by Ed Brannfors
On August 3rd an older man walked into the La Center Historical Museum and said that he had taken several previous trips around the La Center countryside looking for the farm and the home where his grandparents had settled, and his dad and uncle had been raised. But he had been unsuccessful and asked for some help.
I asked his name and that of others in his family. Vic Osterholm said his dad was Ted Osterholm and his uncle was Elmer Osterholm. The grandfather was Matt Osterholm. I was delighted since I knew the name and had met his dad Ted years ago.
This family name was familiar to me as these folks were Swedish speaking natives of Finland as were my grandparents. Their farm was 1/2 mile north of my grandparent’s farm which was purchased in October 1918.
This area west of View several miles was settled by many other Finns, Swedes and a few Norwegians. Other family names in this area included Mickelson, Granlund, Olstedt, Brannfors, Krooks, Bong, Abrahamson, Nelson and Storm and Sundvick.
So I rode up with Vic to where Osterholm’s farm was located, The house, barn and several shops and outbuildings remained. “Yes”, Vic Osterholm said that he now recognizes with delight the farm that his grandparents built and later sold in the early 1950’s. Matt and his wife then built a home along the old Pacific Highway in La Center. It is said that they regretted leaving the farm property. After all they confronted a “stump farm” when they arrived in 1914 or 1915. It took many years and with the two young sons they dug out, burned and even dynamited the stumps to clear their ground for crops to feed their dairy operations.
Vic Osterholm now lives in east Vancouver, and I have invited him to return to La Center to tell him more about what has happened in the last 100 years.
I retain the 80 acres just south of Osterholm’s that was settled and retained by my grandparents: Greta Louise and Abraham Brannfors.
La Center Historical Museum 