverkningsprocessen att personal från stenbrottet i Bohuslän besökte platsen där muren skulle byggas, för att bestämma hur lång och hög muren skulle vara. Med denna information återvände de till stenbrottet. Där valde de ut graniten som de skulle forma, för att bilda den pusselliknande muren. Varje block numrerades för att eliminera gissningar när muren skulle monteras vid kyrkogården.

Monteras enligt det numrerade schemat 

Därefter transporterades blocken till kyrkogården där de monterades genom att följa det numrerade schemat. Muren sattes slutligen på plats med hjälp av maskiner. Den pusselliknande mur som kan ses utanför kyrkogården matchas av baksidan, som kan ses från kyrkogården. Framsidan och baksidan är separerade med ungefär en halv meter. Detta utrymme är fyllt med de småbitar av granit som flisades bort från blocken.

Växtlighet uppepå muren och nedfall från träd kan skada muren. Lars-Erik påpekade att om utrymmet mellan bak-och framsidan fylls på med växtdelar som sedan fryser och expanderar under vintern kan det skada muren. För att förhindra detta läggs en fiberduk över fyllningsmaterialet ungefär 20 centimeter från toppen av muren.

Andra slags murar

Blockstensmurar är inte den enda typ av murar som finns på kyrkogårdar. Det finns i Säfflepastorat andra typer av murar. Följande är exempel på murar som byggts av andra material.

Kullerstenmururen vid Tveta kyrkogård är gjord av rundade gnejsblock staplade ovanpå varandra. Denna mur har också ett utrymme mellan bak-och framsidan som hanteras på samma sätt som muren vid By kyrka. Gnejs i denna mur är förmodligen från ett lokalt brott.

Nyligen installerades vid Bro kyrka en släntstabiliseringsmur och en kallmursblockmur. En kallmursblockmur av skiffer från Norge är vad man ser när man tittar på muren. Detta är en fasad som döljer vad som ligger bakom den. Bakom fasaden finns en rad av två meter långa, en meter breda och en meter höga nätlådor. Dessa är placerade ände mot ände och fyllda med stenar för att förhindra att jorden i slänten glider.

Tillverkningsprocessen bakom dessa murar är egentligen ganska enkel. Men det krävs mycket hårt arbete och självklart skickliga hantverkare – eller skall man kanske säga konstnärer.

Vad är mer relevant än ett barns oskuld i handling?

Vad är mer charmigt än ett barns oskuld i handling. Vi upplevde det här för tillfället medan vårt barnbarn Elna såg en levande passionsprocession på Josef och Anns kyrka.

Vi stod i kyrkogården framför kyrkan medan processionen inklusive Jesus på en åsna och hans anhängare som bär palmfransar rörde sig mot oss. När de kom närmare blev processionen mer våldsam när folkmassan vände sig mot Jesus. När soldaterna tog Jesus började den fyraåriga Elna gråta. Och när Jesus var monterad på korset blev hon hysterisk, snyftande och gråtande, i den mån Ann kände att hon var tvungen att gå iväg från de andra för att lugna Elna.

Sedan flyttade gruppen till graven vid nästa station, Elna och Ann stannade bakom. Josef gick med i gruppen. När Elna såg Jesus gå från korset, började hon springa mot gruppen vid graven och ropade mycket högt när hon såg Josef – om och om igen – "Pappa, pappa, Jesus lever. Papa, pappa, Jesus lever." Gruppen kunde inte sluta skratta eller överväga betydelsen av lilla Elnas ord.

Vad är mer charmigt än ett barns oskuld i handling.

Childhood innocence

What’s more charming than the innocence of a child in action. We experienced this the other day while our grandchild Elna viewed a live passion procession at Josef and Ann’s church.

We stood in the graveyard in front of the church while the procession including Jesus on a donkey and his followers bearing palm fronds moved toward us. As they came closer, the procession became more violent as the crowd turned against Jesus. When the soldiers took Jesus, four-year old Elna started crying. And when Jesus was mounted on the cross, she became hysterical, sobbing and crying, to the extent that Ann felt she had to step away from the others to calm Elna.

Then the group moved on to the grave at the next station, Elna and Ann stayed behind. Josef joined the group. When Elna saw Jesus walk away from the cross, she started running toward the group at the grave and when she spotted Josef she started shouting very loudly – over and over again –. “Papa, papa, Jesus lives. Papa, papa, Jesus lives.” The group couldn’t stop laughing or contemplating the significance of little Elna’s words. 

What’s more charming than the innocence of a child in action.

Assimilation vs Integration

There has been a lot in the media, including the local newspaper recently, suggesting ways to deal with newly arrived immigrants in Sweden. Some advocate integration, others assimilation, while a good number of people are left scratching their heads wondering how the two concepts differ.

In my view, assimilation and integration are two ways in which minorities try to associate with the majority culture in a society. It’s easy to regard assimilation and integration as synonymous. However, there are subtle differences between the two concepts.

Assimilation
Assimilation is a process of absorbing minority communities into the value system of the majority culture in a multicultural society. This absorption takes place in a one-way direction with the majority community requiring the minority communities to give up their own customs and traditions or modify them in favor of those of the majority community.

Integration
On the other hand, integration is a two-way process where there is give and take between the majority and the minority cultures. It allows minorities to retain their identity and values while the majority culture retains theirs. Both parties agree to interact on civic duties as equal partners, working for the well-being of the society in which they live.

My own experience
My own experience puts me on the side of integration. I’ve lived half of my life in the USA and the other half in Sweden. According to my definitions, I am integrated in Sweden, not assimilated. I hold two passports, celebrate the USAs National day and Thanksgiving as well as celebrate Valborg, Sweden's national day, Midsummer and Lucia. I have been active politically in Säffle. When it comes to language, I prefer my mother tongue. But I speak Swedish – very poorly. Ask anyone who knows me.  

I grew up in the 40s and 50s on the eastside of St. Paul, Minnesota. The eastside then was a community consisting of Swedish, Polish, and Italian neighborhoods. Although each ethnic neighborhood had its own shopping area, church, and community activities, they lived peacefully alongside each other.

Because I attended a grade school in the Swedish part of the eastside, it wasn’t until I got to John A. Johnson High School that I got to know kids from the Polish and Italian parts of the eastside. It was then that Anderson and Peterson and Lundstrom and I sat in classrooms, ate lunches and played sports together with people with names such as Anzevino, Ferrozo, Londino, Jasinski, Majewski and Gonsowski.

There were also kids from a lot of other ethnic groups at Johnson – Irish, Norwegian, Greek, Jewish, Danish, Chinese and Mexican. And we all were hyphenated Americans. I was a Swedish-American. Others were Polish-American, Danish-American, etc. In spite of Swedes, Italians, and Poles dominating, the eastside was truly a multicultural mixture.

Johnson won the Minnesota high school hockey championships in 1947, 1953, 1955 and 1963. The players on these teams had the same ethnic background as the school in general. They were a multicultural collection of hard skating, victory hungry kids. They worked as a team without being conscious of any ethnic or cultural differences. The coaches were Reuben Gustafson and Louie Cotroneo. And the teams they coached won. Teamwork requires integration.

Someone else eloquently put it another way: “Integration is like a watch. A watch has small components inside. Each component by itself cannot be called a watch, although they may function individually. However, when all the components are arranged in an orderly fashion the watch works perfectly.”

The Alsace wine route

Rows of grapevines as far as the eye can see advancing up towards the mountain forests. Ruins of proud castles from the Middle Ages. Villages surrounded by ramparts. Flower decked streets. Hospitable inns. Joyful wine cellars. Baroque wrought-iron signs. Roman churches and fountains. And last but not least, excellent food and wine.

Those are just some of the unforgettable memories you’ll have after having traveled the Alsace wine route, which winds its way along the eastern foothills of the Vosges, for 170 km, between one gateway at Thann and the other at Marlenheim.

No visit to Alsace is complete without seeing Strasbourg (the capitol) and Colmar. But the true charm lies in the many small towns lining the picturesque Wine Route. A minimum of three days offers the real flavor of the region, its wine and food. Travel by car or on two wheels from town to town at your own pace, parking to explore the small streets lined with quaint homes, restaurants and shops.

Another peaceful and invigorating way to experience the vineyards is to hike or bike on the 20 or more trails that crisscross the region. Marked by numerous information points, each vineyard trail sets out to explain the work of the wine grower, the art of the Alsace wine and the difference between the grape varieties.

Of the seven grapes varieties used for production of wine in Alsace, Pinot Gris, Muscat, Gewurztraminer and Riesling, four are known as noble grapes. Each has its own characteristic.

The Pinot Gris grape produces a full flavored wine that is slightly higher in alcohol content. The Muscat grape produces a sweet, but dry wine. The Gewurztraminer grape also produces a sweet wine, but with a hint of fruity spices. Finally, the most popular is the Riesling grape, which Alsatians take the most pride in producing. The other types of grapes from the region include Pinot Noir (for red and rosé wine), Sylvaner (for house or table wine) and Pinot Blanc (used to make a sparkling wine called the Crémant d'Alsace.

The region is divided into a northern and southern section known as Bas Rhin and Haut Rhine. True wine connoisseurs feel that the wines in the south (Bas Rhin) are the best.  Wine can be sampled in winstuben (wine taverns) in almost every town of the region.

While Alsace is famous for wine, you will also find excellent beer there. Kronenbourg, one of the most popular beers in Europe, is brewed in the region.

Alsace is also a well-known gastronomic region. Main dishes feature pork, chicken and trout, and as might be expected many of them are served with a sauce made from the local wine. Another popular specialty is sausage and choucroute (sauerkraut). Flavorful Munster cheese is a specialty of Alsace, and the region leads France in the production of pâté, with over 50 varieties from the area.

There are over 90 small towns along the AlsaceWine Route, and though most are charming, there are those that have a little extra to offer.

Barr. Castles high on a hill, 17th &18th Century buildings, access to hiking trails, and a Wine Fair in mid July and Harvest Festival the first Sunday of October.

Andlau. Surrounded by three Grand Cru vineyards, it features a Roman Abbey church from the 17th C, easy 2-3 hour hikes to nearby castle ruins, and a Wine fair the first weekend of August.

Dambach-la-Ville. Medieval ramparts, a Roman Gothic church, an easy 2 hour hike to castle ruins, a Grand cru vineyard trail, and a Wine Fair on August 14th and 15th.

Kintzheim. A Medieval castle, many historic fountains “Eagle Aviary”and Monkey Mountain on the way to the Haut Koenigsbourg Castle.

Bergheim- Medieval fortifications with round towers, a Gothic 14th Century church, a small local history museum, and access to vineyard trails.

Ribeauvillé. a very popular tourist town, it is dominated by three castles and surrounded by three Grand Cru vineyards. It also has churches dating to 13th Century, a jewelry museum, a renaissance fountain, and old towers with stork nests.

Riquewihr. The most popular town on the Wine Route is a well-preserved, self contained Medieval / Renaissance city.  Many buildings date back to the 12th Century. There is a stagecoach and postal museum, a Grand Cru vineyard trail, and Reichenstein castle ruins are a 15-minute hike away.

Kayserberg. The birthplace of Dr. Albert Schweitzer has a small museum dedicated to him. There is a river bisecting the town near the 13th C. castle ruins that is crossed by a fortified bridge from 1514. The rest of the town is filled with beautiful Medieval and Renaissance buildings. Known for its Christmas Market.

Turckheim. Reminiscent remains of three rampart gates, a Church dating to the 12th century, vineyard trail for views over the town, and town criers in the summer at 10:00 PM. Wine fair in late July.

Eguisheim- This Medieval city was built in 3 concentric circles around its castle and features historic half-timbered houses, balconies, oriel windows, and pointed gables. Guided visits of vineyard trails are available from the Tourist Office.  A Wine festival is held on the 4th weekend in August.

Haut Koenigsbourg Castle. It is not a town but it is well worth a visit. Built in the 12th century to serve as the residence of several members of the Habsburg dynasty and the German emperor Wilhelm II, the Haut Koenigsbourg Castle is a top sightseeing attraction in Alsace. A great place for the entire family, Medieval times come alive when kids let their imaginations run wild with knights in shining armor. Adults love the views to Switzerland and Germany.

What the hell. Give it a whirl.

A lot of what anyone winds up doing throughout life happens by chance. If someone had asked me when I was 20 or so years old if I would live more than half of my life in Sweden, I probably would have shrugged my shoulders and said, “Who knows. But the possibility is remote.” But here I am.

If at the same time someone had asked me if I could earn a living by applying my writing skills, I would have replied, “Perhaps”. But in my junior year at Gustavus Adolphus College, Milt Gustafson, the retiring sports editor convinced me that I could take over his position and successfully edit the sport page of the Gustavus Weekly. I had serious doubts, but said, “What the hell, I’ll give it a whirl.”

The following year, Janice Larson persuaded me to edit the newspaper. Again I said, “What the hell, I’ll give it a whirl.” Both editing tasks involved a whole lot of prestige for me to either gain or lose as the Weekly for many years in a row had been awarded All America honors for newspapers from colleges the size of Gustavus Adolphus. Needless to say, I succeeded or I wouldn’t have the courage to relate this information now.

Journalism school

Chuck full of confidence, I applied for admission to the Columbia School of Journalism. George Grim, a long-time columnist for the Minneapolis Tribune, conducted my admission interview. After writing a time-limited essay, which took me a lot more time than he allotted me, he correctly appraised my ability to compose a story pronto as lacking. As he put it, “David lacks facility.”

Undaunted, I applied to the next best school and was admitted to the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia, Missouri. As W.C. Fields once said, “I spent year in Lompoc one week.” Replace Lompoc with Columbia and you’ll get the idea. This was a “whirl” I didn’t care much about. So “what the hell,” I got out my thumb and returned to Minnesota only to be faced with military conscription.

This was during the autumn of 1961, when JFK called me and thousands of other 21-year olds to defend Berlin against the building of the wall. I flunked the military physical induction examination, and JFK didn’t stop the wall, but I must admit he didn’t do it because I wasn’t in Berlin to tell the Russians to go home.

Recruiting students

What to do? Hooks Holcomb to the rescue. Hooks was the Admissions Director at Gustavus Adolphus and he offered me a job recruiting students to the college. Why? Don’t ask me. But, “What the hell, I’ll give it a whirl.”

Two years at Gustavus were followed by a seven year teaching career as a high school teacher in a St. Paul, Minnesota suburb, at the University of Minnesota High School and the University of Minnesota General College.

During 1968 I turned 30 years old. Just in case you don’t remember that year, I can remind you that it was full of protest and turmoil, and without too much exaggeration a pivotal year in the western world. Young people exerted themselves and as they said then, “If you’re over 30, you’re irrelevant.” I was employed at a university and daily reminded that in terms of my age I was on the cusp.

Consultant

So, following a tip from a colleague, I found work at a consulting agency in St. Paul. This job involved a lot of writing that didn’t require a lot of Grim George’s facility. In other words, I could take my sweet time doing it and found out to my satisfaction that I could do it.

This job took me to another consulting agency, again as the result of a tip, in San Francisco where I wrote analyses of various federal health and welfare systems. A great job, but after a year Richard Nixon’s trouble virtually shutdown government and anything that had anything to do with it. The consequence his trouble put me out on the street for the first time in my life. I had fallen off the rails, so to speak.

I liked San Francisco, so I decided to stay on. “What the hell, I’ll give it a whirl.” I had no idea what I’d do if I returned to Minnesota. But what would I do in San Francisco? Affirmative Action was rampant in the early seventies. A teaching job in the Bay Area for me, a card carrying WASP, wasn’t even a consideration. So I painted houses for five years and liked doing it. It was physical work that I could pursue on my own terms.

A long-legged blond-haired Swede

Then one day a long-legged blond Swede turned up in my life, obviously by chance. But that’s another story.

When I showed my one-way ticket to the agent at the gate at San Francisco International, he couldn’t believe what he saw. “What the hell, I’ll give it a whirl.” was my answer when he asked me if I really knew what I was doing. Now I’ve lived more than half of my life here and I’ve enjoyed every moment of it.

Again, I was faced with the question what to do here in Sweden. Again chance kicked in. I was asked to teach English and even Chinese cooking in evening schools. And I translated. One day Stig Anderson, the Marketing boss at Electrolux Constructor in Säffle, asked me if I’d like to write a customer magazine. And at about the same time, Leif Friberg, the Publicity boss at Billerud, asked me the same question. “What the hell, I’ll give it a whirl.” Now I’m retired but still writing professionally.

Based on my experience, my advice for young people pursuing careers would include the following: Look around you. Notice what’s happening. Assess your skills. Build on them. Do what makes you happy. Recognize opportunity when it pops up in front of you. Listen to people you respect and can help you with whatever you’re pursuing. Take chances. Live with failure. Work for success. Deal with chance. Don’t ever count it short. And then! Give it a whirl. What the hell.

John Lennon

To end where I started, chance plays an important part in the lives of most of us. John Lennon, in all of his wisdom, put it this way: “Life is what’s happening to you while you’re busy making other plans.” Chance is important. But when mixed with a good measure of chutzpah or in other words, audacity, impudence and self-confidence, it becomes relevant. “What the hell, I’ll give it a whirl.”