Nothing could stop Zaida when she left her village in Härjedalen to Study at Påhlman’s Business Collage in Stockholm, and soon became the Private Secretary at GM HQ in Stockholm.
After a year as Au Pair in L.A. in 1959 she graduated as Stewardess and on flights out of SFO she met her husband of 55 years. Soon they both had Real Estate Licenses. A year ago, she retired from a long career as a successful Mortgage Broker in Silicon Valley.
Music has been a source of inspiration on every turn of her Life’s Journey, not the least when recovering from serious illness the last year.
I sent some questions and Zaida shared generously of her interesting life experiences.
Where in Sweden do you come from? How did fall in love with Music?
I was born in Hede, a small village in Härjedalen, Sweden. I have been singing as long as I can remember. There was always music and singing in my home. My Dad played the accordion, my mom and sister sang in the church choir, my brother played tenor sax and when my cousin was old enough become the church organist. In my early years our Minister asked me to sing at every Lucia. I also joined the church choir. Christmas morning, we first travelled to a neighboring village to sing for their 5:00 am “julotta” and then back to Hede to sing at 7:00 am during their “julotta”.
Tell us about your education and first job?
My village didn’t have a High School, so I had to attend at the closest available High School, which was in Sveg. I lived there for four years during the week and commuted back to Hede on weekends and holidays.
After attending Business College in Stockholm, I got a job at General Motors, at Hammarbyhöjden, outside Stockholm, as a private secretary, corresponding in English and German. Lucky for me, GM had their own choir. The highlight was when we performed at Blåhallen in Stockholm’s Stadshus.
When did you first move to California?
In 1959 I wanted to go to America and got a job in Los Angeles, as an au pair. The year that I worked for Dr. and Mrs. Mudd was one of the most exciting years of my life. I studied voice in Hollywood, the family took me on a vacation to Palm Springs where I was introduced to Walt Disney. Besides their residence in Arcadia, they owned a summer home in Malibu, where we lived for three months in the summer. We watched a movie being made on the beach by Gregory Peck and Deborah Kerr. Our next-door neighbor was Katherine Hepburn.
When did you move to Bay Area/ Silicon Valley?
Au pair job wasn’t enough excitement for me, so when my year was up, I started studying at Airline School Pacific to become a Stewardess. When I graduated, I took a job at the San Francisco Airport.
During one of the flights, I met my future husband, and we were married for 55 years. We had two children. In 1970 my husband decided to get his Real Estate license, so I decided to do the same. I started selling Real Estate but for the last 30 years I worked as a Mortgage Broker.
When did you start Zaida singers? What inspired you?
It didn’t take long for me to miss the singing and I decided to join the Mission Valley Barbershop Chorus, 60 women strong. I sang with them for seven years. But it was taking a toll on my family.
So, I left them and laid low for a couple years, but my urge to sing was too strong. I had joined Svea Lodge in 1972 and in 1975 I got the idea to start a singing group there.
We call ourselves Zaida Singers. We started singing at Valborg / Walpurgis nights, Lucia, and Christmas. As the word of this small singing group got around, more and more singers joined.
We have performed at the Swedish church services in San Francisco and now at the Los Altos Church, SWEA’s bazaars, Swedish organizations, festivals, colleges, weddings, for the King of Sweden, Princess Christina, the Young Scandinavian Club and Sweden in Bloom. We are the longest surviving choir in the Bay Area and over the 45+ years I have had more than 100 singers join my choir. It has also been a focal point for swedes to meet other singers and to form long lasting relationships.
The Healing Power of Music and Positive Energy -can you share with us your experience?
A year ago, I found out that I had stage four breast cancer and at the same time my Real Estate license became due. I didn’t have the energy to study for my license and deal with my all the treatments. After working in the business for over 40 years I decided to retire. I was sick for almost a year, but now I feel like I’m back to normal. I am known for having a positive attitude which has helped me get through this past year.
I’m fortunate to have wonderful family and friends. A special thank you to Jan and Kikki Nordin that always were there to keep me going.