Wednesday, November 3, 1926, 5 am. That is when my journey began. I was going with the first train to Gothenburg and Gustav from Östängen would give me a lift to the station. We had to take his truck since it had easier driving through the deep snow. It went fairly good and we were at the station long before the train’s departure. Bertil from Snickaregården and my father was there with us. Bertil was also going to Gothenburg for visa-ing as he also had been struck with America-fever.

We came to Gothenburg by noon. We had to find a hotel and ended up at Hotell Sweden at Postgatan. Then we had to go to the Swedish American Line and get my ticket taken care of. I was told to be at Hotell Hembygden the following day between 12 am and 2 pm and to get my ticket at Friday 3 pm. I also had to be at Betongskjulet and the new pier on Saturday 9 am.
The evening came and we had nothing more to take care of that day so we went down to Västra Hamngatan for a while. We saw the sign for a photographer and thought it would be nice to have a photograph taken. We walked in and asked if he could have the photographs ready by Friday night. He could, so we comb our hair, made us as fancy as possible and sat down on the chair. He was soon finished with his camera, a short click was everything needed and it was all right. It was now 7 pm and we were feeling tired so we walked back to our hotel, ate some of our packed lunch and then went to bed.

The next day, Thursday, we went to county administration board to get Bertil’s passport and it was soon taken care of. Then we went to White Star Line for advice and directions regarding Bertil’s visitation. Time passed and it was soon 12 am and I had to be at Hotell Hembygden. I went there and Bertil went back to the hotel to wait for me. I came to Hotell Hembygden, had to show my papers and be examined by two doctors. It did not take long time and I then got a note saying I had been there.

Friday. This was the day for Bertil’s visa-ing so we both went to the consulate. It took all morning; there were a lot of people visa-ing just that day. I went from there to get my ticket, exchange money and so on. We picked up our photographs and then we went to other places which I do not remember.

At Saturday morning, all passengers were gathered at the emigrant office or at Betongskjulet. The shipping company had big, open cars which they used for transporting the emigrants, but it had already left when I got there so I hitchhiked with another car down to the harbour. I had to say goodbye to Bertil when we got there and go along with the others, up the stairs and then stand in line for physical examination and then go on board. We had to show our tickets and it took about three hours before we could finally go on board.

Once on board, you had to hold your papers in your hand the whole time; you did not have time to put them in your bag before the next man asked to see them. Then it was time for me to find my cabin. It was in the front of the boat, no 354 C. It was a four-man cabin but we were only three; Gösta Lindher from Landeryd, Småland, Gunnar Persson from Trönninge, Halland and a quiet Swedish-American who never said a word. It is my opinion that he was a bit haughty. The other ones were on the other hand very cheerful.
Once everyone had boarded, they rang the clock and the gangways were pulled up. They sang the Swedish national hymn, some cried and there was a terrible noise. I went to the upper deck. I spotted Bertil and we looked at each other for as long as we could. The steamship was towed by two motorboats. The steamship Drottningholm departed from Gothenburg at 12:04 am. Schoolchildren marched, holding the Swedish flag and singing the national hymn. There were a lot of people in the harbour, waving goodbye to the emigrants. The ship whistled three times and the passengers cheered three times for Sweden. The journey then started going west.
The food on the boat was quite good; breakfast at 7:30 am, lunch at 12 am, coffee at 2:30 pm and supper at 6 pm. I heard someone say that there was over 600 passengers onboard.

On the first day, Saturday, I had lunch but I started to feel ill by supper and I understood that I was not able to eat anything. I did not eat anything until Sunday supper and I began feeling better at Monday. I was never in bed, it was not that bad, but there were many others who did not leave their cabins until we reached the port of New York. You could buy different things onboard; apples, oranges and so on. But everything was very expensive. You had to pay 50 öre for a glass of beer or 50 öre for 5 centilitres of schnapps.

We travelled over Danville, Harper, and Attica by Saturday morning. The sun was shining and it was a wonderful day. We arrived to Amarillo by night and the train stopped for a while so that the passengers could get something to eat since there was no restaurant on the train.
Sunday. We were now in New Mexico and the train stopped in Gallup so that we could get some breakfast. I stayed at an aunt of mine for a couple of days and then carried on towards California. It is hot here, almost as hot as it is home by the summer. Well, I do not now what else to write about my journey. It has been a very good journey, but quite long ; about 7.000 Swedish miles. It takes one day by train from here to Victorsville, which means that it has taken me 16-17 days from when I left Gothenburg.

Gallup, New Mexico, America
Tuesday, November 23, 1926

This is the cement factory where I work. But this is only haft of it; the building we
are erecting now and two more is not included in the picture.

South-western Portland Cement Company,
Los Angeles, California