Margaret Hultgren was born in Vadstena, Sweden on April 22, 1851. She emigrated to the United States in 1874. By 1895, she was a nurse living in St. Paul, Minnesota. One can only wonder how a single woman, a nurse, found herself in Bemidji by 1910. She lived near Lake Irving in a little house at 214 America Avenue SW and then at 512 Oak St, if not all, of the time she was in Bemidji. It was a lovely neighborhood. The baseball field was close by and there was plenty of fishing and swimming by the youngsters in Lake Irving. She also lived near the Bemidji Brewery which was a booming concern until all saloons and breweries were closed on Nov. 30, 1914 in Bemidji.
She was very active in the Swedish Mission, and she repeatedly hosted meetings and lectures at her home, when pastors came to town to preach for the Swedish Lutheran Church. The photo is from 1914. 
She worked as a nurse in Bemidji until she suffered a nervous breakdown in the fall of 1918 and spent time at St. Anthony’s hospital. She recovered sufficiently to leave the hospital and return to her home. She continued to host some of the meetings of the Swedish Mission until October 1919.
A neighbor boy, Clinton Ditty, remembered Miss Hultgren, the elderly lady who lived to the south of the Clinton’s, who used to prepare and sell roasted peanuts. Everyone helped her out, including Clinton who helped her separate the skins from the peanuts and help sell them. They sold for 10 cents a bag, which was expensive for a few peanuts in a bag. Clinton Ditty figured people bought them to be charitable, but she also lived close to the depot of the Red Lake railroad. Clinton, himself, sold peanuts and newspapers at the Red Lake line depot. There were mostly Indians and lumberjacks riding this train, but in its early years, passenger revenues accounted for about 25 per cent of the operating receipts of the railroad. Railroad-sponsored pleasure trips to Red Lake added to passenger traffic. During August and September, 1906, the railroad ran special excursions each Sunday between Bemidji and Redby at a round-trip fare of one dollar. In 1938 when the Red Lake line went out of business, it was sad to see the little railroad fail because there were no more logs to haul. The old depot has been remodeled and is now a private residence.
In 1927, Margaret Hultgren left Bemidji and went to Chicago. One can only speculate why she left. Perhaps she had family in Chicago. She died there at the age of 78 on Jan 27, 1930. She is buried in Oakdale Cemetery in Chicago.
Her little house at 214 America Ave SW no longer exists. Neither does the house at Oak Street.