AUNT IDA

– Ingmar Bergman’s dream woman

Ida Löfqvist is one of the Fåröese interviewed by Ingmar Bergman in his first documentary film on Fårö, where she describes all the hardship she had endured. She was born in 1893 as Ida Wessman. She married Elof Löfqvist and they had two sons, Manfred and Nils. When Ida was 23 years old, her husband died of cancer and she was left to support her sons, then a three-year-old and a baby. Sometime later she worked as a housekeeper for Albert Ahlberg, a farmer at Lilla Hoburga on Fårö.

LIFE-CHANGING ACCIDENT

When Ida was 36, she was involved in a bike accident, with tragic consequences. One dark night she crashed into another cyclist. Ida was injured; her leg throbbed with pain and she couldn’t walk on it. But, she continued to do her daily chores, dragging herself round with one leg on a stool. Sometime later, Ida felt very poorly, got a high temperature and was sent to hospital. By then, gangrene had set in, and her only alternative was to have her leg amputated just below the knee joint. The doctor just couldn’t grasp how she had coped so long in such pain. After several operations, she had a prosthetic limb fitted in Stockholm.

IDA STARTS UP HER OWN BUSINESS

When her sons  had finished school and found work, they were able to contribute to the household kitty, which enabled Ida to give up her work as a housekeeper and start working as a seamstress. Her dream had finally come true. The islanders soon realized that Ida was a skillful semstress and her services were in great demand. In order to visit her clients, she bought a handtrike – a three-wheeled biker, powered by the arms rather than the legs. Her grandchild Siv Söderdahl recalled that they had to give her a push now and then, when she had to climb steep hills. Sometimes, they went along just to check that she actually arrived at her destination.

Ida’s son Nils became a widower at 32 and was left alone with four daughters. Ida took over the household for her son’s family, while continuing with her sewing business. Ida could sew just about anything; coats, suits, costumes, bridal gowns. She was also very apt at carding, spinning and making fishing nets. The photo of Ida depicts her at a spinning contest in the beginning of the 1960s.

MEETING INGMAR BERGMAN

One day, when Ingmar Bergman called in on Ida, she was in the throes of crocheting a bedspread for one of her grandchildren. He found it very beautiful and asked Ida if she could make one just like it for his bed. She did as he asked, and when Ingmar Bergman saw the bedspread he said it was so beautiful that he was going to put it on his wall. He wondered how much  he owed her, and Ida said that she would be quite satisfied with the cost of the yarn. ”But surely, there must be something that you have always wanted, Ida?” replied Bergman. Then she told him she had always wanted a small television set, but….”they’re expensive, aren’t they?”

Some days later, Ingmar Bergman turned up with a lovely big TV. Ida was overjoyed! The bedspread has graced Ingmar Bergman’s bed at his home at Hammars o Fårö ever since.

Ida died on March 24, 1978 at the age of 85. She is buried in the Fårö churchyard alongside her Elof.