Kristen Paulsen's Autobiography

Sometime before his death in 1945, Kristen Paulsen, P.V.'s father, wrote a brief autobiography. It would have been written in Danish, and somewhere along the way a descendent (possibly Gary Paulsen) had it translated. A typed version of the translation was distributed at a long-ago family reunion. Kathy Martin transcribed it from Edna Martin's copy. You'll find it here.

Cast of Characters

This will be a list, alphabetical by first name, of the people who are mentioned frequently or prominently in the letters.

Letters from Grandma: 1942

After a post-high school year at home, Edna went to South St. Paul in hopes of finding work at the Swift Premium pork processing plant. She rented a room and did housework -- as her sister Thora was already doing -- until she got on at Swift. On May 7 of that year, Grandma Paulsen sent a letter that is the first one in this collection. Read all 72 letters from 1942 here.

Letters from Grandma: 1943

Grandma's faithful correspondence continues from the beginning of January until April 20. Edna doesn't recall for certain, but thinks she may have returned home to the farm at that point. Read the xx letters here.

Letters from Grandma: 1945

In 1945, Edna was a patient at the tuberculosis sanitarium at Ancker Hospital in St. Paul, and Grandma wrote to her almost daily. The year begins with the only letter in the collection from Grandpa Paulsen, who was working at a shipyard in Oakland, Calif. Read all 56 letters from 1945 here.

Letters from Grandma: 1947

In January-February 1947, Edna; her husband, Alex Martin; and her nephew Jerry Peterson -- Mame's 15-year-old son -- drove to Cortez, Fla., for an extended visit with Edna's sister Clara and her husband, Millard Brown.Read the six letters Grandma wrote to her during that time here.