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Mary Joan Sargeant Ockerstrom
by Lolly Ockerstrom
109 N. Ridge Avenue
Liberty, MO 64068
Mary ‘Joan’ Ockerstrom, nee Sargeant was a nineteen year old English war bride from Shrewsbury in Shropshire who came to the States aboard the Queen Mary in April 1946 (Easter Sunday, April 21). With her was her daughter two-year-old Karen, who was born in Shrewsbury during the war. While at sea, Joan and her husband exchanged telegrams--as she travelled aboard the Queen Mary. He was a Swedish-born Tech Sergeant in the Army Air Corps and aboard one of the Victory ships during this time.
He had seen her off in England, and they did not see each other again until both arrived in Iron River, Michigan, in the Upper Peninsula. Joan and Karen took the train, after having waited several days in New York. It took three days to get to Iron River from New York City. While travelling thru Ohio, she kept asking the conductor, "Where are we now?" He kept saying, "We are in Ohio." She couldn't believe that Ohio could be so huge. She finally arrived in Michigan at 4:00 a.m., exhausted after such a long trip. She and Karen were the only ones to disembark from the train. It was dark and cold. They were met by her new Swedish in-laws on the platform in Iron Mountain. They took her luggage, placed it in the back of the old Model T and drove an hour to the farm outside of Iron River. During that time, no one said a word: they were Swedish, and she was exhausted. The only thing she wanted was a clean bed--but it was Sunday, and Gramma Ockerstrom wanted to show off her new English daughter-in-law, and their new grandbaby. So--exhausted it was off to church they went.
Thus begins their new life in America.
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