Merry Christmas!

"And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the

Heavenly Host, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace..."

Luke 2:13

Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas!!

Here is part of my angel collection - I really

do have a "multitude" of them.  They are on my

piano, in the kitchen, on the tree, and there

are some I don't even have room to display!

More Christmas Memories

Here is my brother Jimmy and me at Christmas.

He was probably 2, which would make me going on 5.

I am proudly holding my new baby doll.

(This is not Joni Suziebelle, either!)

This rubber doll met its demise one summer

when they were working in the streets,

putting in water lines.

One evening I walked over to see what

the men had been doing that day,

and to my horror, I dropped my sweet

little doll in the trench.

I never told anybody about it,

since I knew I shouldn't have been over

there looking in the first place.

But if I had 'fessed up, I may have

gotten the doll back...it might not

have been as deep as it looked to

a little girl of 4 or 5 years old!

Remembering Christmases Past

At this Advent Season, I am reminded of

so many Christmas memories -

It sure seems like Christmas used

to be less hectic and certainly

less commercialized!

On Christmas Eve, when I was little, I can remember

going upstairs, looking out the bedroom windows,

trying to spot the "star of the east."

I would imagine that the brightest one was the

very one that the wisemen followed.

We used to go to Grandma's house for supper

 (called "dinner" if you were from the big city!)

All the Dahlager relatives were there and we enjoyed

a big meal of chicken & mashed potatoes & gravy.

After the dishes were done and the kitchen cleaned up,

the grownups visited and the children played.

There were gifts for us from grandma.

When we returned home, we opened our gifts...

 In our family, the meaning of Christmas was not forgotten.

We sometimes put on a mini Christmas program, but

usually, we would recite our recitations from the

Sunday School program.

Christmas is definitely not about gifts, but

I am going to tell you about 4 gifts that I remember  well

My favorite doll.

I got a new doll almost every year.

My favorite one was a larger doll with

a soft torso, but with a composite head,

arms & legs.

I named her Joni Suziebelle.

One day, Joni Suziebelle fell on the cement

and her head cracked open.

Mom stuffed the hole, taped it up, and

Joni wore a hat the rest of her doll life.

Her arms and legs also broke, but

mom made cloth ones to replace them.

Poor Joni Suziebelle must have looked

a sight, but I still loved her and played with her,

even though she had had numerous surgeries!

The picture above is not Joni Suziebelle,

but she looks like she could be related!

The Blue Ring

One Christmas my brother Si had gotten

a "beautiful" ring with a HUGE blue stone in it.

I think it came from a gum ball machine downtown.

I asked if I could have it, but Si said, "no!"

Imagine my delight when I found that

very beautiful ring in my long white

stocking that Christmas!!

If I still had that ring, it might be worth a little!!

The Purse from Egypt

My oldest brother (Ernie) was in the navy,

and he would send gifts to us from overseas.

It was always very exciting to see what

was in the boxes that were sent.

One year, he sent me a little purse.

This purse is made out of camel skin.

If it  was big enough, I would still be using it!

The picture on the purse is almost

as vivid as it was when I got it - a long time ago!

The Transistor Radio

When I was about 12 or 13, I got a

transistor radio from my folks..

This radio was really small, and I

really couldn't get much reception from it.

But I remember this gift because my

Dad had gotten it (Mom did 99% of the gift-buying).

I think he ordered it, or perhaps it was a free

gift from an order at the lumber yard,

but never-the-less, it meant a lot to me

knowing that this came from Dad.

What are your Christmas memories??

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS...

The GOOD news was we were going to

the cities for Dylan's baptism.

The BAD news was that the warning

lights on my car started blinking...

The GOOD news was that we were able to

rent a car at short notice.

The GOOD news was that we got the car loaded

and on the road on schedule.

The BAD news was that I forgot

to take my clothes that I planned to

wear to the Baptism.

The GOOD news was that we had just

enough time for a quick stop in St. Cloud.

The BAD news was that it was bad-dream

CRAZY at the mall.

The GOOD news was that I was able to

find clothes in my size very quickly.

The BAD news was the checkout lines

were enormous!

The GOOD news was that a kindly clerk

took pity on me and quickly checked me out,

and 20 minutes after arriving, we were back on

the road.

The rest of the weekend went without

any major problems, but it was a little

frenzied for a little while!

All in all, it was a good weekend!

Sevrin Gjerde & the English Plate

Sevrin Gjerde was my grandmother's brother.

Sevrin was born in Norway in 1871.

In 1899 he took over the Gjerde farm

from his brother Ole, who had immigrated to the United States.

Sevrin married Elen Olsdatter Borstad in 1901.

In December, 1901, Sevrin died.

He was only 30 years old.

Until recently, relatives in Minnesota believed that
Sevrinhad died as a result of a shipwreck.
The story that Esther & Mom told me was that
Sevrin had been to England.
While he was there, he bought a set of dishes
for his wife for Christmas. . .but on his way back to Norway
the ship sank and Sevrin died.
When items were retrieved from theship, the
dishes were brought to Elen.
According to Esther & Mom, that is
the story their mother told them.

Relatives in Norway are adamant that Sevrin

died at home, in his own bed, of pneumonia.

So how did the relatives here have

this information so wrong?

In December, 1901, there was a shipwreck off the

coast of Norway.

It is a fact that Sevrin had bought a set of dishes

to give Elen for Christmas and they were on the ship.

At about the same time, Sevrin came down with pneumonia and died.

It is very likely that grandma told the story to her children

and something was lost in the translation.  The children

heard "shipwreck" "Uncle Sevrin died" and

"dishes were later delivered to Elen."

Whatever the actual facts are,

it makes for an interesting story.

The plate pictured above is part of the set that

was retrieved from the ship.  Grandma's brother Ole

returned to Norway for a visit and brought it back for her.

The plate had a special place on the table each

Christmas - grandma would serve lutefisk on it!

Uff-dah!

I now have the plate, but I don't use it.

You can see it's cracked and in poor condition;

for an old plate, it has a pretty sad story!

Sticking with Traditions

Today I began decorating for Christmas.

Oh, I know - it's early,

but next week is going to be extremely busy.

It's actually later than you think:  the first Sunday in Advent

 is just two days away!

I thought maybe this year I would go out

and buy new ornaments - maybe update

a little bit - be a little more "modern."

Then I started looking at all my decorations.

Some of them can certainly be thrown away!

Some of them have lost their sparkle,

and some are plain falling apart.

But then I see an ornament that was my Mom's.

Must keep.

I come across little birds in a nest

that was given to me by the

Sunday School kids

at Hope Free Lutheran many years ago.

Must keep.

Then, there is one that Pam & Brian

gave me that they bought in Italy.

Must keep.

"I love Grandma" says  one from Drew.

A definite keeper.

There are ornaments that are from

Dodie and Kathy,

and some from Mom & Dad.

Some from my kids.

Must keep.

How about the ornament that Pam

made in kindergarten?

The one Lee made in kindergarten?

The one Amy made in kindergarten?

Must, must, must keep.

And so it went...

I only threw away the broken ornaments.

I will continue using my "old" ones,

keeping with my own tradition.

The memories -- and the tree

are beautiful!

Kindergarten projects!

The ornament on the left is a styrofoam ball with little pieces of

fabric glued on, and it was made by Pam.

The little pom-pom bear, with its wiggly eyes,  is the one Lee made.

Amy made the ornament on the right out of toothpicks

and a Christmas card.

This was one of Mom's ornaments.

Journey to America - Part II

Gunerius J. Melby 1854-1929

My grandfather, Gunerius J. Melby

immigrated from Norway to America in 1880.

Times were hard in Norway,

and although he possibly did not want

to leave his homeland,

he felt there was no other choice.

Gunerius' immigration certificate is dated

March 30, 1880.

His destination was "Chicago."

In April, 1880, Gunerius

boarded the ship "Tasso"

at Trondheim, Norway.

The ship was at the pier on

the river Nidelven.

Passengers began boarding,

but not all passengers boarded before

the low tide came.

As a result, the ship had to leave the pier

and wait for the rest of the

passengers in the fjord.

The remaining passengers took a ferry

from a floating pier.

There were several thousand people

who came to say good-bye to

friends and family.

The floating pier was connected

to land by a pontoon bridge

and the weight of all these people

was too much for the bridge
and it collapsed!

An estimated 200 people fell into

the channel when the bridge broke.

At the same time, two ferry boats

on their way to the ship were filled

with water by the heavy seas

and one of them sank.

Two people drowned and many were injured.

The ship finally left Norway and headed to

Liverpool, England.

At Liverpool, Gunerius board the ship

Lucania and headed for America.

Gunerius didn't stay in Chicago.

He settled in Minneapolis,

most likely meeting up with his brother, Sefanias,

who had come in 1879.

On March 24, 1884, Gunerius signed

a Certificate of Intent to become a

Citizen of the United States.

On this certificate he was

"to renounce forever all allegiances

and fidelity owed to the King of Norway."

In 1894, Gunerius made a return trip to Norway.

By this time, he was married with 3 small children.
His wife, children & mother-in-law remained
in Minneapolis.

[I learned of this trip through contacts in Norway

while working on my genealogy.]

Most likely, Gunerius returned to Norway to

visit his  ailing mother (she died in 1895).

When Gunerius returned to Minnesota,

his sister Maette came along and became

an American citizen also.

The second trip was not as eventful as the

departure in 1880!

Grandma's House

My grandparents bought this house in 1908

and moved in when my Mom was just weeks old.

I always refer to it as "Grandma's House"

because my Grandpa died before I was born.

My Mom used to talk about what a nice

place they had.

It was located just south of Dalton,

across the road from Hansel Lake.

There were beautiful pine trees in the front yard

and a white picket fence.

There were apple trees and berries,

such as currants, chokecherries and grapes

for making jams and jellies.

Going into the house through the back door

and into the lean-to

one was greeted with the aroma of

apples and plums.

This was noticeable all year long.

Coming into the large kitchen,

there was a pail of water with a

drinking ladle right next to the door.

The inside of the pail was caked with rust

from the iron in the water,

and the water had a distinct iron odor.

But, oh, the cold water still tasted good!

On the floor was a door to the cellar.

Grandma used to keep potatoes, carrots & onions

down there.

If there was a terrible storm that

threatened to turn into a tornado,

it served as a shelter for the family.

Grandma's treadle sewing machine sat in the kitchen,

and there was a long barometer on the wall

that had a picture of a ship on it.

There was no dining room, and a large

square table stood in the middle of the kitchen.
There were geraniums in the south window.

Grandma's living room was cozy.

The walls were papered and there was a Boston fern in the

northeast corner.

There was a big old upright piano on one wall.

The stove that sat in the living room was

the only source of heat for the home.

Grandma's bedroom was right off of the living room.

I remember her iron bed and the old dresser.

I remember old pictures on the wall--
One was the wedding picture of
grandma & grandpa.

We kids used to like to go upstairs.

Up the steep, narrow steps .....

At the top of the stairs was a

huge cabinet that was painted green.

I don't know what was inside of it.

There was a store room that we liked to go in.

There were boxes, and relics from

what we called the "olden days."

Aunt Esther's china doll was sitting on the shelf,

but we didn't dare touch her.

I remember a big old winter coat

hanging in there.

Esther's room was always so pretty.

It was bright and airy, with a white dresser

and white iron bed.

But what we liked was the vent in the floor.

We could look down the vent right into

the kitchen and see the ladies

bustling about, either preparing a meal

or cleaning up afterwards.

Oh, the memories of Grandma's house!

I found some old pictures of the home

and it brought to mind so many memories...

...too many to share.

I think my kids have good memories of

their grandma's house,

and I hope my grandchildren

will have good memories

of my house.

Grandmas are great,

and it's great being a Grandma!!



A Look into the Past!

This afternoon I was going through some old photos

of Mom's...writing on the backs of those I could identify.

I am sharing this one because I thought

it was just....plain....cute!

I believe this is my Mom with the calf,

but it could be one of her sisters.

This one was taken right here in Dalton.

My parents lived in the house where

the fire station is now located,

and these ladies are at the pump,

cooling off.

You can see the sign for the Hotel that

used to be across the street

where the community center now stands.

This is a picture of the students at the old District 4

I believe.   I am not on this picture,

but I think my brother Si is on here someplace,

since his name is on the back

Can you find him?

My Mom (left) and her friends.

I share this because my daughter Amy

often resembles my mom, and

I think it shows in this picture.

The Sarpsborg Sunday School.

I don't know what year this would be, but I

do recognize a few faces.

I do see:  Jerry Erickson, David Kvernstoen,

Linda Erickson (in front), Ellen Rovang,

Marian Jorgens Grage, Esther Dahlager.

Let me know who you see!

Long ago

My relative also sent this picture.

It is of me, my brother Jim and Mom.

Mom wrote on the back:

"My two youngest and myself--

sort of taken unaware."

I like some of these pictures that

aren't so stiffly posed.



Ladies Aid in Dalton, Minnesota 1922

Today I got this picture in the mail from a relative in southern Minnesota.

She thought I might be interested in it because on the back it says:

"Most of the people in Dalton, about 1922 or so, Ladies Aid."

I am thinking this would be the Ladies Aid of the

Zion Mission Society.

My relatives went to Sarpsborg at that time,

and I can't identify any of these people.

In 1922 my parents weren't even married;

they hadn't even met!

I don't know where this was taken;

it could be someplace in town.

Does anyone recognize any of the faces

or the house/buildings?

[click to enlarge]

Halloween Party

Today my brothers & sisters

and their spouses

came to my house for a

get-together.

Since it is almost Halloween,

I decided that it would be a

Halloween party. . .

Nobody was too scared of this hand coming

out of the couch!  In fact, Ernie sat down

and didn't even notice it! 

I had a couple of prizes in the two bathrooms!

This one said:

"Goblins are scary, witches make brew,

Since you came upstairs,

this is for you"

Here are Ernie & MaryJane

Si, making his political statement....

Here is the rest of Si's costume - a ring around his eye.

David came as himself .....

Dodie & John came from "south of the border!"

Deloris wore a pumpkin!

This little guy greeted the guests!

A fun time was had by all!!

October 19, 1930

They just don't write up weddings for the newspaper like they used to!

Popular Dalton Couple Married

     "Another autumn wedding took place Sunday, October 19, at the Parkdale church immediately after the forenoon services when Ralph Melby and Mabel Dahlager of Dalton exchanged marriage vows.  Services were read by Pastor Berlie.

     Lohengrin's wedding march was played by Miss Carrie Moen of Concordia College, Moorhead, as the bridal party entered.  The groom entered escorted by the best man, Orion Dahlager, a brother of the bride, and took their places at the altar.  They were followed by Miss Esther Berlie, maid of honor.   She wore a gown of pink georgette and lace and carried a corsage of pink roses.  Miss Esther Dahlager, a sister of the bride, was Junior bridesmaid.  She was dressed in pale yellow georgette with a corsage of yellow roses.  Oscar Lien acted as usher.

     The bride was charming in a white satin gown, ankle length and fashioned princess style.  Her long veil was held in place by orange blossoms.   She carried a bouquet of pink roses.   The wedding vows were spoken under an improvised arch of white and pink.  Miss Sadie Rovang of Fergus Falls sang "Love Divine," "Love So Tenderly" and "O Perfect Love."  Mendelssohn's wedding march was play for the recessional.

    The wedding dinner was served at the home of the bride's parents to about 40 relatives.  Miss Mildred Swendsrud and Miss Carrie Moen were waitresses.  Mr. and Mrs. Carl Peterson of Chicago, a sister of the groom also attended.   Two huge wedding cakes were presented to the bride as gifts; one from Mrs. Berlie and one from Mrs. Tom Bratvold, the groom's sister

    The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Dahlager   They left the same day for a wedding trip and after returning will make their home in Dalton where the groom is engaged in the oil business"  (From the Fergus Falls Daily Journal, Oct. 22, 1930.)

This was my parent's wedding write-up.  I just though it would be fun to share this as the date of their anniversary is almost here.   At the time of my dad's death in 1991, they had been married 61 years.  (Mom died at the age of 102 last November.)

Note.  . . 

1.  Dad's brother Joe was supposed to be the best man, but he had surgery for appendicitis and could not be there.   Orion took the best man's position, and Oscar Lien filled in as an usher at the last minute.  

2.  Sarpsborg Church was often called Parkdale Church.

3.  The last paragraph notes that "the groom is engaged in the oil business."    Well, not exactly in THE oil business!  Dad was part owner of the Skelly gas station in Dalton at the time - usually referred to as the "filling station" in those days.

Skeletons in the Closet

While researching my family history,

a little bit of "scandal" was

found.   When we first heard about

this scandal, my aunt Esther was

very upset and didn't want to hear about it.

But. . the following events happened

365 years ago (more or less) and

even though these men are somehow related,

it is very distant.  But none-the-less,

I will share the stories with you:

My ancestor, Laurtis Bjornson,

had been charged with murder.  

 At midsummer (St. Olav's Day, July 29),

Laurtis stabbed a man named Gudbrand Gudbrandson.

Since Gudbrand eventually died,

Laurtis was charged with murder.

But. . .On his deathbed, Gudbrand swore that

he was dying of tar disease, and not from the

knife wound.  Gudbrand's brother wrote the

testimony down and had it delivered to court
after Gudbrand's death.

Laurtis was then cleared on the murder charges.

The testimony was dated July 13, 1655.

Another ancestor named Lars Andrison

was a repeat offender - and it sounds like

he was a pretty violent man!

In 1632-33 he had to pay $12.00 in

blood money after he

"accidentally happened" to beat

Johannes Oelgorn to death at a

Baptism party at the Hamre farm.

(Really?  at a BAPTISM party???)

In 1641-1642 Lars  had to pay another fine

for stabbing Eivind Grovi with a knife

I guess some of those Vikings weren't so wonderful!

(This information was received from my niece, Lora,

who lives in Norway.)

Sorry, no pictures of Laurtis or Lars,

no pictures of the crime scene,

no DNA, no finger prints.

Great-great grandpa Ole Leikvold

Here is my Great-great Grandpa Ole Leikvold.

Now, doesn't he look like an old Norske!!

Ole Olson was born on September 12, 1830 on the Ode Farm

at Vang Valdres, Norway.

His parents were Ole Olson Ode and Sigri Knudsdatter Vik.

On March 28, 1853, Ole married

Kari Nilsdatter Svien.

They lived at Slidre, Vang Valdres, Norway.

My great-grandma was born on August 18, 1853,

which means they had their honeymoon

before the marriage!

(yes, it happened even in those days!)

Besides farming, Ole was a wood lathe operator

and carpenter.

He made fancy lefse rolling pins,

cupboards, benches,

chairs & spinning wheels.

One of the spinning wheels that he made was
for my great grandma Sigrid Dahlager.
Sigrid passed that spinning wheel down to
my grandma Elsie Dahlager,
and now my sister, Kathy, has it.

Ole & Kari were renters on the

Leikvollen farm from 1857-1869.

This is where the last name, Leikvold (Lakevold)

was taken from.

The family attened Slidredomen Kirke

in West Slidre.This church was organized in 1170.

The church was rebuilt  in the 1700's
and is still in use (shown above)

In 1869 my great-great grandpa, decided

to bring his family to America.

They arrived in Quebec on June 16, 1869.

From there, they headed to Iowa

and settled near Silver Lake in Worth County.

Ole & Kari had 8 children.

Their daughter, Sigrid was my

Great Grandma Dahlager.

On December 10, 1916, my

great-great grandpa died at the age of 86.

He is buried at the Sunset Rest Cemetery

at Lake Mills, Iowa.

If you ever go to Northwood, Iowa,

be sure to visit the museum there.

It is filled with artifacts from my

great-great grandparents

and some of their children.

Hayride

Today our parish had a hayride.

It was a beautiful day

and between 75 & 80 people attended!

There were 3 wagons--each pulled

by 2 horses.

Each wagon made 2 trips so

that everyone could get in on the fun!

The hayride started at Kvam Church.

You can see what a beautiful day it was.

Waiting to pull the wagon.

Lloyd Schuur lead his horses and this

covered wagon.

Ron Moe took some of the hay-riders on this hay rack.

This wagon was pulled by David Kaste

(this is the one I was in)
Well, David Kaste didn't pull the rack - the horses did!

The horses were quiet and the ride was so smooth

that Luke fell asleep on the wagon!

What a nice fall Sunday!

My "English" Ancestor...

This is Herman Hamborg.

He was born on April 7, 1837 in Toten, Norway.

He was baptized on June 11, 1837

and confirmed in 1851.

It's hard to believe that I have a great uncle

born in 1837 and that his sister, my great grandmother

was born in 1823!

But when my dad was born in 1900,

Herman was "only" 63 at that time.

This is the only photo we have of Herman.

It was copied from the "Royal Oak Magazine"

published in England in 1906.

There was a lot of information about him in

this article, some of which I am sharing:

Herman's father - my great-great grandfather,

was a farmer in Norway.

Herman was the 7th of 13 children

Herman started working at a very young age,

and developed independence and self-support.

Although there were six children older than him in the family,

Herman was the first to leave home at the age of 15.

He went to Christiana (Oslo, Norway) and became attached

to the British Consulate, and at the age of 18

he went to London with Sir John Rice Crowe [who was the

Consul], who had been recalled by the British government

in connection with the ending of the Crimean War.

On January 1, 1856 they left Christiana.

They traveled to England by first going to Sweden

by sledge - a distance of 400 miles.

There, they were entertained at the palace by

King Oscar.

The voyage across the North Sea was very rough.

The main mast was smashed, the cabin

doors burst in, and the decks were

swept clean by the waves.

They arrived in London on February 5, 1856.

Herman did return to Norway for a time

but in 1860 decided to leave and make

Westminster, England his home.

In England, he eventually started a business as

a wholesale tobacconist.

In 1906, he was said to have been the

oldest wholesale tobacconist in London.

For 28 years, Herman served on the old

Westminster Vestry, and was a church warden,

overseer and guardian; he was also chairman of the

Free Libraries and Baths Commissionioners.

He was a member of the school board in London,

and was active in many other organizations.

He must have been a busy, busy man!

Herman had the pleasure of meeting

the Swedish Nightingale, Jenny Lind,

and he knew Charles Dickens.

He served as a constable in the

Fenian Riots and also at the

Trafalgar Square Riots.

Herman did find time to get married.

He had two children with his first wife,

whom he married in 1862.
After the death of his first wife,

Herman married Fannie Cox, age 36

at St. Peter's Church in London

On October 2, 1884.

Herman was 47 years old.

The marriage license states that

Fannie's father was a "gentleman."

Herman became a natural citizen of England

and remained there for the rest of his life.

So that is how I come to have an "English Ancestor"

Now this is one relative that probably would have

been real interesting to visit with!

Note:  For any relatives who are wondering:
Herman was the brother of great-grandma Berte Gaarder,
Berte was the mother of Mina Melby
Mina was the mother of Ralph/