Room for warmth

He started working in the forests when he was only 16 years old. At that time it was impossible to work in rain clothes. But  he had no other choice than to start working to help support his family after his mother died. Instead of going out in the rain this day, he finds himself a cup of coffee in the lobby of the retirement home in Årjäng where he lives, solves a crossword puzzle and then exchanges some small talk with the staff.

The water running through the radiators along the walls of the retirement home provide nice heating, and Sven is pleased with his home-away-from-home. And he gets even hotter if he gets one of the fellow residents to challenge him in a game of finger wrestling or arm wrestling. Earlier he never had time for such frivolous pursuits; but now he has plenty of time.

Perhaps his little brother Gösta will stop by today. If he does, Sven will heat  water on the mini-stove in his room and make him some coffee. As long as they don’t serve rice for dinner, Sven is in high spirits. Salted meat and mashed rutabaga is his favourite. It reminds him of his wife who died six years ago.

Sven fondly remembers the many car trips they enjoyed together to cities such as Oslo, Røros and Stockholm. Life in the forest has left its marks on Sven, who has scars on his arm and a bad toe. But he has been lucky. Having worked most of his life with a heavy axe and later a 14 kilo chain saw could have left much more serious wounds. And Sven himself has left his mark around the country. Many homes have been built with the timber that he harvested and for which he originally was paid only 1.75 kroner per cubic metre to chop. Trees have been an important part of his life. Now chippings and bark from the distance-heating facility at the sawmill provide the heat that warms Sven’s retirement years.