Sigrid Olsen Strand

Never have your picture taken in a hat, my grandmother used to say.  However, I t hink she looks rather spiffy in one!

Miss Sigrid Sophie Olsen sailed to America in 1914 or 1915 and spent the World War I years in Salt Lake City, Utah.  She lived with her aunt and worked as a maid in one of the big mansions of the Sugarhouse area of Salt Lake.  The gentleman of the house found her so “cute” she was promoted to upstairs maid.  However, she couldn’t speak much English and had to learn on the job. 

There is a funny story about her calling her aunt on the phone, saying in Norwegian, “Han sa – he said - ‘Draw de curtains’, hva mente han – what did he mean by that?”   Her aunt would have to translate, “Han sa,  trek gardinene, Sigrid”.  Oh, “Draw the curtains” means “Trekk gardinene”  She would then go draw the curtains.  It was a tough way to learn a language, but she had a good ear and learned quickly.

Sigrid was a tiny woman, approximately 5 feet tall.  She also had the fair complexion, light brown hair and dark blue eyes that are a stamp of Scandinavian heritage.  She wore her hair long, kept it in a braid and wound the braid around her head several times, pinning it into place.  It was an attractive style for her.  When I first met her, I remember the braid being to her waist and almost totally grey.  When she undid it, her hair spread like a fine grey veil nearly to her knees.  She was an attractive woman, with big eyes and a demure smile. 

I think, despite her opinions about hats in pictures, the hats of the period were very becoming to her.