ORAL HISTORY OF JOHN LUND KRIKEN Interviewed by Suzanne ...

Kriken: And so my mother was alone in new country, learning English, and struggling
through that time. And well anyway, I really didn’t have a clear idea of who
this man was who would visit us every six months or so, until one evening she
read me a telegram, I don’t remember how old I was, perhaps five. She read it
to me. I don’t know if I quite understood it, but I saw that she was crying, and
that she was referring to this person. And his ship had been torpedoed. But he
survived. Anyway, it was with this trauma, that I finally realized that he was
important and that I had a father.
Riess: That’s a terrifically interesting memory. Do you remember her as being sad and
worried all the time?
Kriken: No. I think it was just that experience at a very early age.
Riess: And you were an only child for quite a long time.
Kriken: For six years, until my brother was born.
Riess: You started out in school here?
Kriken: Yes, and I guess the first thing I remember about elementary school is that I
was always having to stay after school, and it was always for talking in class. I
don’t think I was the one talking; I think it was people talking to me. I was not
particularly performance-oriented, or academically strong in elementary
school, until in the sixth grade I had a teacher who encouraged my drawing
3