Memories of Camilla Olin Johnson
Camilla was a beautiful and independent woman. She was considered by most to be the family matriarch after the death of her mother. She took on the responsibility of keeping the family together. She was incredibly strong-willed, religious and hard-working. Her creative talents are legendary--her favorite boutique was the Goodwill. She could turn an old bathrobe into a king's robe! She was also very clever with her finances. She received a loan from her sister, Rena, and bought a boarding house in Minneapolis. She worked very hard running it and renovating when she had the extra money. She was also wise about investing her money so that she well in her old age. She enjoyed going on cruises with her sister, Vivian, or her nieces and grandnieces. The other remarkable quality about Camilla was that her loyalty to family went beyond what was popular or convenient at the time. She is best known for helping out those who needed it, regardless of the circumstances. Sometimes when their own families would not or could not help.
Interestingly, it was Camilla who I credit with originally getting me interested in the family history. She gave me a copy of the infamous Anneke Jans genealogy from her mother's side. Did she know what she was doing? She could have handed it to any one of her family and I'm sure she did hand out copies to some. I suppose I was struck by how important family was to her. I admired her so much and would have loved to be like her and I suppose I am in some ways. But, she is a hard act to follow and I must be myself of course. And, I believe that we Olins would manage to find a way to stick together anyway. I sometimes wonder if she isn't smiling down on me and nodding her head in approval. I hope so. I loved her dearly and her death was a very sad day indeed.
From Joyce Sandretzky Rothman: Camilla who I called "Aunt Camilla" [they were first cousins] used to come up to Stone Lake often. She drove a big car back when few women knew how to drive and she was good to us kids. She was very smart and a very hard worker. I used to stay with her during the summer when Elmer was small and help him with his reading.
From Marilyn Olin Finnegan: Camilla always held family dear to her. It is sad she never got to go to a family reunion for it would have meant a lot to her. Perhaps she is smiling down on all the family reunions. Whenever any family member was getting married or having a baby, Camilla was the one to have a shower. She enjoyed getting all the family together.
We spent many memorable Christmas Eves at Camilla's house and Camilla and Mel were always a part of Christmas at our house. The memories go on because the Olins have always been a close family. I credit Camilla for my getting to know a lot of my cousins.
