Hans Nilsson was born on January 29, 1920 in the hospital at Nyköping. His parents, Johan Ivar and Anna Amalia (nee Karlsson), lived on Västra Långgatan, Nyköping. The other momentous thing that happened in 1920 was that Ivar Nilsson started Trosa Annonsblad. When his father died in 1941, Hans took over. He became known as Mr Trosa for his extensive knowledge of Trosa history. By that time, the family was living in the bookshop in Trosa centrum.
When not being involved with the day to day running of Trosa Annonsblad, Hans was busy preserving Trosa’s history for prosperity. To this end, he was heavily involved in the local home village association or hembygdsförening.
He produced a series of booklets containing photographs of daily life in Trosa and short pieces focussing on historical details. Here’s a link to one.
At some point, Hans married Dagmar and they spent the rest of their lives in Trosa. I pass their gravestone every time I walk into town.
I’d loved to have met him, talk with him, maybe have a beer with him. His knowledge of Trosa was second to none. Mind you, I have no idea if he spoke English. So that may have been a problem.
Still, what a guy.
But What is Trosa annansblad??
The Swedish word, ‘annonsblad’ translates as ‘advertisement sheet’. It was a publication that contained ads regarding various shops in Trosa.