Written off as a 'probable pseudonym' by Dave Junchen in his 1980s AMICA articles, Bonnie
Bergstrom appears to have been a real (and very
young) roll artist. Her first Supertone roll was
1931, which means she was 16 at the earliest when it
was recorded! She continues to appear until the
final Capitol Supertone issues in 1933.
Bergstrom was the
daughter of Ellis and Hilma, Swedish immigrants who
arrived in the USA in 1906. Ellis worked as a
pattern maker for a printing firm. She also had a
younger brother, Bertil (born August 1917).
In 1928 the family
were prosperous enough to afford a visit to Sweden,
arriving back in the USA 17 September 1928 on the
ship Drottningholm, from the port of Gothenburg.
She was one of the best and brightest at Lindblom
High School in Chicago - the June 1932 yearbook
listing her as Vice-President of 4A and 3B classes,
Girls Council, Honor Society, Scholarship of the "L"
Club, Editor of the "Steam Whistle", and Treasurer
of the Junior Girls Club. She is also listed as 'Radio
Artist' next to her photograph - many of the
other students have professions listed, from private
secretary to estimator to aviatrix, and I'm unsure
as to whether this was the career path they were
studying to attain, or work they had already
secured.
The daughter of
Capitol head arranger Roy Rodocker, Joyce Rodocker,
was also in the same year as Bergstrom, and belonged
to the same Junior Girls Club, so she may have been
introduced to the business through Joyce.
A Billboard
Magazine article of 10 July 1943 reports on a
performance by Alice Rawleigh And Her Diplomettes Of
Rhythm in San Diego, and mentions "Bonnie
Bergstrom, another looker, is a triple-threat gal,
handling piano, accordion and doing much of the
arranging". The article also mentions her as
being one of the vocalists for the group, both in
trio singing and as a "torchy soloist".
The probability of this Bonnie Bergstrom being
the same as the Chicago Bergstrom is increased by
the fact a Hilma O. Bergstrom, born 3 February 1884,
is recorded as dying in California (Los Angeles) on
15 August 1966 and Ellis Bergstrom, born 9 October
1886, died in Los Angeles on 26 August 1968.
At some point
after 1943, Bergstrom married Robert Frederick
Hickman (1920-1967), who served as a Sergeant in the
US Marine Corps. from 1939.
A Social Security Death Index that seems to match lists a Bonnie B. Hickman, nee Bergstrom
as dying in San Diego on 22 April 1983. The birth date of 4 November 1915 does not match with
the earlier birth date given specifically in the 1928 ship record, but does match that implied in the
1920 census (Bonnie is listed as 4 years 1 month old, and the census was taken 2nd January 1920).
This Bonnie Hickman is buried in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetary in San Diego, Plot Q1416, with her husband.
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