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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 Kristine Brodahl Hemmestad
A Guide to Her Oral History Interview |
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Administrative
Information
Creator:
Hemmestad, Olga Kristine Brodahl
Collection Nr: t256
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 Cindy Klein
Transcribed by Mary Sue Gee, Julie Peterson and Becky
Husby
Encoded by Kerstin Ringdahl & Amity Smetzler
Recording Quality: Good except for some background
noise.
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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 Hemmestad on July 26, 1983
in Bellingham, Washington. This interview contains information
on family history, childhood in Norway, school, voyage to Canada,
arrival in Canada and the U.S., confirmation, arrival in Washington
State, settling in Ferndale, learning English, marriage, trip
to Norway, changes in Norway, family in America, citizenship,
moving back to Ferndale, family and friends in Norway, childhood
memories, Christmas traditions, and canning. The interview was
conducted in English.
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Olga
Kristine (Brodahl) Hemmestad was born in Tretten, Gudbrandsdalen,
Norway on March 5, 1893. She was the youngest of seven children
by Frederik and Gina Brodahl, and she had a younger foster sister
who was a second cousin. Her father ran a country store until
Olga was little and had three small farms. She had a private
tutor to teach her to read when she was young, but only completed
her grade school education before the family emigrated. They
left Norway on May 18, 1907, traveled through England, and arrived
in Quebec, Canada. They visited a family friend who lived in
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, but decided to move to Thief River
Falls, Minnesota, where Olga's brother Albert was living. She
was confirmed in a Thief River Falls church one month after
arriving in the U.S., and the family moved to Kerkhoven, Minnesota
after living in Thief River for a year. They rented a farm in
Kerkhoven for three years, but grew tired of the weather and
moved to Washington State. They visited friends in Everett,
WA and Parkland, WA, where she saw Pacific Lutheran Academy,
and settled in Ferndale, WA. Her father died in 1912, and in
1918, her mother sold the farm and moved to Bellingham, WA,
where Olga obtained her citizenship. Olga met her husband, Ole
Hemmestad, in Bellingham, and they were married in 1920. The
sale of the Ferndale farm fell though and her mother got it
back; Olga moved there to take care of her while Ole fished
in Alaska in the summer. Olga and Ole took a trip to Norway
in 1960, and he died in 1964. She stayed in Ferndale almost
a year after his death, then sold the farm and moved back to
Bellingham. She attends Central Lutheran Church.
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Full Name: |
Olga Kristine Brodahl Hemmestad
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Maiden Name: |
Olga Kristine Brodahl
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Father: |
Fredrick Pederson Brodahl
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Mother: |
Gina Bjoerge Engebretsdatter Brodahl
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Paternal Grandfather: |
Peder Olstad
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Paternal Grandmother: |
Alme (?) Jonsgaard
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Maternal Grandfather: |
Engebret Rotaas
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Maternal Grandmother: |
Anne Onshus
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Brothers and Sisters: |
Paul Andor Brodahl
Einar Brodahl
Albert Brodahl
Paul Brodahl
Marie Brodahl Nelson
Fridtjof Maruis Brodahl
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Foster Sister: |
Borghild Braastad Asplund
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Spouse: |
Ole Arthur Hemmestad
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This collection is indexed under the following headings
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Personal Names |
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Hemmestad, Olga Kristine
Brodahl, Olga Kristine
Brodahl, Frederik Pederson
Brodahl, Gina Bjørge
Olstad, Peder
Jonsgaard, Alme
Rotaas, Engebret
Onshus, Anne
Hong, Nils
Hemmestad, Ole Arthur
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Family Names |
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Hemmestad family
Brodahl family
Olstad family
Jonsgaard family
Rotaas family
Onshus family
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Geographical Names |
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Tretten, Gudbrandsdalen (Norway)
Hjørunfjord (Norway)
Ringebu (Norway)
Kvaefjord (Norway)
Winnipeg (Manit. Canada)
Thief River Falls (Minn.)
Kerkhoven (Minn.)
Everett (Wash.)
Parkland (Wash.)
Ferndale (Wash.)
Bellingham (Wash.)
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Subjects |
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Family -- Norway
School attendance -- Norway
Education -- Norway
Christmas -- Norway
Emigration and immigration -- Norway
Naturalization
Central Lutheran Church (Bellingham, Wash.)
Norway -- Social conditions -- 1945-
Minneapolis Tidende (Minneapolis, Minn.)
Decorah-Posten (Decorah, Iowa)
Norwegian-Americans -- Ethnic identity
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Occupations |
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Farming -- Norway
Fishing -- Alaska
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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.
023 Olga Kristine Hemmestad. Born in Gudbrandsdalen on March
5, 1893. Gudbrandsdalen is a valley. Tretten is the town Olga
was born in. Tretten means "13." Got its name in the Middle
Ages when the Black Death hit Europe because only thirteen people
were left. Faavang to the north got its name because only a
few were left after the plague. Øyer to the south got its name
because nobody was left.
102 PARENTS: Fredrik and Gina Brodahl. Father ran a country
store at Brodahl. Farmed this place too. Wasn't very big. Bought
two other places to farm, Rødrud (?) and Skrandrud (?). Family
lived at Brodahl. Had cows that had to be taken to the mountains.
Made cheese.
152 BROTHERS AND SISTERS: Oldest brother died when he was 4.
Olga never knew him. Einar and Albert went to America in 1900.
Paul went a year later. Mother always wanted to go to America.
Had a brother here. Olga's parents sold their place. It was
to become an old folks home. Paul came home before he knew they
had sold it. Went back to America with his family. Sister, Marie
and brother, Fridtjof. Parents brought another girl. She was
related to the family. Her mother had died. Name was Borghild.
238 GRANDPARENTS: One grandfather lived with them for two years
he was bedridden before he died. The others died before Olga
was born. She was the youngest child. Father's mother lived
to be over 90. Could see without glasses when she got that old.
267 CHILDHOOD: Had to help with everything. Farm and store.
Had cows and goats. Had to herd the goats in the spring before
they took them to the mountains. Father closed the store when
Olga was quite young. Another store opened not far away. Not
enough business for two stores.
338 SCHOOL: Left Norway when 14. Got only a grade school education.
Got confirmed one month after coming to America. Had a private
tutor teach her to read when she was little.
374 IMMIGRATION TO AMERICA: Came to Quebec. Family had friends
there. Came to Winnipeg, Manitoba first. Planned on buying land
in the West. Paulson, the friend in Winnipeg had eight boys.
Had been sick. Was afraid something might happen to him. Greeted
Olga's family and then moved to Neillsville, Minnesota (?) where
he had an uncle. Olga's family decided to go to Thief River
Falls, Minnesota where her brother Albert was living. Went to
the depot in Winnipeg. Met Paulson there. He couldn't get into
the U.S. with all of his kids unless he had someone to sign
for him. Olga's family stayed at a hotel in Thief River Falls
for a few days while looking for a house to rent. Mother met
a Norwegian girl who was studying for confirmation. Mother wanted
Olga to get confirmed too. Brother, Paul had been in Thief River
Falls before. Offered to take her to the church. Had problems
finding the right church. There were four different Lutheran
churches in Thief River Falls. Chose the one that was the Lutheran
Synod because it looked like a Norwegian Lutheran church. Had
a tall tower. It was the one she was looking for. Father was
75 years old when they left. Mother was 19 years younger. Took
a boat from Oslo to England. Spent about a week in England.
Came to Quebec, then Winnipeg and then Thief River Falls. Stayed
there for a year. Then moved to Kerkhoven. Minnesota.
520 KERKHOVEN, MINNESOTA: Had friends there. Rented a farm for
three years. Then got tired of Minnesota. Didn't like the weather.
Hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Brothers sent away
for information on different state. Remembers them getting a
lot of literature from Montana. Olga wanted to go to a place
that had trees. Didn't like the prairie.
541 WASHINGTON STATE: Had train tickets to Vancouver. Stopped
in Everett, Washington where her brother had a fried. Came in
the spring. Stayed a little less than a year. Mother, Paul,
and Olga had friends in Parkland, Washington by the name of
Løsness. Visited them. Saw Pacific Lutheran Academy. Another
friend from Parkland, Hong has been to Ferndale, Washington
to visit a relative. Hong's father and Olga's father were confirmed
together in Norway. Hong visited them in Everett. Told them
about Ferndale.
586 SETTLING IN FERNDALE, WASHINGTON: Family became interested
in Ferndale. Hong described Ferndale being like Norway. Everybody
asked where you were from. They sent oldest brother, Albert
up to check it out. They got a place with a small house. People
were very friendly. There was a Swedish settlement in that area.
People always came and visited. The house was always full. People
invited them over too. Thief River Falls was like this too.
Easier to make friends in a new settlement than in an older
one. They owned 20 acres. The boys had to clear the land.
627 PARENT'S DECISION TO LEAVE NORWAY: Mother always wanted
to go to America. Father was always willing to move. Olga doesn't
think it's right to move to another country when you're older.
Father was 75 when he came to America. He was interested in
things in Norway. Could take part in politics. Couldn't do that
he since he didn't know the English language. He could read
the Norwegian newspapers printed here. Read the Minneapolis
Tidene and Decorah Posten.
664 LEARNING ENGLISH: Young people in Ferndale spoke Swedish.
Heard a lot of Norwegian and Swedish. Will always have her Norwegian
accent. Father died in 1912. In 1918, mother sold the farm in
Ferndale to a Swedish family from the Dakotas. Moved to Bellingham,
which was a Norwegian settlement. Not much of a chance to learn
English there. Learned English through the years.
693 IMMIGRATION TO AMERICA: (See also I-374) Left on May 18,
1907. Spent a week in Oslo. Parents had friends there. Spent
a week in England. It was a long trip.
717 GETTING STARTED IN AMERICA: Olga didn't have much experience
with this. Was at home. Father didn't do much. They had enough
to get along. Mother liked to have company. Would have dinner
parties. Remembers one man talking to her father after a Sunday
dinner party. Said if he'd have worked as hard in Norway as
he has in America, he would have made it in Norway too. Had
to work hard. Worked hard in Norway too, but at a slower pace.
768 MEETING PEOPLE: Met people through church. People in Thief
River Falls were very friendly. People would come to call.
783 MEETING SPOUSE: Met him in Bellingham. He was a fisherman.
Got married in 1920. Just went to a minister. Invited friends
over for a reception. Weren't many big weddings in those days.
810 CHURCH: What is now Central Lutheran was at one time, the
Norwegian church in town. Some of Olga's friends studied for
confirmation in Norwegian. Olga still goes to Central Lutheran.
Drove to church until she was 75. She was getting old, the car
was getting old, and people were stealing things from it. Had
to park it in front of the house. Was going to Ferndale once.
Tried to start the car. Noticed the hood was unlatched and the
battery was missing. The church has van, which brings her to
church.
842 TRIPS BACK TO NORWAY: Went in 1960. Visited her home. Doesn't
have any relatives. Knew the lady who was in charge of the old
folks home when Olga and her family left Norway. (See also I-152)
Her old home was no longer an old folks home. Two bachelors
came home from America and donated money for a new one. The
people in Olga's old home treated her husband and her like family.
Husband was from Kvaefjord in northern Norway. (See also I-783)
Olga and her husband went north too; all the way to Finland.
Changes in Norway, roads straightened and widened. Many hills
in Norway. People didn't build with the view in mind like they
do now. The lake Olga lived by is called Losna. The river is
called Laagen.
909 FAMILY IN AMERICA: Borghild, the second cousin that Olga's
family adopted was five when they came to America. Sister, Marie
for married. Died about a week after giving birth to her first
child. Brother, Paul went to school. Taught German at Columbia
College in Everett. Other two brothers stayed in the area too.
951 CITIZENSHIP: Husband applied for it. Olga applied for herself.
Can't vote if you're not a citizen. Didn't study for it much.
There were things she already knew about the government. Had
to read up a bit. Got it in Bellingham.
976 MOVING BACK TO FERNDALE: Sold farm to family from North
Dakota. They were supposed to get money from their farm in North
Dakota. They had family problems and weren't able to pay. Mother
got the farm back. Olga moved out there while taking care of
her mother. She was in bed for two years. Brothers felt Olga
should have the farm because she was taking care of mother.
Husband was fishing in Alaska in the summer. Husband died in
1964. Olga stayed not quite a year in Ferndale after his death.
Sold the farm. Moved back to Bellingham. Ferndale has grown
a lot.
1031 FAMILY AND FRIENDS IN NORWAY: Corresponds with the people
who bought the family farm in Norway. Had been in America 50
years before she went back to Norway. That was too long. Doesn't
have the same meaning when you wait that long. School friends
were old people just like Olga and her husband. Better not to
wait more than 20 years.
SIDE II
189 MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD: Remembers going to her aunt's place.
Had to take the train to the north. Came home with her grandfather.
They were closed in a compartment on the train. Olga got scared.
Didn't know how they'd get out. Remembers fifth birthday. Didn't
usually make a fuss about birthdays but her grandfather came.
Brought her a pretty apron. It was white with pink and blue
small flowers.
240 TRAIN TRAVEL BEFORE IMMIGRATING TO NORWAY: Railroad was
built when Olga was a baby. The engineer for the railroad in
that area rented the upstairs of their house. Olga remembers
when he left. Lillehammer was the closest town for them. They
did their shopping there. Mother liked having company in Norway
too.
293 WORK BEFORE LEAVING NORWAY: Wasn't old enough to have developed
an occupation. Helped bring the goats up to the mountain in
the summer. Let them run loose until the spring. Then had to
herd them so they wouldn't get in the fields. Did some Hardanger
embroidery once while watching the goats. Got so dirty from
running back and forth that they never got it clean again.
331 CHRISTMAS: A lot of partying from one place to another.
Lots to eat. Someone would come dressed up as a julebukk. They'd
try to guess who it was. He'd hand out goodies. All of the butchering
had to be done after the cold weather so that they'd keep. Didn't
have freezers. Did a lot of baking. Have kept a lot of the same
Christmas traditions here too. In Norway, there was a lot of
work to do before Christmas. Everything was prepared for Christmas
so they could take it easy. The men had the wood split and piled
up. The house was cleaned. Mother always took down the curtains
before baking and butchering. Put them back up when everything
was done. You could see Christmas. Everything looked nice.
435 CANNING: Butchered a pig every year for Christmas. Wouldn't
keep as well here in Washington because of the warmer climate.
Did a lot of canning. Canned meat and fruit. Mother used 100
two-quart jars. Later used one quart jars. Finally point jars.
Fruit was expensive when they were living in Minnesota. Canned
salmon that her husband would bring home. Remembers going to
a restaurant when they first got to Everett, Washington. Could
get huge slices of salmon or halibut for 25 cents. Another time,
heard about a cannery in Blaine, Washington that was giving
away fish. Albert and Olga took the lumber wagon up there. They
filled the wagon and gave them two spring salmon, which they
didn't usually give away. Albert and Olga gave fish to their
neighbors.
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