Sioux Falls, Sunday A.M. Sept. 8th 1929

Dear Mr. Rølvaag and family,

I assume that you all have now returned to your home in Northfield, so it is not out of the way if I sent some words from us. I have heard exceedingly little from you all this summer, but likewise you have not gotten many letters from here either. Today it is raining incessantly, so I cannot go out, (was in the church last P.M.) and so I said to myself that today you have to write, but then I find a lot that is interesting to read, for example Lutheranen, for this week there is a lot to reach, and then we have just gotten a new book The Norwegian Pioneer’s History in Minnehaha Co. that is very interesting to me, and suddenly it is almost evening, but now some words. 

The aforementioned story has been considered to get out there the past 3 years, and some few had certainly toiled with this task of gathering materials that could be of interest and use for coming relatives, but we do not have many that are skilled at writing, so the book is headed by poor language in many cases, and many printing errors. I did not know that there would be as many as there are.

But enough about that, in some days I will send one to you all so you yourselves can judge its worth. At the back of the book is a whole picture gallery, where Jennie especially will recognize many. The biographies are not so bad, but there are not as many as there should be.

Now a little from home. Tilda traveled to Chicago again on Thursday after having been home around 1 year. Ida has not taken up any steady work yet, so she is mostly at home. Christina manages the house upkeep, and is working on the preservation of fruit for winter use. Of the one apple tree we have here we got a number of apples. It was so loaded with apples that the branches hung all the way down to the lawn. We also got some plums here this year. There are also some plums and grapes on the farm, but of the apples there is not a single one on the farm that can be used because of a kind of rot. 

It was a hasty Wednesday of weather from the strong heat last Sunday and Monday to close to freezing on Wednesday. Since Friday it has rained a lot of the time until now and the cold is remaining so that we must fire up the ovens.

Augustana College began its business last week. John says that he really likes the new President Preus. I was be present at the school’s opening on Thursday and was quite impressed with his leadership and speech.

Here is an affectionate greeting to you all

From Father and Grandfather Berdahl

Now I hope to hear from some of you about how you have been doing throughout the summer, and how soon we can wait for the translated book.

Answer to your questions

First, the harvest in 1893 was somewhat subpar to a regular year because of too little precipitation throughout the spring and summer (and the fall was dry). Wheat, which we then harvested much of, gave such a good yield, especially on new land, “Sod”.

2 and 3: In the winter in ‘93 and ‘94 there was not a lot of snow, mostly in the month of March right before the spring.

5 and 6, the spring of 1894 was dry- a little wet in the earth from the spring snow so that the sod grew; but with the summer the strong heat waves came so that the sod that was not deep in the earth faded away after having grown some 6 or 8 inches. Wheat and barley were not cut in our settlement. We put the rest on the highway and raked it together for the livestock there. Wheat, on the other hand, withstood the drought better, so we got a little of it that was sewn on new land.

A little grass grew on the prairie; but strangely enough, it was this fine Buffalo grass, that we had not seen before, and the cattle, the few we still had, found sustenance in this grass, although it was faded and brown in the month of August. Grass that could stand for hay could not be found outside of the lowest grove at the creek bottom. Yes, we sold almost all of our young livestock and old cows early in the fall, or just gave them away. Some of us got together and sent a bar-load [sic] or 2 to Sioux City and got 2 to 3 per pound, maybe even less for the older cows. For 2 good years’ young cattle I got about $6.00 tidy.

The winter of 1895 still remained dry, without snow until out in March, and not much cold weather- so that the cattle and especially the horses could go outside for the entire winter and live off this dried Buffalo grass, like on the large ranches west of the Missouri River. This was a great fortune for us all, and especially for those who did not have Bottomland to hay. We each got some loads by the creek.

For the livestock we scraped together everything that the cattle could chew such as the dried-up wheat and barley yield and some corn that dried, before there was a head on it.

In March 1895 we got some snow, followed by rain later, throughout both the spring and the summer, in suitable quantities, and this year produced the largest yield we had ever gotten.

The drought began already in 1892, rain lessened in 1893 until it culminated in the summer of 1894 without rain into a terrible hot wind, that felt as if one stood by a glowing oven. I do not recall that we ever had such a heat later.

[In English] It was the hot Chinook wind from the South wast [sic] for weeks at a time during June and July especially, and off and on until late in the fall. [In Norwegian] We had some of these hot winds on simple summer days before, but not so long-lasting as this summer.

If there were some real need you ask: 

Oh no: not in our settlement as far as I know. They had a little to fall back on- they had young livestock and pigs to slaughter and most people had wheat on hand to convert into flour; and by this way of living they were saved.

But most people did not have enough sod for the next year and no money for it.

The county commissioners were therefore begged if they could, with the County’s resources, make a purchase of enough wheat, oats, and barley for everyone who enrolled as in need, despite the fact that they gave their bill and collateral in the crop.

This was done- and the County came out of it without any thanks; although the prices were so shamefully low that fall. Oats and barley were sold for 10 to 15¢ per bushel. Wheat around 40¢. 

The Great Harvest- (overproduction) was blamed on the Grain Gamblers, and Grover Cleveland, the Democratic President, got the blame from most Republicans.

When and how it went such that we became Populists–

The party had their first Presidential Candidate in 1892. In the 80’s there were some Farmers’ Organizations formed, such as the Grange- The Farmers Alliance and others.

The producing class saw that the industries with the help of the highest fold got the upper hand–

Then The Peoples Party was organized (nicknamed Populists).

By the beginning of the 90’s many independent industries began to merge together so they could better control the prices of their products and milk the consumer.

The petroleum industries were certainly the first ones. John D. Rockefeller began to buy up the smaller companies- other industries such as the [in English] milling companies, lumber companies, packing houses, and a host of others followed in quick succession. He foresaw where this would bring the producing class.

To break up the monopolies already formed and to prevent others was a part of our program. As was also our opposition to the demonitisation [sic] of silver. But in 1896 we lost out on account of disagreement within our own ranks.

[In Norwegian] As a political party we were out too late. These industries were already so well protected and sat with how much power in the government structure, that they then could and have to this day controlled the government’s policy.

[In English] Therefore all the hue and cry about Farm relief. There is an enormous wealth in this nation; but all the wealth produced goes into the hands of the monopolized industries.

[In Norwegian] Regarding if there was anything unusual that happened in the years 93-94-95?

When the drought began to become serious in the month of June, people read in the newspapers about a man someplace in Iowa that could summon rain. They could report on many places where he had summoned substantial rain clouds, etc.

Then there began to come some petitions to the Co. Commissioners to hire this man. We declined to have something to do with this, (I was especially one of them these 3 years).

But some days after our session in June, a mob of farmers from different parts of the county were received in Sioux Falls and in order to peacefully silence them, the sheriff and some businessmen went in to guarantee this Rainmaker $200 to come. A request was sent for the Co. Com. to come in for an extra meeting. Two of us protested against this, but the other 3 voted for it. A contract with this swindler was then written that he would get $200 to begin his operations, and if he summoned rain reasonably evenly over the County in a week he would get $400 more. But it went badly for him here, he did not get it to rain, so it was just $200 that he got.

The commissioners from M. Cook and Hanson Counties came here while he went along with his rainmaking and bought the rights from him for $100 each, so he did good business just the same.

How corrupted and ridiculous those people can be who have no faith in an all-powerful God.

When I came home again from this rainmaking meeting to Garretson, there was a farmer who wanted to beat me up because I had voted against and written something against this.

Jan 30th 1929

Yes, now I will finish. You will have to excuse how jumbled this is with Norwegian and English; but you understand what I mean. If there were to be anything that I left out or you wanted to know more about, I am at your disposal.

Prof. Blegen held a very good lecture for illumination of the book Peder Seier at our last Brotherhood meeting. This was a very good review, I thought, of this, as well as shorter references to Giants in the Earth. I understand that your books have had many sales here now, which we are all excited about. 

All my greetings from Father and Grandfather