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Letter from Ole Rølvaag to Jennie Rølvaag, 1931 April 2
- Title
- Letter from Ole Rølvaag to Jennie Rølvaag, 1931 April 2
- Identifier
- p0584_10348
- p0584_10349
- Date
- 1931 April 2
- Description
- Ole Rolvaag's letter to Jennie Rolvaag.
- Translation:
My dear girl!
Now it is not carefree because I am not sulky. The letters from home have been much rarer recently. Fritjof has stopped writing. You have been especially great; Tulla just so-so.
But life’s passage is just like that. Fritjof is quite a problem. His future is becoming everything but bright. It is not possible for us, either, to get gray hair over it. He is now grown up and gets to sail his own sea. It is easier said than done that this time there are 7,000,000 unemployed in the country.
To let him begin at St. Olaf in the fall, I believe, is just to make life worse for him. He has not thrown himself into books and homework through the 4 years in high school. How will he be able to do when he comes into college? There, a long, large freedom is to reign. If he could work for a year’s time, I believe it would be best. Should the desire for books awake, it is not too late to begin at college. One thing is sure: I do not want to throw him without getting an unbreakable promise that he will take the spoon in another hand.
For two days now I have struggled with translation. Everything I have wondered over is 12 pages. This seems to be about as bad as the first paragraph was good. This work is utterly killer; it takes both the power and the strength from a person. I never want to try to translate another book to English. If I write more, it can be in English.
Monday morning Mrs. N and Caroline and her two children are coming back. I have then my room and can get all the work done I need. Hope to go out and swim. I have not been in the sea more than one time. All the same I have gotten much good out of my swimsuit. If it is clear and warm in the morning, I put it on and go outside for at least half an hour’s time. This, I know, has not hurt me.
The 4th of April they are selling a return ticket between Kansas City and Missouri, good for 15 days, for 58 dollars! It is possible there are points further north where this ticket can be bought from. Tomorrow I want to go down to the office and find out. If I see you can use the opportunity, I will telegraph you. But presumably this will not suit our plans.
Tomorrow I am sure to get a letter from home. They usually come Thursday and Friday. So far I have not heard more from Boe than that letter I sent you. Yes, yes, him about that!
Tragic that it would go like that for Rockne. His wife and children had not long left Newburger’s new house.
No, now I will stop. Tonight I want to go to bed early.
Yours
Ole
- Funding to digitize the O.E. Rølvaag Papers was 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.
- 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) Paul Gunnar (1915-1920).
- Type
- Text
- Format
- Letters (correspondence)
- Contributor
- Rølvaag, Jennie Marie Berdahl
- Rights
- No Copyright - the United States
- http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/
- The organization that has made the Item available believes that the Item is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. The Item may not be in the Public Domain under the laws of other countries. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information.
- Bibliographic Citation
- [Indicate the cited item here]. O.E. Rølvaag Papers. Norwegian American Historical Association, Northfield, Minnesota.