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The following article is posted with permission of

the Editor of the Spring Valley Sun/Argus:


ÔAmong friends and neighborsÉÕ For Sylva Anderson, thereÕs no place like home
By Kaye Bird
Sun Argus/Gateway Publishing
- May 6, 2009

Sylva & Allen Anderson

as we remember them.

SPRING VALLEY Ð In Thomas WolfeÕs novel ÒYou CanÕt Go Home Again,Ó George Webber, a beginning author writes a story about his hometown exposing truths so upsetting to the folks of Libya Hill that they send him death threats and menacing letters. George most definitely ÒcanÕt go home again.Ó
   Many people, however, can and do return to their hometowns Ð back to the places where they grew up. Sylva Anderson went one step further. Almost 35 years ago, she and her husband Allen along with sons Jon and Steve, returned to the house where she was born and raised.
    ÒDad cleared all the land and built the house and the barn,Ó said Sylva and then nodded toward the bedroom. ÒI was born in that room,Ó she said.
    In the early 1920Õs SylvaÕs parents, Adolph and Katherine Swenson bought the parcel of land on 770th Avenue west of Spring Valley where they raised four children. Today, Sylva is the only member of the family left, but plenty of memories remain of growing up in the Wisconsin countryside.
    ÒWe all went to Gilman Center Elementary School.Ó Did they walk? ÒWell of courseÓ she said. ÒIt was just up the road.Ó She continued. ÒThat school building now stands right next to the Red Barn.Ó
    After graduating from Spring Valley High School, Sylva attended UW/RF where she earned a three-year teaching degree. In 1946 she began teaching at Spring Valley Elementary School.
Her first teaching job lasted for two years. ÒI was a real greenhorn,Ó she remembered. ÒI had two grades in one classroom, and on my first day,Ó she said with a slight smile on her face, Òthree troublemakers met me at the door.Ó
    Like most new teachers, those early days were challenging, but Sylva didnÕt give up on teaching. After the job at Spring Valley, however, she devoted her time to raising a family and supporting her husband in his profession.
    ÒAllen and I were married on July 27, 1948, at Gilman Lutheran Church, and later we moved to Washburn, Wisconsin. He was an eighth grade teacher and the principalÓ she said. ÒThey offered him $2,700 a year.Ó She said adding, ÒAllen didnÕt really want to work for less than $3,000.Ó The district complied with AllenÕs request and even added $100.00 to the package when, in addition to being both the principal and a teacher, he agreed to take on the extra responsibilities of coaching.
    Washburn School District had some perks for their new employee. ÒBecause he was going to be their principal, they reserved a house for us; it even had a garage,Ó she said. In addition to his responsibilities at Washburn, Allen was also active in WEA (Wisconsin Education Association). ÒHe served on the Executive Board for 10 years, and in 1963 he was elected president,Ó said Sylva who remembers traveling with her husband to some of the conventions. She was even able to find a picture of Allen hard at work with other WEA Board members.
    The Andersons remained in Washburn for eight years and then moved to Hudson with their two sons. Allen was principal of Rock Elementary in Hudson. When Allen accepted the position of elementary school principal in Spring Valley, the family returned to the area where Sylva was born.
    During the 1960Õs Sylva decided it was time to return to teaching, but first she had to earn her four-year degree. ÒJon was going to college in River Falls, so I decided I would ride along and finish my degree; I even had to practice teach even though I had already been a teacher,Ó she said.
    She graduated with a four-year teaching degree in 1968 and was offered a job teaching 6th grade in the Baldwin/Woodville School District. Later she would move to the newly built Viking Middle School. Now both parents were employed in the field of education while also working in the fields of SylvaÕs family farm.
    ÒWhen we were in Washburn, my folks asked us if we wanted to buy the far,Ó said Sylva. Farming was in AllenÕs blood, so after returning to the Spring Valley area, thatÕs exactly what they did. ÒWe ran a dairy farm at first,Ó remembered Sylva, Òand later we raised beef.Ó
    At that time, the Andersons were living in Spring Valley, but that was about to change. One morning in the early 1970Õs, a neighbor called to report that the 50-year old unoccupied house was on fire. ÒIt was completely gutted,Ó said Sylva, Òonly the shell of the house remained.Ó
    After they started remodeling, Sylva had an idea. ÒIÕd like to live out there,Ó she said, and so in 1975, the Andersons moved to the country. Sylva had come full circle returning to the house in which she was born.
    In addition to working full time at their jobs and running a farm, Allen and Sylva became active in their community. Allen was mayor of Spring Valley when the dam was built, and he was also on the committee that was instrumental in getting the Spring Valley Health Care Center built.
    The Andersons joined St. JohnÕs Lutheran, and they both became involved in church activities. Allen was president of the council when the church burned in December of 2000.
    In 1991 Sylva retired from Viking Middle School, but Allen continued to work part time at UW/RF supervising student teachers. In 2002 he was diagnosed with cancer, and in June of 2003, SylvaÕs husband of 55 years passed away.
     Today Sylva lives alone on the farm that holds so many memories, but sheÕs not really alone. Every day she cooks dinner for Òthe boys.Ó Both sons, having retired from the teaching profession, now raise cattle and crops on the land their grandfather once farmed.
    SylvaÕs immediate family includes two sons, two daughters-in-law, Linda and Roberta, three grandchildren and two great grandchildren. She also has plenty of nieces and nephews in the area.
    After spending over an hour with Sylva, it was easy to understand her reputation of Òsomeone who knows a lot.Ó In addition to being able to provide details about everything from her childhood to the history of the Spring Valley area to local community news, Sylva also keeps herself informed by reading the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Time Magazine, and novels, both fiction and nonfiction. Her cozy home is full of books, magazines, comfy furniture and family pictures. Photograph albums are full of pictures; these pictures are carefully labeled with both names and dates.
    Before being served hot tea and one of the best pieces of rhubarb pie IÕve ever tasted, Sylva and I looked out the window at the 100 year old lilac bush and a huge oak tree. ÒThat tree has been here, well, forever,Ó she said. The tree, the lilac bush, and all the buildings hold special memories for Sylva.
    In every sense of the word, Sylva (Swenson) Anderson came home again; it is clear that she has no regrets.