NEW SWEDEN, Maine —There is no doubt that the Swedish culture is still alive in Maine’s Swedish Colony in Aroostook County.Click for the rest of the story by Jen Lynds in the Bangor Daily News.
Signs in the colony are written in both English and Swedish, many families still fly the Swedish flag in their yards, and children learn Swedish songs and dances every spring for the annual MidSommar celebration.
When the colony was established in northern Maine in the 1870s, the Swedish language was predominant. But as families saw the need for their children to become more Americanized, English became the language of choice in most households. Over the years, the language began to die off, and only about 30 residents in the colony still speak Swedish today.
Several years ago, Brenda Nasberg Jepson, a Madawaska Lake resident and filmmaker who owns Crown of Maine Productions, decided that she had to do something to preserve what was left of the language before it was lost forever.
The DVD can be purchased at http://www.crownofmaineproductions.co/m and soon will be available in stores throughout The County.
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