    
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
Osten (Øystein) Johannes Hjortedal
A Guide to His Oral History Interview |
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Administrative
Information
Creator:
Hjortedal, Osten Øystein) Johannes
Collection Nr: t273
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 Janet Rasmussen
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 Osten Hjortedal on August 22, 1984
in Spokane, Washington. This interview contains information
on family background, childhood and fishing in Norway, emigration
and Ellis Island, settling in, work in railroad, learning English,
WWII, citizenship, transportation, marriage, Scandinavian community
in Spokane, church, return trips to Norway, pride in Norwegian
heritage. The interview was conducted in English with some Norwegian
towards the end of the interview. Also see Hjortedal, Gjertine,
t274.
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Osten
(Øystein) Johannes Hjortedal was born on January 29, 1890 at
Hjortedal, Skånevik, Hordaland, Norway. His parents were Johannes
(Mosness) Hjortedal and Gunhild Mosdal, and he had two siblings,
Joergen and Angjerd. The family sold the Hjortedal farm in 1892
but stayed on as caretakers, and moved to Mosness in 1902. Osten
became a fisherman when he was 14, and during winter, he worked
as a cook on Utsira, an island in the North Sea. He emigrated
with his friend Lundval on March 12, 1911, went through Ellis
Island, and arrived in Glasgow, Montana on April 14, 1911. The
next morning, a friend of Osten's brother gave them a job with
the railroad, and within a year, Osten was a part-time "relief"
foreman. He was granted citizenship in 1917, and in 1921, he
spent four months visiting his parents in Norway. He moved to
Edwall, Washington in August 1922, and met his wife, Gjertine,
at a friend's house in Glasgow while on the way to visit Norway
in Christmas 1925. They married in 1928 in Chicago, where she
worked as a nurse in Cook County Hospital, and had two children-Gladys
in 1929 and Erling in 1931. Osten joined Sons of Norway, and
took two more visits to Norway in 1966 and 1968.
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Full Name: |
Osten (Øystein) Johannes Hjortedal
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Father: |
Johannes (Mosness) Hjortedal
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Mother: |
Gunhild Mosdal
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Paternal Grandfather: |
Angjerd Mosness
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Maternal Grandfather: |
Øystein Mosdal
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Maternal Grandmother: |
Gunhild Mosdal
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Brothers and Sisters: |
Joergen Hjortedal
Angjerd Bjoerkestrand
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Spouse: |
Gjertine Hjortedal
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Children: |
Gladys Hjortedal
Erling Hjortedal
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This collection is indexed under the following headings
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Personal Names |
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Hjortedal, Osten (Øystein) Johannes
Hjortedal, Johannes (Mosness)
Hjortedal, Gunhild (Mosdal)
Mosdal, Øystein
Mosdal, Gunhild
Hjortedal, Gjertine
Hjortedal, Gladys
Hjortedal, Erling
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Family Names |
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Hjortedal family
Mosdal family
Mosness family
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Geographical Names |
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Hjortedal, Skånevik, Hordaland (Norway)
Mosness, Skånevik (Norway)
Mosdal, Skånevik (Norway)
Lundal, Skånevik (Norway)
Storebø, Hufteøy (Norway)
Glasgow (Mont.)
Edwall (Wash.)
Spokane (Wash.)
Chicago (Ill.)
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Subjects |
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Family -- Norway
Norway -- Emigration and immigration
Hjortedal (Norway) -- Emigration and immigration
Tyronia (Steamship)
Ellis Island Immigration Station (N.Y. and N.J.)
Great Northern Railway Company (U.S.)
Sons of Norway (Spokane, Wash.)
Our Saviours Lutheran Church (Spokane, Wash.)
Norway -- Social conditions -- 1945-
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Occupations |
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Farmers -- Norway
Shoemakers
Fishing -- Norway
Cooks
Railroad workers
Nursing
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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.
014 FAMILY BACKGROUND: Osten (Øystein) Johannes Hjortedal was
born January 29, 1890, at Hjortedal, Skånevik, Hordaland, Norway.
His father was Johannes Hjortedal and his mother Gunnhild Mosdal.
Hjortedal's county seat was Skånevik, which was located on the
Åkrafjord, about 18 Norwegian miles south of Bergen. This is
western Norway fjord country characterized by rugged mountains
and fjords.
116 HJORTEDAL FARM: This large farm containing pastures and
mountains belonged originally to Osten's great grandfather (a
Mosdal) who divided it between his three sons. Years later,
Osten's father at 20 bought the farm. His original name was
Mosnes, but he became Hjortedal when he acquired the farm.
152 PARENTS: His father was born in 1847, but there's no records
of his folks. His mother's ancestors came from Telemark years
before. His parents were married in 1876.
192 CHILDHOOD: The farm had cows, goats, and sheep. They rented
out the extra land for a cash income and cut wild hay for the
animals.
224 BROTHERS AND SISTERS: There were three children: Joergen,
Osten, and Angjerd (Angerd ?). Joergen immigrated to America
in 1904 and returned to Norway in 1910 to get married. He immigrated
to Glasgow, MT in 1913, but wife remained in Norway. Joergen
returned permanently in 1915. His wife's folks had a fine farm
for her and Joergen to take over.
285 Angjerd married and had five children. She died at 34 of
tuberculosis, which was a secondary infection to Spanish flu.
Sabrina, the husband's sister, raised the children very well.
320 CHILDHOOD: The Hjortedal farm was sold in 1892, but they
stayed on as caretakers. His father was a shoemaker and also
bought a share in a fishing outfit. In 1902, Osten and the family
moved to Mosnes (further up the Åkrafjord). When 14, Osten became
a fisherman.
356 FISHING: In winter, Osten worked as a cook on Utsira (an
island in the North Sea) on the second floor of a building.
The younger guys started with the land jobs. He had to carry
water and fuel and help cook simple food for 24 people. The
herring fishermen came in daily to eat and sleep.
394 In 1905 Osten and some family members went sardine fishing
having been outfitted by a wealthy uncle. They were lucky -
ran into a school of sardines, and they caught and sold enough
to pay off the outfit plus have salaries. The sardine season
was in August, and the sardines were caught inland in fjords,
not at sea.
424 FISHING TECHNIQUES: The net was stacked in the middle of
the boat. Two men threw out the net while six rowed. The boat
circled around and went into shore. The sardines were held in
the net until sold.
452 EMIGRATION: Osten and a friend immigrated to America on
March 12, 1911. They left from Stavanger and caught the big
ship (Tyronia ?, Cunard Line) in England which took them to
New York. They arrived in Glasgow, Montana on April 14, 1911.
The entire ticket from Stavanger to Glasgow cost $84.
498 BOAT TRIP: It was a good passage; Osten and his friend,
Lundval ?, were on the second deck and the food was reasonable.
The weather was good, and they entered the New York harbor on
Sunday, April 10, but weren't allowed to land until Monday.
532 ELLIS ISLAND: Osten was impressed by the big buildings and
the big room where they waited to be processed. The Norwegian
Lutheran Church had pastors present who helped the immigrants
with the language and further travel. Osten and Lundval boarded
the railroad in New York and went straight to Chicago, transferred
and went to St. Paul, transferred to the Great Northern for
the final leg to Glasgow. They were met by three fellows who
got them food and room. Next morning a friend of Osten's brother
gave them jobs.
600 SETTLING IN: When Osten began work with the railroad his
pay was 15 cents an hour, and he worked 10 hours a day, six
days a week. Within a year he became a "relief" (part-time)
foreman who earned $70 a month and had a homestead also.
As a section laborer or foreman, he maintained the railroad
line: pick and shovel work changing rails and ties. His crew
was seven Norwegians and one American, so they spoke Norwegian.
His next crew was smaller and less Norwegian, so Osten learned
English from one of the men who was bilingual.
680 LANGUAGE PROBLEMS: No problems as many Scandinavians helped
him. Tells a story about one humorous situation.
700 MONTANA ENVIRONS: Osten "put up" with the hot, dry summers
and the awful cold winters for 11 and a half years. Then, he
quit and moved to Spokane.
707 MONTANA HOMESTEAD: He took up a quarter section four miles
from Tampico. He had no equipment, so he hired the work out.
The railroad job took him from Tampico to Hinsdale in 1919,
where he worked for two years. In 1921 he quit and intended
to go to Seattle, but accepted a job for the Great Northern
outside of Spokane. Talks about railroad seniority system and
management.
769 RETURN TRIP TO NORWAY: He had promised his folks that he'd
return in 10 years, and he did, spending four months in 1921
visiting Norway. Things were the same.
SIDE II
097 WWI: At this time Osten was a foreman in Tampico. Nine Italians
in his crew registered and returned to St. Louis, and he had
to hire 14-15 year old kids. The government took over the railroad
and decreed that the existing RR workers couldn't quit even
to enlist. They were "frozen" on the job.
160 SCHOOL: Osten had none in America, just newspapers and dictionary.
He read Skandinven, Visagutten ?, Norwegian literature, and
corresponded regularly with 10-11 people.
180 CITIZENSHIP: He applied at the county seat after studying
from a book. The judge (inspector) asked tough questions, but
Osten passed and was granted citizenship in 1917.
229 TRANSPORTATION: Osten has a "life pass" to travel free by
rail. His first car, a 1919 Ford, was purchased jointly. He
later sold his half interest and bought a succession of Fords.
275 DIFFERENCE IN AMERICA: Yes, the food.
285 LIFE IN EASTERN WASHINGTON: Moved to Edwall in August 1922
and has lived in several towns close by while employed by the
RR for 47 years: Bluestem, Mohler, Marlin, and Hillier ?.
338 MARRIAGE: Osten returned to Norway the Christmas of 1925
due to an elderly mother. However, he stopped in Glasgow first
to do homestead business. While having dinner at a friend's
house, the wife requested Osten to greet her sister, Gjertine,
a nurse in Haugesund.
385 Osten already had a Norwegian girlfriend, but she didn't
want to emigrate. He met Gjertine as asked and eventually married
her in 1928 in Chicago where she worked in Cook County Hospital.
Gjertine was 33 years old, and he "saved her from being an old
maid". (Lively exchange of words at this point!)
418 SCANDINAVIAN COMMUNITY IN SPOKANE: It was very strong: Danes,
Finns, and Swedes. He joined the Sons of Norway. There were
also Scandinavian stores where Norwegian was spoken. The smaller
communities had more Germans and Irish except for the Danes
outside of Odessa.
468 SCANDINAVIAN JOBS: 1) lumbering 2) carpentry - construction
3) farmers.
476 ORGANIZATIONS: The Sons of Norway had singing, speakers,
and dances in a rented building. Osten was not active in the
other groups.
500 CHURCH: He had to travel to Spokane to attend Our Saviour's
Lutheran Church, which used English. The Swedes still held service
in Swedish in their church.
520 RETURN TRIPS TO NORWAY: He has returned to Norway twice
by boat and twice by air: 1921, 1925, 1966, 1968. The changes
in Norway 40 years later were big; Norway is very advanced and
modern.
541 NORWEGIAN HERITAGE: Osten is proud of his heritage, feeling
the people are characterized by honesty, industriousness, and
dependability.
581 SPEAKING NORWEGIAN: Snakker litt norsk om barndom og jul:
nye klaer, 2-3 uker lang, spiste fersk fisk og lutefisk, flatbroed,
osv.
620 End of tape.
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