Evelyn Anderson of Stromsburg was the recipient of the first Super Swede Award, given Friday night on stage in the city square during the Swedish Festival in Stromsburg. Festival cochairman, Anette Samuelson presented her with the award. The following was read prior to Evelyn receiving her award: Evelyn believes in recycling. She's done it her whole life. After she and Gilbert moved from the farm west of Stromsburg into Stromsburg 27 years ago, they gradually got more involved. For years, newspapers were the main item to gather. Collecting from the newspaper office, Swede Haven and people around town, they would haul to Omaha, Norfolk or Lincoln - one or two ton per trip. The price they were paid would just buy the gas there and back. Over the years, they've recycled aluminum cans, plastic pop bottles, glass jars, tin cans, magazines, milk jugs and cardboard. The last couple of years they've hauled a vanload of flattened cardboard boxes collected from local businesses, the Covenant Home and the schools to the Martin Luther recycling site in York about every week. As people heard about Evelyn's commitment, they would drop off their recyclable items at the Anderson garage. She was especially pleased when the city got a recycle trailer a few years ago. She was getting just a little tired out from the bagging, loading and hauling. She believes in keeping these items out of the local landfills so is happy to see others involved. Further proof of her belief in reusing items is the time she spends recycling fabric, bed linens, shirts and jeans into quilts. Again, she has done this her entire life in her own home, so the Salem Lutheran ladies monthly quilting for World Relief is just another step in living what she feels is right. The group meets monthly but she works on quilt tops at home daily. They finish well over 200 quilts per year. The last couple of years Evelyn and Gilbert have worked the evening before to set up for the monthly quilting. Along with this service at Salem, she has been circle leader and service group co-chairman - calling for help to make food and to serve weddings and funerals. For years she has helped her fellow extension club members make up ingenious door hangings twice a year to grace the doors of the residents at the Covenant Home. For several years Evelyn has volunteered to drive Busy Wheels from the Senior Center an afternoon per week. Along with the other volunteers, she feels everyone needs the independence to get out of their homes and attend to errands with some help. The last couple of years she has also helped with voting on Election Day. Evelyn helped Gilbert with farming from when they wed in 1948 until they moved to town in 1976. Then she went the extra mile for 16 years working in the Stromsburg Cemetery with Gilbert - making sure everyone's family plot looked neat and trim. During all of this she worked for 34 years at the Midwest Covenant Home caring for residents. She retired in 1992. However, the Home has continued to call her back to work evenings helping residents with the evening meal and bedtime needs. She often gets called in with little notice if someone is ill or there is bad weather. Anyone familiar with the Swedish Festival Smorgasbord knows they serve Swedish Meatballs. Evelyn started out helping Ensie Hanson with that department in 1968 and continued lining up ladies to help mix and roll meatballs, finding extra roasters and heating and serving the meatballs up until this past year. She always gets a chuckle out of the fact that she's a Czech dressed in a Swedish outfit! Tomorrow she'll attend the Smorgasbord for the first time as a guest. Like many ladies in Stromsburg, Evelyn has done all of this while she and Gilbert raised a family. Shirley, Gary and Roger are very proud of their mother. She always has time to visit with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Evelyn, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Brought to you by The City of Stromsburg and the Stromsburg Chamber of Commerce

Close Window