sigdalslag genealogist honoredsigdalslag.org/pdf/04_oct_saga.pdf · 2017. 9. 12. · editor’s...
TRANSCRIPT
Gifts and Memorials
From David and LeeRokke a $25.00 memorialfor Alice Mensing
His Majesty Harald V of Norway hasgiven Leona Eng Rokke one of Norway’shighest distinctions, the St. Olavs Medal-lion. The Medal was presented to her onJuly 10, 2004 at a banquet of the SevenLag Stevne in Willmar, Minnesota.
Norwegian Consul, AnitaHelland, at the presentationceremony said of Mrs.Rokke: “All her adult lifethis person has graciouslygiven of her time to keepand strengthen the strongbonds between Norway andthe upper Midwest. She isstill very active-and when Isee the strength and energyshe has I’m sure she willcontinue her good work formany years to come. Shehas written, edited, indexedand served on boards andcommittees for so manygroups it is almost impossi-ble for a poor Norwegian to believe.
For Norway and the Royal NorwegianConsulate General it is a true privilege tohave dedicated people like Lee Rokkeworking together with us.”
She is an outstanding genealogist thathas shared her knowledge with othersthrough various publications and lectures.
For more than a decade she has editedAvisen - the newspaper of the Norwegian-American Genealogical Association. Shehas been a board member of the Bygdela-genes Fellesraad. For years she has on aweekly basis been doing voluntary work
for the Norwegian- Ameri-can Historical Association.Thanks to her work, thecollections at NAHA arefar more accessible. Andthe electronic indexing shehas been doing will eventu-ally be added to the NAHAweb site and hence avail-able to researchers any-where.
She has been a trustee ofthe Vesterheim Museumfor 20 years and chair ofthe Vesterheim GenealogyCommittee. As an activemember of Sons of Norwayshe wrote the genealogy
guide for the Cultural Skills Program. AsSigdalslag genealogist, she compiled andpublished an index of the ‘Krødsheradbygdebok’. She edited and published Eng-lish editions of 5 Sigdalslag books. Shemaintains contact with Norway and regu-larly helps facilitate American's visits tothe "home farm" in Sigdal. She has col-
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Sigdalslag Genealogist HonoredNews Release, July 24, 2004
Report From 7-LagStevne
3
Important MemberInformation
4
New Historian NeedsYour Help
5
NSI AnnouncesLogo Contest!
5
Lag Receives Gift fromNorway
7
Happy 99th birthday toO.B. Stovern!
9
Inside this issue:
P Velkommen, nyelag medlemmer!
RICK LYNN HAGENAnchorage, AK
KEITH TRONSONSacramento, CA
HERALD TASTADMayville, ND
HARVEY VOLDENGAshton, ON
JAN JOHNSONBloomington MN
Serving Norwegian-Americans of Sigdal, Eggedal & Krødsherad ancestry
Sigdalslag Saga
October, 2004
Volume 24, Issue 3
Since 1911
Norwegian Consul Anita Hellandpresents medal to Lee Rokke
Editor’s Corner...
The 2004 stevne, for which
Sigdalslaget was the
host, is now in the histor
y book. We had a very good
turnout - 355 paid admissi
ons - and this is the main
ingredient for a successfu
l stevne. From what I hear
d,
the classes were well atte
nded, the genealogy room w
as
busy, and all the cultural
/entertainment programs ma
de
a hit with the audience. A
ll this is a further indic
a-
tion of a successful stevn
e. We also had a thrilling
late addition to the progr
am: Anita Helland from the
Norwegian Consul’s office
in Minneapolis attended ou
r
banquet and presented the
St. Olaf medal to our own
Lee Rokke. Yes, the stevne
was a great experience bu
t
it is a relief to put it b
ehind us!
I’m glad to welcome a newl
y elected vice president,
Rodney Pletan. I also want
to thank Carol Meade, who
is retiring as vice presid
ent. The three vice presi-
dents have accepted respon
sibilities as follows: Gar
th
Ulrich, membership; Judy S
osted, heritage; Rod Petan
,
technology. In the latter
assignment, which is new
this year, Rod will look f
or new ways to use compute
rs
to better serve our member
s. And here is another pie
ce
of good news: the position
of Historian, vacant for
two years, has been filled
, Dianne Snell has accept
ed
this job, and just in time
to help with the new Sig-
dalslag book. Thanks, Dia
nne.
Members should please take
note of thewebsite
policy noticeon page 4 (an
d opt out if you like). At
the stevne, your Sigdalsla
g Board decided to change
the policy regarding acces
s to your information in t
he
Sigdalslag website data ba
se.
In this newsletter you wil
l find requests for your
input to the new Sigdalsla
g book, a logo contest, an
d
a survey about the schedul
e for future stevner. Plea
se
participate!
Ha det bra,Earl O. Knuts
on
upcoming issues of ‘Saga’ for other members tofind you.
Do you have stories from your childhoodthat relate to your Norwegian heritage andtraditions? Please send them in! Likely, yourstory will spark memories for others.
Best wishes through the Holidays,Cindy Peterson
Are you fluent in Norwegian and English?Okay, maybe not fluent, but pretty good…would you be willing to help another memberto translate their Norwegian papers and letters?I have not had any requests for this service yet,but I’ll bet that there are a few who couldbenefit from it . If you are willing, p lease sendme your contact information and I will post it in
Fra Presidenten:
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2004-2005SigdalslagOfficersEARL O. KNUTSON President722 Second Street SWWillmar, MN 56201(320) [email protected]
GARTH ULRICH VP 1/ MembershipBox 28, Spalding SKSOK 4CO, CANADA(306) [email protected]
JUDY SOSTED VP 2/Heritage1118 Lia CourtNorthfield, MN [email protected]
RODNEY PLETAN VP 3/ Technology7414 W BroadwayForest Lake, MN 55025-8474(651) [email protected]
DON SKADELAND Treasurer10642 “O” StreetOmaha, NE 68127(402) [email protected]
AMY MICHELSEN Secretary18730 Roanoke St. NWAnoka, MN 55303-8971(763) [email protected]
LEE ROKKE Genealogist13465 Garden View DriveApple Valley, MN 55124(952) [email protected]
DIANNE SNELL Historian6929 Park Ave.Auburn, WA 98092(253) [email protected]
MARILYN MOEN Co-Editor32557 Clay Bank RoadErhard, MN [email protected]
CINDY PETERSON Co-Editor3520 Banyan StreetSanta Rosa, CA [email protected]
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Report From the7 Lag Stevne
Willmar, Minnesota HolidayInn & Conference Center
July 7-10, 2004
By Marilyn Moen
Ninety Sigdalslag members weregathered in Willmar, MN for the 20047 Lag Stevne. This was highest num-ber of Sigdalslag members attending aStevne in recent years. The theme wasAmber Waves of Grain. Sigdal wasresponsible for the planning and pub-licity for this year’s event. Congratu-lations to President Earl and all fromthe lag who helped make this a verysuccessful event.
The 7 Lag Stevne includes theLand, Hadeland, Numedal, Ringerike-Drammen, Sigdal, Telemark, & Totenlags celebrating our Norwegian heri-tage from these areas in Norway.Some 355 persons attended the Stevnein Willmar.
The genealogy room was set up inGalleries 5-6-7 of the Conference Cen-ter giving lots of space for the manywho were there to search information
on their ancestors. For the second yearthe genealogy room was available onWednesday from 6:00 to 9:00 as wellas Thursday and ending at noon onFriday. Each lag was well representedwith excellent persons to help searchthe multitude of information available.Lee Rokke, Sigdal genealogist, pro-vided assistance and many resources tothose searching the Sigdal area.
Some of the special events andtours included a pontoon boat dinnercruise on Green Lake, a beginner’sHardanger embroidery class, a churchdinner at Calvary Lutheran Church anda tour of the church showcasing theprofessional works on display by localWillmar sculptor/artist Fred Cogelow,and a history tour of NW KandiyohiCounty.
On Thursday and Friday twenty-oneclasses and video’s were available forthose attending 2004 Stevne on impor-tant genealogy topics, crafts and dance.
On Friday the opening ceremonywas held with greetings from each ofthe lag presidents, with Earl Knutson,the president of Sigdalslag presiding.Norma Snelling led the national an-thems of the United States, Canada andNorway. Norma Snelling also led asing along at the end of the program.Dr. Mike Morris of Willmar presentedAn American doctor’s experience inNorway and Rev. Joel Njus talkedabout The Norway Lake Lutheran His-torical Association. Friday evening’s
program included Norwegian Dancingby Mikkel Thompson and Ruth Sylteand Songs and Stories by ErikBergeson.
Saturday the various lags held theirannual meetings. The Sigdalslag meet-ing was held at the Old Log Church
near Norway Lake in Arctander Town-ship, Kandiyohi County, Minnesota.This was a beautiful site for the meet-ing. The business meeting includedelection of officers, introductions, atribute to Alice Mensing written by herniece Addie Williams and read by Earl
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Artist Fred Cogelow with Maren Mickelsensitting in his wood carved “Rulle Stol” (wheelchair)
(l-r) Megan Moen, Maren Michelsen &Kristian Moen enjoyed the stevne too!
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2004 Stevne...
Knutson, thanks to CarolMeade for her service on theboard, a certificate of appre-ciation to be included in theSaga for Håvard Støvern forhis assistance to the lag, adiscussion of new book to bepublished and help needed bycurrent members. (See webpage and Saga insert for fur-ther information). The pro-gram included a review of the list of Sig-dal-Eggedal-Krødsherad immigrant settlersin the Norway Lake area of KandiyohiCounty, Minnesota. Doug Glesne, de-scendant of Krødsherad settlers in thisarea, spoke about the Glesne family andthe Railsons in Norway Lake Township.Earl Knutson, descendant of Sigdal settlers
in this area, spoke about the Ole and Aase
Knudson family in Arctander Township.Guri Enger, a guest from the Enger farm inNedre Eggedal, spoke about her family andher job as a missionary in Mali.
Saturday afternoon the Malm Basselur-skan Harmonica Orchestra from Trondelagperformed from 2:30 to 4:00. The Stevnewas culminated by the Banquet at 5:00with dinner music by the Norseman. Thiswas followed at 7:00 by the Bunad paradeand the comedy of Ole and Sven by DaveNelson and Phil Dybdal.
The next 7 Lag Stevne will be held inWhitewater, Wisconsin. An enjoyabletime was had by those attending in Will-mar. We look forward to the next Stevne!Mark your calendars and plan to attend.
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Irene Larson and Rod Pletan found the goodies!
ImportantWebsitePrivacy Notice
The Sigdalslag Board ofDirectors has decided tomake more informationavailable to memberswith passwords to thewebsite; the address,phone number, e-mailaddress, and ancestryof fellow members willbe made available. Theonline data base isupdated about once amonth and will providemore current informa-tion than the directorymailed to members lastNovember.
However, the Board alsorealized that somemembers might beuncomfortable withhaving the increasedinformation available.If you choose not tohave this informationdisplayed, please notifyEarl Knutson (see p. 2for address) Or, you canlog on at any timeafterward and changethe status yourself.
MembershipDirectoryAssistance …
Members are asked toreport any errors foundin the SigdalslagMembership Directory inorder that an errata tothe directory can becompiled. Please reporterrors to Garth Ulrichvia post or email (seep. 2 for address).
Schedule Change for Future Stevnes?The NSI Board Members have discussed the possibility of delaying future 7-Lag
Stevnes (after 2005) by one day. Instead of the Thursday to Saturday schedule, itwould be a Friday to Sunday schedule. We are hoping that this might encouragemore people in the work force to attend our stevnes and take advantage of genealogyhours.
We would appreciate our members' input. Please contact a board member ofSigdalslag with your thoughts to this possible change. If you have concerns orsuggestions for the board to consider, please add them also.
NSI Board Members
NSI ANNOUNCESLOGO CONTEST!
Norwegian Stevner Incorporated (NSI),the organization that brings you the 7-Lag Stevne every year, has announced alogo contest. The objective of the compe-tition is a new logothat can be used byNSI as a letterhead, onstevne programs andin advertising. Therules are quite simple:
1. One original design (in black andwhite or in color) per contestant.
2. Contestant must be a current mem-ber of one of the seven cooperatinglag (Hadeland, Land, Numedal-slågen, Ringerike Drammen Dis-tricts, Sigdal, Telelag, Toten)
3. Logo design is to be submitted on8½” by 11” paper with NO identifi-cation.
4. A cover letter will accompany thesubmitted design, which identifiesand qualifies the contestant. It mustalso include a statement assigningall ownership rights, if selected, toNSI.
5. Design must be mailed to EarlKnutson, 772 SW 2nd St. Willmar,MN 56201.
6. All designs must be received byFebruary 1, 2005
The NSI board of directors will an-nounce the winning design at the 2005stevne.
The winning contestant will receive re-imbursement of registration for 2 peopleat the 2005 stevne in Whitewater WI.
Lag Historian Needs Your Help
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One day in early August, in a moment of temporary insanity(at least I hope it’s temporary), I accepted President EarlKnutson’s request to be the Lag historian for the next few years.Now that it is a done deal, my first duty is to find out exactlywhat a Lag historian does. Earl says it is to keep the history ofthe Lag. Sounds logical—but where to start?
The “Amber Waves of Grain” Seven-Lag Stevne in Willmarwas still fresh in my mind so I opted to start there. Since then Ihave compiled an overview of the happenings of that event andhave started making a scrapbook. (Don’t miss the wonderfulreport and pictures on our web site!)
Earl’s next “assignment” will be a bit more difficult. Itseems that a lot of the history of Sigdalslag from about 1950 to1980 has been lost or misplaced. The Board wants to reconstructthis history as much as possible, and to do that we need every-one’s help.
Earl gave me some good leads. Odd Lovoll’s 1975 book,The Bygedlag in America, gave the following information aboutofficers of Sigdalslag up to that time:
Presidents: Theodor Bjørka (1935-68); Lars N. Mohagen(1968-?)
Secretaries: Anton S. Aasand (1953-1971); Mrs. SelmerSkinnemoen (1971-?).
According to the 1949 Sigdalslaget book, Theodor Bjørkawas born at Bjørka in Krodsherad to Ole & Kari Bjørka. Thefamily immigrated to America in 1880. They first came to Olm-sted County, Minnesota and later moved to Aastad, Otter TailCounty, where Theodor Bjørka was farming at the time of the1949 publication. (Noted in the biography of his sister, Mrs.Theo Thorson).
Anton Aasand was noted as being the Sigdalslag Saga writerand historian. The children of Anton Aasand were listed as Ar-nold, Palmer, Anna, Charles, Marilyn and Richard. If you knowany of the descendants of these key Sigdalers I would be ecstaticif you could put me in touch with them. They may have memo-ries or pictures from those “lost” years and hopefully would bewilling to share them with us.
If anyone out there has information that may help us in thetask of reconstruction, please contact Dianne Snell [email protected] or by snail mail to: 31646 110th Pl. SE,Auburn, WA 98092. Fax: 253-351-5019. Thank you!
Sigdalslag Annual Business MeetingJuly 10, 2004 Willmar, Minnesota
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The annual business meeting for the Sig-dalslag membership occurred in conjunc-tion with the Seven Lag Stevne and washeld in the beautiful, rustic setting of theOld Log Church near Norway Lake in Arc-tander Township, Kandiyohi County, Min-nesota on July 10, 2004.
President Earl Knutson opened the meetingat 0836 with introductions of officers (threeVPs, Treasurer and Secretary) and appoint-ees (two Saga Editors and one Genealo-gist). The office of Historian is vacant atthis time. Earl asked each member in at-tendance to state their name and where theylive. Those in attendance at this meeting:
Earl & Betty KnutsonGary & Mattie Enger from EggedalGuri Enger from EggedalHarry & Irene NavarreShirley AugustineCorrine Lesteberg JohnsonHazel WennerbergJudy JacobsonIrene SolieDale & Dianne SnellCarol MeadeFrancis & Linda TurmoDavid & Lee RokkeDon & Lynn SkadelandLowell & Barb TorkelsonG. Irene LarsonMarilyn MoenAmy MichelsenTed & Addie WilliamsDan & Ruth ManningCarol McCallWendy PianoEverett & Jean ShogrenDon & Elaine LangeDarrel & Donna KulenkampGarth UlrichEd & Char EspeBob & Juanita NesjeConnie TeigenJudy SostedDoug Glesne
Garth Ulrich, VP, read the names of newmembers (23 households) who have joined
Sigdalslag since the last stevne. None werepresent at this meeting.
Earl led a moment of silence for recentlydeceased members of Sigdal ancestry:Sidney Rand, A lice Mensing.
Motion was made and carried to accept theminutes of the July 2003 business meetingas printed in the October 2003 Saga.
Treasurer Don Skadeland along with LynnSkadeland reported on the finances for cal-endar year 2003 as well as the first sixmonths of 2004. All Sigdalslag resourceshave been in the checking account since theCD was redeemed on 6/23/2003. Balanceon 12/31/2003 was $3951.50 in the“Publishing Fund” and over $6000 cashavailable (see Report). Membership duesare appropriately set. Earl called on ElaineLange to report her findings of the auditperformed on financial records from July2002 to December 31, 2003. She reportedthat these records correctly represent theTreasury of Sigdalslag. Motion was madeand carried to accept both the TreasuryReport and the Treasury Audit.
Lynn Skadeland reported 90 reg istrationswith Sigdalslag at this stevne, the highestnumber in many years. Earl noted thatmembership has been slipping since the2000 trip to Norway and maybe the lagneeds to plan another trip. Dav id Rokkenoted that 2005 is a very busy year forBrekke Tours & Travel of Grand Forks duethe high number of groups traveling for the2005 Norway Centennial celebrations. Earlsaid he might poll members by email todetermine interest for a future Sigdalslagtrip.
Lee Rokke gave a progress report on thenew Sigdalslag publication. It is hoped thatthis new book will cover the years follow-ing the 1949 book. No expectations orlimitat ions have been set; members shoulddecide the content of the book by what theycontribute. The most important contribu-tion that each member can make is their
own family h istory. In addition, immi-grants not written about in any previousSigdalslag publicat ion (1914, 1920, 1929,1932, 1941, 1949) should be written aboutin this publication. To find out who wasmissed in those books, check the lengthyindex to these books on the website,www.sigdalslag.org, or ask any boardmember to check the index. In the recentmonths, Lee has concluded that we shouldomit a designated “Who’s Who” section ofthe book in favor of including special b iog-raphies together with all the others; thiswill allow the story itself to tell about anyspecial accomplishments or contributionsto American society. Timeline: Submitwritings anytime, preferably in 2004, toLee Rokke, Genealogist, [email protected] or 13465 Garden ViewDrive, Apple Valley, MN 55124. Herphone is 952-432-9767. Photos shouldalso be submitted to Lee in JPG format;both a current family photo and an oldphoto to accompany a story about ancestorswould be useful. A suggestion from thefloor was made: the editors will include inthe Saga a separate sheet giving these start-ing points and ideas for writ ing family bi-ographies. It was also agreed to place asimilar form on the website.
Earl read a Letter of Appreciation writtento Carol Meade, outgoing Vice President,for her many years of service to the Sigdal-slag organization and the Board. Carolresponded by reminding us that the lag’sbeautiful but very old silk banner has beenin her care for several years; the lag needs anew banner very soon and should make th isa high priority. Francis Turmo is in receiptof about $200 donated towards the pur-chase of a new banner.
Election of 2004-2005 officers was con-ducted by Ruth Hoff Manning. She pre-sented a slate of officers and asked for fur-ther nominations. There being no furthernominations from the floor, motions weremade and carried to elect each individualnominated for an office. The following
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were elected:
President Earl KnutsonVP Garth UlrichVP Judy SostedVP Rod PletanSecretary Amy MichelsenTreasurer Don Skadeland
Earl read a remembrance of long-timemember Alice Mensing who passedaway in 2003, written by her niece,member Addie Williams. It will bemaintained in the lag library.
Jean Shogren presented a book for sale,Bunads in America, recently publishedin southern California by a Sons ofNorway lodge.
Betty Knutson asked if there was inter-est by individuals to purchase a denimshirt having the Sigdalslag logo im-printed over the right breast pocket for$24.00. Since there is some interest,she will have a statement about it in thenext issue of Saga.
Garth Ulrich and Earl Knutson an-nounced that the Board decided to openthe “Members” section of the website,making it possible for only members tolocate the ancestor names and the con-tact information (address, phone, andemail if g iven) of other members. Thiscan only be accessed via the“Members” link on the homepage, us-ing the User Name and 4-d igit pass-word given to each member by Earl.As stated on the website, “if you’veforgotten your username or password,please email [email protected] your contact information.”
Lee Rokke recommended that Sigdal-slaget send a Certificate of Apprecia-tion to Håvard Støvern in Norway, inrecognition of his many years of pro-viding genealogical assistance to lagmembers, both by mail and in per-son. This recommendation was ap-proved by a consensus of the memberspresent. The certificate was designedby Lee and will be signed and mailedby the president of the lag. It was also
recommended that the certificate bedisplayed in a future issue of the Saga.
The business portion of the annualmeet ing was adjourned at 0936. Fo l-lowing coffee, donuts and fellowshipoutside, attendees gathered again in theOld Log Church and at 1010 the cul-tural portion of the annual meetingcommenced which included:
Review of the list of Sigdal-Eggedal-Krødsherad immigrant settlers in theNorway Lake area of KandiyohiCounty, Minnesota. A two-page list ofpeople was extracted by Earl Knutsonfrom Debbie Boe’s summary of Fest-skrift – En Fremstilling at det KirkeligeArbeide Norway Lake fra 1862-1916 byPastors Mons Sotendahl and N. J. Njus(historical writ ings about the congrega-tions of the East and West NorwayLake Lutheran Churches). The nameson Earl’s list were read and when possi-ble, lag members identified the settlers.
Doug Glesne, descendant of Krød-sherad settlers in this area, spoke aboutthe Glesne family and the Railsons inNorway Lake Township.
Earl Knutson, descendant of Sigdalsettlers in this area, spoke about the Oleand Aase Knudson family in ArctanderTownship.
Guri Enger, a guest from the Engerfarm in Nedre Eggedal, spoke about herfamily and her job as a missionary inMali.
The cultural portion of the meet ingended at 1110. Attendees moved out-doors for a catered brunch under asunny breezy sky with a tent providedfor shade. Fellowship continued untilapproximately 1230 at which t ime thetent, chairs and leftovers were packedup and people dispersed back to thestevne site in Willmar for more enter-tainment and an evening banquet.
Respectfully submitted,
Amy Michelsen, secretary
Lag LibraryReceivesGift fromNorwayThe publishing companyKunstnerdalen as hassent to Sigdalslag acomplimentary copy ofthe book Kunstnerdalen -midt i Buskerud.Kunstnerdalen as is a nonprofit organization thatworks primarily withcultural institutions in theregion (seewww.kunstnerdalen.net).The book features manybeautiful pictures fromSigdal, Eggedal, Krød-sherad and Modum andsales to those in Norwaywith a connection to thisregion have been verysuccessful thus far.
Those wishing to pur-chase a copy of this finework can order a copy forthe price of 245 Norwe-gian Kroner plus shippingfrom Mrs. Gullaug Pless,Kunstnerdalen as, c/oModum Næringsselskap,PB 200, Vikersund,Norway.
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Sigdalslag Members Send in SurveysThe next Sigdalslag book is underway. Because the pictures thatwere donated in 2000 for the exhibit at the Sigdal of Eggedal Museumhave been incorporated into the book, there are already about 55pages. Family histories are coming in. Be sure to send your own fam-ily story.
Sigdalslag Surveys have been received from:Rick Hagen, Anchorage, AK, on descendants of ELLEF LARSEN SATERHA-GEN.
Paul Akre, Portland, OR, on descendants of MARI OLSDTR ENDEBERG.Paul also included material on her siblings: INGRID MOLLERUD, GORONAESETH, INGEBORG SEVERSON, IVAR ENDEBERG, OLE ENDEBERGand ASLE ENDEBERG. And he sent some great pictures! He said, "anyonewishing to contact me may do so: Paul T. Akre, 7745 SW 91st Avenue, Port-land OR 97223 Telephone: 503-244-9854 E-Mail: <[email protected]>
Joanie Kramer, Bejou, MN, on the descendants of KRISTEN ERIKSENEVJUEIE and RAGNHILD ELLEVSDTR.
Carolyn Broman, Spicer, MN, on the descendants of BENJAMIN OLSONBYLØKKA and SIGRID TORSTENSDTR VELSTAD.
Bernadine Jambor, St. Paul, MN, on the descendants of ASLE KOLBJORNS-SEN ØRPEN and KRISTI ERIKSDTR REDALEN.
William Bolstad, Lubbock, TX, on the LEER family. It has been filed underREIER REIERSEN NILSPLASSEN, the immigrant. He used the name Leerin the U.S. Donald Bolstad of Hawthorne Woods, IL, collected the material.
Wendy Piano, Fort Wayne, IN, added a corrected obituary to the ELLINGSOLUM file.
Ken Petersen, Roseville, MN, on the descendants of KNUD FINGARSENBAKLIEIE.
These have been added to the Sigdalslag library:Kunstnerdalen -midt I Buskerud, by Andre Malraux, published 2004 in Oslo.Gift from the publishers. Beautiful pictures and stories of art and artists inthe region of Norway that stretches from Åmot in Modum through Sigdal,Eggedal and over Norefjell to Krøderen. They would like to sell other copies.It is written in Norwegian, but the pictures are worth the price. Visit theirweb site: www.kunsterdalen.net
Kristen and Ragnhild Eriksen, a history of a family from Evju on Blekaberg,published 1995, donated by Monica McConkey and Joan Kramer. They alsodonated a copy of the picture of Kristen and Ragnhild that is on the front ofthe book.
Kommuner of Norge, compiled 2004 by Garth Ulrich, lists every kommunein every fylke in Norway.
Irene Navarre has given the video of her life and Career so that others inthe lag can enjoy it. Many people at the stevne viewed the video and a re-run was requested.
FromtheSagaMail Bag:
From Rapid City, South Dakota…
“This summer, in July, the150th anniversary of the Tan-gen farm near Fountain, MNwill be commemorated by aweek-end reunion. Jacob Tan-gen and his son established itin 1854. The son is Ole Jacob-son Tangen, father of 19 chil-dren, all born in the log cabinon this farm! Ole is my greatgrandfather who came fromSigdal in 1853 from the Eidals-Tangen farm. My wife's fa-ther was born at Honefoss. “
LeRoy and ValborgTranby Flagstad
Just For Fun…Lena was in the bathtubwhen the door bell rang.“Who is it?” she called out.“Blind man” came theanswer from the frontdoor. Feeling empathy forthe person, Lena got out ofthe tub, walked straight tothe front door without somuch as a stitch of clotheson, and threw open hedoor. There stood a manwho asked, “Where do youwant these blinds,lady?”
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(Ed. note: This articleoriginally appeared
in the West Central Tribune newspaperon March 17, 2004. My apologies toMr. Stovern for postponing the sharingof this article with the Lag due tospace limitations in the May issue.)
Nearing 99, he wants his twins on TV
By Rand Middleton,West Central Tribune
Growing up a Yankeesfan, O.B. Stovernrooted for the likes of Babe Ruth andLou Gehrig.
Today his heroes are the Koskie,Hunter and Mientkiewicz.
But he’s worried. Will he be able towatch these boys of summer?
Victory Sports and Charter Cable areat a standoff when it comes to writinga contract for the 2004 season.
Sure, he could listen on radio, but hefrowns, “I’d rather watch them onTV.’’
Victory Sports plans are to televise 132Twins games. The network, owned byTwins owner Carl Pohlad, is only fivemonths old. It also provides major Go-phers men’s sports and St. Cloud Statehockey.
The Twins say they created Victory toget full value for TV rights. The returnwill be used to field the most competi-tive team possible, they promise.
Charter says the Twins want too much($500,000 per month, about $2.25 persubscriber). That is nearly as much asthe combined ESPN/ESPN 2 packageon expanded basic. A Charter spokes-person claims their profit margin al-
ready is thin and that it is the Twinswho refuse to negotiate, not Charter.
O.B. (short for Orlander Bernard) livesat West View Village. His friends arebig on the Twins, too.
He watches every game in a leatherrecliner in the apartment he shares withhis daughter, Lonnetta Schroeder. Asthe season nears its end, he starts keep-ing box scores. He stays up late for allthe West Coast games.
O.B. was born in 1905 near Sisseton,S.D. When he was small, the familymoved to Canada intent on homestead-ing. It didn’t work out, and they movedto Duluth where the lad started schoolfor the first time at age 9.
He played four sports at Duluth Cen-tral and graduated at age 21 in 1926.
“I still got my yearbook,’’ he beams.He played amateur baseball in Duluthand later in South Dakota. He was aright-handed pitcher.
“Did he ever throw a no-hitter?’’ thevisitor asked.
“No, but I once hit a guy,’’ he crackedwith a laugh.
He made his mark, however, as asharpshooter. He started trapshootingin 1932 and kept at it until 2000, whenhe “retired’’ after a competition in St.Cloud. Along the way, he shot hisRemington well enough to earn All-America honors in the 1970s at theGrand Nationals in Ohio. He’s beeninducted into the Minnesota Trap-shooters Hall of Fame.
He’s outlived two wives and showsfew signs of being overtaken by age.He still plays pool and is said to be a
fine shot. He istrying out a new set ofhearing aids but doesn’t seemto miss much in a conversation, eitheron the phone or in person.
Easily, he could be mistaken for some-one 20 years his junior. His skin isunlined by age, his eyes clear and hisvoice strong. He stands erect.
His 99th birthday is Aug. 14. “We’rehaving an open house,’’ he crowed.
Secrets? Well, he ate a lot of meatgrowing up.
“Meat, potatoes and gravy,’’ said O.B.“We always had enough to eat.’’
He became a grocery-store butcher,like his father. In 1940, he went towork as a mobile mail clerk for the St.Paul Post Office. In 1946, he moved toWillmar with his first wife, Grace.O.B. sorted letters in rail car on the runto Sioux City and later in a truck thatwent out to Mitchell, S.D. He retired34 years ago.
He starts every day with a big break-fast: two eggs, bacon, toast and coffee.
Good health runs in the family. Bothhis parents lived into their 90s. Lon-netta, 68, has the same smooth featuresand lively personality as her father.The daughter said the Twins play a bigpart in her father’s life.
If the Twins ownership continues toinsist on more money from the cableprovider, does she think her dad wouldbe willing to pay a higher fee? she wasasked.
“Absolutely,” she responded. “Maybe$10 or $20 [a month]. If dad wouldn’tpay it, I certainly would for him.”
Happy 99th Birthday O.B. Stovern!
In Loving Memory
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RICHARD EMMETVOLDENG
April 1, 1916 - June 27, 2004
Richard Emmet Volding was bornnear Spalding, Saskatchewan andpassed away on June 27, 2004 atLadysmith, B.C. He was the lastsurviving child of Nels and Jorgina(Green) Voldeng who home-steaded in the Littlestone schooldistrict east of Naicam. (JorginaJensdatter Green was born in Sig-dal in 1876 and came to Americawith her parents in 1882).
On October 26, 1939 Richard wasmarried to Alice Thom at Spal-ding. This union was blessed withtwo sons, Larry and Merlin.
Richard worked for some time atthe Sherritt Gordon mine in Mani-toba before moving to Trail, B.C.with his wife and sons in 1951. In1972 he and Alice moved to PrinceGeorge, B.C. to join his sons whohad moved there previously. Justrecently Richard and Alice hadrelocated to Ladysmith, B.C. inorder to be near Larry and Shirleywho had also moved there.
Richard was predeceased by hisson Merlin in 1984; his parents,Nels and Jorgina Voldeng; hisbrothers: Ole, Jens, Nels and in-fant Harold Voldeng; his sisters:Lottie Voldeng, Cora Mortenson, ,Lottie Viall, and BerniceWielenga.
He is survived by his loving wifeof sixty four years, Alice; his sonLarry (Shirley) Voldeng; hisgrandchildren: Laura (Darren)Jacobs, Dale (Angela) Voldeng,Deborah Rinas, and Jeremy Jarvis;step-grandchildren: Joanann andJeff; great-grandchildren; andgreat-great-grandchildren.
Blessed be his memory!
(source: Garth Ulrich)
ALICE SIGNE MARIONKNUDSON MENSING
Sept 17, 1912 - June 28, 2004
Survived by her husband of 56years, Fred; daughter, Kay; sisters,Valborg Strandand FlorenceReese; numer-ous nieces andnephews. Alicewas active atCentral Lu-theran Churchin Mpls forover 50 years.
A Remembrance byNiece Addie Williams
I'd like to tell you a few wonderfulthings about my Aunt Alice. Ibonded early in life with her whenshe lived at our house while goingto High School. Alice was alwaysthere for me.
Alice was born to Albert and Mar-tha Knudson in a lovely farm homein Arctander Township. I recall myMother telling me, that she thoughtthe doctor bought Alice in his blackbag. Alice was the fifth of ninechildren, and when she was sixyears old, she cherished the birth ofher identical twin sisters. To tellthem apart, one had a blue ribbonbracelet and the other a pink ribbonbracelet. Whenever the ribbonsaccidentally slipped off the tinyarms, Alice was very proud that shewas the only one in the family whocould tell the twins apart.
Alice was born on the Knudsonfarm in a bedroom off the "greatliving" room that was the originallog cabin home of her Norwegianimmigrant grandparents. That logcabin is now in he process of beingconverted back to the way it wasoriginally on the Knudson Farm.The Norway Lake Lutheran His-torical Association is in charge ofthe project, and interestingly, theday Aunt Alice died, many of hernieces and nephews were at the siteworking on the log cabin which isjust a short way to the rebuilt logcabin church and pioneer gravesite.Alice was so proud of her Norwe-gian heritage, and I am so fortunateto have shared the dedication cere-monies with her and Uncle Fred. Iknow she will be looking downapprovingly when the cabin is fin-
ished... she just might stop in toclean, paint and plant flowers.
In fact, Aunt Alice always tookpride in being a "neatnik." Upuntil shortly before she died at 91,she painted the basement, cleanedhouse, weeded the garden and didall the necessary householdchores. After gardening two daysbefore she died, she complainedto me on the phone and to Kaythat her legs hurt so much after allthat weeding. Kay looked at Aliceand said, "Mom, did you learnanything from working outside inthe garden all day?" Alice tartlyreplied, "Well, it had to be done,and it had to be done right!"
Aunt Alice was married to FredMensing for over 56 years. Thatunion was blessed with the birthof their only daughter, Kay. Aliceoften said, "How fortunate I havebeen to have married Fred andhave such a wonderful daughter.Fred and I do not know how tothank Kay enough for all the careand love she gives us. We havebad such a wonderful life to-gether. I am so fortunate." Aliceloved ballgames, the NorwayLake team, the Twins, the Vi-kings, the Gophers and the Saints.She cheered her teams on alongwith her soul mates, Fred andKay.
In the early years, Aunt Alice didnot like dogs and cats or any petsof any kind. A few years ago, Kayhad to be at a long meeting, andshe came over to her parent'shome to drop off her little Mal-tese dog, Knut. Kay asked herMom and Dad to "doggy sit."Alice unbelievingly looked atKay and then at the dog and said,"Kay, this is the dumbest thingyou have ever done!" To make along story short, Alice fell in lovewith Knut, and she was the oneperson who could handle Knut,and when I visited, she held Knutin her arms the whole time. Knuteventually had one of Alice's veryspecial birthday parties completewith bib, hat and cake. This wenton every year until Knut went toDoggie Heaven and was replacedby Mr. Knut who enjoyed thesame love and birthday parties.
Alice spoke fluent Norwegian,
and we depended on her when weneeded to call the relatives inSigdal, Norway. She also trans-lated the Christmas letters fromNorway. When she was just twoyears old, a picture was taken ofher dad holding her up on hisshoulder at a Sigdalslaget. Sigdal-slaget is a gathering of descen-dents of Norwegian immigrantsfrom Sigdal. I feel fortunate thatAlice talked my husband and meinto joining. We have many fondmemories of being with AuntAlice and Uncle Fred and theNorwegians and pioneer descen-dents at Sigdalslaget meetings inSouth Dakota, Iowa, and Norway.I had hoped that she would beable to attend the Sigdalslaget inWillmar in July of this year. Alicewill be there in spirit and will beremembered by many. In her 90thyear, the Sigdalslaget surprisedher with a kransacake, a specialNorwegian cake made in spiralsusually with a bottle of good wineor cbampagn inside. The rings ofthe cake are broken off andshared with the wine. Alice waselated, as we all were. She wasvery special in this group havingbeen to her first Sigdalslaget in1913.
Aunt Alice had three memorabletrips to Norway which included astay at the family farm in Sigdal. Iwas fortunate to be with her ontwo of those trips and enjoyedwith her the wonderful companyof relatives, music, dancing, and,of course, the food. Later, backhome, we arranged a get-togetherto share pictures. Alice and Kaybrought out one very large albumand started laughing. The firsttwo pages were of beautiful wa-terfalls. The next two pages wereof beautiful waterfalls and so-onthroughout the album. Yes, sheand Kay large photo album ofonly waterfalls!
Family was always very impor-tant to Auntie Alice. She alwaysattended the Knudson Reunions,and always brought a special cakefor the August birthdays. Sheoften brought something forsomeone's special event such asan anniversary. Alice also en-joyed being a part of Fred'sMensing family. Her home wasthe central gathering place of the
Lee Rokke’s Award…
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Schedule of Events
Sept. 13 - October 23, 2004FOLK ART EXHIBITAuction to be held on Oct. 23Vesterheim Museum, Decorah, IA.
A very special exhibition of contempo-rary folk-art in the Norwegian tradi-tion by the most prominent contempo-rary artists in rosemaling, woodcarv-ing, weaving, knife making, and rug-hooking. The artists are all Vester-heim gold medalists, award-winners,or instructors. The exhibition will beopen daily and admission will be f ree.October 23 will be a gala evening.Everyone is welcome to attend theauction, as well as a gourmet dinnerat the Hotel Winneshiek prior to theauction. Reservations for the dinner,which will be at 5:30 p.m., can bemade by calling the museum at 563-382-9681 before October 18.
October 24, 2004GIG HARBOR FESTIVALGig Harbor Best Western Wesley Innon Kimball Drive, Gig Harbor, WA
Master boat builder Paul Schweiss,will present a discussion on traditionalmethods of building Viking longboats. Linda Caspersen hosts a fash-ion show highlighting a vast array oftraditional, national costumes (60-80)from all the Scandinavian/Nordiccountries. Terry Falter will demon-strate traditional forms of woodcarv-ing. The ‘Norwegian Ladies Chorusof Seattle’ will join the f estival’s otherhigh caliber entertainers. Like Lute-f isk? Gig Harbor Peninsula Lu-theran Church hosts a full dinnerFriday, Oct. 22nd & Saturday, Oct.23rd f rom 2-8pm. Call (253) 851-3511 for information & tickets (pre-sold for specif ic times).(253)858-9229, (253) 851-5707www.ghscanfest.org
July 20057 LAG STEVNE,Whitewater, Wisconsin
lected family histories of hundreds of Sigdal descendants and placedcopies in the Sigdal og Eggedal Museum in Prestfoss, Norway, at theNorwegian-American Historical Association and the Vesterheim Ge-nealogical Center & Naeseth Library.
Lee's parents were both Norwegian immigrants. Her father, LeonardEng, from Troms, taught her about the rich heritage that her Norwe-gian fisher-farmer ancestors have given her; her mother, GudrunBakken Eng, from Krødsherad, baked and sold lefse to pay Lee'sway through Augsburg College. Lee is married to David Rokke,who shares her interest in their Norwegianess."
(C ont i nu ed f r om p ag e 1)
Corrections from our May Saga:
John Haugo, Barbara Horn and Dale Hovland… Please forgive our spelling errors!
These folks were kind enough to hold classes at the 7 -Lag Stevne, and we inadvertently
misspelled their names under the class schedules in the May issue of Saga. Regretfully,
the oversight was noticed after we sent to print. Ed.
Mensings for holiday and birth-day dinners. She and Fred, al-ways together, often visited theMensing farm in Jordan. She andFred visited and brougbt foodand goodies to the family mem-bers and friends who were innursing homes. She also tookcare of her neighbors with cook-ies and food and even washedand ironed clothes for those whohad some special needs. For over30 years, she and Fred deliveredMeals-on-Wheels to those whocould not make their own meals.Aunt Alice was a very caringperson.
Alice was very proud of the factthat she kept a diary for fiftyyears. She also translated herMother's diary and did a verycomplete genealogy on theKnudson family which datesbake to the Viking Age in Sigdal.
Alice loved life and lived it to
the fullest. She always lookedher best, and I so much enjoyedseeing this Aunt of mine alwaysdressed to the "nines." Shelooked so many years youngerthan 91. She and Fred lovedbeing on their bowling leaguesfor over 30 years receiving nu-merous trophies for their bowl-ing skills. Also, for over 30years, they appreciated theirwinter retreat in Palm Springs,California. They enjoyed travel-ing, often to the North Shore andtheir annual trek to lovely LoonLake for a week of fishing. Noone knows why, but Alice shayscaught the biggest fish. She andFred also enjoyed many othertrips including traveling toWWII Army reunions.
Alice decorated her home forevery occasion, but especiallyChristmas. Little carved Norwe-gian people end trolls were eve-rywhere, even on the tree. Nor-
wegian rosemaled plates withlefse, krumkake, goro, and deco-rated Christmas cookies were ontables covered with red andgreen tablecloths which filledone comer of her dining room.She and Fred were co-Presidentsand active members of the Cou-ples Club of Central LutheranChurch for many years. On thelast Syttende Mai, NorwegianIndependence Day, Aliceproudly wore her bunad tochurch. A bunad is the traditionalcostume of Scandinavians. Allher life, she loved dressing forspecial occasions, often it was awonderful, creative one-of-kindcostume. Auntie Alice. Thanksfor making our lives a littlebrighter. We'll miss you.
(source: nephew Earl Knutson)
If you have information on adeparted member, please contact theeditor.
MembershipAcross the Globe(as of 9-29-04)
U.S.A. - 224Canada - 12Norway - 7
JOIN SIGDALSLAG NOW! Date______________ Check if Renewal:
Full name/s___________________________________________________________
Street _______________________________________________________________
City_______________________________ State______________ ZIP____________
E-Mail _______________________________________ Phone __________________
BUSKERUD Family Origin in (circle one) - SIGDAL EGGEDAL KRØDSHERAD
Ancestor’s name _______________________________________________________
Farm name _________________________________ Year Emigrated____________
2004 Dues: US/CANADA $10/YR or $25/3 YR, in US dollars ELSEWHERE $12/YR or $30/3 YR, in US dollars
Serving Norwegian-Americans of Sigdal,Eggedal & Krødsherad ancestry
Sigdalslag Saga FIRST CLASS MAIL
Mail application and check payable to Sigdal Lag to:AMY MICHELSEN18730 Roanoke Street NWAnoka, MN 55303-8971
Residents of CANADA may mail application and checkpayable to Garth Ulrich to:
GARTH ULRICHBox 28, Spalding SKSOK 4CO, CANADA
Write “Sigdalslag dues (3 yr or 1 yr)” on the memo line of the check.Dues in Canadian dollars should be made in the amount equivalent to$10 US (1 year) or $25 US (3 years) on the date written.
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SIGDALSLAG SAGA IS PUBLISHED IN FEBRUARY,MAY AND OCTOBER
PUBLISHER3520 Banyan StreetSanta Rosa, CA 95403
Comments? Suggestions? SAGA solicits featurearticles, news, pictures and obituaries from mem-bers. Please contact editors Cindy Peterson or MarilynMoen (contact info on Pg. 2).Next deadline: January 10, 2005
Changed your mailing or e-mail address?Garth Ulrich maintains members addresses. Toupdate yours, write him at: [email protected]
Also, please note that the year shown on the mailinglabel next to your name indicates that your member-ship is paid thru that year. Don’t forget to renew!
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