Sunday, July 31, 2011

Vivien

This is my cousin, Vivien.
She was in "show business."
"Show business" was a profession that
was more or less frowned upon when I was growing up.
[at least in our house!]

I regret that I never had a chance to meet Vivien.
She was a concert pianist.
She was a dancer.
She performed in vaudeville with her husband.
Vivien was  talented and beautiful.

Oh, I'm sure in many ways Vivien's life was glamorous.
But she experienced heartaches, struggles, and demons
just like we "non-glamorous" people do.


She was a Mom to two sons.
Her son, Bennett, drowned when he was only seven.
How does a mother ever get over something like that?
Her other son, Marshall, lives in Florida.
Her first husband, who acted in vaudeville with her,
was schizophrenic.
How do you deal with that?

Men were attracted to her beauty.
Some of those men were with the "mob."
Seems like that would make for a difficult,
possibly dangerous relationship,
but I am just surmising.

The relationship between Vivien and her sister
was questionable.
I don't know much, except what was told to me
by her sister, who was apparently a little envious,
and a tad judgmental.


 
Vivien's father was killed in a auto accident,
and over the years, I get the impression that her
relationship with her mother
was strained. 

I am certain Vivian loved her sons.
 I  believe she was a good mother,
but I don't think she was
an "apple pie" sort of mom.
[But I don't know this -
perhaps her son will set me straight!]


 
Because she is related to me on my Dad's side,
I wonder if she was outspoken, ambitious,
independent or headstrong (stubborn)
 like so many of her Melby relatives.

The final struggle of her life was when she
was diagnosed with a brain tumor
which caused her death at the age of 56.

Was her life really as glamorous as
what we, on the outside, perceive?
I would like to think that she really wasn't
that different from any of us.
After coming home from work,
she had her family to care for -  her house needed cleaning,
she had errands to run, groceries to buy.
Just like the rest of us.

Vivien may have had many difficulties,
but I hope she was a happy person.
I hope that with the struggles she did have,
there were people around her with compassion.




Sunday, July 24, 2011

Great Uncle Mons

This is Rev. Mons Gjerde
He was my grandmother's brother
He doesns't look very cheerful in the picture,
but I am told that in "those days"
you were not supposed to smile for the camera!!

Mons was born in 1867 in Nordal, More og Romsdal, Norway.
He was the fourth born of nine children
born to Peter & Berte Gjerde.
When his mother died following complications of childbirth
His father married Inger Iversdatter Krohn.
They had three more children.

Mons immigrated to the United States as a young man,
settling in Wisconsin.
It was here that Mons realized God's love for us,
and dedicated his life to the service of God.
He moved to Minneapolis and attended Augsburg College
and was ordained as a Lutheran pastor.

In 1897, he married Christine Dahlager.
They were married at Sarpsorg Church near Dalton.

At their wedding, Christine's brother John
met Mons' sister Elsie.
They were married a year later.
[these were my grandparents]

Back in Norway, Mons' half-brother, Ivers,
was causing the family grief due to his lifestyle.
The family sent him to the United States
 to live with Mons & his wife,
hoping that Mons could "straighten him out."

Ivers stayed with them for a time, but then moved on.
He went west, to mine for gold,
and then they heard he was in Portland, Oregon.
The family never saw him again.
We can only wonder if Mons had a positive
influence on his life.

Mons pastored in Minot,North Dakota,
Washington State,Wisconsin, and South Dakota.
Mons & Christine had nine children.

On October 24, 1937, Mons had just finished his
Sunday sermon and announced the closing hymn.
He staggered into the sacristy and was then
taken to a nearby home.
He died that afternoon.

Mons and his wife had just made plans to retire
to the Dalton area, and had already made
arrangements to buy Rev. Elias Berlie's home.

Just three days before Mons died,
his brother-in-law, John Dahlager died.
Don't you think it's a bit ironic?
Remember, John was married to Mons' sister
and Mons was married to John's sister.

Mons is buried at the Sarpsborg Cemetery.
On his tombstone is the inscription:
"To live is Christ - to die is gain."


Monday, July 18, 2011

Miss Holly

How many of you remember making these fancy little "ladies"?
When I was little, we used to make these
out of Hollyhocks.

Holly is a beautiful lady, all ready to go to a ball.
She surely must have been a lovely sight
 as she danced with her Prince Charming.
You can almost hear her skirt rustling as she
glided from one end of the ballroom to the other!


She must have spent hours getting ready. . .
Her hair is upswept high, with just
enough curls at the top to be elegant.
And did she really dye her hair to match her dress?
Her milky white complexion is flawless,
she wears no makeup, she is
beautiful the way she is.

Such simple fun we had back in the
GOOD OLD DAYS!!


P.S. If you notices the words "element on" on the lower left of the picture - I set "Holly" on the top of the stove to take the picture, and didn't notice the words until I posted it here....




Sunday, July 17, 2011

Anders, My Mysterious Ancestor

My great-great grandfather is somewhat of a mystery.
Anders was born on November 5,1820 in Norway.
His parents were Lars Pedersen and Anna Torkelsdatter.
On July 11, 1845 he married Berte Marie Hamborg.
They had eight children, including my grandmother, Mina.

The family lived in Toten, Oppland County, Norway.
Records of their children's baptisms & confirmations
were found in 2 different churches:  Hoff Kirke & Balke Kirke.

The photo below is of Hoff Kirke (Church)
Here is Balke Kirke
Balke kirke - Photo: Oda Hveem

In 1868, Anders left his family in Norway.
He sailed first to Quebec and then on to the United States.
His destination was listed as LaCrosse, MN.

A full 8+ years later (1877), my great-grandmother (Berte)
came to the United States with their two youngest daughters:
Olena [Lena] &  Ottilie [Tillie].
Their destination was Peterson, Minnesota,
as Anders was living there at that time.

Often the husband/father would come ahead of
his wife and children, and then send for his
family when he had saved enough money.
Most likely this is what happened here.
(My grandmother, Mina, did not come until 1885)

The 1880 census says that Anders was a laborer
living in Peterson, MN in the township of Rushford.

When my grandmother came to America,
her destination was LaCrosse, Wisconsin
so I must assume that is where her parents were at the time.

That is all the information I have on my great-grandfather.
The 1895 census states that my great-grandmother
was living with my grandparents, so I believe
that Anders had died prior to this.

I wonder what he was like?
He wasn't rich, but maybe he was good looking...
I hope he was a nice man...but of course he must have been, right?
I wonder if he ever owned a farm? 
Or was he employed by a farmer?
Was he musical?  Was he smart?
I may never know.

His daughter, my grandma, was a devout Christian,
so perhaps her faith was passed down from her parents.
I don't know when or where he died,
But I believe it is either near Peterson, MN
or LaCrosse, Wisconsin.
His wife died in 1898 and she is buried near
Silver Creek, MN.

Of course, it isn't so terribly important to
know all these things,
But we are curious.
Often, we find something in our ancestry search
That explains just a little bit of who we are.





Wednesday, July 13, 2011

How Did this Happen??

On Sunday, I was heading home from Pam's.
I had left Lee there so he could catch his
flight back to San Francisco on Monday.

When I got to Buffalo, I decided to put gas on my car.
I felt I had enough to get home, but for some reason,
I just thought, "may as well get gas."

I filled up the tank and went on my way.
Once I had passed St. Cloud I noticed
ominous clouds to the west.
Someplace between Albany & Sauk Centre
the weather turned wicked enough so that I pulled over.
The winds were fierce and the rains were torrential,
to say the least.

Eventually I was able to continue on home with
no further problem.
On Tuesday, I took my car to Fergus,
to go to Wal-Mart.
When I got out of the store,
I opened my trunk to put my groceries in.
As I opened the trunk, the gas cap
slid to the ground.

Now, how did this happen?
I got gas in Buffalo, 160 miles from home!
I suppose I must have neglected to put the
gas cap back on after getting gas.
BUT...
I drove 65-70 miles per hour,
I was in the middle of a major storm,
and the gas cap didn't fall off?

Did the gas cap stay on the hood of the car, wedged on the
luggage rack (on the trunk)?
Doesn't seem possible, but maybe...
OR...
Was somebody tampering with my gas tank at Wal-Mart?
Had someone tried to siphon gas after I got home?
It didn't seem like my gas tank was emptier than
it should have been for the miles traveled.

I  guess this is just one of those weird,
unexplainable things.
But next time, I will double-check
to make sure
I have replaced the gas cap!

Sunday, July 10, 2011

On the Drive Home

Today I took Lee down to the cities so he
can fly back to San Francisco tomorrow.

I left for home around 6:30 and was
making good time.
I was somewhere between Avon & Sauk Centre
when things began to change. . .
The sky was ominously dark, and there was lightning,
Then it started to rain. . .
Not just rain, mind you!
It was torrential!
And then the wind started,
Not just wind, mind you,
but strong, strong winds!!
I, along with many, many others pulled over
to the side of the freeway.
The car shook from the wind-
I was wondering if a tornado came if I
would be picked up and dropped somewhere in Kansas.
The rain was so heavy it was impossible to see.
 As I sat there, I thought to myself,
"There is no traffic coming from the other side,"
This concerned me somewhat.
After about 20 minutes, I decided it had
let up a little bit and the sky was
looking a little brighter,
so I started off again.
When I got to Sauk Centre I noticed
several large billboards were blown out.
There were twigs & leaves around
and lots of water!
I called Lee and told him of my "ordeal"
and he told me that there were tornado warnings
for Stearns County,
which is where I was sitting.
But I made it safely and it was a good day
in spite of the weather.