    
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
Gjertine Karia Eriksdatter Storebø
Hjortedal
A Guide to Her Oral History Interview |
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Administrative
Information
Creator:
Hjortedal, Gjertine (Gertie) Karia Eriksdatter Storebø
Collection Nr: t274
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: Excellent
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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 Gjertine Hjortedal on August 22,
1984 in Spokane, Washington. This interview contains information
about family history; boat building; work in Norway; nursing
training; marriage and family; settling in the U.S.; gardening;
life in Edwall, WA and rural America; the Great Depression;
the birth of her son, Erling; emigration and voyage to America;
American food; work in the U.S.; return trips to Norway; citizenship;
Norwegian heritage. The interview was conducted in English with
some Norwegian towards the end of the interview. Also see Osten
Hjortedal, T273.
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Gjertine
Karia Hjortedal was born Gjertine Eriksdatter Storebø on September
24, 1894 at Storebø, Huftarøy, Hordaland, Norway. She was one
of eleven daughters by Kari Zachariasdatter Drønnen and Erik
Eliason Storebø; her father was a boat builder and owned a 25-acre
farm where the family lived. When Gjertine was 15, she asked
her father for permission to attend a business college, but
he refused because she was female. She went to Bergen and found
a house job, and after six months she had enough money to pay
tuition, continuing to work while attending the school. She
then had several jobs in Bergen, including grocery store positions.
She entered nursing training in 1921 at Aklaa (?) Hospital and
graduated in 1924, after which she took a job in a hospital
in Haugesund. She met her husband, Øystein Hjortedal, while
working the night shift at the hospital; two of Gjertine's sisters
had immigrated to the U.S., and one had asked Øystein to meet
Gjertine when he went home to visit Norway in Christmas 1925.
Gjertine visited her sisters in the U.S. and because of Øystein,
remained in America. She got a job at Fairview Hospital in Minneapolis,
MN and then at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, IL. She and
Øystein married when Gjertine was 33 and lived in Marlin, WA,
but moved to Edwall, WA in about 1930. Her oldest child, Gladys
Kate, was born while Gjertine was visiting her sister in Glasgow,
MT, and her son, Erling John, was born in Edwall in 1931. Gjertine
later worked as a private duty nurse for seventeen years, and
became head nurse at Riverview Terrace in Spokane, WA when she
was over sixty years old; she retired a few years later. Her
name was changed from Gjertine to Gertie when she gained citizenship,
and she took a return trip to Norway after WWII. Gladys studied
nursing at St. Olaf and married Hans Johnson, a lawyer from
Hawley, MN; she lives in Denver, CO. Erling lives in Spokane
and is Director of Financial Affairs for Spokane Falls Community
College. In 1984, Øystein Hjortedal passed away. Gjertine Hjortedal
passed away in 1990.
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Full Name: |
Gjertine (Gertie) Karia Eriksdatter Hjortedal
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Maiden Name: |
Gjertine Karia Eriksdatter Storebø
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Father: |
Erik Eliason Storebø
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Mother: |
Kari Zachariasdatter Drønnen
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Paternal Grandfather: |
Elias Erikson
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Paternal Grandmother: |
Synnøve
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Maternal Grandfather: |
Zacharias Brekke
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Maternal Grandmother: |
Martha Drønnen
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Brothers and Sisters: |
There were 11 girls in the family.
Marte Helene Storebø
Synnøve Nilsina Storebø
Bertine Storebø
Anna Storebø
Johanne Storebø
Jortine Storebø
Emelia Storebø
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Spouse: |
Øystein Hjortedal
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Children: |
Gladys Kate (Hjortedal) Johnson
Erling John Hjortedal
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This collection is indexed under the following headings
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Personal Names |
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Hjortedal, Gjertine (Gertie) Karia
Storebø, Gjertine Eriksdatter
Storebø, Erik Eliason
Drønnen, Kari Zachariasdatter
Erikson, Elias
Brekke, Zacharies
Hjortedal, Øystein
Johnson, Gladys Kate (Hjortedal)
Hjortedal, Erling John
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Family Names |
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Hjortedal Family
Storebø Family
Erikson Family
Brekke Family
Drønnen Family
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Geographical Names |
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Storebø, Huftarøy, Hordaland (Norway)
Drønnen, Huftarøy, Hordaland (Norway)
Bergen (Norway)
Haugesund (Norway)
Minneapolis (Minn.)
Chicago (Ill.)
Marlin (Wash.)
Glasgow (Mont.)
Edwall (Wash.)
Spokane (Wash.)
Denver (Colo.)
Hawley (Minn.)
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Subjects |
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Family -- Norway
Norway -- Emigration and immigration
Storebø (Norway) -- Emigration and immigration
Naturalization
Depressions -- 1929 -- Washington (State)
Sacred Heart Hospital, (Spokane, Wash.)
Norway -- Social conditions -- 1945-
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Occupations |
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Domestics -- Norway
Nurses -- Norway
Nurses -- Washington (State)
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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.
007 FAMILY BACKGROUND: Gertie Hjortedal was born Gjertine Karia
Eriksdatter Storebø on September 24, 1894, at Storebø, Huftarøy
(Hordaland) which is about four Norwegian miles south of Bergen.
070 PARENTS: Mother was Kari Zachariasdatter Drønnen. Her father
was Erik Eliason Storebø; he was the fourth generation of Erik
Eliason - Elias Erikson (patronymic naming system).
095 FAMILY SCENE: Her father was a boat builder and also owned
a 25 acre farm with timber land and animals: 10 milking cows,
45 sheep, 3 pigs, 40-50 chickens. Girls cared for the animals.
115 BOAT BUILDING: Father made four small fishing boats per
year, which sold for 500 kroner per boat. The timber was selected
from the woods, cut down, and fashioned by hand. Gertie has
a cup, which shows the biggest boat her father made; it took
one year and sold for several thousand kroner.
161 SIBLINGS: Eleven girls - no boys: Marta, Synnøve, Bertine,
Anna, Johanne, Jortine, Emelia, and Gjertine.
175 Mother made and sold butter to customers in town. Made cheese
from cow's milk, which was also fed to chickens and pigs. The
children had religious teaching at home as their father read
a sermon each Sunday.
213 WORK: When 15, Gertie asked father for permission to attend
business college. Father refused because she was a female. Gertie
received enough money from her mother to go to Bergen and find
a house job. After six months, she had sufficient funds to enter
business college and pay tuition, while continuing with her
job. She earned eight kroner ($2.25 per day) plus room and board,
working until 4 pm, attending school from 4-8, and working until
10 pm. She "made it", but did not get good marks.
300 FATHER'S REASONS: Her father always wanted a boy; was angry
about it and didn't like the girls. If Gertie had been a boy,
she could have gotten anything she wanted - so her father told
her.
340 BUSINESS COLLEGE: She was 16, but doesn't remember much
about it.
350 EMIGRATION: Two older sisters were in America and bragged
about it. She was interested and her father offered to pay her
way, but she was too proud and refused. She paid her own way
over to visit her sisters. She was going to come home but had
met "this fellow" (Oystein Hjortedal) in Haugesund earlier,
so she stayed in America.
370 WORK IN NORWAY: She had several jobs in Bergen, including
grocery store positions.
383 NURSES TRAINING: She entered training in 1921 at Aklaa?
Hospital and graduated in 1924 with good marks. Gertie liked
to help people and felt nursing was her "call" in life. There
were 64 in her class, and they worked 12 hours per day.
420 NURSING: She had a choice of two jobs: Riks Hospital in
Oslo or a hospital in Haugesund. She accepted the latter.
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY: She was on night duty when Øystein Hjortedal
came in. She had already asked for her passport, and so they
talked of America. He wrote many letters to her from America
afterwards and later traveled to Chicago just to ask her to
marry him.
447 MARRIAGE: Two years later they were married, had a wedding
dinner, and received many gifts of sterling.
454 SETTLING IN: They traveled back to Marlin, Washington by
train, passing through Spokane. Marlin just depressed her, so
she sent applications to Deaconess Hospital in Spokane. But
then, she got pregnant and "was stuck". Tells a story about
a meaningful flock of chickens and a large rattlesnake, which
she hammered to death (by decapitation) and the chickens ate!
496 Two weeks before her first child was born, Gertie traveled
by train to her sister (also a nurse) in Glasgow, Montana. A
"beautiful baby girl", Gladys, was born and baptized in Glasgow.
Two weeks after the birth, she and Gladys returned to Marlin.
513 EDWALL: They moved here (about 1930), and Gertie took up
gardening: very successful first garden as neighbor gave them
12 loads of horse manure. Gardens were important during the
Depression, especially since Osten worked half-time for half-pay,
$65 a month. She started to tithe to the church, $6.50 a month:
tells about tithing. They had enough food and money for themselves,
God, and hoboes. Made use of 25 pigs' heads from neighbor to
make headcheese. Tells story about Norwegian hobo and head cheese.
Another story about 27 hoboes and her freshly baked bread.
587 Son was born in Edwall. Couldn't wake doctor, so Oystein
fetched a neighbor lady who arrived after the baby was born
at 1 am. Gertie instructed the "shaking lady" on how to proceed
with the baby and herself. By 3 am, all three were in bed; everything
had gone perfectly.
612 LIFE IN RURAL AMERICA: People were nice. Gertie continued
to improve her English by reading and comparing English and
Norwegian Bibles. Tells stories about using her skills as a
nurse, adapting to the Western environment, killing a "huggorm"
in Norway when she was nine.
696 NURSING IN NORWAY: Jobs were readily available and pay was
220 kroner per month ($55 a month). After working two years
at Haugesund which was close to the North Sea and "stunk like
herring", Gertie moved to America.
720 BOAT TRIP: She traveled alone as a passenger, not an immigrant.
Gertie was met by a traveler's aid in New York and taken to
a cousin's big beautiful home.
SIDE II
045 Her sister from Glasgow arrived in one week. Tells story
about seeing her first black person.
101 AMERICAN FOOD: Some foods were strange: corn on the cob,
multiple layered sandwiches. The fish tasted rotten compared
to the fresh Norwegian fish.
124 She had sent an application to Fairview Hospital in Minneapolis,
so she went there accompanied by her sister. The hospital gave
her a job with no pay, only room and board because she didn't
know English. With a good friend and recommendations, she left
for Chicago and received a job with the Cook County Hospital.
Here she was helped greatly by another Norwegian lady employee
- Mrs. Rasmussen from Stavanger.
276 WOMEN AND EMIGRATION: It was better then than now, as jobs
were readily available.
Spokane reminded her of Bergen, and she liked it.
311 WORK: Gertie later worked as a private duty nurse for 17
years. Tells story about Catholic-Lutheran communion practices
while employed at Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane. From there
she became the head nurse at Riverview Terrace when she was
60 plus years old. She retired a few years later.
374 CHILDREN: Gladys Kate Johnson lives in Denver, Colorado.
She studied nursing at St. Olaf and then married a lawyer, Hans
Johnson, from Hawley, Minnesota. Her son, Erling John, lives
in Spokane and is Director of Financial Affairs for Spokane
Falls Community College.
480 RETURN TRIPS TO NORWAY: Gertie went right after WWII. She
was seasick on the boat trip back, so she drank two tablespoons
of whiskey and slept.
500 CITIZENSHIP: Gertie could have had citizenship through marriage,
but she obtained it on her own by studying three months. Her
name was changed from Gjertine to Gertie at this point.
517 REGRETS ABOUT LEAVING NORWAY: Gertie regrets not taking
the Oslo job.
524 SCANDINAVIAN CLUBS: She went once to the Sons of Norway.
Because of the gambling, playing cards, drinking, and smoking,
she never went back.
546 NORWEGIAN HERITAGE: Gertie wasn't planning to stay in America,
just visit her sisters. Her sister in Glasgow was so sorry she
came. She was a head nurse in Trondheim and never felt at home
in America. Because of the children, Gertie felt satisfied and
happy in America. Tells story about trying to learn English
by attending school with Gladys (6) and Erling (4).
605 SPEAKING NORWEGIAN: Snakker litt om jul: grønt tre, synger
norske sanger, ekstra god mat, julehelgen. Spiste lutefisk,
bløtkake, krumkake, goro. She continued to bake many of these
items here: lefse, flatbrød, krumkake, fattigmann, goro, lumpe,
and julekake.
700 End of tape.
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