Archive

The Lolland Libraries are collecting memories for a new book, which will be about life with the sugar beet on Lolland and Falster before and now.

If you have in some way taken part in the sugar adventure, you are encouraged to contribute to the book, which is published in collaboration with Denmark's Sugar Museum on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the beginning of this year.

It was in the spring of 1873 that the first sugar beets were sown, which were to be used for the production of sugar in the first sugar factory that was built on Lolland and Falster. It was the Roesukkerfabrikken "Lolland", which was completed in January 1874.

Of the total of 9 sugar factories that were built in Denmark in the period up to 1912, there are now only 2 left. That they are located on Lolland and Falster, respectively, is no coincidence. Here, the soil is more favorable for sugar beet cultivation than in the rest of Denmark. We also have the most optimal climate conditions for growing sugar beet in terms of sun and rainfall.

When you are told around the country that you come from Lolland or Falster, the conversation often turns to beets. It is what many associate the region with. But it is far from all of us who have a part in the sugar adventure. There are many of us who only follow from a distance how the beets grow in the fields, and it is usually only the smell from the sugar factories and an increasing number of trucks and tractors on the roads that remind us that the campaign is underway. Our knowledge of the work with the sugar beet in the various stages is also rather limited. You might be able to help fix that.

Personal stories
In recent years, LollandBibliotekerne has published a large number of books with memoirs. From several quarters we have been encouraged to choose beet cultivation and sugar production as a subject for a forthcoming book publication, and now it must be. Incidentally, it was only after we had decided to get started that it dawned on us that we are approaching the 150th anniversary of the start of the adventure.

It is the personal stories we are looking for. It can be from anyone who is either still or has previously been involved in one or more of the processes in sugar production, i.e. from developing seeds, growing beets, transporting the beets and working in the factories. Send us your story, whether you have devoted your entire working life to the task or it has only been seasonal work for you. If you are one of the farmers who supplied beets to the sugar factories, the size of the deliveries makes no difference. Likewise, we would of course like to have stories from all the departments at the sugar factories in both production and administration. Please also write about how your work may have changed over time. There will probably also be families where sugar beet has been the focal point for several generations. Of course, we would also like to include those stories.