It’s November 1934. Nebraskans, including
those in Buffalo County, have just passed the initiative petition to amend
the state constitution to make the switch from a two-house to one-house
legislature beginning in January 1936.
The next legislative session (in 1935) would still
have two houses so we needed to send a senator and two representative from
Buffalo County to Lincoln in January
Our state representatives each represented half of
the county. Ralph Soderstrom was elected to represent one half and Gus
Meline was to represent the other.
Our state senator actually represented both
Buffalo & Sherman Counties. Ivan Mattson had just been elected to that
position in November Who were these men? State
Representative Ralph Soderstrom
Born in Oct. 1884
just across the county line in Hall County north of Shelton
This means he was 50 when elected to the State House of Representatives
Baptized in 1886 at
Bethany Lutheran Church in Axtell His
parents were both born in Sweden so they that’s where they went to join a
church Maybe they lived there
first before going to Hall County
At age 25 he was living in
Shelton, employed by a retail merchant
10 years later he was
married and owned his own grocery & hardware store
Soderstrom's only elective
office before filing for the state position was to serve on the Shelton
school board
July 1934 – He filed for State Representative for the 75th district Won the
primary in August and the general election in Nov.
Was a democrat and
after serving in the state legislature remained active in the party locally In 1940
– elected county chairman of the democratic party Died in August 1974 at age 89 and is buried in
the Shelton Cemetery
State Representative Gus Meline
Born in Sweden in Nov 1870
This means he was 64 when elected to the State House of Representatives
Came to US at age
10
He was a
lifelong farmer living northwest of Kearney in the Greenhill District
First ran for state
representative in 1930 for a two-year term.
He was elected again in
1932 and reelected for a third term in 1934
After his time in the
state legislature, he apparently returned to farming
Gus died in 1965 shortly
after his 95th birthday
State Senator Ivan Mattson Born in 1895 in Goteborg, Sweden,
eldest of 13 children At the
age of ten [1905] he came with his mother and six younger children to the
United States
His father had come to Kearney the previous year
Being Swedish, they joined
1st Lutheran Church where he was confirmed and remained a lifelong member His
funeral was held there in 1952
Ivan graduated from the Kearney High School in
1914, and attended the State Teachers College at Kearney the two following
years. But, he
was also working.
At age 13 [1908] he was apprenticed to Mr. Alfred T. Anderson where he
learned the profession of photography
Worked there about 11 years
In 1920 [he’s now 25] he established his own
photograph studio, the Mattson Studio on Central Avenue In 1929 he married Ebba June Olsson of Ord,
Neb. Always
active in the Kearney community Boy
scout leader, Business Men’s basketball league, pitcher for Kiwanis baseball
team
Member of the Chamber of Commerce, Cosmopolitan Club, Kearney Country Club
and participated in Red Cross fundraising drives Was a
member of the National Guard. At 1927 summer camp at Ashland he was one of
five Mattson brothers attending
Participated for many years in the Kearney Drama League In Apr 1927 – elected to city council from
Fourth Ward
When he ran in Apr 1933 he was the oldest councilman in years of service (6
years); he ran unopposed In July 1934 – filed to run as state senator He got
through the primaries successfully and was elected in November
Resigned from City Council a month later Following his time in the state legislature,
he returned to his activities in Kearney, serving two terms as city mayor in
the early 40’s
During his terms as mayor, he was instrumental in obtaining the Army Air
Base for Kearney, and in building the new [current] City Hall. Ivan Mattson died Oct. 28, 1952 after spending
several months in the TB hospital here in Kearney He was survived by wife, his mother, a foster
son, seven brothers, and three sisters Preceding him in death were his father, a
sister, and a brother [9 boys and 4 girls in the Mattson family]