My aunt’s perfume I remember. On a trip to Norway, relatives wore that same fragrance. Aunt Beulah spent time in Norway during the 2nd World War. Family reunions at Mom’s home farm in summer attracted the Larson relatives once a year. Aunt Beulah and others congregated at the farm north of Amery, WI, for an […]
Norway
Emergency in the Barn; Nisse Story Concludes
Emergency in the Barn; Nisse Story Concludes
The kids stared at their aunt. Marianne froze for a few seconds. She positioned herself to reach through the slats to pick up the baby. She unwrapped her, unswaddled her by unwinding the cloth. Marianne knew to hold her upright, facing the nisse family, and reached around the baby so her fingers met at […]
The Nisse Gather in the Barn to Celebrate-II
The Nisse Gather in the Barn to Celebrate-II
The odor inside the barn would have dropped a city kid to his knees, but these farm kids weren’t bothered by the smell produced by the milk cows. They slowly walked down the center of the barn between the 30 cattle, settling behind a gate with slats. From here they watched the nisse activity and […]
Yule Nisse Gather at a Fjelberg Barn-I
Yule Nisse Gather at a Fjelberg Barn-I
Five bodies lay on the porch, four of them staring into the field beyond the barn. Emma, the littlest, lay on her back with her mouth open, catching snowflakes. A thick blanket under them kept them warm. The Nordhus farm on Fjelberg Island. Snowing, barely. Christmas eve. Aunt Marianne, the largest of these humans, […]
Uff Da Defined and Explained
Uff Da Defined and Explained
Uff da was an expression I heard often growing up. It could apply to a variety of situations, some bad, some good, but it was the Norwegian version of WOW or Holy Mackerel. Internet sites are devoted to it, and post cards can be bought that have 20 occasions in which Uff Da would be […]
Strawberries (jordbaer) and Fresh Produce
Strawberries (jordbaer) and Fresh Produce
Just today my cousin Unni from Norway posted this photo, one of several picnic pics. These are wild strawberries, about the size of marbles. The jordbaer pictured here only understand Norwegian. Though I never had the patience to gather a mess of them in a container, friend and neighbor Willis and I picked them in […]
Hunger and Desperation
Hunger and Desperation
While touring Oslo, I visited Norway’s National Museum of Art several times. “The Scream” and other paintings by Edvard Munch have their own room on the 2nd floor. The first time at the gallery the above painting grabbed my attention and my imagination. Not sure which artist painted this nor do I know the time […]
Contented Cows that Understand Norwegian
Contented Cows that Understand Norwegian
Norwegian reds on the farm of our cousins on Fjelberg Island on the west coast of Norway. The law requires that cattle are outside at least 50 days in the summer, no kidding. Feed comes in on a ferry, and soon they’ll begin chopping grass/hay and shooting it into their 2 silos. The Nordhus Farm. […]
Letter from Norway: August 1895
Letter from Norway: August 1895
This letter from Norway was sent to my Grandpa Ole Larson from his father in August of 1895. Ole and Julia Larson farmed north of Amery, WI. Often weather and general greetings took up in the first paragraph, but it gets a little tawdry later in the letter. This is the 3rd letter I’ve posted, […]
Letter from Norway–1911
Letter from Norway–1911
(This letter to my Grandpa Ole Larson was written by Thomas, a neighbor or relative. Grandpa’s mother is alone now and suffers depression and loneliness because her husband, my Great Grandpa Lars Peder Aarak, died recently. Sent mid-January, a time when there was not as much work on farms in Norway and in Wisconsin.) ================ […]
The Ole Larson Farm
The Ole Larson Farm
The farm of Ole Larson in the letter below was located 10 miles northeast of Amery, WI. This photo shows either Grandpa Ole or Uncle Lawrence taking a break from plowing. Notice the chickens scrounging for worms in the newly turned soil, and in the background, the house that sheltered the 10 Larson family members. […]
Letter from Norway–1895
Letter from Norway–1895
Aarak the 4 of November 1895 My son Ole ! We have had your welcome letter of 16 September, where by we greet you with our loving thanks. We saw to our joy that you had your health and that you lived well and had got in the corn, Wheat and Oats. Our health are […]