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Jennie Marie Berdahl was born on June 1, 1879 in Minnehaha County, South Dakota to Andrew James and Karen Oline (Otterness) Berdahl. Jennie was born in a sod hut before South Dakota received statehood. She attended Augustana Academy in Canton, S.D. and was a county school teacher. Jennie Berdahl married Ole Rølvaag in 1908 and lived in Northfield, MN. Together they had four children: Olaf Arnljot (1909-1915), Ella Valborg Tweet (1910-2003), Karl Fritjof (1913-1990), and Paul Gunnar (1915-1920).
In this interview, Jennie Rølvaag talks about her pioneer father, Andrew Berdahl, and his life in South Dakota territory, and her marriage to Ole Rølvaag.