    
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
Sverre (Hal) Halvorsen
A Guide to His Oral History Interview |
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Administrative
Information
Creator:
Halvorsen, Sverre (Hal)
Collection Nr: t188
File Content:
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2 file folders
0 photographs
1 sound cassette
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 Morrene Nesvig
Transcribed by Mary Sue Gee, Julie Peterson and Becky
Husby
Encoded by Kerstin Ringdahl & Amity Smetzler
Recording Quality: Good
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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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The
interview was conducted with Sverre Halvorsen on October 6,
1982 in Gig Harbor, Washington. This interview contains information
about childhood in Norway, reasons for coming to America, voyage
to America and arrival in Seattle, working on various fishing
boats, life in the Coast Guard, family life, life after retirement,
trip to Norway, importance of Norwegian heritage. The interview
also includes copies of Sverre Halvorsen's emigration papers.
The interview was conducted in English.
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Sverre
Halvorsen was born on November 28, 1895 in Trondheim, Norway.
He was the oldest of six children by Aksel Halvorsen and Pauline
Petersen. After Sverre's family lost everything in a fire, he
was raised by his maternal grandfather until his death in 1903.
The uncle who inherited the grandfather's estate sent Sverre
back to his parents until 1905, when he was farmed out to a
family in Bjørgan, close to where his grandfather had lived.
He left his foster family when he was 15 and got a job on a
lumber schooner that sailed lumber from Namsos to the northern
coast of Norway and to Bodø and Tromsø. He left for America
when he was 17, going through Hull and Liverpool, both in England.
He traveled alone and reached Ellis Island on April 27, 1913
and Seattle on May 4, 1913. He fished with his uncle, Ed Kverne
(?), as a deckhand that first summer, working in Seattle and
up to Cape Flattery, WA and Neah Bay, WA. He was laid off in
January 1914, got a room in the YMCA, and went to night school
to learn English. He got another job as a deckhand on a fishing
boat that went near Portlock, Alaska. He fished there until
April 1916, when the second mate of the ship, who was raised
in northern Norway, got a job as skipper on a whaling boat that
went to Port Armstrong, Alaska. He returned to Seattle and went
to Poulsbo, WA. He then walked to Winslow, WA and joined the
Coast Guard, where he got to join as First Class because he
had spent so much time on the water. He joined in 1916, but
the U.S. entered WWI before his required year of service was
over and he ended up serving in the war, even though he was
not a citizen. He gained citizenship in 1919 and stayed in the
Coast Guard until 1947. He officially met his wife at the Woodland
Park Zoo in Seattle on April 4 and married on October 27 (no
year or name given). They have two children, Norman and Marie,
two grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. He settled on Bainbridge
Island, WA after retiring, fished in Alaska for Libby McNeill
Company, and moved to Gig Harbor, WA in 1975. He has been involved
in different organizations-he was active in Sons of Norway while
on Bainbridge Island, but inactively since moving to Gig Harbor,
and actively in the Eastern Star and the Masonic Orders; his
wife has been active in the Presbyterian church. He visited
Norway in 1975. People had a hard time saying the name Sverre,
so many called him Hal.
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Full Name: |
Sverre (Hal) Halvorsen
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Father: |
Aksel Halvorsen
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Mother: |
Pauline Petersen
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Brothers and Sisters: |
Lilly Halvorsen
Per Halvorsen
Ingrid Halvorsen
Bjarne Halvorsen
One unnamed sibling
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Spouse: |
(?) Halvorsen
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Children: |
Norman Halvorsen
Marie Halvorsen
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This collection is indexed under the following headings
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Personal Names |
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Halvorsen, Sverre
Halvorsen, Aksel
Petersen, Pauline
Halvorsen, Norman
Halvorsen, Marie
Kverne, Ed
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Family Names |
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Halvorsen family
Petersen family
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Geographical Names |
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Trondheim (Norway)
Flatanger (Norway)
Bjørgan (Norway)
Seattle (Wash.)
Cape Flattery (Wash.)
Neah Bay (Wash.)
Portlock (Alaska)
Port Armstrong (Alaska)
Winslow (Wash.)
Port Angeles (Wash.)
Bainbridge Island (Wash.)
Gig Harbor (Wash.)
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Subjects |
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Family -- Norway
School attendance -- Norway
Education -- Norway
Norway -- Emigration and immigration
Ocean travel
Railroad travel
Carmania (steamship)
Naturalization
Norwegian-Americans -- Ethnic identity
Eastern Star (Gig Harbor, Wash.)
Freemasonry
Sons of Norway (Bainbridge Island, Wash.)
Norway -- Social conditions -- 1945-
Libby McNeil Company -- Alaska
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Occupations |
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Fishing -- Washington (State)
Fishing -- Alaska
United States Coast Guard
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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.
032 PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Name is Sverre Halvorsen. Born the
28th of November 1895 in Trondheim, Norway.
047 PARENTS: Father was Aksel Halvorsen and his mother's name
was Pauline Petersen. Father was a violin player in the symphony
in Trondheim. They lost everything in a house fire. Sverre was
thrown out the window in a blanket. After that his father worked
in the railroad station because he had lost his expensive violins
and didn't have the money to replace them. Sverre's mother was
a housewife.
118 BROTHERS AND SISTERS: There were six of them and Sverre
was the oldest. Then there was Lilly, Per, Ingrid, and Bjarne.
144 GRANDPARENTS: After the fire, Sverre was given to his maternal
grandfather to raise. Sverre stayed with his grandfather until
1903 when he died and his uncle who inherited the farm sent
him home to his parents. His grandfather was a pilot on the
coast of Norway. They lived in Flatanger, Norway, which is north
of Trondheim. He had to go back with his parents in 1903 and
stayed until 1905 when he was farmed out. His grandmother was
there too. Their name was Petersen. Sverre got ride with his
grandfather to the bigger ships he piloted.
255 HOUSE FIRE: It was a two-story house in Trondheim. He was
thrown in a blanket from the second story window and someone
caught him.
286 GRANDFATHER'S HOME: A two-story home with a lean-to, which
protected the house from the cold weather when you opened the
door. There was a front room, a dining room, a kitchen, and
an upstairs with lots of bunks. Grandmother died in about 1900
and then his grandfather and uncle.
366 SCHOOL: They didn't start until 6 or 7 years. They learned
quite a bit at home before they went to school.
388 They lived by themselves on an island. There was a store
on the neighboring island and his uncle worked at the warehouse
there.
400 SCHOOL: Started school when he returned to Trondheim. He
recalls getting in trouble for not tipping his hat at his teacher.
450 CUSTOMS: You were respectful of your parents or elders and
you'd better behave for your teacher.
470 WORK: He would got to the wood yard and collect scraps of
wood and lumps of coal. This was for the family fire.
495 FAMILY: They were living in Trondheim. There were other
brothers and sisters.
503 TRONDHEIM: It was a fairly big city. He describes the area
a little. There were farms outside and a hill with a fort on
it.
525 POLICEMEN: They were respected. They always went to the
policemen when they needed something.
546 FARMED OUT: In 1905 he was sent to a family not too far
from where his grandfather had lived. It was like a foster home.
He had to earn his keep by collecting wood, herding cows, and
fishing.
600 FISHING: His foster father bought a sailing schooner and
he begged to go with him up to the North Cape for fishing. He
tells about how he saved himself from drowning. He was so cold
he couldn't holler.
690 LUMBER SCHOONER: Got a job on a ship, which sailed lumber
up from Namsos to the northern coast of Norway to Bodø and Tromsø.
700 REASONS FOR COMING TO AMERICA: He ran into an aunt from
Trondheim who asked why didn't he got to America. He didn't
have any money to go. This aunt told him that he had an uncle
in America. About two months later, he got tickets to Seattle,
Washington from his uncle. The aunt had made the contacts. He
was about 17 and hadn't thought about America.
760 TRIP TO THE U.S.: Left from Trondheim on the Wilson Line.
They landed in Hull, England where he got on the train to Liverpool,
England. He stayed there for about a week. Traveled alone. He
just took off and didn't think too much about the fact that
he was leaving.
785 LUGGAGE: He had a trunk with clothes in it.
800 DESTINATION SEATTLE: Had a note that he was supposed to
go to Pier 6. He didn't know anything about Seattle. He arrived
on May 4, 1913 at 5am. He had arrived in New York on April 27th
after traveling for 6-7 days.
830 TRAVEL TO U.S.: Had to wait in England for the ship to come.
The hotel was full. He came over on the Carmania. On the water
it would be rough for days and then it would be real nice. There
were people from Turkey, Italy, Austria, Ireland, and all over.
The Italians were on the deck below and he could smell the garlic.
There were six in a room. He had to repay his uncle about $100.
880 ARRIVAL DAY: The health department came aboard and they
had to walk by them. Then they went to Ellis Island on a ferry.
It was a mixed up conglomeration. They were divided in groups
by numbers and destination. That evening they got on the train.
823 TRAIN TRAVEL: He had a bag with a leg of mutton and some
hard tack to eat on the way. He stayed with his assigned group
to the train. He was taken aback by the vast expanse of the
land. He remembers seeing a lot of pigs. The trip took from
the evening of April 27th to the morning of May 4th. Came to
the King Street Station.
1005 FIRST DAY IN SEATTLE: He couldn't read anything. One of
his uncles in Norway who had been there before told him where
the pier was. He showed the policeman his piece of paper. The
policeman got him on the streetcar and the conductor showed
him where to get off. He found Pacific Net and Pier 6 but it
was too early and it wasn't open. Soon some men came to work
and they spoke Norwegian. They took him out to breakfast. His
uncle's name was Ed Kverne (?). He didn't come that day so a
man took him out to Ballard where he thought that uncle lived.
SIDE II
020 FINDING HIS UNCLE: He walked along the beach and said the
name and the address hoping he would find someone who knew him.
He found a Norwegian that told him that his uncle lived next
door but that he was in town getting a bed for Sverre and that
the uncle expected him tomorrow. Would have been in trouble
if he hadn't run into some Norwegians.
110 The uncle came and fixed him dinner and the next day they
sat and got acquainted. The uncle came the day after the Seattle
fire.
135 WORK: The neighbors were working on a project to build a
bridge across the canal. He worked there for 4-5 days. That
summer he fished with his uncle at Cape Flattery. Then his uncle
got him a job on a tugboat. The owner was the brother of the
woman that raised him in Bjoergan. Sverre was a deck hand. They
worked in Seattle and up to Cape Flattery, Washington or Neah
Bay, Washington. Business got slow in January about the time
that Wilson got in and Sverre was laid off.
240 SCHOOL: Got a room at the YMCA and started going to night
school to learn English. He was looking for work everyday.
265 LANGUAGE: Had problems with "W" and "TH". He picked up English
the best he could. There were lots of Norwegians on the waterfront.
290 Ran out of money and his food was going fast. He would get
some corn sometimes down at the docks.
315 WORK: A steamer came into the Moran Shipyard. He asked the
Swedish first mate for a job and he sent him to the Chlopeck
Fish Co. to talk to the port captain from the fish company who
happened to come from a place a few miles away from his grandfather's
place. He got the job. The second mate was raised in north Norway
and the skipper was from Trondheim. Sverre was a deckhand. They
fished in Alaska near Portlock which is east of Kodiak Island
and south of Middleton Island. He stayed with them for a long
time.
385 DORY FISHING: They would set out about four skates of halibut
gear and each had 240 hooks that were 9' apart on them. He would
haul the fish in by turning the gurdy and taking each fish off.
He fished until April 1916 when the second mate got a job as
skipper on a whaling boat.
445 WHALING: They went up to Port Armstrong, Alaska. The gunner
on the whaler was from Norway and came to the U.S. every year
for the whaling season. This was for the Norway Pacific Whaling
Co.. They would hunt Grey whales which were small, Finback which
are about 60', Humpback which are about 45', Sperm, and Blue
whales which ran about 80-85'.
490 He took a steamer from Seattle to Poulsbo, Washington. He
was looking for a job which would give him the chance to go
to high school. The mate on the ship suggested that he join
the Coast Guard. He had seen the Coast Guard ship "Snohomish."
This man gave him the name of an officer and told him to go
to Winslow, Washington. He walked to Winslow in a couple of
days.
530 COAST GUARD: It was required to stay one year and then you
would get your citizenship papers. Since he had been on the
water so much he got to start at first class. 99 percent of
the crew were Europeans. He joined in 1916 and before his year
was up the war broke out so he served during the First World
War and wasn't even a citizen.
566 CITIZENSHIP: He went to Seattle after being overseas. He
had two men from the ship with him as witnesses. There was a
mean examiner called "Speed" Smith whom the judge finally made
shut up. This was in 1919.
595 COAST GUARD: He stayed in the service until 1947. He tells
where he has been stationed: Port Angeles, Washington; Alaska
three times; Oakland, California; Eureka, California; San Francisco,
Washington; New Orleans, Louisiana; Delport (?); New London,
Connecticut. During WWII and all around at 24 hours notice.
His wife stayed here.
622 MEETING SPOUSE: Saw her in Port Angeles, but met officially
in Seattle. He got her phone number through a friend and called
her when he got to Seattle. They met at Woodland park Zoo. They
met on the 4th of April and were married on the 27th of October.
He had written her a letter everyday, but sent them to the wrong
address after they first met.
703 CHILDREN: They have Norman and Marie. They have two grandchildren
and one great-grandchild. Norman was in the Army and Marie in
the Marines. Norman was in the Navy, the National Guard, the
Air Force, and the Army. Their family took in every outfit in
the service. The girl was in the Red Cross in Algeria and Louisiana.
735 RETIREMENT: Settled on Bainbridge Island, Washington. He
got his uncle's place. He prefers the Puget Sound area. After
his retirement he went to Alaska and worked fishing for Libby
McNeil Co. "A Norwegian can't be away from salt water."
763 ORGANIZATIONS: They were members of Sons of Norway but not
active. They were active on Bainbridge Island, but now that
they have moved to Gig Harbor in 1975. He was active in Eastern
Star and the Masonic Order. His wife has been active in the
Presbyterian church.
815 VISITS TO NORWAY: They returned in 1975. They visited with
his sister and some distant relatives. They went from Oslo by
bus to Bergen and by steamer to Trondheim. A relative, Sverre
Lindoey arranged travel in Norway for them.
862 CONTACT WITH NORWAY: He exchanges birthday and Christmas
cards with his sister.
870 LANGUAGE: Very few in Norway that don't write and speak
English. He spoke some Norwegian in Norway.
885 NAME: People had a hard time with the Sverre here so many
called him Hal.
895 LANGUAGE: They don't speak Norwegian in the home and the
children don't speak it.
910 FOOD: He likes pickled herring. Fish and potatoes were the
main foods. Ate boiled fish and fish eggs and how to prepare
fish.
990 POULSBO CODFISH DINNER: The Sons of Norway there put on
a Codfish egg and liver dinner.
1007 SHOP: He has a shop where he makes woodwork things and
repairs things. It is orderly because when he was in Norway
they would have everything orderly so that they could find it
in the dark without electricity.
1042 FISHING: They used to have a boat and fish for fun.
1060 IMPORTANCE OF NORWEGIAN HERITAGE: It means a lot. Norway
is independent and minds their own business. He tells about
Norway getting free of the Swedish king, King Oscar II.
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