My grandfather was born in Sweden and came to America with his wife near the turn of the 20th century. He was known on the East side of St. Paul, Minnesota as “Coffee Carlson” because he delivered coffee to various places throughout that part of town. He married Beda Wilhelmina Rudeen, but there is very little written about them. They had three sons, Carl, Larry, and Abner, my father.
My first recollections of my grandparents are when they lived on Payne Avenue right behind the theater. He died before 1950 when I was in Jr. High. Grandma lived with us several years before she died in 1955, the year I graduated from Gustavus, a liberal arts college in St. Peter MN.
This account was shared by Paul Carlson, a member of Grace Lutheran Church in Palo Alto.