Browse Items (3064 total)

• Vågespel podcast and publication, 2025

  Vågespel (A Daring Journey) is a podcast series highlighting the voices of selected Norwegian emigrant women from Western Norway, both in English and Norwegian.
  
  The following people are involved in the podcast:
  
  Reidun Horvei is a storyteller and one of the scriptwriters for Vågespel. She has long experience with Norwegian folk singing and storytelling and helps bring emigration stories to life through her performances.
  
  Inger-Kristine Riber helped write the script and creates the soundscape for Vågespel. She uses music and sound to support the stories and connect emotions from the past to the present.
  
  Ragnhild M. Gudbrandsen is a storyteller in Vågespel. She has performed many roles on stage and uses her voice to share the experiences of the women whose stories appear in the production.
  
  Katherine Jane Hanson contributed to developing the script. Her knowledge and insight help highlight the daily lives and challenges faced by the women whose stories are told.
• History of Living Christianity in America, 2024

  History of the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church of America. Includes information by regional areas in the United States and Canada, as well as missions to America and former preachers.
• North Shore Commercial Fishing Museum journal, 1993-2018

• Rev. Bernhard E. Bergesen letter, 1940 July 13

  Letter sent to Rev. B. E. Bergesen of Minneapolis, Minnesota, from King Haakon of Norway in July of 1940. The king had just fled to England and was living at Buckingham Palace. The letter is in his own handwriting and explains why he fled Norway.
• Ole Estensen and Anne Langlie collection, 1898-1970

  Ole E. Langli, originally from Selbu, Norway, immigrated to the United States in 1912 at the age of 17. His older brother, Ingebrigt, was already farming in Minnesota and sent Ole money for his passage. When it came time to book the journey, Ole found he didn’t have quite enough for a ticket on the Titanic—so he chose a different ship instead.
  
  Once in Minnesota, he worked on his brother’s farm and in the logging industry. He eventually met and married Anna Henmo, who had emigrated from Tydal, Norway, along with her sister. Ole later found long-term employment at the Ford plant, where he worked for 40 years.
  
  Ole and Anna settled in North Minneapolis and raised two children together.
  
  Collection includes letters and photographs.
• Ann Romo collection, 1897-1934

  Flashdrive of obituaries from 1897-1934 from the Kenyon, Wanamingo, and Zumbrota areas in Minnesota. Originally compiled by Kenneth Nygaard. All files are born digital. 
• Oral interview with Chris Woodard and Fred F. Poyner IV, 2017 April 28

  In this interview, Chris Woodard describes the repair and restoration work he has done on a former wooden Navy minesweeper (now a fishing vessel) beginning around 2011. He explains the boat’s unusual double-planked construction, its heavy use of oak and bronze, and the complications created by original degaussing equipment, which caused internal electrolysis and deterioration of the inner planking. Chris outlines major repair projects, including stem damage from hitting an island, large plank and frame replacements, extensive caulking, and removal of old ice sheathing. He details recurring challenges such as failing brass fasteners, poorly designed sea chests, and difficulty sourcing bronze hardware.
  
  Transcript only.
• Oral interview with Arne Einmo Jr. and Fred F. Poyner IV, 2018 October 12

  In this interview, Arne Einmo reflects on his lifelong connection to the shipyard and to the fishing vessel Polaris, which his father fished on and maintained there beginning around 1950. Raised in a Norwegian immigrant family, Arne grew up working alongside his father -- painting, repairing equipment, and later fishing on the Polaris himself between roughly 1952 and 1962 to pay for school. He recalls the shipyard as a tight-knit, family-like community that provided full services to longline halibut vessels, from caulking and engine work to supplies, fuel coordination, and even financial “settlements” for crews. Arne eventually served about 15 years on the board, including three terms as president, and later helped hire manager Doug, whose leadership greatly improved the yard’s finances.
• Carter J. Johnson and Bessie (Berg) Johnson papers, circa 1900-circa 1942

  Biography/History:
  Carter J. Johnson and Bessie (Berg) Johnson were Norwegian American residents of the Wausau, Wisconsin, area, born in the 1890s to parents who had immigrated from Norway between the 1870s and 1880s. Following their marriage in 1919, the couple relocated to Green Bay, Wisconsin, where they raised one daughter. During her studies at the University of Wisconsin, their daughter met an Alabama native enrolled in Officer Training School; the two married in September 1945 and subsequently settled in Birmingham, Alabama, where they raised six children.
  
  Scope and Content:
  The collection includes numerous photographs and photo albums spanning many years, along with a set of postcards containing correspondence. The postcards document a range of Wisconsin communities, including Wittenberg and the Bethany Indian Mission.
  
  Location:
  20/C/6
• 
  Eliason family papers, 1895-1936

  Biography/History: 
  Karl Enok Eliason (1847-1925) was born in Kolvereid, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway, to Elias Larsen Rygvold and Berethe Einarsdatter. In 1875, he married Kathrina Synnes in Folderied, Norway. Kathrina Andrea Eriksdatter Synnes (1847-1938) was born in Høylandet, Nordre Trondhjem, Norway, to Erik Pedersen (mother unknown). They had three children born in Norway and two in the United States: Sofie, Elias, Erik, Martin, and Alfred. In 1882, they immigrated and homesteaded near Appleton, Minnesota. Their first home was a dugout in the side of a hill on the farm. 

  The first child born in the United States was Martin (1885-1961). Martin A. Eliason married Allie Mae Olsen (1888-1956). They also farmed near Appleton, Minnesota. Martin was a member of the Horticultural Society and developed his own peony seedling called Le Charme, which can still be ordered from seed catalogs. He served as a School Board Clerk and was active in the local church. 

  Scope and Content: 
  Correspondence, photographs, pamphlets, and other records about the Eliason family of Appleton, Minnesota. Correspondence includes many letters either sent from Norway or in Norwegian.
  
  Location:
  20/C/6