    
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
Anna Aunli Lee Haugen
A Guide to Her Oral History Interview |
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Administrative
Information
Creator:
Haugen, Anna Aunli Lee
Collection Nr: t240-241
File Content:
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3 file folders
2 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: Good, although Anna's voice is
soft.
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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 Anna Haugen on April 4, 1983 in
Seattle, Washington. This interview contains information on
life in Norway, family background, famous relatives, school
and church life in Norway, Christmas traditions, work in Norway,
WWI in Trondheim, preparation for emigration, voyage to America,
life in North Dakota, learning English, voyage to Tacoma, work
in Tacoma and Seattle, reasons for marrying late, and return
trips to Norway. Also available are two photographs of Anna
Haugen at the time of the interview. The interview was conducted
in English.
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Anna
(Aunli) Haugen was born on December 24, 1897 in Hemne, Sør-Trøndelag,
Norway, and was one of seven children by Ingeborg and Andreas
Halvorson Aunli; her father, Andreas, was a fisherman and did
odd jobs. She went to school, and attended church in Kyrksaeteroera,
which was a forty-five minute walk away, where she was confirmed
at age 14. After confirmation, she worked for two years as a
housekeeper for a minister in Trondheim, and after she finished
school, she worked on an estate haying. In March 1915, her older
sister, Ellen, who was married and lived in North Dakota, sent
Anna a ticket to come to the U.S. At that time, Anna was milking
cows on a different farm in Selva, Norway, and she went home
to Hemne and stayed with her family for a month before leaving.
She went through Liverpool, England, and the ship had to travel
a different route because of the threat from German war planes
and submarines, a redirection that made the trip last two weeks
instead of one. The ship landed in Montreal, Canada, and she
took a train to Chicago and the Milwaukee Road line to North
Dakota. She got a job in a restaurant owned by a Danish woman,
Mrs. Evans, starting as a dishwasher and then advancing to cook
status. When Anna had been in the U.S. for six months and was
living in Bowman, ND, Ellen died; because she was only 17, Anna
then needed a guardian. Her brother-in-law did not want the
responsibility, so Markland, a Swedish hardware store owner
from Scranton, ND, took over her guardianship. Anna moved to
Tacoma on July 4, 1916 after the Sagens, neighbors from Norway,
heard of Ellen's death and invited Anna to live with them. She
was first employed in Tacoma by an English lady with two children,
but she soon quit this job because she could not burn a light
in her room. Her second position was with the Dempseys, a prominent
lumber family in Tacoma, where she took care of the two children
for two and a half years. After this, she cooked at Camp Daniher
(?), a lumber camp in Darrington, WA that was named after Mr.
Dempsey's father, until WWI was over in 1918 [sic]. She later
worked at Camp #3 in Clear Lake until the lumber camps closed
in 1921. She then got a job at City Dry Cleaners in Seattle,
where she worked for 22 years. Before she took her first trip
to Norway in 1930, the owner of the dry cleaners died, and the
shop changed hands and was renamed Troy Cleaners. Anna worked
at Troy for five months and then transferred to I. Magnin where
she worked in alterations for two years; she then returned to
Troy Cleaners. She first met her husband, John Haugen, at a
Christmas party at her rented house on Minor Street in Seattle.
John came to America in 1924 and worked in the woods at first;
he later worked at Puget Sound Window Cleaners. They married
in 1942 after knowing each other for twenty years [sic], and
had no children. Anna revisited Norway in 1965, traveling alone
because John was feeling too ill to go; he died of a heart attack
while she was in Hemne, and it took fourteen days before she
could get a plane back to the U.S. She has been a life member
of the Sons of Norway but does not participate in the activities.
She also states she is an "old-fashioned Lutheran," though she
seldom attends church.
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Full Name: |
Anna Haugen
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Maiden Name: |
Anna Aunli Lee
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Father: |
Andreas Halvorson Aunli
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Mother: |
Ingeborg Aunli
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Paternal Grandfather: |
Halvor Halvorson
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Paternal Grandmother: |
Maudie Halvorson
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Maternal Grandfather: |
Ole Aunli
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Maternal Grandmother: |
Ellen Aunli
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Brothers and Sisters: |
Ellen Aunli
Hilmer (?)Aunli
Lars Aunli
Ingebrit Aunli
Og Aunli
Ellen Aunli
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Spouse: |
John Haugen
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Children: |
None
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This collection is indexed under the following headings
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Personal Names |
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Haugen, Anna
Aunli, Anna Lee
Aunli, Andreas Halvorson
Aunlie, Ingeborg
Halvorson, Halvor
Halvorson, Maudie
Aunli, Ole
Aunli, Ellen
Sagen, Eric
Sagen, Marie
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Family Names |
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Haugen family
Aunli family
Lee family
Halvorson family
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Geographical Names |
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Hemne, Sør-Trøndelag (Norway)
Halsa,Nordmøre (Norway)
Kyrksæterøra (Norway)
Kristiansund (Norway)
Trondheim (Norway)
Selva (Norway)
Bowman (N.D.)
Scranton (N.D.)
Tacoma (Wash.)
Seattle (Wash.)
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Subjects |
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Family -- Norway
Norway -- Emigration and immigration
Hemne (Norway) -- Emigration and immigration
School attendance -- Norway
Troy Clearners -- Seattle (Wash.)
Marriage service
Sons of Norway -- Seattle Wash.)
Norway -- Social conditions -- 1945-
Norwegian-Amiercans -- Ethnic identity
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Occupations |
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Fishing
Tailoring
Domestics
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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.
024 FAMILY BACKGROUND: Anna was born in Hemne, Soer-Trondelag,
Norway on December 24, 1897. Hemne is west-southwest of Trondheim
and is on the tip of Hemnefjord near Kyrksaeteroera.
072 Her father was Andreas Aunli and mother was Ingeborg Aunli.
In America, Anna changed her name from Aunli to Lee. Andreas
was a fisherman and did odd jobs. They had a small house on
a little piece of land where they grew potatoes and carrots
for their own use. They raised a few sheep, but there was not
enough land to support a cow. The wool was used for clothes
and the mutton for food. The house had three rooms including
the upstairs. Water was carried in from a well and heated on
the stove. There was a small oven for baking.
141 BROTHERS AND SISTERS: There were seven children in the family:
Ellen, Hilmer, Lars, Anna, Ingebrit, Og, and another Ellen.
Ellen, the oldest girl, came to America and married. She lived
in ND and died in 1915. Hilmer did road construction; used blasting
powder in his work. He married Litet Odegard and lived in Kristiansund,
Norway. His wife had two brothers and one sister in America.
178 Lars was seven years older than Anna. He lives in Canada
and was a fisherman. Now he is in a nursing home and was 93
on his birthday, April 13, 1983. Ingebrit came to America and
then moved to Canada. He was two years younger than Anna. He
was a fisherman by trade and drowned while on a fishing expedition.
Og, the youngest brother, went to Canada but returned to Hemne.
He married and lived on his wife's father's farm. Both are now
in a nursing home, and the oldest son has the farm. Ellen, the
youngest sister, was named after the first girl who had emigrated.
She lived in Trondheim. She married but had no children. She
died in 1982.
233 GRANDPARENTS: Her maternal grandmother was Ellen Aunli,
and her husband was Ole Aunli. They came from the Settemsdal-Halsa-Nordmoere
area where Ole was a fisherman. Ole's former surname was Halvorson,
but he took the name Aunli because he lived on his wife's family
place, which had that name.
285 The paternal grandparents were Halvor and Maudie Halvorson.
He was a tailor by profession and taught his sons the trade.
One son (Ingebrit Halvorson) had a tailoring business in Chicago.
His shop was in back of his residence on Logan Square Boulevard.
The shop specialized in tuxedos and employed 26 people. The
Marshall-Fields Department Store placed orders at this shop.
317 FAMOUS RELATIVES: The current ski champions, Ove and Berit
Aunli, are related to Anna. Ove's father, Odd, is Anna's nephew.
Anna relates some experiences in international contests.
383 REMEMBRANCES OF GRANDMOTHER: Anna's grandmother died when
Anna was quite young, but she remembers her beautiful white
hair. Grandmother Ellen moved away to live with her son, but
Anna does not remember particular details. Anna was six years
old when Grandmother Ellen died.
401 SCHOOL: The school was far off, and there were no roads
to walk on. It was difficult for a young child bundled up against
the weather. Anna wonders now how they survived during the winter.
There were only three grades at school. The pupils stayed in
each grade two years before they advanced to the next. Anna
had a woman teacher and then a man teacher. She remembers that
the man teacher (Andrew) used to come outside and play games
with them. Andrew lived at the school with his wife and small
children.
She relates one experience of walking to school in a sleet storm.
She was wearing a warm but bulky made-over coat, which she hated.
By the time she arrived at school, she was crying because she
was so cold. Andrew comforted her and had her sit by the stove
until she was warm again. She was the only one of her family
attending school; the others were too young. It was a lonely
walk to school.
487 CHURCH ACTIVITIES: The church was located at Kyrksaeteroera.
They walked to church, which took 45 minutes; seldom rode. The
minister served many churches in the area, so services were
not held every Sunday in this church. She was confirmed here.
511 CHRISTMAS: Baking was the speciality at Christmas. The family
was too poor so there were not many presents. Fattigmann was
a treat. They usually did not have a Christmas tree. Sometimes
they attended church on Christmas Eve. Anna knitted mittens
for everyone in her family when she was 10 years old.
542 Risgrynsgroet was eaten on Christmas Eve. They went to a
farmer to buy skimmed milk for this dish. The usual foods were
boiled meat, previously dried and salted, or fish in all forms.
568 CLOTHING: Anna wore hand-me-downs and clothes that her mother
made over. She feels she was dressed as well as anyone. Anna's
aunt worked for wealthy people in Trondheim; she took care of
invalids. The discarded clothing was collected by her aunt and
given to Anna's mother for make-overs. Sometimes Mother would
dye the material before sewing the clothes. She had an old sewing
machine, and another woman would cut the pattern while she did
the sewing.
590 WORK IN NORWAY: After finishing school she worked on an
estate haying. She was small for her age and wonders how she
got the job. She had asked one of the hired men at the estate
where to apply for a job, and he directed her to an office in
Trondheim. Anna had a cousin who was a policeman in Trondheim;
he almost discouraged her in seeking a job at that estate. Because
of her eagerness to work, she was hired by the interviewer.
She was ecstatic.
FIELD WORK: After the hay was cut for drying, Anna and other
workers had to tramp it down for the horse-drawn rake. Anna
was a hard worker. The foreman, Finney, saw how she was wearing
herself out, so he told her to sit on the hay as it was being
stacked. That was easier work. She learned to drive the horses,
and one of the workers became jealous because she had an easier
job than he did. He gave her orders to pull hay from the barn
instead. It was backbreaking work. Foreman Finney came along
and reprimanded the field hand, and put Anna back to driving
the horses.
732 She was 16 years old while working on the farm. After being
confirmed at 14 she worked two years as a housekeeper for a
minister in Trondheim.
743 WORLD WAR I. In 1914 just before the war broke out, there
were German, Russian, and English troops in Trondheim. Although
it was a neutral harbor, there was some bombardment when war
was declared. Most of the warring parties left without serious
injury, but the Russian ships stayed.
773 EMIGRATION: In March 1915 her sister Ellen in North Dakota
sent her a ticket to come to America. Anna felt that job opportunities
were much better in America, and she wanted to be on her own.
SIDE II
025 PREPARATION FOR EMIGRATION: When she decided to go she was
working on a different farm in Selva, Norway, milking cows.
She went home to Hemne and stayed with her family for a month.
It was snowing when she left. She visited with her aunt in Trondheim,
and then boarded the boat for England.
She was very sick sailing on the North Sea; she thought she'd
die. When the ship docked in Newcastle, England, she felt like
returning home. But the captain told her that if she had sailed
the North Sea, she could make it over the Atlantic. She continued
by train to Liverpool, staying there a week before boarding
a ship from the White Star line. In Liverpool, German planes
flew over; passage to America was considered unsafe. They had
to travel a different shipping route for safety purposes.
103 It took two weeks to cross the Atlantic. Anna had a third
class ticket, but the steward changed her to second class; she
couldn't sleep because of the noisy cabin next door. The inhabitants
were Polish emigrants, and she was frightened at their noise.
A woman who had befriended her in Liverpool shared her cabin
with Anna at no extra charge to Anna. She met a man from Finland
who escorted her around the ship. He spoke English.
179 Everyone on board was supposed to have been vaccinated for
smallpox. Anna had been vaccinated as a small child, but it
didn't take. She had only a small scar on her arm. Because of
her bout with seasickness, the doctor had her hide under the
stairway until it was over. He did not want her to suffer a
reaction on top of her seasickness.
207 The ship landed in Montreal, Canada. She was put on a train
to Chicago, then the Milwaukee Road line to North Dakota. The
train ride across America was so slow; people called it a cow
train. Anna sat up the entire way. Passengers bought sandwiches,
which were served by train personnel. Three men, sitting in
back of her, discussed her using the Swedish language. She could
understand them. This started a friendship, and they bought
her oranges and sandwiches. These men were heading further West.
204 SETTLING IN AND WORK: Anna did not like the weather in North
Dakota. It was too cold in winter and too Hot in summer. There
were terrible hailstorms, and she was so very homesick.
She obtained a job in a restaurant owned by a Danish woman,
Mrs. Evans. Two of the workers could speak Swedish and Danish;
one had been born in America. Sigrid a kitchen worker was Norwegian.
She'd been here three years and was 34 years old.
255 Anna's sister Ellen died when Anna was living in the town
of Bowman, North Dakota. She had been there six months. Being
underage (17), she required guardianship. Her brother-in-law
did not want the responsibility. A Swedish man, Markland, from
Scranton, North Dakota owned a hardware store and took over
her guardianship. He was nice to her, and her friends considered
him a good "catch" because he was rich.
323 Mrs. Evans baked all the pastries for the restaurant. At
first Anna was the dishwasher, but a new girl was hired, and
Anna advanced to cook status. Mrs. Evans and Sigrid taught her
cooking. She was paid $35 a month including board and room.
The rooms were above the restaurant.
367 LEARNING ENGLISH: Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish were spoken
by workers and customers. She picked up English by listening
to those who did speak it. Dr. Meisner (?), a German, was instrumental
in teaching Anna English. Also, Dr. Kruseker (?) the veterinary.
These two doctors would leave verbal messages with Anna to relay
to each other. This way she could practice her English. Anna
relates how Dr. Kruseker tricked her into telling Dr. Meisner
that he was so nice and that she loved him very much. This brought
a hilarious reaction from the observers, but Dr. Meisner forbad
them to tell her what she had said. He was afraid that she would
be too embarrassed to continue on with English. Learning the
language was the hardest part of being in a new country. Sigrid,
her friend, was still homesick; Anna comforted her with singing.
435 Anna moved to Tacoma on July 4, 1916. The Sagen's had heard
from friends in Norway that Anna's sister had died and wrote
and asked her to come live with them. They had been neighbors
in Norway. Eric and Marie Sagen had two children, Lars and Bjorne.
Lars lived and died in Blaine, Washington. Bjorne was a policeman
in Tacoma. He lived at 610 E. Wright Ave. A third son, Eric,
worked at the Fisher Flour Mills in Tacoma.
477 Anna traveled by train from North Dakota to Tacoma. She
made friends with one of the employees on the train. When they
reached their destination, he escorted her to the Sagen household.
The train had arrived early, so that's why the Sagen's weren't
at the station to greet her.
512 WORK IN TACOMA: Anna did housework and lived with the Sagens.
She was first employed by an English lady with two children.
Anna soon became disgusted with this position, because she couldn't
burn a light in her room. She quit.
524 Her next position was at the Dempsey's, a prominent lumber
family in Tacoma. Anna took care of the two children. Counting
Anna, there were two maids and a cook, Dagmar Williams (married
name) who was from Oslo.
For work she had to wear furnished uniforms and shoes. The employees
were treated quite well, given presents. The children's names
were Johnny, four years old, and Danny, eight months old. Mrs.
Dempsey traveled extensively, so taking care of the children
was Anna's full time job. Johnny proved to be a problem child.
Anna tells some of the incidents in detail how he acted. In
time, Johnny learned to love her very much, and it broke his
heart when she had to leave.
660 LUMBER CAMP: After working for the Dempsey's for two and
a half years, she went to work as a cook in a lumber camp earning
$75-80 a month, including room and board. She worked until the
war was over in 1918. The cooks were assigned tables, and her
table happened to seat the section gangM which was Greek loggers.
They liked Anna and vied for her attention, winning candy from
punchboards and bringing it to her. This lumber camp was located
in Darrington, WA. She worked at Camp Daniher (?), which was
named after Mr. Dempsey's father. Later she worked at Camp #3
near Clear Lake. The lumber camps closed in 1921.
693 Then she applied for a job at City Dry Cleaners in Seattle.
She was accepted and worked there 22 years.
703 MEETING SPOUSE, MARRIAGE, AND WORK: She first met her husband
at a Christmas party at Anna's rented house on Minor Street
in Seattle. There were many Norwegian friends at the party,
including John Haugen. She married him in 1942 after knowing
him for 20 years. He came to America in 1924; worked in the
woods at first, later for Puget Sound Window Cleaners. Anna
liked being on her own that is why she waited to get married.
738 WORKING CONDITIONS: After a training period, Anna became
a presser doing piece work. She made good wages because of her
high production. She saved money and bought a new Chrysler.
Her employer was Frank Hart, and the cleaners was located at
5th and John Street in Seattle. While training paid $18 a week,
she earned $60 a week afterwards.
TAPE 241
026 RETURN TRIPS TO NORWAY Her first trip home to Norway was
in 1930; lifestyle was still the same. She revisited in 1965;
many changes had taken place.
070 Before her visit to Norway in 1930 the owner of the dry
cleaners died. The shop changed hands and was renamed Troy Cleaners.
Anna worked five months at Troy, then transferred to I. Magnin
and worked in alterations there for two years. She relates in
detail her experiences at I. Magnin and her subsequent return
to Troy Cleaners.
324 WEDDING: She and John had a small church wedding. The couple
that stood up for them was the only one in attendance. They
all went out for dinner. The newlyweds lived in Anna's apartment
on Melrose Street.
351 John worked in the woods. There were no children from this
marriage.
361 SECOND TRIP TO NORWAY: She went back in 1965 alone as John
was feeling too ill. He died while Anna was visiting in Hemne,
Norway. She relates in great detail about his heart attack and
her difficulty in returning to Seattle. It took fourteen days
before she could get a plane back.
496 ACTIVITIES AND ORGANIZATIONS: Anna is a life member of the
Sons of Norway but doesn't participate in activities.
She seldom attends church. States that she is an old-fashioned
Lutheran, living by the Ten Commandments.
517 NORWEGIAN HERITAGE: Anna still speaks Norwegian. She relates
the story about being in Norway and the women there telling
her that she spoke better Norwegian than they did. She phrases
this in English and Norwegian.
628 End of tape.
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