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STRATFORD - The city of Stratford may be named after the English hometown of William Shakespeare, but the Hamilton County Community is one that truly knows its roots, which originate in Sweden.

"We're here today to honor our ancestors who came before us," Ruby Erickson, president of Iowa's Swede Bend Foundation said to those gathered Saturday for the Swede Bend 160th anniversary celebration. "We are who we are because of them."

More than 100 people converged in Stratford's city park for the town's third Swede Bend celebration - which is held biennially and tied in with the city's Swedish Immigrant Museum - to research, view artifact and memorabilia displays, sing traditional Swedish songs and hear a panel of speakers share tales of their ancestors and personal travels to Sweden.

Swede Bend was a Swedish settlement located in southern Webster County south and west of Stratford that was founded in the years after a group of Swedish immigrants came to the United States on Aug. 24, 1849.

"Many of the immigrants came from large families and were looking to make a living in the United States," said Erickson. "They came because they had nothing."

Glenn Stark, of Boxholm, shared stories of his travels to the town's namesake, Boxholm, Sweden, where he and a group of Boxholm area travelers planted a tree during a visit to the city in 1997. He also told of how the family name changed from Johnsson to Stark.

"The name changed with Peter Johnsson," he said. "He came to Swede Bend in 1868. We found out his name was changed when he was inducted into the service. Stark is an old Army name that was kept in the family."

Darel Swenson, of Plymouth, Minn. made the trip to Stratford for the weekend to share about his trip to his ancestral home in Stubbholt, Sweden.

"Stubbholt is a rare kind of place," he said. "It hasn't changed much. It's where my family emigrated from. I can go there today and stand on the same ground as my great-great-grandparents."

Swenson's great-great grandfather, Gustav Westring, settled in the Burnside area in the 1860's where he owned several farms.

"Some of those farms are still owned by family," he said.

Following the panelists' presentations, Stratford natives and sisters Judy Lang, Marilyn Krell, and Emlyn Larson and their mother, Ardelle Larson Phipps, led the audience in the singing of an old Swedish song, "Halsa Dem Darhemma."

"It meant 'greet the folks at home,'" said Lang. "The immigrants were homesick."

In the shelter house, Dot Hasler, a new Stratford resident, spent some time learning about the history of the Swede Bend Covenant and South Marion United Methodist churches, which were located near the original Swede Bend.

Hasler moved to the town in July to serve as pastor at South Marion and Stratford United Methodist churches.

"Stratford has been a great community," she said. "There were Swedish communities near New London, where I came from, so it's great to see that here, too."

"We're proud of our Swedish ancestors and all they accomplished," said Carol Larson, a volunteer at the Swedish Immigrant Museum. "We're working to keep the Swedish spirit alive."

Contact Emilie Nelson at (515)573-2141 or enelson@messengernews.net