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Walpurgis (Valborg) night

Walpurgis (Valborg) night

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April 30th (trettionde fjärde) marks, from what I believe, one of the two major holidays in Sweden. It is called Walpurgis Night or Valborg night/festival. Walpurgis Night entails dancing, drinking, bonfires, and maybe an occasional accordion player. The celebrations are in honor of St. Walpurga who was a missionary, converting pagan affiliated Germans to Christianity during the 700s. She took over as abbess of the double monastery of Heidenheim am Hahnenkamm in Bavaria.

May 1st (forstä femte) marks a day off of work for most Swedes and doubles as International Worker’s Day. This is also commonly known as May Day. Protesters occupied some streets of downtown Jönköping. My friend went and said they were from the far left and far right parties of the Swedish political spectrum.

I was in my Swedish language course when my friend asked if I was going to the Valborg festival in Jönköping. I completely forgot tonight and tomorrow were holidays. Usually, if I head to the city I plan to spend the whole day there. I absolutely love commutes (I know fight me) but I do not like to commute back home after commuting to my destination not long before. For this instance, I had my school bag and was not prepared to be outside all day and run around from apartment to apartment. Students at my uni were partying on the “quad” and then going apartment hopping until the clubs at night. I bit the bullet and went home with the intention of coming back to the city later to ride my new beautiful 1970ish bike around with a friend.

Actual is rarely similar to what is predicted. Pass that down to your kids, friends. My inside source told me that the bonfire was not happening in Jönköping, but in a town between the area I live in, Tenhult, and the city. Peep my earlier post about Huskvarna. My legs were eager to get turning so my house mate, Vivek (peep my 2nd post), and I went off to Huskvarna. We met up with two of his friends, and thats when the adventure began.

Vivek and i saw the flames a-blazing from the train. After 20 minutes finding a meeting place with his friends, the flames and smoke disappeared. We asked locals where to find the bonfire (yes, Swedish people do talk and actually love to help out. Do not believe everything on the Internet). We climbed, and rode, the paved hills of Huskvarna until we hit the stairway to heaven. Unfortunately, my rusty stallion became obsolete here. We walked up maybe 200 steps until we arrived at our destination. There was an aging boy/girl scout building on the left, the embers of the once beautiful flames straight ahead, and about 5 booths lining the dirt path up the hill to the right. It was 9pm. This is the point where I make another crucial point about Swedish society. Everything, except bars and clubs, close around 6pm so be prepared. The journey back was also quite the adventure. The rain picked back up and we missed our train by 5 minutes. The next train got delayed 45 minutes so we had to wait an hour and a half at the station, since everything was closed.

Alas, it was not a bad experience. The fire was still hot when we got there. The rain was not too bad. The booths had candy, a lottery, and cotton candy. The scouts’ building had a homemade desert feast benefiting the scouts. The remaining people were still smiling, and running so that was great to see. Vivek told me a lot about his religion. About the various gods and also how most families have a temple just for them. I also had time to listen to a nutrition podcast that I left a while ago. And play a really cool game on my phone.

When one door closes, another one opens. For lack of better phrases I am going to stick with that one.

 
Husqvarna AB

Husqvarna AB

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1600s, 1700s = Rifles, pistols, shotguns

1800s = sewing machines, ovens, stoves, cast-iron products

1900s = bicycles, motorcycles, lawn mowers, chainsaws, power cutters

Old models of bikes

2000s = robotic lawn mowers, demolition robots

The company Husqvarna AB has come a long way since making rifles for the Swedish Army. Husqvarna AB is the company and is in Huskvarna. Husqvarna AB changed its name once it became independent of the Swedish state. Obviously, not the first time they diversified.

Yesterday, I went to Huskvarna for two reasons. First, to visit the industrial museum connected to Husqvarna AB. Second, to visit Huskvarna library (biblioteket). The sun was up and I was ready to move and shake. A bus lets out right in front of the museum, but I wanted the long way so I took the train. I “lost” 20 minutes, slowly walking to the museum. I came across a beautiful view of the valley, with the church in the middle.

Huskvarna Church

I took a winding path down a hill and near the outdoor sports hall. Eventually, at the end of the path memories started coming back to me (I came to Huskvarna a month ago. Our fika lasted 3 hours and we missed the museum). I reached the museum, branching off the factory, which has motes on both sides. A 125 meter waterfall flows into the mote near the entrance.

Inside, a group of about 30 people were learning about the history of the company before starting their tour. They were an older crowd, and I can’t imagine the nostalgia they must have felt. Huge changes occurred during the 1900s, and if they are from Huskvarna, then they saw the impact this company had on the town. Once I started, I read, and read, and read because I am a history buff. The business-side in me was particularly interested in the people who ran the company. Each exhibit had at least one section describing the directors, and managers associated with dramatic changes. One man obviously stood out amongst everyone mentioned. His name was Wilhelm Tham.

He spearheaded what seemed like the largest change for Husqvarna AB. He became Executive Director in 1876. Remained until 1911 (35 years). He slowed gun production because there was no fighting. Instead, he focused engineers towards improved hunting rifles. At the same time, he enhanced production of cast-iron products, fireplaces, stoves, ovens, and most importantly sewing machines. He was a true entrepreneur. He noticed needs before they became needs.

Husqvarna’s guns over the years

Oh wait, he did more. He noticed that workers were commuting from the far countryside. He ordered 30 houses to be built for his workers. On average, each house had 6 families. He lived right next to them. In 1887, he joined the government of Jönköping County. He was the representative for Sweden’s occupational health and safety. Remember that church I mentioned? On Tham’s birthday, in 1901, he received a large sum of money from Husqvarna AB. He donated that money to build Huskvarna Church. Remember that sports hall I mentioned? Years later, he received more money as a present. He donated that money to build the sports hall. A bust of his head is near the site. He also expanded the street, Kungsgatan (King’s Street), to make Huskvarna a more complete whole.

 

Name one reason why Amazon keeps growing?

 

Did CEO retention come to mind? The CEO, Jeff Bezos, has been part of Amazon since he founded it in 1994 (2018 – 1994 = 24 years CEO). He eat, sleeps, breaths growth. That is why he and Amazon are still relevant. Growth can be simply explained by the person running the show. Bezos and Tham deserved to be CEO for so long. They knew how to constantly innovate and renovate. Tham also knew how to treat his employees and the community well. It was absolutely inspiring to read about a person who had such an impact on so many different things.

Husqvarna AB is now the leading provider of outdoor power products. Also, they just released bicycles again after many years of ceased production. AND THESE ARE E-BIKES. There are four models: mountain cross, light cross, tourer, and city. Also, look out for their sewing machine assisted by a pre-installed tablet. Husqvarna AB is an innovation machine.

Hejda,

Jello

 

Link to Husqvarna Bicycles:

https://www.husqvarna-bicycles.com/en-INT