Former Stromsburg resident Sandra Maureen Myrberg
was named Honorary Swede 2007 Friday evening at the Swedish
Midsommar Festival in the town square. Jack Anderson introduced
Sandra and presented her with her award.
Sandra Maureen Myrberg spent her
first years of life on a farm near Stromsburg. When she was 3
years old, her father died and she moved with her mother and
sister into Stromsburg where they resided with her grandparents
during her childhood years.
Sandra graduated from Stromsburg High
School as Valedictorian in 1954. During these school years, she
was an accomplished pianist and vocalist at both the school and
the Baptist Church. Then she attended Bethel College in St.
Paul, MN for 2 years and graduated from the University of
Minnesota in 1958 with a degree in elementary education.
Sandra returned to Stromsburg and
taught in the local school for one year. Following her
grandfather's death, she then moved with her mother to
California where she was involved in teaching for over 35 years.
In addition to her specific
responsibilities, she taught guidance classes for several years
to help children with their behavior in order that they might
better learn in larger classroom settings.
Sandra was among those who
volunteered to teach in the first English Immersion Classes for
immigrants in the Long Beach Unified School District. She worked
with Hispanic, Cambodian and Vietnamese children and other
immigrant groups as they first arrived in Southern California.
Long Beach has the largest Cambodian population of any location
outside of Cambodia itself. It was not unusual for Sandra to
have as many as eight different languages spoken in her
classroom and it was her job to teach and immerse them in
English. She had a special love for teaching immigrants.
Sandra helped start centers where
parents of immigrant children could become acquainted with the
public schools, learn how they operate, meet the teachers and
feel more at home in the Long Beach Unified School District.
She also worked in the Japanese
Homestay Program for several summers at First Baptist Church
Lakewood. And for a number of years she worked with a group from
her church teaching English to Spanish speaking immigrants held
at First Congregational Church in Long Beach.
She received the Golden Apple Award
for excellence in teaching from the Teachers Association of Long
Beach, CA. She was on many district committees and a
representative to the Teacher's Association of Long Beach for
several years. After Sandra retired in 1995, she continued to
work part-time with the Parent Centers in Long Beach.
In addition to these professional
responsibilities, Sandra was a member of the choir at First
Baptist Church Lakewood for over 35 years, sang in the Long
Beach Symphony Women's Chorus, was active in Women's Club and
the Friends of the Seal Beach Library.
Two and a half years ago, Sandra
moved to Lincoln where she now resides except for winters spent
in Yuma, AZ. In both of these places, she volunteers for their
Literacy Councils and continues to be involved in aiding both
children and adults in learning the English language.
Because of these outstanding accomplishments Sandra was chosen
to receive this prestigious award. She is now charged with this duty: Continue to be a
Stromsburg ambassador, keep letting your friends and
acquaintances
know you are from the Swede Capital of Nebraska, and that
Stromsburg is one terrific small city in the great state of
Nebraska!
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