John E and Johanna M (Gustafson) Anderson

Nationality - Swedish John E & Johanna’s siblings family photo, 1948

John E Anderson and Johanna Gustafson were born in 1868 in central Sweden. in the area of Grangarde, which is not far from Ludvika, in Dalarna. Both came as teenagers to the area of Norway, Michigan, where they married in 1889. John E's younger brother Gustaf (Gust) later married Johanna's youngest sister, Anna. John and Gust's brother, Adolf Andersson, remained in Sweden. A sister, Johanna, came to the U.S., also settling in the Norway area, and she married Daniel Danielson. On the Gustafson side, the parents and five sisters eventually came to the U.S., settling in or near Norway. Click this link for more background on the Anderson/Gustafson parents & siblings. John E and Johanna's first child, Edith, died in infancy. They subsequently had five boys, Einer, Iver, Enfred, Reuben, and Arvid. Gust and Anna had two daughters, Dorothy and Dagmar. Click this link for a 1948 family photo. John E and Gust were pioneer businessmen in Norway, first in the grocery business. They eventually sold their interest in the grocery business, which became Ebeling's IGA. Now known as Pat’s Foods, it still stands on the same site. There's nothing left of the old building, but it was still there when your webmaster was little. click photo to enlarge John E and Gust were also involved in the lumber business, and a property adjoining the store was sold to Lofholm Lumber (around 1960?). The Lofholm family moved their business to US2, where it's still the only building supply store in Norway. The old lumberyard on Main Street is gone; that property became part of the expansion of Ebeling’s grocery store, now renamed Pat’s. Anderson Motors was founded in 1918, after John E had originally started in the automotive business as an EMF Studebaker dealer. The Norway shop, a Chevy / Olds dealership, was in family hands until the 1970s, when it was sold. It stands today as ERA Chevrolet. The Iron Mountain shop, a Chevy / Olds / Cadillac dealership, was sold to Edwards Motors in 1968, and today that business encompasses the entire General Motors line. click photo to enlarge John E became a land developer, platting and building several areas within the City of Norway. He also owned Spring Valley Farm on Kimberly Road west of town; the main part of the old farm remained in family hands; his grandson David, Reuben's son, still owned the property. Dave passed away in the spring of 2020, and I’m not certain of the status of the property now. Einer and a partner, Gust Bostrom, owned Norway Hardware. Iver was a dentist in Milwaukee. Enfred and Reuben were involved in management of the automobile dealerships, and Arvid (Nick) operated the Anderson Manufacturing Company. I think Einer was the last motorcyclist in the family until Ken (webmaster of this site) got into two wheel fun in the mid 1960s! In the mid 1950s, the City of Norway was seeking land to build a hospital. The Anderson family donated the land, and the hospital was dedicated to the memory of John E and Johanna. It was built on Main Street across from the Chevrolet dealership, and it opened in 1960 (dedication photo at left). It is now an independent medical office building; regional medical care is provided by the Marshfield Health System in Iron Mountain. click any photo to enlarge