    
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
Olga Karoline Nilsen Haug
A Guide to Her Oral History Interview |
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Administrative
Information
Creator:
Haug, Olga Karoline Nilsen
Collection Nr: t200
File Content:
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3 file folders
2 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 Inger Nygaard Carr
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 Olga Haug on October 25, 1982 in
Seattle, Washington. This interview contains information on
family history; life on a Norwegian farm; fishing, school, and
church life in Norway; Christmas traditions; work in Norway;
marriage and family; trip to and arrival in America; life in
the U.S.; trips to Norway; community involvement. Also available
are two black and white photographs of Olga Haug at the time
of the interview.
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Olga
Karoline (Nilsen) Haug was born on June 3, 1905 on the island
of Kvæøeya on Kvaefjord in Norway. She was one of seven children
by Ludvig Nilsen and Albertina Roervik; her oldest sister and
youngest brother died of tuberculosis. Her family lived on a
farm that was divided between her father, his two brothers,
and his cousin; she attended school on the island as well. She
was confirmed at the church in Borkenes on the mainland and
stayed with friends of her parents while attending confirmation
classes. She went to sewing school for three months and worked
with her sister in her dressmaking shop. When Olga was 17, she
worked for a dentist in Harstad for a year and cooked for fourteen
people. She sewed after she went home and raked hay in the summertime
for the farmers. She met her husband, Magnus Haug, at a Christmas
party at the bedehus, a religious meeting house, on the island
in 1925 when she was 20 and he was 31. He had lived in the U.S.
for twelve years but had come home to Kvæøya to visit for a
year. They were married in the Borkenes Church on July 6, 1926
and went to Harstad on their honeymoon. They came to the U.S.
in September 1926, and stayed with Magnus' three cousins in
Wisconsin for a week. They then rode the train on to Oregon,
where they lived in Astoria with Magnus's aunt; Magnus had a
fishing boat there and Olga helped out in the house. They moved
to Seattle in the spring, where she lived with the aunt's sister
in Redmond, WA while Magnus fished. They rented a place in Kirkland,
WA for two years and had one son, Melvin, who was born in 1929.
He is a retired art teacher, and is married and has a family.
Magnus had served in the Coast Guard before his 1925 visit to
Norway, and he rejoined after he returned to the U.S. and his
fishing vessel was run down and sunk by a government boat. He
guarded the California coast during WWII and retired from the
Coast Guard after twenty-five years of service; he died of a
stroke in 1967, fifteen years after he retired. In 1937, Olga
had started making lefse for Sund's Norway Pacific Importing
Co., and after Magnus died, she cleaned houses and made lefse.
She has taken three trips to Norway. The first was in 1952,
when she went with a friend and stayed for five months; her
son was attending the University of Oslo's summer program at
the same time. In 1971, she took her granddaughter and Clara
Greene, Magnus' cousin, for six weeks, and in 1977, she went
with a niece from Canada whose daughter worked in Borkenes.
Olga belongs to the Sons and Daughters of Norway and Nordlandslaget,
and attended a Lutheran church until she quit. Her grandson
fishes with his father and does carpentry work; her granddaughter
is a nurse, and is married and has a family.
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Full Name: |
Olga Karoline Nilsen Haug
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Maiden Name: |
Olga Karoline Nilsen
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Father: |
Ludvig Nilsen
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Mother: |
Albertina Rørvik
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Paternal Grandfather: |
Nils Jensen
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Paternal Grandmother: |
Marianne Jensen
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Maternal Grandfather: |
Carl Rørvik
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Maternal Grandmother: |
Greta Rørvik
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Brothers and Sisters: |
Julie Anne Nilsen
Nils Nilsen
Ragnhild Nilsen
Lilly Nilsen
Carl Nilsen
Anne Nilsen
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Spouse: |
Magnus Haug
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Children: |
Melvin Haug
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This collection is indexed under the following headings
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Personal Names |
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Haug, Olga Karoline
Nilsen, Olga Karoline
Nilsen, Ludvig
Roervik, Albertina
Jensen, Nils
Jensen, Marianne
Rørvik, Carl
Rørvik, Greta
Haug, Magnus
Haug, Melvin
Greene, Clara
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Family Names |
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Haug family
Nilsen family
Rørvik family
Jensen family
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Geographical Names |
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Kvæøya (Norway)
Borkenes (Norway)
Harstad (Norway)
Astoria (Or.)
Redmond (Wash.)
Kirkland (Wash.)
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Subjects |
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Family -- Norway
Marriage service
Emigration and immigration -- Norway
Naturalization
Norwegian-Americans -- Ethnic identity
Sund Norway Pacific Importing Company (Seattle, Wash.)
Sons of Norway (Seattle, Wash.)
Daughters of Norway (Seattle, Washington)
Nordlandslaget (Seattle, Wash.)
School attendance -- Norway
Tuberculosis
Christmas -- Norway
Norway -- Social conditions -- 1945-
Bergensfjord (Steamship)
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Occupations |
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Poets
Fishing -- Lofoten(Norway)
Cookery
Dressmaking
Farming -- Norway
Domestics
Carpenters
Nurses
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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.
021 Olga Karoline Nilsen Haug. Born on the island Kvæoeya on
Kvæfjord in Norway. Born on the north end of the island. Had
to take a boat to Borkenes on the mainland to go shopping. Borkenes
is near Harstad, north of the Arctic Circle. Olga was born on
June 3, 1905, the same day that Norway became independent from
Sweden.
143 PARENTS: Ludvig Nilsen and Albertina Rørvik Nilsen. Olga's
mother came from a prominent family. She doesn't know where
the Rørvik's came from, but they were short and quite dark.
176 GRANDPARENTS: Maternal Carl Rørvik and Greta. Grandfather
wrote poetry. Died before Olga was born. Grandmother died when
Olga was 18. Grandfather made a living from his poetry. Published
it. Brother handled his business. Some kind of "hanky-panky"
involved. People would bury money in the ground in those days.
Her grandfather did this. Grandmother looked for it but they
never found it. Olga's father was taxed for it. Her uncle, Johan
Pedersen (Person), belonged to the parliament. Said government
couldn't tax Ludvig for something he couldn't find. The government
thought Olga' grandmother had a lot of money. She didn't have
a penny. Paternal, Nils Jensen and Marianne. They lived next
to Olga's family on Kvæøya. Grandmother died when Olga was 5.
They had a big farm.
313 FATHER'S WORK: Father and paternal grandfather fished in
Lofoten in the winter. The family farm was divided between Olga's
father and his cousin. Olga's father divided his half with his
two brothers. He had 5 or 6 cows. They had homemade butter.
They sent milk to the dairy in Borkenes. Got money from this.
Made most of their money form fishing. Fished in February, March,
and April. Caught cod and other white fish. They would dry fish
by the ocean to eat. Called this "tørrfisk." Olga's grandson
liked to eat "tørrfisk" when he was little. They bought it at
the Scandinavian Store in Ballard.
421 BROTHERS AND SISTERS: Seven children. Grew up in a large
home. Julie Anne died when she was 20. Nils sells fish to foreign
countries. Lives in the family home. His wife had a knitting
machine. Ragnhild, a dressmaker, had her own business in Borkenes.
Lilly immigrated to Canada. She went to school to learn to sew
in Norway. Olga also went to a sewing school. Carl died when
he was 20. Anne still lives in Norway.
508 SCHOOL: There was a school on the island. Went to school
on Saturdays too. Had to buy their own pencils. Surprised when
her son started school and supplies were provided by the school.
Olga had to talk about two English miles to school. Skied in
the winter. Came home after 3pm. It's pitch dark there during
two of the winter months by this time. School children often
had quite a lot of homework as well, especially in history and
math. Their teacher even taught chemistry twice a week. They
did some writing too. Olga had a big imagination. When 13 years
old, she wrote about riding a bicycle over the Doverefjell Mountains.
She stopped at a farm house. Asked to buy some milk. The lady
at the house refused because all their milk was to be used for
cheese for the Germans. The teacher liked the story and read
it aloud.
679 CHURCH: There was a church in Borkenes. Olga got married
there. They had a "bedehus" (a religious meeting house) on the
island. Her parents were Lutheran. The "bedehus" was more like
Baptist. The people on the island would go anyhow. It didn't
matter which minister came there.
701 YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS: The young people on the island had
their own organization. One of their objectives was to help
send those with tuberculosis to the sanitarium. There was a
lot of tuberculosis up there. Her oldest sister and youngest
brother died from it.
728 CONFIRMATION: Was confirmed in Borkenes. Stayed in Borkenes
with friends of her parents while attending confirmation classes.
One had to row from the island to the mainland in those days.
It was too stormy to be able to row every day.
740 CHRISTMAS: Christmas tree. No presents. Rice much on Christmas
Eve. Visited people. Had julekake, lefse, and waffles.
766 CHRISTMAS DAY: Set the table the night before. Ate a big
breakfast together at 9am. Had rullpoelse, sylteflesk, goat
cheese, lingon berries (tyttebær), cloud berries (moltebær),
wild blue berries. This was one of the best meals they had all
year. For dinner they would sometimes have ptarmigan, a bird
that turns white in the winter and gray in the summer. They
went to the "bedehus" for church. It was too stormy in the winter
to go to Borkenes.
805 JULETREFEST: Between Christmas and New Years, people in
the community would gather at the "bedehus." They would sing
and dance around the Christmas tree. Had refreshments afterwards.
After New Years, they would have a party at their house. Had
candles on the tree. Her dad would get them sparklers, like
we have on the Fourth of July. They would eat cookies, which
were hanging on the tree. Her mother made really good rullepølse.
Sometimes they'd have a whole leg of lamb.
847 Didn't hear stories about the trolls until she came to the
U.S.
878 WORK: Started dressmaking. Her sister had a shop and a dressmaking
school in Borkenes. Went to school for three months. Then started
to sew. Worked for a dentist in Harstad for a year. She was
a cook. Cooked for fourteen people., Got only 40 Nkr per month.
She was 17 then. She had been cooking at home since she was
11. Learned to make Hardanger lefse then. After she came home
from Harstad, she started sewing. Raked hay in the summertime
for farmers. Girls made big money this way. Haying season lasted
for six weeks. Would harvest potatoes in the fall. Earned 10-15
crowns per day. Made 400 Nkr during one season. Felt rich. One
can earn 20 Nkr per hour now.
951 MEETING SPOUSE: Magnus Haug. Was from Kvæøya, but had been
in America for 12 years. Came home. Olga was 20 then and he
was 31. They met at a Christmas party at the "bedehus." Olga
was serving coffee. He kept coming back for more. Her brother
introduced them.
1002 MARRIAGE: He came home in 1925. They got married on July
6, 1926. A man on the island had a motorboat. He took people
from the island to the mainland. They got married in the Borkenes
church. The church was full of people from Borkenes. They really
thought it was something when a man came from America and married
a girl in Norway. About 100 people were invited and about 200
more came. They went to Harstad for their honeymoon. Came to
the U.S. in the fall. Had a big party at her parents after the
occasion. Had Alexander pudding for dessert. Made out of eggs
and jello. Raspberry sauce and whipped cream on top. There is
also rum in it. Danced to accordion music in the barn.
1094 TRIP TO AMERICA: Husband was home for only a year. They
left for America in September, 1926. Came to Astoria, Oregon.
Parents took it pretty hard when she left. Said she'd come home
the next year. Didn't realize it was so far away. Didn't enjoy
the boat trip. Got seasick. A couple from Seattle said she needed
to go on deck and get fresh air. They took her up on deck.
SIDE II
015 TRIP TO AMERICA: She got hungry in the middle of the night.
Her husband would get spekekjøtt (dried, salted mutton) and
bread for her. They had a suitcase of food. She would heave
it up in the morning. Took ten days to get to New York. Came
on the Bergensfjord. They didn't got through Ellis Island. Was
married in Norway. New law made in May 1926. Had to have your
application to come to the U.S. prepared three years before
you were to leave Norway. She had applied to go to Minnesota
before she met Magnus. She had an uncle in Winger, Minnesota
(?), Peter Jensen. Her mother received word from him that Olga
could come in 1927. Her mother wrote and told him that Olga
was already in America. Olga became acquainted with Peter's
son. He came to visit them every year.
150 FIRST IMPRESSION OF NEW YORK: Saw automobiles on the docks.
Saw two black women. Got scared. Had banks and everything at
Grand Central Station in New York.
256 TRAIN RIDE: Beautiful scenery. Stayed in Wisconsin with
Magnus' three cousins for a week. Big farms. Continued on the
train to Astoria, Oregon. Magnus had a fishing boat there. Was
staying with his aunt. (This aunt was Clara Greene's mother.
See T156)
292 LEARNING THE LANGUAGE: Magnus' aunt had three sons. The
youngest was 19. Olga learned a lot of English from those three
boys. Olga helped out in the house.
313 SETTLING IN SEATTLE: Moved to Seattle in the spring. Stayed
with Clara's sister in Redmond. It would have been difficult
for Olga to live alone while Magnus was fishing since she didn't
speak much English. They rented a place in Kirkland in the fall
of 1927. Stayed there for two years.
343 CHILDREN: Melvin. He is an art teacher. Taught in Seattle.
Retired now. He is married and has a family. Melvin was born
in 1929.
366 Husband started fishing in March and fished until late fall.
He lost his boat. Was run down by a government boat. They were
saved by the Coast Guard. They had bought a house and lost it
too. It took five years to get a trail for his boat. They claimed
Magnus' boat didn't have any lights. Magnus won the case. He
had two lawyers. Paid $1700 to the lawyers. The boat cost $10,000.
They have had the house they have now for 50 years. Rented it
for $12 a month first, then bought it. Magnus joined the Coast
Guard and retired 25 years later. He fought in WWI. Caught the
flu that was going around then. Was in the hospital in San Francisco
for eight months. He had served in the Coast Guard before he
came to Norway in 1925 and rejoined after he lost his boat.
He ate too much while on the boat. Got diabetes. Died from a
stroke 15 years after he retired from the Coast Guard. Died
in 1967.
485 WORK: Olga started working after her husband died. Couldn't
stand to be around the house. Her husband was gone quite a lot
while in the Coast Guard, so in 1937 she started making lefse
for Sund's Norway Pacific Importing Co. In 1939, she made lefse
for the Crown Prince of Norway.
WORK: After her husband died, she started cleaning houses. Made
$4.50 per hour. Had four jobs. Made lefse too. Sund's store
closed during WWII. Couldn't import from Norway because of the
German occupation. Started making lefse for stores in Ballard.
Now she makes it for people for Christmas. Has a license from
the Health Department. She has sewed for other people too.
587 COAST GUARD: Her husband guarded the California coast while
in the Coast Guard during WWII.
593 TRIPS BACK TO NORWAY: Three trips. First trip in 1952. Went
with a friend. Took the Oslofjord. Stayed five months. Only
one week of nice weather during the summer. There weren't many
changes. Didn't even have a bus station in Borkenes. Still don't
have a bus station. Took another trip in 1972. Brought her granddaughter
with her. She was 17 at that time. Clara Greene went on this
trip too. (See also t156) They stayed in Norway for six weeks.
Trip was arranged through the lodge they belong to. Was cheaper
through the lodge. Made a third trip in 1977. A niece from Canada
wanted to go to Norway because her daughter was working in Borkenes.
She worked at a home for retarded children. A rich man donated
the land for it. The doctor there is from India. Many doctors
from India in Norway. "Oslo is being invaded by people from
Pakistan." Olga's niece's daughter married a man from Pakistan.
781 SCANDINAVIAN ORGANIZATIONS: Belongs to the Sons and Daughters
of Norway and Nordlandslaget.
793 CHURCH: Belonged to the Lutheran church until she quit.
Nobody would come visit her when she was sick so she quit.
827 NORWEGIAN LANGUAGE: Has taught her grandson some Norwegian.
Her son studied foreign language. Went to the University of
Oslo summer quarter in 1952, while Olga was in Norway.
845 GRANDCHILDREN: Grandson fished with his dad. Does carpentry.
Bought a house. Granddaughter is married. She's a nurse. Has
a son.
885 Finishes the interview in Norwegian.
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