Agnes Johanna Dyrhaug

Information Resources
Robert A. L. Mortvedt Library
Pacific Lutheran University
Tacoma, WASHINGTON 98447
Phone: (253) 535-7586 E-mail: archives@plu.edu

Agnes Johanna Dyrhaug
A Guide to Her Oral History Interview

Administrative Information

Creator: Dyrhaug, Agnes Johanna

Collection Nr: t180

File Content:
	3 file folders 0 photographs 1 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 Donna Mallonee 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

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Scope and Content Note

This interview was conducted with Agnes Dyrhaug on May 21, 1982 in Portland, Oregon. It contains information concerning family background, emigration, work, marriage and family, community activities, and Norwegian heritage. The interview also includes an article in Norwegian from the Western Viking concerning Agnes's eighty-fifth birthday and her nomination to Gerda Farestrand's committee on the Oregon Arts Commission. The article also gives an overview of Agnes's life, including emigration, schooling in Astoria, Washington, marriage, involvement in Scandinavian organizations, meeting Crown Prince Olav, and employment with Nordic Ware and Chicago Cutlery. The interview was conducted in English.

Biographical Information

Agnes Dyrhaug was born on July 11, 1896 in Nord-Statland, Norway to Anton Peterson and Jette Krestine. Anton worked in a sawmill, and there were three other children in the family: Ole, Johan, and Wilhelmine. Agnes immigrated to America in 1905 with her mother, sister, two brothers, and an aunt. Her father had immigrated three and a half years earlier and lived in Astoria, OR, where he had originally come to fish and later became a carpenter. The World Fair was in Portland, OR the year Agnes and her family came, and due to the large number of travelers, the immigrant coaches of the train were left behind in Minnesota when the train got too long. After two weeks of travelling, they finally reached Astoria. In Astoria, Agnes's other siblings, Paul, Helen and Earl, were born, and the family bought a farm in nearby Napa, OR. Agnes attended school for eight years and also took a commercial course, after which she began bookkeeping for Haukes. She met her first husband, Marinus Berg, in Astoria and was married in 1917. Marinus was also of Norwegian descent and worked as a carpenter and a contractor. They continued to live in Astoria for five years and had two children, Maurice and Bonita (Foster), before moving to Portland. When Marinus got sick, Agnes began managing apartments and later worked for the Portland Housing Authority. Marinus passed away in 1939, and Agnes later remarried Peter Dyrhaug. In Portland, Agnes attends Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and is a member of the Sons of Norway. She has also been a demonstrator for Nordic Ware and Chicago Cutlery, which involved demonstrating making Norwegian foods from Seattle to San Francisco, CA. Agnes has returned to Norway twice and believes that her Norwegian heritage is very important.

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Lineage:
Full Name:	Agnes Johanna Dyrhaug
Maiden Name in Norway:	Agnes Johanna Ovesen
Maiden Name in the U.S.:	Agnes Johanna Peterson
Father:	Anton Peterson
Mother:	Jette Krestine Pettersen
Paternal Grandfather:	Ove Pettersen
Paternal Grandmother:	Hannah Pettersen
Maternal Grandfather:	Peter Pettersen
Maternal Grandmother:	Indianna Pettersen
Brothers and Sisters:	Ole P. Peterson Johan H. Peterson Wilhelmine C. Peterson Paul A. Peterson Helen O. Williams Earl N. Peterson
Spouse:	Marinus Berg Peter H. Dyrhaug
Children:	Maurice A. Berg Bonita J. Foster

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Selected Search Terms This collection is indexed under the following headings
Personal Names
	Dyrhaug, Agnes Peterson, Anton Peterson, Jette Krestine Pettersen, Ove Pettersen, Hannah Pettersen, Peter Pettersen, Indianna Berg, Marinus Berg, Maurice Foster, Bonita Berg Dyrhaug, Peter
Family Names
	Peterson family Ovesen family Pettersen family Dyrhaug family Berg family
Geographical Names
	Nord-Statland (Norway) Astoria (Or.) Portland (Or.)
Subjects
	Family -- Norway Emigration and immigration -- Norway Marriage service Christmas -- Norway Norwegian-Americans -- Ethnic identity Sons of Norway (Portland, Or.) Nordic Ware Chicago Cutlery Railway travel Ocean travel Sons of Norway (Portland, Or.) Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (Portland, Or.)
Occupations
	Sawmill workers Carpenters Bookkeeping Portland Housing Authority (Portland, Or.) Product demonstrations
Genre/Form
	Oral history
Institution
	Pacific Lutheran University. Scandinavian Immigrant Experience Collection

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Partial Interview Transcription

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.

018 NAME: She lists her name, Agnes Johanna Ovesen Peterson Berg Dyrhaug. Ovesen was her maiden name when she was in Norway but it was changed to Peterson in the U.S because it was easier to spell. Dyrhaug means "animal hill." Her husband's name is Peter Larsen Dyrhaug.

080 PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Born on July 11, 1896 in Nord-Statland, Norway which is between Namsos and Trondheim.

095 AREA OCCUPATIONS: There was a sawmill, fishing, and farming.

100 PARENTS: Both of her parents had the Peterson, Pettersen name. Her father worked in the sawmill.

116 BROTHERS AND SISTERS: Ole, Johan, Wilhelmine, and Agnes were born in Norway. Paul, Helen, and Earl were born in the U.S.

135 GRANDPARENTS: She remembers her maternal grandmother could read, but she wasn't wealthy enough to learn to write. Paternal grandparents lived with them.

229 FAMILY HOUSE: Downstairs there was the kitchen, living room, pantry and a bedroom. Upstairs there were three bedrooms. The house has since burned.

242 CHRISTMAS IN NORWAY: She recalls the first Christmas her father was away. Her mother was a seamstress. For Christmas everyone got clothes and were bathed. For Christmas Eve they had rommegr�t, but it was so expensive that some would have rice pudding with a layer of the cream pudding on top. They had a Christmas tree, lefse, pastry.

328 17TH OF MAY: Parades with flags.

338 BUSINESS IN THE AREA: They had two grocery stores and shipped out a lot of lumber. They also made prefabricated houses, which were shipped up north where wood was scarce. This was in 1903 or 1904. There were a lot of French and Spanish ships that came in to get wood for boxes.

384 SCHOOL IN NORWAY: She went one year.

386 TO AMERICA: She came in 1905 when she was nine. She came with her mother, sister, two brothers, and her aunt. Her father had been in the U.S. for three and a half years. He had come to fish in Astoria, Oregon. He later became a carpenter and also bought a farm in Napa (?), Oregon, which is near Astoria.

410 FEELINGS ON EMIGRATION: She didn't want to come, but she was with her family so she didn't think too much about it. Her brothers couldn't wait to come. She heard lots of bad stories about America.

438 NEW YORK 1955: She ran into a lady who thought that the Indians were still running around with bows and arrows.

468 LUGGAGE: Brought clothes and the going away gifts they got. The farm was sold. They weren't allowed to bring food.

500 SHIP TRAVEL: They were treated like cattle. Eleven days to cross the ocean. Her father had sent the money for them to take second class passage, but her aunt decided they had to go third class. She tells about how she was almost blown off deck during a storm.

581 NEW YORK: She saw the Statue of Liberty and Castlegarden, and got on the train on the same day.

597 TRAIN TRAVEL: This was in August and the World's Fair was being held in Portland, Oregon that year so there were a lot of people traveling and when the train got too long their cars were left behind. They were in the immigrant coaches. They ran out of food with them on the train. In Chicago and in St. Paul, Minnesota, Norwegians came to the depot and asked to take them out to dinner. Came to Astoria, Oregon, but came first to Rainier. The first time her brother saw toothpicks on the table he thought Americans ate wood.

676 LANGUAGE: Her mother had worked for some people who had been in the U.S. so she could speak a few words. She found a restaurant, but could only say coffee. A man came who spoke Norwegian helped them. This man knew her father and wired to tell him when they would arrive.

725 ARRIVAL IN ASTORIA, OREGON: After two weeks of travel. They crossed the longest trestle in the U.S. in Astoria. She didn't recognize her father and her youngest sister was born three months after he left. Her father was a carpenter then.

757 SCHOOL IN OREGON: After two weeks she had to begin school. There were lots of children which had parents that didn't speak English. In one section of town you couldn't even buy anything unless you could speak Finnish.

776 PREJUDICES: She felt some prejudice in school since she had a hard time with the language. After about nine months she started to feel at home and started using English.

835 LANGUAGE: Her mother didn't learn much English until they moved to the farm and there were a few Norwegians around.

840 CHINESE COMMUNITY: There was a large Chinese community, but she really didn't have contact with them until she started working.

846 SCHOOL: Went for eight years. High school lasted two years and she took a commercial course.

854 BOOKKEEPING: Went to work bookkeeping and worked for the Haukes until she was married.

858 MEETING SPOUSE: They met in Astoria. She had known his brother for a long time. He was a Norwegian by the name of Marinus Berg. Berg means "mountain."

874 WEDDING: It took place on the farm in the apple orchard. She wore a white wool suit. They went to Portland for their honeymoon and stayed with her brother-in-law and returned by boat to Astoria. Her husband was a carpenter and a contractor.

898 They lived in Astoria for five years after their wedding (1917-1922) then they moved to Portland. Her husband came from Norway to the U.S. by working on a ship and then jumped ship in the U.S.

923 CHILDREN: Son was a pilot in WWII. He got to work in the Pentagon and for the U.S. government in Europe while stationed in Germany. Her daughter, Bonita Foster, lives in Seattle and has five children. Agnes has one great grandchild.

956 WORK: Her husband got sick so she had to earn the money. She started managing apartments and later started working for the Portland Housing Authority. Then she got married and her husband decided she had worked enough.

1011 CHURCH LIFE: She always goes to church. Now she goes to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. There are a few other Scandinavians that go there.

1015 ORGANIZATIONS: Belongs to the Sons of Norway. Her first husband sang with the Multnomah Mannskoret. He died in 1939.

1029 VISITS TO NORWAY: She has returned twice. The first time she returned was after 50 years and there was a lot of change. Many people spoke English. She still corresponds with Norway.

1041 NORWEGIAN PEOPLE: They were hard working and had to struggle to make ends meat, but now they have changed. Now they have oil and they dress well.

1060 IMPORTANCE OF NORWEGIAN HERITAGE: She talks about Norway being ruled by Sweden and that they were all Swedes at the time that she came.

SIDE II

098 She continues talking about Sweden and its rule over Norway. There were no battles and Norway was allowed to have its own king. After this they changed to name of Kristiania to Oslo.

165 NORWEGIAN LANGUAGE: She says in Norwegian that she can still read, write, and speak it. Her daughter can speak a little Norwegian. She had to take Norwegian when she went to St. Olaf College. It was required if your parents were Scandinavian. Bonita's youngest daughter took Norwegian at the University of Washington and speaks it well.

197 RELATIVES: She has her brothers and sisters and their families here. She had some cousins back east which she has lost track of.

220 SPOKEN NORWEGIAN: She recites the Lord's Prayer. She says this every night.

270 CONCLUDING COMMENTS: She has had an interesting life. She took census one year. She has been a demonstrator for the two Minneapolis companies, Nordic Ware, and Chicago Cutlery for about twenty years. She has demonstrated all the way from Seattle to San Francisco, California. She demonstrated by making Scandinavian foods.

339 SONS OF NORWAY: Finance Secretary for eleven years, treasurer for two years, district board for six years, and has attended conventions in Chicago, Minneapolis, and California.

357 They discuss a picture of her husband's home, which is hanging on the wall.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Administrative Information

Scope and Content Note

Biographical Information

Lineage:

Selected Search Terms

Partial Interview Transcription