https://norwegianamericanhistory.org/catalog/files/original/1c3820c0aa1856e5e463481fe04cf229.pdf f00b5977e35d3cf1b59c6d23d2896587 PDF Text Text Collection Name: NAHA Archivist records, 1925-2024 Collection Number: P1003 Extent: 13.6 cubic feet (34 archive boxes) Biography/History: The Norwegian-American Historical Association (NAHA) was founded on October 6, 1925, in the wake of the Norse-American Centennial—a four-day celebration that became a pivotal moment of cultural identity building, balancing pride in Norwegian heritage with a growing American identity. From its inception, NAHA has been headquartered at St. Olaf College, where it remains today. Now a century old, this independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization is supported by more than 1,000 members from across the United States, Canada, and Norway. NAHA’s founders were driven by a desire to move beyond the sentimental myths and hero-worship of early immigrant narratives. They sought instead a more rigorous, scholarly approach to preserving and interpreting the Norwegian-American experience. Their vision gave rise to a remarkable archive, dedicated to capturing and protecting the lived stories of Norwegian immigrants. Among NAHA’s early leaders were influential figures such as novelist and professor O.E. Rølvaag, historian Knut Gjerset, journalist Kristian Prestgard, and academic Laurence Larson. Central to NAHA’s mission was American historian Theodore Blegen, who became the founding editor of the Association’s publications. Blegen championed what he called a "grass-roots" approach to history—an emphasis on the everyday lives and voices of immigrants. Rather than spotlighting only the extraordinary, he focused on letters, diaries, and other primary sources to capture the experiences of ordinary men and women navigating the challenges of migration and settlement. Since 1926, NAHA has published Norwegian-American Studies, a scholarly journal now produced in partnership with the University of Minnesota Press. The journal, along with NAHA’s robust book publishing program, highlights research in fields such as history, literature, religion, art, and cultural studies. The organization has also played a vital role in amplifying women’s ethnic history, publishing works by and about immigrant women like Aagot Raaen, Gro Svendsen, Elisabeth Koren, and Elise Waerenskjold. NAHA is the steward of the largest archival collection of the Norwegian-American experience. In 1932, NAHA hired a young graduate student, Carlon Qualey, as its field agent. Qualey spent six weeks on the road that summer, scouring farms, churches, and towns in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois for papers related to Norwegian-American life. The documents he brought back to Northfield, combined with materials that had been collected earlier by Ole Rølvaag and Theodore Blegen, formed the foundation of the archives. The letters, ledgers, photographs, diaries, newspapers, and audio and video recordings housed here bring to life the Norwegian diaspora and its hundreds of thousands of individuals, businesses, and institutions. Over the past century, many individuals have served as archivists and curators at NAHA, including Ole E. Rølvaag, J. Jørgen Thompson, Beulah Folkedahl, Charlotte Jacobsen, Gary DeKray, Jeff Sauve, Kristell Benson, and Kristina Warner. Scope and Content: Records of the Norwegian-American Historical Association's archives program. Related collections in the NAHA Institutional Records include: Publication Records (P1000), Secretary Records (P1001), Financial Records (P1002), and Archivist Records (P1003). See P1001, SERIES IV: Archives Contributions and Correspondence for more information on the archival program. Funding: Funding to rehouse and describe the NAHA institutional records provided to the Norwegian American Historical Association through the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, a component of the Minnesota Clean Water, Land and Legacy constitutional amendment, ratified by Minnesota voters in 2008. Access Rights: Portions of the collection are restricted due to privacy. Contact the archivist for permission to view the material in the NAHA Archivist Records. Bibliographic Citation: [Indicated cited item here]. NAHA Archivist Records. Norwegian American Historical Association, Northfield, Minnesota. Processing Information: Collection processed and described by Otelia Lighthill, Grace Peterson, and Kristina Warner. Box Folder Description Forrest Brown Inquiries and Correspondence, 1990-2005 1 1 AA 1 2 AB-AM 1 3-4 ANDERSON 1 5 ANDR-AZ 1 6 BA 1 7 BE-BEN 1 8 BER-BJ 2 1 BL 2 2 BO 2 3 BR-BRO 2 4 BRU-By 2 5 CA 2 6 CH 2 7 CI-CL 3 1 CO-CZ 3 2 D-DE 3 3 DI 3 4 DO 3 5 DR-DZ 3 6 E-EN 4 1 ER-ERT 4 2 ERL-EZ 4 3 F-FJ 4 4 FL-FO 4 5 FR-FU 4 6 G-GE 4 7 GH-GO 5 1 GR-GZ 5 2 H-HAM 5 3 HAN-HAS 5 4 HAT-HAZ 5 5 HE-HEF 5 6 HEG-HEL 6 1 HEM-HET 6 2 HI-HL 6 3 HO 6 4 HU-I 6 5 JA-JE 6 6 JO-JOHNSON, D 7 1 JOHNSON, E- JU 7 2 KA-KE 7 3 KI-KL 7 4 KN-KV 7 5 L-LAR 7 6 LAS-LEE 8 1 LEI-LEW 8 2 LI 8 3 LO 8 4 LU-LZ 8 5 MA-MAN 9 1 MC 9 2 MAP-MAT 9 3 MAT-MEY 9 4 MAUK 9 5 MI-MOH 9 6 MOO-MY 10 1 N-NEW 10 2 NI-NY 10 3 O-OELBERG 10 4 OES-OLSON 10 5 OLSON, R 10 6 OM-OS 11 1 OYANE 11 2 P-PE 11 3 PF-PU 11 4 Q 11 5 R-RAM 11 6 RANBY 12 1 QUINN, B. 12 2 RAND-REI 12 3 REK-RI 12 4 RO-RON 12 5 ROO-ROS 12 6 ROT-RU 12 7 SCA-SCR 13 1 S-SAY 13 2 SE-SH 13 3 SI-SK 13 4 SL-SOV 13 5 SP-STEW 13 6 STI-STU 13 7 SU-SY 14 1 T-TH 14 2 TI-TY 14 3 U-V 14 4 WA 14 5 WE 14 6 WH-WIL 15 1 WIN-WY 15 2 X-Z Charlotte Jacobson Inquiries and Correspondence, 1974-1990 15 3 A 15 4 B 15 5 C, D 15 6 Eastern Montana College Library 15 7 E, F 15 8 G 15 9 H 15 10 I, J 15 11 K, L 15 12 M, N 15 13 O, P 15 14 Q, R 15 15 S 15 16 T, U, V 15 17 W, X, Y, Z 15 18 Æ, Ø, Å Jeff Sauve and Gary DeKrey Inquiries and Records, 2005-2018 15 19 A-Z, Individual Documents 16 1-8 Patron research, 2007-2009 16 1-12 Patron research, 2009 17 1-8 Patron research, 2008-2010 18 1-8 Patron research, 2009-2011 19 1 Patron research, 2010-2013 19 2-5 Patron research 2010-11 20 1 Norwegian visit, 2011 20 2 Patron research 2011 20 3 Ole Building, 2011 September 8 20 4-5 Johan Christoffer Hans Scroden, 2011 20 6 Simon Hansen Locken, 2011 20 7 Dept. of Red Wing Seminary, 2010 20 8-11 Requests, 2010-2011 20 12 In-person visit group, 2011 20 13 Email requests, 2010-2011 20 15 Archives/Office, 2010-2-11 21 1 Archives records including patron reference, 2011-2013 22 1 Archives/Office records, 2012 22 2 Donor correspondence, 2012 22 3-5 In-person visit, 2012-2013 22 6-9 Archivist files, 2007-2017 22 10 NOR-AM initiative, 2005 22 11 Standard tour script, 2005 22 12 Archives/Office record, 2004 22 13 Space issues/vault, 2007 22 14 Languages/minutes, 2006 22 15 Correspondence, 2006 22 16 Budget, 2005 22 17 Manuscript solicitation, circa 2005 22 18 Nordic images/Summer visits, circa 2005 23 1 Correspondence, 2004-2005 23 2 Hegeem/Rinden, 2006 23 3 Rowberg database, 2008 23 4 Coordination committee N-A experience, undated 23 5 Donation/funding ideas, 2006 23 6 Non-current, 2008 23 7 Numbers, 2014 23 8 Archives/language, 2015 23 9 MNHS Grant Rowberg Grant, undated 23 10 MNHS Rowberg Grant database notes, 2013 23 11 Rowberg project, 2009-2012 23 12 Rowberg Grant final report, 2013 23 13 Legacy Grant, 2012 23 14 Proposal for dissolution draft, 2009 23 15 Long-term planning, undated 23 16 Finances, 2008 23 17 Proposal for dissolution, 2009 23 18 Sons of Norway oral history project, 2012 23 19 Rowberg Copyright, 2014 23 20 Faculty/staff records, 2014 23 21 Digital projects, 2006 23 22 Archives/Office records, 2017 23 23 Illustration requests, 2017 23 24 Visitors, 2017 23 25 Norway Day, 2013 24 1 Norway Da,y 2014 24 2 Rowberg collection, 2008-2014 24 3 Rowberg manual, 2012-2013 24 4 Rowberg scanning, 2013 24 5 Tour St. Olaf-Iowa, 2009 24 6 Archives/Office records, 2013 24 7 Board meeting, 2011October 24 8 Acknowledgement form blank, undated 24 9 Digital library, 2015-2017 24 10 Patron inquiries/general, 2009-2016 24 11 Library relationship, 2017 24 12 Archives/office records, 2011-2017 24 13 90th anniversary, 2015 24 14 Office/donor relations, 2017 24 15 Expected collections, 2017 25 1-2 NAHA research, 2006-07 25 3-4 HIST 169 talk, 2007 25 5 Old research/NAHA, 2004-06 25 6 Old research/NAHA, 2006-11 25 7 Database “Leif”, 2005 26 1-2 Email correspondence, 2013 26 4-5 Email correspondence, 2014 26 6 Archives/office records, 2014 26 7-10 In-person visits, 2013-2015 26 11 Email correspondence, 2015 27 1-2 Email correspondence, 2015 27 3 Archives/office records, 2015 27 4-9 Patron research, 2014 27 10 Archives/office records, 2014 27 11 In-person visits,2015 27 12-13 Reference, 2015 28 1 Donor relations, 2015 28 2-4 Archive/Office general records, 2015-2016 28 5 In-person visits, 2016 28 6 Telephone calls, 2016 28 7 Email correspondence, 2016 28 8-9 Donor relations, 2016 28 10-11 Patron research, 2016 28 12 Patron visits, 2016 28 13 Email correspondence, 2016 28 14 Permission, photo use, 2016 28 15 Registration forms (completed), 2017 28 16 Donor relations, 2017 Jeff Sauve Research for Sons of Norway Includes archival materials in some cases. 29 1 Patriotic pancakes, 2013 29 2 Viking wine, 2013 29 3 Looking back, 2013 29 4 Looking Back Milwaukee’s Leif Erikson. 2011 29 5 Looking Back Emil Epseland, 2013 29 6 Looking Back Flour Sacks, 2013 29 7 Looking Back Windmills, 2013 29 8 Looking Back Covered Wagons, 2013 29 9 Looking Back Canada, 2017 29 10 Looking Back Discovering Norway, 2013 29 11 Thea Foss, 2013 29 12 Michigan timber, 2013 29 13 Longseth long-bearded man, 2013 29 14 Looking back poster, 2012 29 15 Looking Back Soelberg photo, 2012 29 16 Looking Back October Blizzard, 2012 29 17 Lookin Back Ole Bull, 2012 29 18 Looking Back Olympic-Sized Hoaxes, 2012 29 19 Looking Back Tobacco, 2011 29 20 Looking Back Smaragd, 2012 30 1 Archives visitor log, 1966 September-1971 March 30 2 Archives policies, 2003 30 3 Archives statistics, 1975 30 4 Archival materials to other institutions, 1950-1984 30 5 Archives of the ALC (Della Olsen) correspondence, 1969-1981 30 7 NAHA and St. Olaf Archives agreement, 2003-2004 30 8 Guest record, 2000-2005 30 9 Archives inquiries, 2018-2019 30 10 Research forms/Reading Room guidelines, 2017-2018 31 7 Reading Room guideline forms, 2019-2024 31 8 One-time use permission forms, 2019-2024 35 NAHA book collection (now in St. Olaf Special Collections) and National Union Catalog of Manuscripts Collections card catalog records from the Library of Congress 36 Archive visitor log, 1987-2000 Archives Donor Forms and Accession Logs 16 7 Archival donations, 2007 16 9 Acknowledgement 2008-09 18 5-6 Acknowledgements 2009-10 19 6 Donor Acknowledgements 2011 19 11 Donor Acknowledgements 2011 20 14 Donor Acknowledgements 2010-11 25 8 Donor acknowledgement Jun-Dec 2013 26 3 Donor acknowledgements Jan-May 2014 27 5 Donor acknowledgements Jun-Dec 2014 30 6 Archives correspondence, 2000-2009 Includes donor acknowledgements. 30 11 Deed of Gift forms, 2019 31 1 Donor agreements, 2006-2007 31 2-6 Deed of gift forms, 2019-2004 32 Accession legacy records A-H 33 Accession legacy records I-O 34 Accession legacy records P-Y Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Finding aid to the Archivist Records Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Archival Collection Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource NAHA archivist records, 1982-2024 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context P1003 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-2024 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Norwegian-American Historical Association Description An account of the resource Biography/History: The Norwegian-American Historical Association (NAHA) was founded on October 6, 1925, in the wake of the Norse-American Centennial—a four-day celebration that became a pivotal moment of cultural identity building, balancing pride in Norwegian heritage with a growing American identity. From its inception, NAHA has been headquartered at St. Olaf College, where it remains today. Now a century old, this independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization is supported by more than 1,000 members from across the United States, Canada, and Norway. NAHA’s founders were driven by a desire to move beyond the sentimental myths and hero-worship of early immigrant narratives. They sought instead a more rigorous, scholarly approach to preserving and interpreting the Norwegian-American experience. Their vision gave rise to a remarkable archive, dedicated to capturing and protecting the lived stories of Norwegian immigrants. Among NAHA’s early leaders were influential figures such as novelist and professor O.E. Rølvaag, historian Knut Gjerset, journalist Kristian Prestgard, and academic Laurence Larson. Central to NAHA’s mission was American historian Theodore Blegen, who became the founding editor of the Association’s publications. Blegen championed what he called a "grass-roots" approach to history—an emphasis on the everyday lives and voices of immigrants. Rather than spotlighting only the extraordinary, he focused on letters, diaries, and other primary sources to capture the experiences of ordinary men and women navigating the challenges of migration and settlement. Since 1926, NAHA has published Norwegian-American Studies, a scholarly journal now produced in partnership with the University of Minnesota Press. The journal, along with NAHA’s robust book publishing program, highlights research in fields such as history, literature, religion, art, and cultural studies. The organization has also played a vital role in amplifying women’s ethnic history, publishing works by and about immigrant women like Aagot Raaen, Gro Svendsen, Elisabeth Koren, and Elise Waerenskjold. NAHA is the steward of the largest archival collection of the Norwegian-American experience. In 1932, NAHA hired a young graduate student, Carlon Qualey, as its field agent. Qualey spent six weeks on the road that summer, scouring farms, churches, and towns in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois for papers related to Norwegian-American life. The documents he brought back to Northfield, combined with materials that had been collected earlier by Ole Rølvaag and Theodore Blegen, formed the foundation of the archives. The letters, ledgers, photographs, diaries, newspapers, and audio and video recordings housed here bring to life the Norwegian diaspora and its hundreds of thousands of individuals, businesses, and institutions. Over the past century, many individuals have served as archivists and curators at NAHA, including Ole E. Rølvaag, J. Jørgen Thompson, Beulah Folkedahl, Charlotte Jacobsen, Gary DeKray, Jeff Sauve, Kristell Benson, and Kristina Warner. Scope and Content: Records of the Norwegian-American Historical Association's archives program. Related collections in the NAHA Institutional Records include: Publication Records (P1000), Secretary Records (P1001), Financial Records (P1002), and Archivist Records (P1003). See P1001, SERIES IV: Archives Contributions and Correspondence for more information on the archival program. Funding: Funding to rehouse and describe the NAHA institutional records provided to the Norwegian American Historical Association through the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, a component of the Minnesota Clean Water, Land and Legacy constitutional amendment, ratified by Minnesota voters in 2008. Processing Information: Collection processed and described by Otelia Lighthill, Grace Peterson, and Kristina Warner. Language A language of the resource English Norwegian Extent The size or duration of the resource. 13.6 cubic feet (34 archive boxes) Access Rights Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies. Portions of the collection are restricted due to privacy. Contact the archivist for permission to view the material in the NAHA Archivist Records. Bibliographic Citation A bibliographic reference for the resource. Recommended practice is to include sufficient bibliographic detail to identify the resource as unambiguously as possible. [Indicated cited item here]. NAHA Archivist Records. Norwegian American Historical Association, Northfield, Minnesota.