Arthur Leidgren 1910 – 2010
An extract translated from a newspaper in Swedish Lapland….
“Former school teacher and naturalist Arthur Leidgren, Dokken, has died at the age of one hundred years. As recently as three months ago he celebrated his 100th birthday.
He was born in Lombolo Vaara, Nattavaaraby as the youngest in a large sibling group. The parents had a homestead. He trained as an elementary school teacher, first at the seminar in Murjek and then people track honors seminar in Lulea. He served at various locations in Gällivare Municipality prior to joining Dokken school in 1947, where he worked until his retirement. He has since stayed in Dokka, except in recent years when he stayed at Ms home in Ore Hill.
In addition to her teaching act, it was Arthur’s great interest and commitment to nature, hunting, fishing and crafts.
He had a rich and healthy life up to old age.
Arthur did, for example, ski trips a day up to age 95. During their forest excursions, he followed what happened in nature.
Arthur’s work is behind the creation of nature reserve where Jerttalompolo including Smew breeds. He managed to protect nornans habitat from logging. He is also the creator Dokkassjön known among ornithologists. His bird observations are published in both Swedish and European articles. For many years he belonged to them as the radio talked about the nature of northern Lapland on Christmas morning and during midsummer. For his efforts in conservation, he received many awards. It may be mentioned that he was an honorary member of Dokken hunting and fishing for prolonged work for wildlife and nature in the district .. Arthur was awarded the 1988 prize of the Nature Conservation Nature Conservation and the 2005 Gällivare Municipality’s environmental scholarship. His efforts have helped plenty of Swift and smew in the areas around Dokken.
In the spring of 1947 Arthur’s wife died. He has spent his entire life been cull and nephews we remember with warmth all nice visit we had and with him. We listened with interest to his many tales from the forest and lake. His thorough knowledge of nature helped enough that his stories were so interesting.
In his handicraft work, he has made knives, wooden bowls, tables, owls, bird feeders and bird tables. Material for these he drew from nature. Many of these crafts are among his nephews and other relatives are fond memories.
Arthur was the last of our parents’ generation. He stood for a lot of our roots in the homeland. We are proud and happy that we had him as uncle.
Holger och Sven Israelsson”
Arthur Leidgren Nature Center Project Summary
We are creating a nature study center in memory of Arthur Leidgren, teacher and naturalist, in the Swedish Lapland village of Dokkas, where he lived and worked for most of his life. The center will include; information about Arthur, the nature, people and culture of the area, an education room, activities and accommodation for tourists and guests. There will also be a walkway to a nearby lake where visitors can observe the nature from two observation towers.
We are developing a programme of events and activities that will allow the center to be open twelve months of the year.
We are currently seeking funding to repair an old school in Dokkas, which will become the nature center.
If you feel you have benefited from the information on my blog or you would like to help support this project, please donate whatever you can afford via the “Donate” button in the sidebar.
