Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: FAMOUS (02/27/20)
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TITLE: Fame Moose | Previous Challenge Entry
By Jack Taylor
03/03/20 -
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My brother and I found out about our famous ancestor one morning while we were watching a Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon. Uncle Johan stumbled through the doorway with an armload of Christmas presents, fresh from Stockholm. His reddish beard burst straight out from his face like water from a fire hydrant. His eyes sparkled with the mischievousness of a child who just ate the last cookie in the jar. Massive boots launched across the vestibule and nestled helter-skelter near the umbrella stand.
“Sma Pojkar,” he thundered. “Little friends.”
We wrapped our arms around his knees and jumped around like two jack-in-the-boxes, practicing the two Swedish words dad had taught us. “Haj valkommen. Haj valkommen.”
“Hello to you too,” he said, smiling. He glanced at our small television and practiced his English. “You call that thing Moose – only Sweden have famous moose.”
Of course, we had to hear about the famous moose but that would be after tea and toast. And after Uncle Johan stretched out and snored like a thunderstorm. “That is the famous lumberjack at work sawing logs,” father told us. “Your uncle has won many logging competitions but he will never brag about it.”
To the best of my recollection, the story of the famous moose, Algen Stolta, went something like this.
Sweden started building railroads late and it was 1879 before the longest privately built railway hosted a chugging steam locomotive near Falun. When the track was laid, someone forgot to tell the moose to take heed at the new crossing. A mother with a young calf stood her ground at the wrong time and a forester butchered what he could scavenge before leading the calf to my great-great-grandfather.
Janssan was famous for his care of wildlife, and he named the calf, Algen Stolta which meant something like ‘proud moose.’ Uncle made us pronounce the name over and over before we had him try Bullwinkle over and over. His read beard continued to shoot out from his jaw as he manipulated his lips around the syllables. I’ve reviewed this story for years and hope that I understood my uncle’s passable English regarding the famous moose.
The calf’s new owner raised the moose with his horses and the animal soon learned to pull carts and sleds with tourists who had come from the new train. The novelty of being pulled around by a moose stimulated more traffic and more business. The other horsemen in their carriages grew jealous. This was all before the great wars so fashionable elite from all around Europe stopped by the attraction.
Of course, we had our famous pizza and ice cream during the story which I think we heard three or four times on that trip. Uncle Johan died the next year when his sled dog team fell into a crevice in the ice during some kind of race. My dad said he was one of the most famous racers in Sweden.
A German man named Dietrich was the first to challenge Anders to a race. His thoroughbred had been bred and born for racing. Whoever lost the race would have to give up driving tourists around for an entire month. News of the wager spread and soon four other drivers had joined the contest. A great deal of negotiating was done to designate the acceptable path for the racers. It was winter and my great-great-grandfather suggested that part of the race be across the lake to save time in the shorter light. The others apparently agreed.
The year for the harness race was 1907. A winter sports festival was underway when the challenge was given. A moose against five horses. “Trot racing” they called it. Beside my great-great-grandfather sat his good friend, Johan Blad, after whom I was named.
The prize for the famous moose was a silver coffee pot and sugar bowl. I saw a picture of the pot which read in Swedish “Momento of Winter Sports Festival in Falun in 1907 for driving a moose.” The rules were changed for trot racing so no moose could participate ever again.
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