Peterson, Bror

Bror Peterson arrived by boat in Halifax, Nova Scotia from Sweden in 1930, he was fifteen years old. He headed west by train where his feet touched the soil of Lethbridge, Alberta. He got a job on a farm in Magrath, Alberta. While in Magrath he also decided to take a few months of schooling to learn the English language.

Bror along with his brothers Vern and Carl hopped a freight train from Lethbridge and came to the Peace Country in the fall of 1931. Their fair was paid for by shoveling coal for the steam engine. The men eventually ended up at their brother Emil’s homestead near Valleyview where they built cabins to live in for the winter.

Over the next few years Bror travelled back down to southern Alberta a number of times to find work. In 1942 he joined the Armed Forces to go overseas where he served in Sicily, Italy and the Western front into Germany. He was discharged in 1946 and came back to his home in Canada.

Also in 1946, Bror met and married Sylvia Johnson. They settled down on a homestead 1 ½ miles east of Valleyview and have made it their home to the present day. They had four children.

Source:  Where the Red Willow Grows pp 210-211 (picture of Bror p 210), Roll of Honour p 303, Links On Leave (part of World War II Soldiers)

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