    
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Administrative
Information
Scope and Content Note
Biographical Information
Lineage
Selected Search Terms
Partial Interview Transcript
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Information
Resources
Robert A. L. Mortvedt Library
Pacific
Lutheran University
Tacoma, WASHINGTON 98447
Phone: (253) 535-7586 E-mail: archives@plu.edu
New Land
New Lives Oral History Collection
Ogie (Aage) Enevoldsen Enwall
A Guide to His Oral History Interview |
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Administrative
Information
Creator:
Enwall, Ogie (Aage) Enevoldsen
Collection Nr: t055
File Content:
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2 file folders
1 photograph
1 sound cassette
2 compact discs
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Processing Information:
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The
interview was conducted using a cassette recorder. A research
copy was also prepared from the original. To further preserve
the content of the interview, it is now being transferred
to compact disc. We deliberately did not transcribe the
entire interview because we want the researchers to listen
to the interviewee's own voice. The transcription index
highlights important aspects of the interview and the
tape counter numbers noted on the Partial Interview
Transcription are meant as approximate finding guides
and refer to the location of a subject on the cassette/CD.
Interviewed
by Morrene Nesvig
Transcribed by Mary Sue Gee, Julie Peterson and Becky
Husby
Encoded by Kerstin Ringdahl & Amity Smetzler
Recording Quality: Good. He retains quite a strong
Danish accent in speaking.
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Restrictions:
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The
collection is available for research.
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Preferred Citation:
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[Collection
Number, Collection Title]
New Land New Lives Oral History Collection
Scandinavian Immigrant Experience Collection
Robert A.L. Mortvedt Library
Pacific Lutheran University
Tacoma, WA 98447
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This
interview was conducted with Ogie Enwall (Aage Enevoldsen) on
May 13, 1981. It contains information on family background,
emigration, dairy farming, marriage and family, community involvement,
and Danish heritage. The interview also contains a photograph
of Ogie. The interview was conducted in English.
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Ogie
Enwall was born on November 22, 1899 in Troldhede, Denmark to
Jens Enevoldsen and Johana Mickelsen. Jens was a butcher, and
Johanna was a housewife. Ogie had twelve siblings: Jenssine,
Mette, Enevold, Jens, Peder, Niels, Sofus, Axsel, Harry, Arthur,
Rudolf, and Oda. Ogie attended school until he was fourteen,
and then began working on farms to pay for high school, which
you had to be eighteen to enter. In March of 1924, Ogie immigrated
to the United States, where he took the train from New York
to Yakima, Washington. Ogie soon found a job on a farm in Roy,
Washington and worked in exchange for ten cows. With his cows,
he rented a farm and stayed there for ten years. In 1932, Ogie
bought a farm in Eatonville, Washington and began dairy farming.
He married Mary Shaw the following year, and they had three
daughters: Doris, Evelyn, and Mary Ellen. Through the years,
Ogie has been a member of Ohop Mutual Light Company's board,
Fire District 15, which he helped start, and the Danish Brotherhood.
He has also attended Bethany Lutheran Church on Mountain Highway.
Ogie has returned to Denmark three times and does not think
he could live there again. He is proud of his home country but
is also proud to be an American citizen.
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Full Name: |
Aage Enevoldsen
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Father: |
Jens Enevoldsen
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Mother: |
Johana Mickelsen
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Brothers and Sisters: |
Jenssine Enevoldsen
Mette Enevoldsen
Enevold Enevoldsen
Jens Peter Enevoldsen
Peder Weslev Enevoldsen
Niels Jul Enevoldsen
Sofus Enevoldsen
Axsel Otto Enevoldsen
Harry Enevoldsen
Arthur Enevoldsen
Rudolf Enevoldsen
Oda Enevoldsen
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Spouse: |
Mary Shaw
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Children: |
Doris Enwall
Evelyn Enwall
Mary Ellen Enwall
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This collection is indexed under the following headings
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Personal Names |
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Enwall, Ogie
Enevoldsen, Aage
Enevoldsen, Jens
Mickelsen, Johana
Shaw, Mary
Enwall, Doris
Enwall, Evelyn
Enwall, Mary Ellen
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Family Names |
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Enwall family
Enevoldsen family
Mickelsen family
Shaw family
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Geographical Names |
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Troldhede (Denmark)
Roy (Wash.)
Eatonville (Wash.)
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Subjects |
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Family -- Denmark
Denmark -- Emigration and immigration
Troldhede (Denmark) -- Emigration and immigration
Frederick VIII (Steamship)
Ellis Island Immigration Station (N.Y. and N.J.)
Railroad travel
Naturalization
World War, 1914-1915
Swan Lake Dairy (Mont.)
Ohop Grange (Eatonville, Wash.)
Ohop Mutual Light Company (Eatonville, Wash.)
Danish Brotherhood (Tacoma, Wash.)
Bethany Lutheran Church (Spanaway, Wash.)
Denmark -- Social conditions -- 1945-
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Occupations |
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Butchers
Farmers -- Washington (State)
Dairy Farming -- Washington (State)
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Genre/Form |
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Oral history
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Institution |
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Pacific Lutheran University. Scandinavian Immigrant Experience
Collection
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The
partial interview transcription highlights important aspects
of the interview. Numbers on the left may be used as guides
to important subjects. Two numbers separated by a slash indicate
that the first number is for cassette and the second for CD.
008 PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Name - Ogie Enwall. Name at the time
of immigration - Aage Enevoldsen. Born on November 22, 1899
in Jylland, Troldhede, Denmark. Ogie changed his name when he
got his citizenship papers so that it would be easier. Where
he was born in Denmark was a farming community, which was inland.
060 PARENTS: Jens Enevoldsen was a butcher. Mother - Johana
Mickelsen was a housewife who sometimes helped out in the slaughterhouse.
073 BROTHERS AND SISTERS: 13 in the family including two sets
of twins. Ogie is a twin. (See attached family tree for names).
Ogie worked on other peoples' farms where he would live too.
092 GRANDPARENTS: Maternal Grandfather - was a farmer, Justice
of the Peace, and the chairman of the Hede Selskabet which broke
up new land and planted trees on it. They were trying to create
more productive land. This was very hard land.
122 FIRST TRIP TO DENMARK: They were developing trees (see counter
II-343). Now there are big trees with deer around too.
137 BACKGROUND OF FAMILY NAME: When the missionaries came to
Denmark many of the old records were burned. He talks about
how they used names in Iceland. In Iceland, they refused missionaries.
185 HIGH SCHOOL DAYS IN DENMARK: School furnished until age
14. High school you had to be 18 to enter and you had to pay
for it. Ogie worked on farms. One of Ogie's teachers was from
Iceland. Ogie worked on the Island of Sjaelland which is where
Copenhagen is.
213 ARRIVED U.S.: Was on the last boat to go under the old quota.
Came when he was 24 in March of 1924. The quota was going to
move from about 2,000 people a month to 300-400. After high
school, he got a job on the Island of Bornholm in the Baltic
Sea. Ogie wrote a Christmas card to the people he had worked
for there and they were the ones to get him interested in coming
to the US. They invited him to go with them.
263 Intended to go to Minnesota. Went to Yakima instead. Had
to have about $100 to go as far as Yakima, Washington. He got
money from a friend.
275 CROSSING THE ATLANTIC: Left from Copenhagen on a passenger
boat, "Frederik VIII." There was a mix of Scandinavians aboard.
They were all surprised when they came into New York because
there came guards at every door and a whole bunch of Gypsies
got off. They must have been way down in the hold of the ship.
Trip took nine days. Two days of rough weather.
314 FEELINGS LEAVING DENMARK: Excited about the trip. Hadn't
seen much of the world. Transportation by walking and bicycle.
Had to have a permit from the Army to travel. Expected to go
for 2-3 years. They got numbers in the service to see who would
go. Ogie had five brothers in the service. The war ended, so
Ogie didn't have to go in, but he was on call.
363 WWI: Fourteen years old at the time. Talks about how it
affected lives. All the young people were in the service. They
didn't have any rubber for their bicycle tires, so they used
straw.
381 ELLIS ISLAND: Being processed. Checklist for disease and
money. Met a black man who spoke Danish. He was from St. Thomas
in the Virgin Islands, which the US purchased. This man told
him about how it was before and after the US purchased the Islands.
They had made their money selling Rum and Cognac but the US
was under prohibition so everything stopped. Had to have a place
to go. Was planning on going to Tyler, Minnesota.
435 HEADED WEST: More people on the east. They needed workers
in the West. First Impression of US - New York.
450 CATCHING THE TRAIN: Experience across the country. They
got in a good car, but many other immigrants were in cars, which
were practically like cattle cars. They were covered with coal
dust. Went through Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Washington DC.
Remembers seeing the Rocky Mountains and compares them to a
hill, Himmelbjerg, (The hill close to Heaven) in Denmark. Came
into Yakima, Washington and it was warm. He thought it was the
most beautiful town he had ever seen.
502 ENGLISH DIFFICULTIES: Didn't speak English when he came.
Took some time to learn. A man suggested that he go west of
the mountains to work on a dairy.
530 EMPLOYMENT: Farm work at Roy, Washington. Farmer paid the
man who was helping him. Was surprised by all the timber going
to waste in Washington compared to how they work in Denmark.
This was a medium sized dairy farm.
575 LONGACRES RACE TRACK EARLY DAYS: Neighbor rented the land
to them for 99 years.
609 Worked in exchange for ten cows. Rented a farm for improvements
on the land. Stayed there for about ten years. Bought a farm
in 1932 in Eatonville, Washington during the Depression Days.
No one else wanted the farm. He took over the farm and the payments
on the mortgage. One year later, you buy a farm better than
this for $5,000 (he paid $10,000), but they stayed.
653 MET WIFE: She was a clerk in the Mercantile store in Roy,
Washington. She was born in Colorado and then her family moved
out here. Married January 1933.
675 LIFE AS A DAIRY FARMER (see counter II-009): Long hours.
In 1936 bought out a small farm in Eatonville… (Tape ends abruptly).
SIDE II
008 LIFE AS A DAIRY FARMER: Started bottling milk. Sold out
to Sanitary Cloverleaf Milk in June of 1969 and went back to
shipping milk.
016 OHOP VALLEY, WASHINGTON: Scandinavian community. Was included
in this community through the Ohop Grange and the Ohop Mutual
Light Company, etc.
025 DAIRY FARMING CHANGES: Talks about the changes with automatic
washers and machines. The changes are for the good. Couldn't
make it farming the old way today. Had 260-300 head of cattle
at the most. Has been milking cows since January 9, 1909 when
he got his first job. Sold out three years ago but still has
some of the land.
073 Member of the Ohop Mutual Light Company's board for twenty
years. Sued the City of Tacoma because their lights cost too
much. Tacoma won the second time after seven years. Five companies
went together to become one.
106 Member of Fire District 15. Helped to start it. Was on the
board for 25 years and was the chairman for 20 years. Honored
by the Fire District.
122 CHILDREN: Doris went to Pullman for two years and graduated
from PLU. Mary Ellen lives in Los Angeles, California. She is
a schoolteacher. Evelyn lives in Snohomish. She works for the
state in child protection. Wife: Mary Shaw.
144 INTENDED TO GO BACK TO DENMARK: After three years, he had
a farm. He likes the climate. Production went up 2.5 times during
the years he worked in dairying and labor was cut about 60%.
Too busy to think about Denmark.
177 Kept up correspondence with his relatives in Denmark.
185 LEARNING ENGLISH: Practice by reading the newspaper and
talking to people.
202 CHURCH LIFE: Member of Bethany Lutheran Church down on the
Mountain Highway. Had a Danish pastor Svint (?). Had relief
pastors from PLU - Dr. Elkhound and Dr. Govig. In the beginning,
they didn't have a minister they only had Sunday School. A pastor
would come only for special occasions. Now they were talking
about building a new church. He talks about the area and how
it is growing. He talks bout the Missouri Lutheran Church wanting
to build too. Talks about the problems of getting water in this
area.
318 CELEBRATING HOLIDAYS: Christmas Eve - That's the big time.
A few Danish dishes.
330 SWAN LAKE DAIRY: This was the name of their dairy. Tells
about this name was derived. Used to be a lake called Swan,
which is know called Krager (?) Lake. There used to be a Swan
Lake School District.
343 TRIPS TO DENMARK: First trip forty-one years later in 1965.
It was like going into a foreign country, because of all the
changes. Visited Herning, Denmark where his parents were buried.
Different to see the country by car too. Visited relatives.
Ogie has a brother in Argentina. He immigrated there. Made another
trip in 1971 or 1972. Has made three trips in all. Talks about
why he goes to Denmark travel.
414 DENMARK TODAY: Couldn't live there today. Would take too
long to get used to again. Likes the pension system and hospital
system. Doesn't like that they have so much public assistance,
no incentive to work. Talks about unions in Denmark first time
that they are lowering their standards to compete with foreign
goods.
523 STILL SPEAKS DANISH: In Denmark, they learn English in school.
Talks about learning other languages.
562 DANISH RELATIVES VISIT: Some came and worked on the farm
for awhile (see counter II-630).
582 Member of the Danish Brotherhood for fifty years. Talks
about a family that came over and joined the club, Pete Rasmussen
from Esbjerg, Denmark.
613 CITIZENSHIP: As soon as he could. Applied one year earlier.
630 RELATIVES VISIT FROM DENMARK: (see counter II-562) Youngest
brother and nephew who is an airline pilot for SAS and a distant
cousin.
643 IMPORTANCE OF DANISH HERITAGE: Proud of country, but proud
to be an American citizen too. Wanted to be a citizen so that
he could vote. This is what he told them and he got his citizenship
papers right away. He talks about a Greek man who was trying
for the fifth time. Glad that he immigrated to the US.
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