MONS GJERDE

This is my great-uncle, Mons Gjerde. He was my

Grandma, Elsie Dahlager's brother.  

Grandma & Mons both immigrated from Norway.

Mons was married to Christine Dahlager

Grandma was married to Christine's brother, John Dahlager.

Mons was a Lutheran pastor, serving in Minnesota,

Wisconsin, Washington and South Dakota.

My grandpa John died unexpectedly in October, 1936

Three days after John's death, Mons died very suddenly.

How strange that these men, who had married each other's sibling

had died so close together.

I

Family Get-Togethers

This photo is of my Dahlager relatives on the occasion of

my great-grandmother's birthday -circa 1930

she is shown with her grandchildren and I suspect

some of these are her great-grandchildren.   What fun to

have these old pictures!  And I am so glad that the

Dahlager family were VERY good at taking pictures!

his photo was taken this past summer at a Melby Family reunion

when our relatives from Norway came to visit.  It was great fun!

Seems like we should have get-together more often, though.........

instead of waiting for funerals, or 80th birthday parties.

Seems like relatives and friends got together more oftenwhen I was young than they do now - 

and I think it's too bad that so many of us are too busy to take time for this.

When I was young, relatives visited on Sunday afternoon unannounced

....and Mom was always prepared!   

Sad to say, if someone pops to see me  tomorrow, 

I probably wouldn't have anything more than coffee

 and my house would not be "company ready"

Oh, how things have changed! 

The farm my great grandparents lived on

 Great-grandparents Christopher & Sigrid Dahlager

lived on a farm by Clear Lake, just south of Dalton.

Here are a couple of photos.

This photo was taken during threshing -

I don't know the date of the picture, but maybe

in the 1920's.

My great grandpa died in 1918 and great grandma died in 1942,

so I never knew them.  

My mother used to tell me what a nice place

they had - with beautiful lilacs, and other flowers.

There was even a stone path to the outhouse and

great-grandma plated flowers along the path.

The buildings are all gone now.

Weddings

Thinking about weddings lately - since my daughter

is engaged!   Here are a few photos of

family weddings from long ago.

My grandparents, John & Elsie

Married in 1898

My aunt Palma & uncle Carl

Married in the 1920's

\

My great Uncle Mons & Great Aunt Christine

Married in 1897

My parents - married in 1930

At Grandma's House

Dodie, Me, Jim

Alice, Orion, Christopher, Mabel

Grandma, Palma, Esther

Came across these old pictures this evening. 

They were taken at Grandma's house at Christmas a long time ago,

maybe around 1955.

The photos bring memories of going to Grandma's

each Christmas Eve.

But I was also reminded of the decor in Grandma's

living room.    The wallpaper had ferns on them, and the

matching curtain?  They were  plastic.

A fern normally sat in the corner where the

Christmas tree is.

I always thought Grandma's house was so cozy!

So glad for the memories!

Mom & Dad

I really like these pictures of my parents.

I colorized the one of Mom just a tad.

I am so glad that there are quite a few pictures of my

mom, even from the time she was very young.

In this photo I would guess she's about 21 or 22 years old.

I love the smile on Dad in this photo.

[He had probably been on a steam engine, 

which made him happy.]

There was no date on this picture,

 but he was maybe around 30 years old.

There are very few pictures of Dad,

especially when he was young.

Stormy Evening

We had a windstorm last evening.

While the rain was definitely needed and appreciated,

the accompanying wind caused damage and

most people in town will be cleaning their yards today.

I had some branches in the yard and other debris,

but no major damage that I can see.

A fairly large tree was down near the hiking trail 

My neighbor's fence was damaged by this pine tree;

there was also another large branch in the back yard.

Another tree fell on this vehicle and also damaged the home 

After the storm, the dark clouds started to break up

and blue sky reappeared.