    
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
Bergliot (Bella) Moxness Oliver
DeRosa
A Guide to Her Oral History Interview |
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Administrative
Information
Creator:
DeRosa, Bergliot (Bella) Moxness Oliver
Collection Nr: t102-103
File Content:
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4 file folders
4 photographs
2 sound cassettes
0 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 Inger Nygaard Carr
Transcribed by Mary Sue Gee, Julie Peterson and Becky
Husby
Encoded by Kerstin Ringdahl & Amity Smetzler
Recording Quality: One part towards the end fades
out a little.
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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 Bergliot DeRosa on October 22,
1981 in Tacoma, Washington. It contains information about family
background, emigration, work, marriage and family life, and
Norwegian heritage. The interview also contains a copy of a
photograph taken at Bergliot's mother's aunt's wedding, a photograph
of the DeRosa family, a postcard of Trondheim, and two photographs
of Bergliot at the time of the interview and a copy of her certificate
of vaccination. The interview was conducted in English with
some Norwegian towards the end of the interview. Also see Sara
Vanderbilt, T115.
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Bergliot
DeRosa was born on August 11, 1902 in Trondheim, Norway to Olav
Johannes Moxness and Sara Petrine Kristensen. Olav was a sea
captain of the English Freighter and spent a great deal of time
away from the family. In 1918, en route to Australia, the boat
he was on disappeared and was never heard of again. In addition
to Bergliot, there were five other children in the Moxness family:
Gunvor, Ruth, Johan, Sara, and Olav. Bergliot had a very active
childhood, which including a lot of skiing and hiking. She was
confirmed in the Cathedral in Trondheim and was then sent to
Humerskole for four years to learn how to bake, cook, and care
for children. In 1914, Bergliot's sister Gunvor immigrated to
Tacoma, Washington, and Bergliot joined her in 1922. Eventually,
the entire family came. When Bergliot arrived in Tacoma, she
already had a housekeeping job, which paid $50 a month. Following
that job, Bergliot worked for Everybody's Candy Factory and
then as a housekeeper for Dr. Whitaker. In addition to work,
Bergliot also went to school to become a citizen and learn the
English language, which did not take her very long. Bergliot
met her first husband, Fremont Oliver, at Point Defiance. Fremont
owned the Oliver Tire Company in Tacoma, and he and Bergliot
were married at a local Lutheran Church. They had three children:
Ruth (Jones), Rosemary (Duncan), and Fremont. After being sick
for two years, Fremont Sr. died in 1946. Bergliot was later
remarried to Frank DeRosa, the supervisor for the Tacoma Water
Department. Bergliot continued working, cooking in the kitchen
at Pacific Lutheran University for one year and then caring
for Mrs. Hawkins, the bedridden wife of an attorney at the Country
Club. Bergliot was very active in the Daughters of Norway, serving
as a Marshall for many years, and was also active in the 17th
of May celebration and Leif Erikson committee. She is still
fluent in Norwegian and has given many lectures on Norway to
various groups. Bergliot has returned to Norway twice, once
shortly after Fremont died and once in 1969. In Bergliot's opinion,
so much has changed in Norway that it no longer feels like her
home. Nevertheless, she claims she is "just as much Norwegian
as when she left Norway."
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Full Name: |
Bergliot Moxness Oliver DeRosa
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Maiden Name: |
Bergliot Moxness
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Father: |
Olav Johannes Moxness
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Mother: |
Sara Petrine Kristensen
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Paternal Grandfather: |
Johan Wedege Pettersen Moxness
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Paternal Grandmother: |
Olive Røskaft
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Maternal Grandfather: |
Nils Kristensen
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Maternal Grandmother: |
Gunhild Wiklun Kristensen
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Brothers and Sisters: |
Gunvor Moxness Bronow
Ruth Moxness
Johan W. Moxness
Sara Moxness Vanderbilt
Olav Moxness
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Spouse: |
Fremont Oliver
Frank DeRosa
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Children: |
Ruth Nadin Jones
Rosemary Duncan
Fremont Ashley Oliver
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This collection is indexed under the following headings
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Personal Names |
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DeRosa, Bergliot
Moxness, Olav Johannes
Kristensen, Sara Petrine
Oliver, Fremont
Jones, Ruth
Duncan, Rosemary
Oliver, Fremont Jr.
DeRosa, Frank
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Family Names |
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DeRosa family
Moxness family
Oliver family
Kristensen family
Røskaft family
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Geographical Names |
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Trondheim (Norway)
Tacoma (Wash.)
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Subjects |
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Family -- Norway
Norway --Emigration and immigration
Trondheim (Norway) -- Emigration and immigration
Norway -- History -- German occupation, 1940-1945
Bergensfjord (Steamship)
Confirmaton -- Lutheran church
Daughters of Norway (Tacoma, Wash.)
Leif Erickson Committee (Tacoma, Wash.)
Christmas -- Norway
Railroad travel
Ellis Island Immigration Station (N.Y. and N.J.)
World War, 1914-1915
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Occupations |
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Domestics -- Norway
Everybody's Candy Factory (Tacoma, Wash.)
Oliver Tire Company (Tacoma, Wash.)
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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.
TAPE 102
SIDE I
004 PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Married twice, widowed once. She describes
the Moxness name origin. Born in Melhus, Norway near Trondheim
on August 11, 1902.
028 FATHER: He was a sea captain. He could be gone for year
at a time. He sailed all over the world.
033 CHILDHOOD: Born out in the country. She was a "fair" delicate
baby. Talks about being a baby.
047 Moved to town, Trondheim, Norway.
050 PARENTS: Father was a sea captain of the English Freighter.
His name was Olav Moxness. Mother, Sara Kristensen Moxness.
She was born in Sortland.
061 GRANDPARENTS: Paternal grandfather, Oline Røskaft. Paternal
grandfather worked with the schools. Worked at Bispehaugen school
outside of Trondheim.
080 SCHOOL: Went to school at Bispehaugen for the first three
years. She describes the school.
095 Grandfather died and then she moved up by the university
in Trondheim, Norges Teknisk Høyskole. They lived at a place
called Tingvalla.
105 MATERNAL GRANDPARENTS: All very old. Made dolls. Very interesting
people. Mother's grandmother, Sara Wiklun had a saloon in Trondheim.
It was also a grocery and bakery.
125 Mother's grandmother had an annual sale of her wares. She
went by boat to Stokmarkness. She was 80 the last time she went.
132 MATERNAL GRANDFATHER: Nils Kristensen. He had a store. Fisherman
bought wares for the store. She describes some family history.
150 Parents married and had six children.
151 BROTHERS AND SISTERS: Gunvor Moxness Bronow. Johan Moxness
worked for the county in Seattle. Ruth Moxness died of the Spanish
flu. Sara Moxness Vanderbilt married a Dutchman. Olav Moxness
died, he worked for a lumber company in Oregon.
175 CHILDHOOD: "Lived it up." Skied all the time. Lost 30 pounds
every winter by skiing.
195 SUMMER: Hiking. Walked several miles.
WINTER: Taxied students down in sled for 5 cent.
206 HOUSE: Had a big house. Wooden apartment. Had a caretaker.
Well build house. Didn't do much work at home.
231 EDUCATION: Another lady taught her to bake, cook, and care
for children. Daughters were often sent to Husmorskole in Norway
to learn domestic work. She worked for four years for this lady
and enjoyed it.
263 1914: Sister Gunvor was a midwife and entertained new immigrants
in her home in Tacoma, Washington where she was for ten years
before returning to Norway.
275 FATHER: Was in New York in 1918 waiting to get a new boat.
He headed for Australia on the boat but it disappeared and was
never seen or heard of again.
294 CHRISTMAS: Always had relatives over. Had handmade gifts.
Sang around the tree. Christmas parties.
317 CHRISTMAS: Could wear patent leather shoes on Christmas.
Really dressed up. Father bought most of the clothes in England.
"Treated like a princess."
333 CHURCH: Had to go to Sunday school. Didn't go to church
service. It was too deep. Learned religion in school also. Walked
three miles to Sunday school.
366 Confirmed in the cathedral in Trondheim.
369 CHRISTMAS EVE: Had service at home. Just the family. Ate
spareribs and bakery stuff. Mother hired someone to make lefse.
Describes making this. Bought many things in town.
409 MOTHER: She was a very smart woman. Talks about ways her
mother had of dealing with children. Great respect for her.
Good disciplinarian.
441 CHRISTMAS EVE: Relatives over. Had rump roast. Describes
how this is made. Also had tyttebaer and fattigmanns.
459 TROLLS: She didn't hear stories. Nordland had many stories.
469 STORY: Tells a true story about her uncle's cows and smaakarer
"little men."
487 Talks about running into a weasel.
507 Tells a story about the monkey her great-uncle had. She
talks about this big farm and the fancy house with a ballroom
and gym.
532 WAR: Her great-uncle had to leave the farm when the Germans
came.
543 FAVORITE DESSERT: Gooseberry pudding. Many varieties of
gooseberries in Norway. Also many blackberries, blueberries,
and tyttebaer.
567 MARKET: There was a big market in Trondheim where they could
buy cheese and many things.
578 She describes the market in Trondheim today. Flowers and
other things at the market.
604 Took dancing lessons. Boys and Girls. Ballroom dancing.
First movie she saw was "The Girl From Paris," this sticks strongly
in her mind.
SIDE II
007 SISTER WENT TO THE U.S.: She stayed with an aunt in New
York when she first came and then came to Tacoma, Washington.
016 EFFECTS OF WAR ON NORWAY: Father gone often.
020 FATHER: Talks of her father and his travels. One accident
where he was severely burned.
028 WAR: 1914 during the war was a hard year. Mother took in
students as boarders. One boarder was a French noble. Food was
hard to get during the war. Had butter made of whole fat. Worse
in the city than the country.
055 WAR: Had ration coupons.
061 SPANISH FLU: Sister died of it. Many families wiped out.
070 TUBERCULOSIS: Was another common disease when she was young.
She wasn't allowed in others homes because of TB. Parents were
very strict.
102 USA: Came to the U.S. in 1922 because sister was in the
U.S. Mother thought she could have it better in the U.S. The
family all came within a few years of each other.
115 FEELINGS ABOUT LEAVING: Nothing special other than missing
the mountains more than anything. Left August 22, 1922.
128 Brother had come over and bought a house for his mother
in Tacoma, Washington.
132 TRAVEL: Took the train from Trondheim to Oslo. Took the
boat, "Bergensfjord," It was a nice boat with music and dancing
too.
150 Tickets sent from Andrew Foss who was a friend of her sister
in Tacoma. They wanted to adopt Bella because she reminded them
of their daughter.
168 ELLIS ISLAND: Lined up like sheep. Looked at head and tongue.
Didn't stay long.
174 TRAIN TRAVEL: Took a Union Pacific train. Switched trains
in Chicago.
178 LANGUAGE PROBLEMS: Didn't speak much English. Had learned
some. Both parents were fluent in English.
184 TRAIN TRIP: Interesting. Talks about ordering food on the
train. People encouraging her to spend money.
206 STORY: A rich sheep owner who wanted to buy a Norwegian
coin. He gave her a picture with 250,000 sheep on it for the
coin.
231 WHITE SLAVERY: They threw pillowcases over girls' heads
and kidnapped them.
241 ARRIVAL IN TACOMA, WASHINGTON: She was met by the Fosses
and her sister at the Union Station. She stood under the 15th
Street Bridge and waited for them.
251 CONTACT WITH FRIENDS AND RELATIVES: Leif Leifson, a pastor
helped her get in touch with them.
263 WORK: Had a job when she arrived. Did housework. It was
up on Prospect Hill. A very nice home.
292 Worked for Dr. Whitaker doing housework.
297 SCHOOL: Went to school to become a citizen. Picked up the
language very well.
311 HUSBAND: Met her first husband, Fremont Oliver who owned
the Oliver Tire Co., in town. She'd met him at Point Defiance.
363 WEDDING: No formal wedding. Married by Olaf Holen at the
Lutheran church in Tacoma.
386 MOTHER: Was here in 1925. Bella gave all her money to her
mother. She made $50 a month at the first place she worked.
Dr. Whitaker paid $35 a month.
436 WORK: Worked at Everybody's Candy Factory before working
at Whitaker's. Worked with crackers. Talked about working here.
Shined cans of cookies. Paid on a time basis. Worked in shipping.
482 HOME: Lived at 12th and Stevens in a new built house when
first married. Many Norwegians in the area.
502 Husband made $100 per month.
507 FAMILY: Daughter, Ruth Jones, works for the City of Tacoma.
520 Milton Nesvig, the pastor at Emmanuel Lutheran was a good
friend of Bella's sister.
535 CHILDREN: All went to Jefferson school.
539 Daughter, Rosemary is married to Kenneth Duncan who is a
colonel in the Air Force.
551 GRANDCHILDREN: Ruth's daughter, Lynn Jones Moon is a dentist.
She worked very hard for this.
569 SECOND DAUGHTER: She had one boy and two girls. The boy
is in Virginia and the girls are in school in Dayton, Ohio.
590 Problems in Ohio's economy now.
601 SON: Fremont Oliver works for Cable Craft. Went to Franklin
High School. He was the football captain. He was in the service
for 2-3 years. He went to the University of Puget Sound.
TAPE 103
SIDE I
009 SON: Worked in Kansas. He married Francis Campbell from
Wenatchee. They have four children.
019 Moved to Richwood Ave, closer to the tire co. Husband died
in 1946 after being sick for two years.
027 TRIPS BACK TO NORWAY: Went with Rosemary after husband died.
Gorgeous trip.
040 Had to return suddenly, might have had something to do with
the war. Norway returned to normal quickly after the German
Occupation.
047 GERMAN OCCUPATION: She talks about this and the people who
went to concentration camps. People didn't seem hateful towards
the Germans.
061 UNDERGROUND: Her cousin was a captain in the underground.
The family escaped to Sweden. His mother was taken hostage.
Bella sent clothes, toys, and other things to Norway during
the war.
078 SECOND HUSBAND: Frank DeRosa, supervisor for the Tacoma
Water Department.
085 Moved from Richmond Avenue to Parkland. Bella did the real
estate transaction. The state took this house to put in the
freeway.
113 WORK: Worked at Pacific Lutheran University in the kitchen
for one year. There was another Norwegian cooking too. This
was about 1954.
146 WORK: Took care of Mrs. Hawkins, the wife of an attorney
at the country club. She was bedridden. Made about $125 a month.
182 DAUGHTERS OF NORWAY: Very active. Was the Marshall there
for many years. Used to put on plays and did dancing years ago.
195 17TH OF MAY CELEBRATION: Very active in this. Active in
Leif Leifson committee.
201 CHURCH: Not real active. Children were active. Sunday school
and confirmation.
236 SCANDINAVIAN CUSTOMS: She still practices the customs today.
She gets things sent from Norway and puts them on display in
various places.
248 TRIPS TO NORWAY: She went to Norway and Germany in 1969.
263 CHANGES: They built big apartments that cover everything
up. Hide everything that is beautiful. Doesn't feel like home
anymore.
285 CHANGES: People and children. Children don't respect elders.
So many strangers coming in. Don't bake anymore. Everything
bought and warmed.
319 LANGUAGE: Still speaks the language fluently. Oldest daughter
can understand Norwegian.
329 GIRL SCOUTS: Bella was a leader. She made them all uniforms.
Sang "Per Speleman" and danced.
338 Bella sings "Per Speleman" very clearly.
348 HERITAGE: Just as much Norwegian as when she left Norway.
Has done lots of lecturing on Norway to various groups.
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