He was born Rolf Wallgren in Resterod parish, in 1878,[1] the son of Axel Wallgren. His father, a Crown Reeve in Sweden, was accused of embezzlement in 1890 and subsequently adopted the surname Bruhn and went to Canada, leaving his family behind. The family moved to Gothenburg, where his mother operated a bakery. In 1894, Rolf left school and worked as a deckhand on freighters. He won a sailboat in a raffle in 1895; he gave most of the money to his mother and bought a ticket to Canada.
There, like his father, he adopted the surname Bruhn. Bruhn worked as a sailor on the Great Lakes; moving west, he worked on the railway and as a miner and logger. In 1898, he settled in Malakwa, British Columbia. Bruhn married Anna Treat in 1902. Bruhn supplemented his income from farming with road contract work. In 1910, he moved with his family to Salmon Arm, working as a road foreman and then road superintendent. He also served four years as an alderman.
Bruhn lost his position of road superintendent after the Liberals were elected in 1916. He moved to Sicamous, where he established a business producing cedar poles. Bruhn was badly burned in a fire and, for a time, his wife managed the company. The company expanded, building a lumber mill at Canoe and adding logs and railway ties to its products.
He was named to the Conservative cabinet as President of the Executive Council in 1928 and as Minister of Public Works in 1930. Bruhn helped draft the platform for the Social Constructive Party in 1937 and, although he ran as an Independent candidate in the 1937 general election, he was endorsed by the Constructives. The Social Constructive Party was not successful and Bruhn ran again as a Conservative in 1941. Later that year, he was again Minister of Public Works in a Liberal/Conservative coalition government. Bruhn suffered a stroke and died in office the following year.[1][2]
Further readingedit
Abbott, George M. (1995). "Okanagan Historical Society: Rolf Wallgren Bruhn. Pioneer and Politician". library.ubc.ca: 93–101 (87–95).
Referencesedit
^ ab"Rolf Wallgren Bruhn, Pioneer and Politician". Living Landscapes. Royal BC Museum. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
^. Legislature of British Columbia. February 2, 1943. p. 3. Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
rolf, wallgren, bruhn, september, 1878, august, 1942, swedish, born, farmer, lumberman, political, figure, british, columbia, represented, salmon, legislative, assembly, british, columbia, from, 1924, 1942, conservative, salmon, armin, office, 1924, 1942person. Rolf Wallgren Bruhn September 4 1878 August 30 1942 was a Swedish born farmer lumberman and political figure in British Columbia He represented Salmon Arm in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1924 to 1942 as a Conservative Rolf Wallgren BruhnMLA for Salmon ArmIn office 1924 1942Personal detailsBornRolf Wallgren 1878 09 04 September 4 1878Resterod Parish SwedenDiedAugust 30 1942 1942 08 30 aged 63 Vancouver CanadaPolitical partyBritish Columbia Conservative PartySpouseAnna Treat He was born Rolf Wallgren in Resterod parish in 1878 1 the son of Axel Wallgren His father a Crown Reeve in Sweden was accused of embezzlement in 1890 and subsequently adopted the surname Bruhn and went to Canada leaving his family behind The family moved to Gothenburg where his mother operated a bakery In 1894 Rolf left school and worked as a deckhand on freighters He won a sailboat in a raffle in 1895 he gave most of the money to his mother and bought a ticket to Canada There like his father he adopted the surname Bruhn Bruhn worked as a sailor on the Great Lakes moving west he worked on the railway and as a miner and logger In 1898 he settled in Malakwa British Columbia Bruhn married Anna Treat in 1902 Bruhn supplemented his income from farming with road contract work In 1910 he moved with his family to Salmon Arm working as a road foreman and then road superintendent He also served four years as an alderman Bruhn lost his position of road superintendent after the Liberals were elected in 1916 He moved to Sicamous where he established a business producing cedar poles Bruhn was badly burned in a fire and for a time his wife managed the company The company expanded building a lumber mill at Canoe and adding logs and railway ties to its products He was named to the Conservative cabinet as President of the Executive Council in 1928 and as Minister of Public Works in 1930 Bruhn helped draft the platform for the Social Constructive Party in 1937 and although he ran as an Independent candidate in the 1937 general election he was endorsed by the Constructives The Social Constructive Party was not successful and Bruhn ran again as a Conservative in 1941 Later that year he was again Minister of Public Works in a Liberal Conservative coalition government Bruhn suffered a stroke and died in office the following year 1 2 Further reading editAbbott George M 1995 Okanagan Historical Society Rolf Wallgren Bruhn Pioneer and Politician library ubc ca 93 101 87 95 References edit a b Rolf Wallgren Bruhn Pioneer and Politician Living Landscapes Royal BC Museum Retrieved 2011 10 21 Journals of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia Legislature of British Columbia February 2 1943 p 3 Archived from the original on April 25 2012 Retrieved 2011 10 21 nbsp nbsp This article about a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rolf Wallgren Bruhn amp oldid 1187994057, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
