Harriet Faye Johnson Eklund was born in a cabin in Schroder, Minnesota, along the North Shore of Lake Superior. She was the oldest of six children born to Emil and Edith Johnson. She and her siblings grew up running trap lines, swimming in favorite swimming holes, picking bouquets of Dutchmen's Britches at Fradenburg Creek, and fishing and hunting in the woods. As an adult she boasted that she could still "shoot the center out of a daisy and skin a weasel in the woodpile."

During high school, she worked at the Star of the North Resort in Schroeder cleaning cabins and working in the dining room where she served guests like the Pillsbury Family from the Twin Cities. She was paid ten cents an hour and during the summer she would earn $75 which would pay her expenses for the school year.

On Saturday evenings she attended dances held for the young men from the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) living at the Sawbill Camp north of Tofte. There she met a young man named Marshall who had an engaging smile and a twinkle in his eye. He asked her to dance. She refused until her friend Mae Gunderson danced with him and told her he was all right "as long as you can hold him down."

Harriet graduated from Grand Marais High School in 1938 and found work as a maid in homes on the east side of Duluth. There were few jobs available in Duluth because of the Depression, so Marshall "hopped a freight train" and went to Detroit to look for work. Harriet later followed him to Detroit (probably on a Greyhound Bus) and they were married.

World War II broke out. Their daughter, Marsha, was born shortly before Marshall shipped out with the Marine Corps to fight in battles in the South Pacific, including Saipan, Tinian, and Iwo Jima. With Marshall overseas, Harriet joined the Army of Women led by Rosie the Riveter and went to work in a factory. Clayton and Lambert produced steel cartridge cases for the Navy. The job ended abruptly one day when managers came into the factory and told everyone to go home: "The war is over." Harriet kept her pay receipts for her time working at Clayton and Lambert.

When the war ended, Harriet went to work on the line making Dodge cars for Chrysler Corporation to earn the money to buy a refrigerator. She had other manufacturing jobs and finished her working years in a series of clerical jobs .She worked in a direct mail advertising business where she was the one who signed Lee Iacocca's name to an advertising letter purportedly written by Mr. Iacocca because his handwriting was not very legible.

Marshall came back to Detroit from the Marines and returned to driving a truck in the City of Detroit. He eventually became the Teamsters Union Steward representing the drivers of Norwalk Truck Line.

When Harriet finally retired, she moved to Wheaton, Illinois to be near her daughter and her family. She was able to attend school and sporting events and ice skating shows her grandchildren Suzy and Brian were involved in.

In Wheaton she was also introduced to the Sons of Norway and was very active in the organization for many years. She was Recording Secretary of the Polar Star Lodge in Aurora, Illinois.

She loved to sew and made many of her own clothes, tap dancing costumes for Marsha, skating and Halloween costumes for her grandchildren. One of her craftiest works was a Tyrannosaurus Rex costume for Brian. She could also knit, crochet and embroider.

She learned cake decorating and loved to provide a decorated cake for special events. Over the years she made shower cakes, wedding cakes, birthday cakes, graduation cakes, and Easter lamb cakes. The lamb cakes were never very stable, and she loved to tell her family how she had held them together with toothpicks and frosting. Easter dessert ended up being a fun family tradition.

She kept the summer cottage the family had owned in Michigan and looked forward each spring to driving to Lakeland and spending the summer with Michigan friends and swimming in Strawberry Lake.

She had hoped to be the first person in her family to reach the milestone of 100 years. She missed by only eight months.

Harriet was predeceased by her parents, Emil and Edith Johnson; her husband, Marshall Eklund; her grandson, Brian Geddes; her sisters Evelyn Eide and Betty Johnson and brothers Roy Johnson and Floyd Johnson.

She is survived by her daughter, Marsha Geddes (David); her granddaughter, Suzy Geddes and her husband, Adam Thomas, and a great granddaughter, Charlotte Thomas. She is also survived by her sister Merle Abernethy and a brother, Harry Johnson, and many nieces, nephews, and great nieces and great nephews.

Interment will be in Park Hill Cemetery in Duluth, Minnesota.

The family respectfully requests that donations in Harriet's memory be made to Schroeder Area Historical Society. Schroeder is the small town where Harriet grew up. Throughout her life when she referred to "up home," she was talking about Schroeder on the North Shore of Lake Superior. The Historical Society has created a wonderful museum and many exhibits recognizing the histories, Lake Superior and its boats, the industries, schools, cultural events, and people of the area. Harriet's grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles were part of the pioneer families that settled in the area.

Schroeder Area Historical Society

P.O. Box 337

Schroeder, MN 55613

218-663-7706