The 2022 Holm Family Reunion in Minnesota

Our plan was to have a grand, multi-family, multi-nation gathering of descendents of Olof and Eva Andersson and of their children: Anna Maja Longstrom, Carl Johan Holmberg, Andrew Holm, Frederik Olofsson, Alfred Holm, and Otto Holm. Then the Norwegians descendents of Anna Maja cancelled because of illness in the family. Others who had planned to attend also cancelled during the summer due to planned surgeries. Still other cousins had other planned activities at the time. Other factors stifling interest were a resurgence of Covid-19, the omicron variant and others, and the increased cost of travel as inflation took off. In the end, the grand reunion only had a dozen attendees: Cynthia and Larry Sabinske, Mike and Jeannie Holm, Wayne Holm, Terri Holm, Norma and Swede Campbell, Mark Schwanebeck, Eunice Helgeson and Paul Essen,and Al and Gail Holm.

The photos on this page are scaled for easy display on your screen. If you want an enlargement for printing or display, you can download the full-sized image to your computer. To do this on a Mac, hold the “Control” key down and click on the photo. Then click on “Save image as...” in the menu that appears. In Windows, Right-click the picture that you want to save in a graphics file format, and then click “Save as Picture”. In the Save as type list, select the graphics file format that you want.

Our reunion began in Marshall, Minnesota, hosted by Mark in his antique-filled home. With us seated around his living room, Mark displayed some old family memorabilia, photos, and history. Next Mark took us to visit his “Backyard House”, where he has historical items, such as photos of Abraham Lincoln. Before he retired, Mark taught history. Next we had a lunch of fried chicken and potatoes. Cynthia brought a grape salad that delighted us. After lunch, we gathered in Mark’s basement for more old photos and documents. One was a copy of a photo of Eva Anderson in a studio in Tracy, MN. Another was a listing of four generations of ancestors that proceded Olof Anderson. Mark could not remember where he had gotten the listing and it had at least one error where a woman was reported to have died three years before the the birth of the man said to be her son. Mark mentioned a concern that several of us have, namely, who will take on our collections after we are gone. Few in the next generation show any interest.	Organist’s stool used by Otto Holm when sewing horse harnesses
One of the shaving kits Otto gave to each of his sons when they reached 18 years old	Mark with a framed photo of the children of his great-grandfather, Otto Holm.
Mark with photos of the sixteen grandchildren of Otto and Caroline Holm.	“Grandpa Holm and his brother, on the left” Andrew Holm on the left and Otto Holm on the right
Family members in Mark's backyard: Larry, Jeannie, Wayne, Mike, Norma, Mark, Gail, Cynthia, Paul, and Eunice	A 1948 family reunion Compare this with the photo from 2022 at the left
Copy of a photograph of Eva Anderson in Tracy, MN, after she immigrated to America	Our Ancestors, maybe. A listing of four generations before Olof Andersson, but with likely errors
Oscar Holm, Otto’s oldest son, and his bride Helga Hobert in 1913

We next journeyed to the Lake Shetek Lutheran Ministries Bible Camp and then to the Key Largo Restaurant, a traditional meeting place for the Minnesota Holm reunions. Our server at Key Largo was one of Mark’s former students. For our last activity of the day, we traveled to Bethany Lutheran Cemetery, where our common ancestors are buried.

Church window in the Lake Shetek Bible Camp, formerly in the Bethany Church	Mark at the grave of his grandparents, Oscar and Helga Holm
Mark, Mike, and Cynthia by the Anderson monument in 2022	Caroline and Otto Holm by the Anderson monument in 1948
	This monument was for Caroline’s parents, not for our common ancestors, Olof and Eva Anderson.
Gravestones for Eva and Olof Anderson, our common ancestors	Olof and Eva Anderson’s descendants who attended the reunion at their gravesite
Gravestone for Caroline and Otto Holm, ancestors of Cynthia, Mike, and Mark
	Otto was one of the three sons of Olof & Eva Anderson who immigrated from Bohuslän to Minnesota. His brothers Alfred and Andrew also immigrated. All three settled in this part of Minnesota, although Alfred later moved away. Their nephew, Gustave Longstrom, also settled here.

Our Sunday activities began with lunch at Bitton’s Roadhouse in Garvin, another traditional reunion place of the Minnesota Holms. Our server there was another of Mark's former students. From there, we visited the Hoiland Lutheran Cemetery where Andrew Holm, along with his two wives - Annie Sophia Peterson and Katarine Johanson - are buried. Andrew is another son of Olof And Eva Anderson who emigrated to America. Eunice’s parents (Oscar and Louella Helgeson) are also buried here.

Next we visited the old Helgeson Farm, where Eunice grew up and the Rialson Cemetery, where Andrew Holm’s daughter Hattie, who married John Rialson, is buried, We drove through the Rialson Farm and drove past the home where Andrew Holm and his family lived after they left the Lake Sarah area. We ended our reunion activities at the Wheels Across the Prairie Museum, where Eunice’s grandmother’s wedding dress was on display. The director of the museum, Jon, gave us a great tour.

The addresses of these sites are: Hoiland Lutheran Cemetery, 2950 County Road 14, Garvin, MN; Helgeson Farm, 3153 County Road 14, Tracy, MN; the Rialson Cemetery, 3200 County Road 14, Tracy, MN; the Rialson Farm, 3230 County Road 14, Tracy, MN; and the Andrew Holm Home, the intersection of County Road 14 and LeMar Road, Tracy MN.

Eunice addressing her cousins at Bitton’s	Cousins listening to Eunice at Bitton’s
Gravestone for Andrew Holm, the immigrant His death date, Mar. 10, 1917, is hidden beneath the sod	Norma and Eunice at the grave of their great-grandfather, Andrew Holm
Eunice and Norma with the Holm stone at the Hoiland Lutheran Cemetery	Eunice with her grandmother’s wedding dress in the Wheels across the Prairie Museum

Prepared by Al Holm, 30 August 2022; updated 28 November 2022