Clara Josephine Peterson

Clara Josephine Peterson was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Nov. 16, 1891, the only child of Alfred and Selma Peterson. When she started school she knew not a word of English, this because of the many Swedish immigrants who had temporary lodging at her parental home. The natural consequence was that Swedish was the language used almost exclusively in the home even though her parents could handle English very nicely.

After finishing the eighth grade in Lincoln School, St. Paul, she went to the then Cleveland High School, St. Paul, for one a half years. Despite her father's pleading that she continue her high school education and even continue into college, she chose to take a shorthand, typing and bookkeeping course at the Lancaster Business School. A few months after her fifteenth birthday she was employed as a stenographer at Lee's Tailoring Co., with a salary of $6 a week (six-day week). After three months there she went to a credit bureau for two years, then to the St. Paul Book and Stationery for two and a half years, then to W.B. Joyce & Co., a bonding company, for three years. She also had a one-night-a-week job in a store.

On December 30, 1914, she was married to Oscar Olson. They had five children. In 1933, her mother, Selma Peterson, came to live with Oscar and Josie until her death in 1954, at the age of 88½ years.

Josie's shorthand and typing experience proved very valuable to her throughout the years as she served as her husband's secretary for the churches he served. Even at age 62-65 she worked half days as stenographer in the Kanabec County Attorney's office, and from age 65 to 75 was still doing the typing and stencilling in the Holmes City/Oscar Lake parish.

In 1960 she and Oscar had the great privilege to visit in Sweden, Rome and Athens. Her knowledge of the Swedish language made the trip all the more enjoyable. At the same time they also spent three weeks with their son, Howard, and daughter-in-law, Louise, in Tanzania, Africa, where they were serving as missionaries.