    
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Administrative
Information
Scope and Content Note
Biographical Information
Lineage
Selected Search Terms
Partial Interview Transcript
|
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
Otto Hjalmer Halseth
A Guide to His Oral History Interview |
|
Administrative
Information
Creator:
Halseth, Otto Hjalmer
Collection Nr: t120-121
File Content:
|
|
3 file folders
4 photographs
2 sound cassettes
0 compact discs
|
|
|
Processing Information:
|
|
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: Good
|
Restrictions:
|
|
The
collection is available for research.
|
|
Preferred Citation:
|
|
[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
|
Go
to top |
The
interview was conducted with Otto Halseth on November 30, 1981
in Tacoma, Washington. This interview contains information on
the details of the fire in Ålesund, Norway, on January 23, 1904;
furniture making; professions of his family members; life as
a child in Norway; Norwegian Christmas traditions; living in
a strong Christian home; voyage to America and Tacoma; citizenship
process; building of Fort Lewis; life on a fruit farm; church
involvement; return to Norway; ministry work in Canada and Norway;
life in U.S. after returning; feelings about being Norwegian;
and changes in Norway. The interview also provides photographs
of Otto Halseth's family, Otto's school (class of 1916), Otto
and his wife Esther (1949), and Otto at Monitor Cabinets on
Center Street in Tacoma, WA. The interview was conducted in
English.
|
|
Otto
Halseth was born on July 10, 1904 in Ørsta, Norway. He was one
of ten siblings by Oline Åam and Ole J. Helseth, a furniture
maker. He was confirmed at age 14 and a half, at which time
he started working in an insurance company office. He left Norway
on October 16, 1921 at the age of 17. His coming to America
was an accident; he used a ticket that was supposed to be for
his brother Knut, who was called in for military training before
he could emigrate. Otto was met in Tacoma by his aunt and uncle,
whom he lived with while attending night school to learn English
and study for citizenship. He worked with his uncle in a Tacoma
bakery during the first year, then as a car knocker for the
railroad for some time. He got a job in a cabinet shop, Tacoma
Millwork Supply Company, from 1924 to 1930, at which time the
plant was shut down due to the Depression. He then left Tacoma
and lived with another aunt and uncle on their fruit farm in
Looking Glass Valley, ten miles outside of Roseburg, OR. In
1939, the factory in Tacoma reopened and Otto was called back
to his old job as a cabinetmaker. He worked there one year until
he was called into military duty on Pearl Harbor Day, December
7, 1941. He did his basic training in Fort Lewis, WA and additional
training in Fresno, CA. He joined the Air Corp at Fort Lewis
as a specialist in woodwork, working on gliders when they needed
repairs. He was sent to Louisville, Kentucky and then to Lowrenberg
Maxston Air Base in North Carolina. A law was passed in Washington
D.C. that all past the age of 38 were needed more on the home
front than on the war front; Otto's manager in Tacoma sent a
note to Otto's commander saying that he was needed, and Otto
went back to Tacoma where he worked on the construction of Fort
Lewis. He went to Canada for three to four years (no date given)
to do ministry work, mainly with Norwegians, speaking his mother
tongue. He went to Norway after WWII, where he lived with his
parents and did interpretations for English ministers who often
went to Norway. He was asked to be pastor at a church there
but refused. He stayed in Norway for three years, marrying Esther
Swanlund Halseth, a nurse in his church, the last year before
returning to the U.S. They had two daughters; Ruth was born
in 1952 and Mary Ann in 1954. Both were delivered in the same
room in Tacoma General Hospital. Otto did cabinetwork in the
same Tacoma plant after returning from Norway and retired when
he was 68 and a half, after which he did work for his church.
He was not involved with Scandinavian organizations. He took
a trip back to Norway with his wife in 1973. Otto's name was
originally Helseth, but a Tacoma teacher asked him to change
it to Halseth, which he has been for 50 years at the time of
the interview.
Go to top |
|
|
Full Name: |
Otto Hjalmer Halseth
|
|
Father: |
Ole J. Helseth
|
|
Mother: |
Oline Åam
|
|
Paternal Grandfather: |
J. Helseth
|
|
Paternal Grandmother: |
Ingeborg Helseth
|
|
Maternal Grandfather: |
Knut Åam
|
|
Maternal Grandmother: |
Ane Åam
|
|
Brothers and Sisters: |
Ingeborg Helseth
Astrid Helseth
Knut Helseth
Arnold Helseth
Ananda Helseth
Ruth Helseth
Jens Helseth
Olav Helseth
|
|
Spouse: |
Esther Swanlund Halseth
|
|
Children: |
Ruth Halseth
Mary Ann Halseth
|
Go to top |
This collection is indexed under the following headings
|
|
Personal Names |
|
Halseth, Otto Hjalmer
Helseth, Otto Hjalmer
Helseth, Ole J.
Helseth, Ingeborg
Åam, Knut
Åam, Ane
Halseth, Ruth
Halseth, Mary Ann
Halseth, Esther
Åam, Oline
|
|
Family Names |
|
Halseth family
Helseth family
Åam family
Swanlund family
|
|
Geographical Names |
|
Fræna, Romsdal (Norway)
Åam, Ørsta (Norway)
Malmesdal, Romsdal (Norway)
Tacoma (Wash.)
Ålesund (Norway)
Looking Glass Valley (Or.)
|
|
Subjects |
|
Family -- Norway
Norway -- Emigration and immigration
Norwegian-Americans -- Ethnic identity
Stavangerfjord (Steamship)
Naturalization
Normanna Hall -- (Tacoma, Wash.)
Tacoma Millwork Supply Co.(Tacoma, Wash.)
Church -- Norway
Ocean travel
Railway travel
Preaching -- Norway
Preaching -- Canada
Christmas -- Norway
Baptists
Confirmation -- Norway
Norway -- Social conditions -- 1945
|
|
Occupations |
|
Farming -- Or.
Railroad workers
Cabinetmakers
Bakers and bakeries
|
|
Genre/Form |
|
Oral history
|
|
Institution |
|
Pacific Lutheran University. Scandinavian Immigrant Experience
Collection
|
Go
to top |
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.
005 Otto Hjalmer Halseth. Name was Helseth. A teacher in Tacoma
asked him to change his name to Halseth. Has been Halseth for
50 years. He was born in Ørsta, Norway.
021 Born in Ørsta because Ålesund burned down in 1904. This
is where his parents had lived. Whole town burned down. Believed
to be arson. The population of Ålesund was 17,000.
033 Biggest peacetime fire in Europe. German Kaiser sent two
warships loaded with food and clothing. A statue now stands
in Ålesund in his memory. Ålesund is the first big city north
of Bergen.
041 People got out of the fire, left town quickly. Fire was
January 23, 1904. Otto born July 10, 1904.
048 PARENTS: Father was a møbelsnekker, furniture maker. He
had a cabinet shop with many people working for him. He lost
everything in the fire. Ålesund has been rebuilt. Father started
from scratch. Father raised ten children, five girls and five
boys. His name was Ole J. Helseth.
060 MOTHER: Oline Åam. She came from Ørsta. Her parents were
Knut and Ane Åam. They were farmers on a small scale.
080 FATHER'S PARENTS: Helseth, lived in Romsdal, Norway. He
died at age 47. Mother born in Malmesdal, Romsdal. Her name
was Ingeborg. They had six children, two girls, and four boys.
Ingeborg brought up the children. They learned to care for themselves
at an early age.
108 BROTHERS AND SISTERS: Anders became an inspector of schools
in Ålesund. Jens, blacksmith in Kristiansund, Norway. Lars,
tinsmith in Minneapolis for a time then moved to the West Coast.
119 Ole, Otto's father went to school in Kristiansund to learn
the furniture trade. Started factory making his own furniture.
132 Father rebuilt the factory after the fire. Imported finished
furniture from Sweden. Had a sale. Father taught all his sons
to make furniture.
142 SISTERS: Ingeborg was a cashier at a big department store.
She married Egil Eide, son of the noted Eide, who went up and
down the coast selling Landgaars Tobakk. They settled in Oslo
where Egil became a teacher at the University of Oslo. Ingeborg
died in 1934.
158 Astrid became a telegraph operator. Died when she was 65.
Ananda became the wife of a Lutheran minister. Died at age 65.
166 Knut lived to be 65. He was a cabinetmaker. Worked on Oslofjord,
a Norwegian flagship. He was with them until the ship sank in
WWII.
181 Otto came to Tacoma. Knut received a ticket from his uncle
on the West Coast in the U.S. He was planning to emigrate but
was called for military training. Otto came on Knut's ticket
in 1921. He has been here 60 years minus three years in Canada
and three years in Norway.
200 Arnold became a craftsman in Ålesund, had his own furniture
business. Jens, a businessman in Ålesund, had a large clothing
store. He died at the age of 60. His son runs the business now.
Olaf took business training, hired by Norse Brensel Oil Company,
British Petroleum Company. Retired now in Trondheim.
222 Ruth became a nurse, retired and lives in Ålesund. Ananda
was a sister that Otto never saw. She drowned at age two and
a half. She fell into a swollen river behind their house.
243 CHILDHOOD HOME: Close to the biggest hospital in Ålesund.
Meadows to run around in. Moved into town, a six-story building.
They lived on the fourth story, ran up and down the stairs.
Were close to the school. Played in the schoolyard. There was
a soccer field. Good for sports.
284 Otto was baptized in the Ørsta church.
289 SCHOOL: Went to grade school in the old country. Confirmed
at the age of fourteen and a half. Seven grades in grade school.
Latin school was the next step. Otto did not do this.
298 Otto started work in an office of an insurance company.
Describes his duties. He was fourteen and a half years old.
Delivered papers when he was younger. Made lots of money selling
the paper with the story of the sinking of the Titanic. People
wanted to see the pictures.
323 CHRISTMAS: A big deal because of the big family. Lots of
presents given to each other. Decoration made for the tree.
Lots of baking.
339 Had candles fastened to branches of the tree with tin clamps.
Had to watch the fire closely.
349 CHRISTMAS EVE: Ate rice pudding, swine ribs for dinner.
Opening up of presents.
363 CHRISTMAS DAY: Julenatta, up at 4am went to church. Visited
people. Ate prepared goodies. This went on for two weeks.
375 As a paperboy, Otto remembers getting apples, American apples
as presents.
386 CHURCH: Both parents were Christian. Children were made
to go to church. Had Bedehus, operated by the inner mission
branch of the church. They heard the plain gospel without all
the rituals and liturgy. Parents liked the Bedehus.
403 Otto knew what it was like to live in a Christian home.
Four hours of religion in grade schools. Bible history, prayers,
personal experience with the Lord was expressed. Thankful to
have been brought up in a Christian setting, "it marked all
of us."
423 Did not believe in folk beliefs and customs. They were strong
Christians.
445 Did religious training before they were confirmed, read
to the Pastor. Father had them read a chapter together from
the Bible on Sunday before they could go out and play.
464 REASONS FOR COMING TO AMERICA: Came by accident. "In every
youth to see the world." Had relatives in the U.S. He was 17
years old.
474 Father said "the family is growing, yet diminishing." The
nest was being emptied. Otto took the Stavangerfjord.
495 After three years in the U.S. he started asking himself
questions: 'What am I doing? Where have I come from? Where am
I going?' He found the answer in the gospel in 1924.
515 BOAT TRIP: Left Norway from Bergen October 16, 1921. Took
fourteen days to get to America. Terrible weather on the Atlantic.
Sick the whole time.
543 ELLIS ISLAND: Checked for lice. He was all by himself. Did
not know any English, only Norwegian.
553 TRAIN TRIP: All tagged up. Tags on baggage and clothing.
Wandered around Chicago. Lived on bananas from Chicago to the
West Coast. Could buy 3 for 10 cents. Could buy sandwiches on
the train.
596 Met in Tacoma by his aunt and uncle. Also had an aunt and
uncle in Oregon and eastern Washington. All Otto's father's
sisters had settled on the West Coast in the U.S. with their
husbands.
614 Went to stay with his aunt and uncle. Began night school
to learn the language and study for his citizenship. Took out
the first paper in Washington, took out the second paper in
Oregon. Needed to be here for five years for citizenship. Describes
this process.
654 WORK: First year worked with his uncle in a bakery in Tacoma,
this was down on Market Street. Worked for the railroad for
some time outside as a car knocker. Then the strike came.
SIDE II
010 Car knocker was the one who made the railway cars. Stripped
old cars and remade them.
017 Got a cabinet shop in Tacoma. Tacoma Millwork Supply Company.
3000 Center Street. They did fine work. Stayed here from 1924-1930.
They shut down in 1930 because of the Depression.
027 Left Tacoma and spent nine years with an aunt and uncle
who had a fruit farm in Looking Glass Valley, 10 miles out of
Roseburg, Oregon.
032 Learned to prune trees, milk cows, run the tractor, and
raise turkeys.
036 In 1939, the factory in Tacoma began to work again. Otto
was called back to his old job as a cabinetmaker. He was there
for one and called into military duty on Pearl Harbor Day December
7, 1941. Basic training at Fort Lewis, sent to Fresno, California
for more training.
055 Joined the Air Corps at Fort Lewis as a specialist in woodwork.
To repair gliders when they needed repair.
062 Sent to Louisville, Kentucky then to Lowrenberg Maxston
Air base in North Carolina. Waited to be shipped to Casablanca.
First convoy shot by the Germans.
074 Law passed in Washington D.C. that all key men past 38,
were needed more on the home front than on the war front. Otto's
manager from Tacoma sent a note to Otto's commander saying he
was needed. Otto went back to Washington via Florida. Bought
a ticket back for one cent a mile.
096 Went back to Tacoma. Building the 'Magic City', Fort Lewis.
40,000 window frames, 40,000 doors, etc. Fort Lewis popped up
over night.
106 Went to Canada for 3-4 years to do Gospel work.
113 Talks about going to church for answers to his questions.
Lutheran Church Olav Hollen, later changed to Pentecost. Describes
his conversion. Has always been involved with church related
work.
132 Did Gospel work in Canada. Otto was baptized in the Baptist
Church. Has seen many miracles. Talks about his church experience
some, mentions speaking in tongues. Many young people went to
the Pentecostal Church. He has been a member for over 50 years.
186 Friend from Canada came down to encourage Otto to go to
Canada with him. Stayed for three years. Spoke mostly in his
mother tongue. Mostly Norwegians that he ministered to.
205 After WWII he went to Norway. Felt he was equipped. Gave
his testimony to a hometown assembly. Asked to be the pastor
at this church but he refused. Stayed with his parents in Ålesund.
Did interpretations for English ministers who often came to
Norway.
241 "BILLY GRAHAM TRIO": Three boys who came to Norway. Otto
did the interpreting for them. They were educated at Wheaton
College in Illinois.
301 Did interpreting for a pastor in Seattle. Describes his
travels with him.
328 Stayed in Ålesund for three years before going to America.
Married the last year before he left Norway.
331 Married a nurse from church. She was from Notodden, in southern
Norway, not far from Oslo. She had been in Ålesund for five
years. Esther Swanlund Halseth.
349 After she had been in the U.S for twelve years, Esther returned
to her profession. Ruth Halseth was born at Tacoma General Hospital
in 1952. Mary Ann born in the same room, same hospital in 1954.
In 1962, Esther looked for work.
360 CHILDREN: Mary Ann is a switchboard operator, part-time
receptionist at Tacoma General Hospital. Ruth is Mrs. Steven
Jensen now. She went to Seattle Pacific to study nursing. Worked
at Tacoma General Hospital, quit when she was married.
401 GRANDCHILD: Ruth's child. Ruth is now going back to school
to pick up her nursing.
418 Otto did cabinetwork when he returned from Norway. Involved
with the church.
473 Not involved in organizations. Have attended sessions at
Gloria Dei with Norwegians.
484 TRIPS BACK TO NORWAY: 1973 went with his wife. Had received
two round trip tickets from the company he retired from. Spent
five weeks in Norway. Visited family, many already passed away.
Spent a week in Trondheim with his brother. Went to Ålesund.
595 Things more modern. He noticed changes in 1947 when he lived
with his parents.
606 FEELINGS ABOUT BEING NORWEGIAN: Would prefer to go back
to Norway to spend his last years. Has fear that Russia will
take over the Scandinavian area. Many friends still in Norway,
relatives are buried there. Senior citizens are well off in
Norway.
643 HERITAGE: Loves America too. Norway was small-scale family
oriented. Norway wants to keep its culture. Oil companies have
changed things in Norway. The country is losing the culture.
680 Still cook Norwegian food at home. Children do not know
the Norwegian language.
TAPE 121
SIDE I
003 Church has been very important.
006 Otto had joined singing society when he first arrived here
in Tacoma. He became involved with the church so he dropped
out of this.
013 Was with the society when they laid the cornerstone for
Normanna Hall.
021 CHURCH IN NORWAY: Losing their hold on the people. Lacking
spiritual life of the hungry. Dissenters, anybody outside church,
are growing as the state church diminishes. Some claim that
there may soon be no state church in Norway.
034 SPEAKING NORWEGIAN: Good clear example of the language.
Go to top
|
Maintained
by archives@plu.edu
© 2002-2003 Pacific Lutheran University
|