The culture and society of the people of the United States is commonly described by using the metaphor of a “melting pot.” It assumes that the different elements from all immigrant groups “melt together” to form a more homogeneous universal culture. In 1875, Titus Munson Coan wrote,
«The fusing process goes on as in a blast-furnace; one generation, a single year even — transforms the English, the German, the Irish emigrant into an American. Uniform institutions, ideas, language, the influence of the majority, bring us soon to a similar complexion; the individuality of the immigrant, almost even his traits of race and religion, fuse down in the democratic alembic like chips of brass thrown into the melting pot.”
To some extent this metaphor has proven true, and in other ways it is completely false. The “melting pot” process has been associated with assimilation, acculturation, and intermarriage. Without a doubt, all of these processes have occurred and continue to transpire in the United States producing an exceptionally diverse and rich culture. However, it is clear that specific aspects of each immigrant group have remained similar to those of the homeland. Furthermore, all off these customs have not fused into a singular American culture. Each family has created its own cultural traditions that differ in terms of ethnic, religious, and geographic heritage.
Additionally, within the United States cultural practices tend to differ by region. To assume that in the future the cultural individuality that exists within the United States will have disappeared and melted into one homogeneous culture is ludicrous. My family and its immigration story prove this assertion. We are without a doubt Americans; however, certain aspects of our ancestors’ homelands and ethnic traditions remain with us today – generations later.
The Bolanders
My paternal ancestry is from Sweden where my great great-grandfather decided to immigrate to the United States in the beginning of the 20th century, along with more than one million other Swedes. His story is not unique. The mass emigration to America from Sweden that occurred for the most part between 1850 and 1910 is attributed to a variety of different reasons. Firstly, between 1750 and 1850 the population of Sweden doubled. It is said that this significant population increase is due to peace (no men dying in war), the smallpox vaccine (fewer fatalities due to the sickness), and potatoes (less famine).
Therefore, the only way to prevent future food shortage and rebellions due to the rapid increase in population was through emigration. Furthermore, during this time period, Sweden’s economy remained relatively poor and agricultural while other countries were industrializing. Consequently, many Swedes looked towards America for a better life. Carl Bolander was one of these young Swedish men enamored by the American dream. He desired a better life for his wife and his three young children and in 1906 decided to make the long journey to Minneapolis, Minnesota.
According to the ship manifest, Carl A. Bolander arrived to Ellis Island on May 16th of 1906 on the Hellig Olav that left port from Copenhagen. He is listed as a married man of 26 years and 10 months. Furthermore, he was described as a laborer in a good condition of health who could read and write (which probably helped his success in Minnesota). He was neither an anarchist nor a polygamist, and hadn’t had trouble with the law. It says his brother-in-law paid for his passage and that he was in possession of $12 U.S. dollars and a train ticket to his final destination of Minneapolis.
According to my father, his great grandfather Carl went directly to Minneapolis from New York where he worked in construction for his cousin. Having family contacts and an already established Swedish community in Minnesota was probably a great help because after about a year he was able to send for his family. This was common back then – males would make the journey and become established before buying passages for their families in their homelands. Carl’s wife arrived with my great grandfather Ivar Siegfried Bolander, his older brother Eric, and younger sister Sally around 1907. He was about six years old. Roughly twenty years after making the difficult journey, my family achieved what could be considered the “American Dream.”
In 1924, after working construction for years, Carl Bolander started his own company with his sons specializing in grading and excavation called Carl Bolander & Sons.
Vehicles in front of Carl Bolander & Sons in Minneapolis
Although currently out of family ownership, the company has been passed through the “Bolander sons” and continues to exist with the same name more than eighty years later. Additionally, my grandmother started SKB Environmental, which stands for my aunts – Susan and Kristine Bolander. It is a complement to Carl Bolander & Son’s demolition business, arranging cost effective disposal services for construction and demolition debris.
Company History
1924 – Carl Bolander & Sons Co. founded by Swedish immigrant Carl Bolander, specializing in grading and excavating.
1941 – Carl retires and Ivar Bolander becomes the second president, and adds pile driving to the type of work performed. Hires son, David, to work at the company.
1961 – Ivar hands the business over to his son, David, who becomes third generation president. (first generation born in the U.S.).
1980’s – Begin soil remediation, landfill closure, underground storage tank removal, and waste control projects.
1994 – After 32 years, David hands the presidency of the company over to his son, Bruce.
The company and hard work of my ancestors clearly shaped the Bolander family. The company income allowed my father to graduate from a top private school in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul) and become the first in his family to graduate from college. He attended both college and law school at prestigious universities on the East Coast also becoming the first in his family to move from Minnesota since Carl arrived in 1906. He worked as a lawyer since his graduation from law school in 1976 in Washington DC and New York City until becoming the president of his family company in 1994. After a number of family disputes he returned to his law-firm in 2001. Even though it ultimately left family hands, the history of Carl Bolander & Sons is still an immigration success story of how a family can turn a small company into the “American Dream” and remained part of my childhood.
Minnesota Today
Minnesota was a popular destination for Scandinavian immigrants. To this day, the large majority of residents are of German or Scandinavian descent. The state is known as the center of Scandinavian-American culture. Cuisine such as Swedish meatballs, and sports like ice hockey continue to be popular. Furthermore, in the 2008 Census, 88% of the state self identified as white making it a much “whiter” state than many. The immigration history of Minnesota makes the style of life there much different than that of other states.
The Ackermans
I know fewer details about my mother’s story. Her ancestry begins in Eastern Europe with family coming from both Minsk (capital of modern day Belarus) and Kiev (capital of modern day Ukraine) in the early 1900s. My family was fleeing pogroms like the two million other Yiddish speaking Ashkenazi Jews who left Eastern Europe between 1880 and 1914. The influx in pogroms against Jews – violent riots either approved or condoned by government or military authorities directed against a particular group characterized by killings and destruction of homes, businesses, and religious centers, made life increasingly more unpredictable and difficult. Both my maternal grandmother and grandfather’s families settled in New York City. My great grandfather became a tailor like his family in Kiev.
In New York City a large group of poor, traditional Jews had already started to form their own ghettoes. This made life both easier and more difficult. By living in close communities it made language communication and maintaining a Jewish lifestyle easier. However, it caused a rise in anti-Semitism. Because of the increase in discrimination Jews were encouraged to assimilate and integrate.
Crowded tenements in New York City
My grandfather was one of the young Americans born to an immigrant family wishing to assimilate. Growing up in an Orthodox Jewish household he chose to reject the strict rules of religion. He did however ultimately marry a Jewish woman, my grandmother. Jewish culture remained a part of their lives even though Orthodox Judaism was not.
My mother was born in Brooklyn, New York City. Shortly after, her family moved to suburbs in New Jersey where she was raised. Growing up in a working class family, my mother became the first person in her family to graduate from college. She went on to graduate from law school and ended up at the same law firm as my father. This is where they met and began to mix their two stories creating the culture that my brothers and I grew up with.
The culture of my ancestors is still apparent in my mother. A good example of this is the Yiddish words that you can hear thrown into conversations inside our home or with other Jews. Furthermore, my ancestors settled in New York City where I was born. Although my lifestyle is very different than theirs, we share the same city.
Conclusion
Neither of my parent’s immigration stories is unique. However, mixing the two together is why people consider the United States to be a “melting pot.” The culture that I have been raised with is clearly a blend of multiple cultures. I have lived in two very different cities: New York City and Minneapolis. I grew up eating Swedish meatballs served with gravy, potatoes, and lingonberry jam at my grandparents’ house for Christmas. I played ice hockey and broomball and have been ice fishing. However, I also grew up going to my mom’s cousins’ house for Passover seders and lighting the Hanukah menorah. I know common Yiddish words and fast on Yom Kippur. My culture has both extreme similarities and differences to those of my friends’ and therefore a homogeneous culture does not yet exist in the United States.
Raíces cruzadas 
Very well written and most informative. Thank you!