VIKTOR DONOVAN: 2014

Friday, December 12, 2014

MERRY CHRISTMAS

THE THREE KINGS or

THE PROCESSION OF THE MAGI

Fresco paintings in a palace in Florence, Italy in 1459

by artist Benozzo Gozzoli

(Click the pictures to see them larger)

Monday, July 21, 2014

LOVE LETTERS FROM MY SWEDISH GRANDFATHER TO MY AMERICAN GRANDMOTHER 1909-1961

When my mother left me a lot of family correspondence, I was particularly touched by my grandfather Folke's letters to my grandmother Olga. There was a reason why he had written so many letters to her.

My American grandmother, Olga, met my Swedish grandfather, Folke Jonsson, in Brussels in 1909. Olga was eighteen and Folke, twenty-three. They settled in Gothenburg and Särö, Sweden. Olga, being American, had her family in Florida, and Folke soon came to realize that if you marry a woman from another continent, and this woman is charmingly independent, innovative and brave, and has her own means to boot, she is bound to want to visit her native country some time -- or several times -- or more than several times.

To Folke, a sensitive soul, the long separations were quite painful and he suffered till his darling Olga returned. He “talked” to her in his frequent letters.

Olga saved all his letters, in their original envelopes, in neat little bundles held together with different coloured ribbons. They were a treasured lifelong testament of his love.

Olga and Folke corresponded in English as Olga was American and preferred writing in English. Had my grandfather Folke married a Swedish woman who had stayed at home, there would not be this stack of his letters today. He never intended the letters to be shown to others, but more than one hundred years have passed since Folke wrote them to his darling Olga. I have enjoyed getting to know my grandfather in this manner and I think others, not only relatives, should also share that privilege.

The letters have now been published:

Places to buy this book

For this who wish to see how Olga and Folke lived, there is a Picture Book

with 150 pictures of how they lived.

THE SEMINOLE HOTEL -- THE PLACE TO BE SEEN IN JACKSONVILLE FLORIDA IN 1913

When my twenty-two year old grandmother Olga Jonsson (Dawson) visited her parents in Jacksonville, in 1913, she sometimes wrote to her Swedish husband Folke, on the stationary of the Seminole hotel. The family was often there and Olga wrote that it was a nice place to "go and write letters". Jacksonville at this time did not have many ten story buildings and this was probably a very popular place to eat or just "be seen". (For more about pretty Olga, the young girl from Jacksonville who married the handsome Swede Folke, in Paris 1909)

The Dawson's, interested in property development, were no doubt very impressed by the architect, Henry John Klutho who the year before had finished the magnificent St. James Building and his other buildings like the Klutho Apartments and Marocco temple were also very interesting.

The hotel with many decorations inspired by the Florida Seminole Indians.

Here on the roofed balcony over the portico, one had the perfect view of who was coming or going to the hotel.

The perfect place for Olga and her young friends to enjoy themselves or "be seen" (to "hang out and chill" as they say these days).

Olga's father William Dawson owned the land that the hotel was built on. The lease was for 99 years and many years later, in 1969, when Olga was seventy-nine, she had to travel to Florida (her last of many trips in her lifetime) to try to sell the building which had become the family responsibility as they owned the land.
She wrote to her daughter Gunilla, in March of 1969, that the family was looking for a suitable buyer. She had suggested to her two nephews (Carl and Billy) who lived in Jacksonville that they should buy the building, fix it up and call it "The Dawson Building" in honor of their grandfather (and her father). But that never came about. But it would have been a good investment no doubt and a landmark had been preserved.
I seem to remember that grandmother Olga said that it would have been too costly for the hotel to add costly fire escapes, so the building had been handed over to the property owners, Olga and her siblings -- ironic, considering that when this hotel was built, it was advertised as "absolutely fireproof" (see the stationary above).

Henry John Klutho, the architect who came from the East coast when Jacksonville had almost burned to the ground in 1901 (grandmother Olga told us grandchildren how they had to flee the city during a fire and they buried the family silver in the garden before they left). Klutho saw the fire as a great opportunity. Read more about his important influence on Jacksonville architecture. More here.

More Klutho buildings in Jacksonville:

The Klutho home, Panama Park School, Bisbee Building, Alexander St.Claire-Abrams House, Napier Apartments, and YMCA building

If you look carefully, you can see the intricate and detailed Indian decorations on the facade. More below:

The above picture of the Seminole Hotel facade was taken before the hotel was demolished in 1974. From the article by Wayne W. Wood: Jacksonville's Lost Treasures

This terra cotta ornamental piece from the facade of the Seminole Hotel has been preserved at the Museum of Florida at Tallahassee. (From Tallahassee Daily Photo)

The Indian theme continued inside also, as in this dining room called
the INDIAN ROOM (two pictures from different times, above and below)

Detail of plate used in the dining room

MORE MATERIAL OF INTEREST:

More INTERIORS FROM THE SEMINOLE HOTEL in Jacksonville, Florida

SEVERAL INTERESTING WALL PAINTINGS

State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, http://floridamemory.com/items/show/5168

State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, http://floridamemory.com/items/show/51688

State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, http://floridamemory.com/items/show/51690

State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, http://floridamemory.com/items/show/51689

State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, http://floridamemory.com/items/show/51692

Sunday, May 11, 2014

LISEBERG AMUSEMENT PARK IN GOTHENBURG 2014

THE BUILDING (RESTAURANT) IS ACTUALLY AN OLD MANOR HOUSE
BELOW: THE HOUSE WHEN IT WAS LIVED IN BY THE NONNEN FAMILY

LISEBERGS IS FAMOUS FOR ITS BULBS

THE NEW ATTRACTION HELIX, IS ALSO A NICE SCULPTURE

SO IS THIS CHILDREN'S RIDE

THE WATER RIDE IS FUN TO GO ON

WHEN YOU COME TO THE END OF THE RIDE, WATER SPURTS FROM
TWO HOLES IN THIS SHED AND IT CAN BE A LOT OF WATER...

THE WATER IS RANDOMLY SPURTED AND IT IS FUN
FOR THE SPECTATORS TO WATCH AS PEOPLE EITHER ESCAPE THE
WATER OR GET SPRAYED ALL OVER

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

MY GRANDMOTHER OLGA'S CADILLAC

Click the picture to see it larger!

Thursday, April 3, 2014

KIM NOVAK DOESN'T SLEEP HERE ANYMORE

Kim Novak and James Stewart in Alfred Hitchcock's thriller
VERTIGO from 1958

The sheet is no longer lavender, but then this promotion is from 1958 and was probably considered very sexy and daring then. Today it is advertising history.

Monday, March 10, 2014

ALMOST LIKE HOME

If you are an American in a Swedish clothing store, you will feel very much at home. Everything is in English and very "American". Must seem strange to Americans, but we are so used to it by now, we hardly notice it anymore.

I visited three stores downtown and found these examples.

Designers make all sorts of fake designs and combinations of American sounding names such as "army", "academy," "college", "team", "vintage" and combine them in very strange ways.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

HELLO WASH CLOTH -- LONG TIME NO SEE

California is facing a severe water shortage and people are told to cut their usage by 20 percent. Perhaps more if this shortage is long term.

There was a time once when people did not take a shower every day, when running hot water was a luxury and hot water was heated on a stove. Then you had to rely on a washing yourself in a basin and using a wash cloth (in Britain it is called a flannel). That is what people were used to and somehow it worked out just fine.

Maybe Californians will have to get acquainted with that old wash cloth again. It's not that hard. You start with the face and then do the arm pits, then the crotch and last the feet, which you have to lift up into the wash basin. Watch that balance!

Millions have done it before and millions might have to do it again. You will feel just fine and really appreciate that one shower a week you can allow yourself.

For a long time you could not get a wash cloth at IKEA but now they are back. Just in time for Californians who have to cut back on showers.

NEW BOOK!

Much of human activity is centered around food. We think of food whether we’re hungry or not. We spend a great deal of time buying it. We take hours preparing it (well, some do). We talk about it. We read about it in cook books. We watch television when chefs talk about it (sometimes to excess). When we socialize, it is often centered around the communal intake of it. We give it as gifts. Food, we can’t escape it! Some people become keenly interested in preparing food for themselves and others; many have become what we call “good cooks”. Usually a degree of creativity is involved together with a keen interest to entertain and a need to take care of others, to be a good host. It is such people that one remembers, and that is how I got started on Food & Folk, remembering, for example that excellent couple, Beatrice and Clayburn La Force on their ranch in Alpine California. After that I just kept going.

MY HOMETOWN GOTHENBURG

A series of closeups (224 photos) of Gothenburg, Sweden. Language: English and Swedish.----- This book consists of a series of closeups of Gothenburg. It is no history book but, hopefully, it will generate some curiosity about our city. When you walk in a city like London you are struck by Britain’s colonial past and its enormous wealth which manifests itself in buildings and institutions all over the city. When you walk in “Little London” as Gothenburg is often called, one is keenly aware of its importance as the best fortified city in Northern Europe. Two forts still watch over it. Remnants of the seventeenth century wall, and the meandering moat are a reminder of the city’s military past. Positioned on the West coast of Sweden, Gothenburg was once a world leader in ship building and shipping and evolved naturally into a merchant’s city. The English and Scottish heritage here is very important. There are clues and traces everywhere. One has only to look.

A GARDEN IN MY HOMETOWN

A book in English and Swedish about the Garden Society of Gothenburg--TRÄDGÅRDSFÖRENINGEN -----The Garden Society of Gothenburg is one of the best preserved early 19th century parks in Europe. It is situated directly downtown, offering lovely walks in the park or in the shaded woodland areas along the canal/moat, waterfront. The garden recently went through a major renovation under the auspices of Ulf Nordfjell, the internationally known landscape designer. The aim was to bring the garden back to its old nineteenth century glory. Carpet bedding returned and five new woodland areas were designed by five international garden designers. A superb new rose park was added, a successful blending of historical roses and perennials.

Love letters from my Swedish grandfather Folke to my American grandmother Olga 1909 - 1961

My American grandmother, Olga, met my Swedish grandfather, Folke Jonsson, in Brussels in 1909. Olga was 18 and Folke, 23. They settled in Gothenburg and Särö, Sweden. Olga, being American, had her family in Florida, and Folke soon came to realize that if you marry a woman from another continent, and this woman is charmingly independent, innovative and brave, and has her own means to boot, she is bound to want to visit her native country some time -- or several times -- or more than several times. To Folke, a sensitive soul, the long separations were quite painful and he suffered till his darling Olga returned. He “talked” to her in his frequent letters. Olga saved all his letters, in their original envelopes, in neat little bundles held together with different coloured ribbons. They were a treasured lifelong testament of his love. Olga and Folke corresponded in English as Olga was American and preferred writing in English. Had my grandfather Folke married a Swedish woman who had stayed at home, there would not be this stack of his letters today. He never intended the letters to be shown to others, but more than one hundred years have passed since Folke wrote them to his darling Olga. I have enjoyed getting to know my grandfather in this manner and I think others, not only relatives, should also share that privilege.

A pictorial Companion to the letters in the book above: 150 pictures of Olga & Folke 1909-1978

NEW BOOK BY DONOVAN O'MALLEY

REVIEW: "...O'Malley continues to prove that he is one of the more important writers around, a writer who with every book brings into our lives some very strange, often exceedingly humorous, and now, frequently very lonely people. His ability to create language for each of his characters is sharp, well studied and written, and without belittling anyone he, in language, shows the difference between class, and education, and exposure. Likely that comes from his experience in writing plays where characters are alive and moving, but with his considerable literary skills he makes his written page people morph into real life folks. He is in top form here ... " Grady Harp, June 12 (Hall of Fame reviewer)