STOCKHOLM, Maine — Brenda and Alan Jepson of Crown of Maine Productions Inc. in Stockholm have announced their film, “Old Maine Swedish Farms,” will reprise on Maine Public Television next month.
The film captures the last of the Swedish speakers in Maine’s Historic Swedish Colony. It will air at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 29.
This documentary, narrated by Scandinavian Scholar, Dan Olson, has links in English, but also includes interviews in the Swedish language, with subtitles.
Swedish settlers were recruited to Maine by William Widgery Thomas of Portland in 1870, and so some of the dialects heard in this film are old. Thomas had been ambassador to Sweden under President Lincoln, so he was familiar with Sweden.
The descendants of the settlers, interviewed in this film, tell of life growing up on the Swedish farms in the colony and of the many traditions they enjoyed – from playing practical jokes to eating lutefisk at Christmas time.
The show also features many old farming photos.
