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Letter from Ole Rølvaag to Jennie Rølvaag, 1931 May 21

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Title
Letter from Ole Rølvaag to Jennie Rølvaag, 1931 May 21
Identifier
p0584_10364
Date
1931 May 21
Description
Translation: 

Dear old woman!

The enclosed letter just came. You have shared so many of both my sorrows and joys that you must be the first to also share this. You can let Boe read the letter, but with the understanding that he holds his tongue.

When I saw who the letter was from, I barely had enough strength to open it, and when I had read it, I sat here and cried. Scarcely any letter has affected me deeper. The men down do not like to brag, especially not about a lousy Norwegian-American!

This means that the book has taken off. And that means so little amongst these “hard-boiled” men down there. I am happy, you should know! If I could only hold out until I have gotten the translation done. It is this you will live off of in your old days! 

You should read the letter for the children, and translate for them what they do not understand. 

Yours 

Ole

P.S. I may have to go to Norway to read the proof- provided I feel strong enough to make the trip.

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).
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.
Ole Rølvaag's letter to Jennie Rølvaag.
Type
Text
Format
Letters (correspondence)
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.

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Rølvaag, O. E. (Ole Edvart), 1876-1931, “Letter from Ole Rølvaag to Jennie Rølvaag, 1931 May 21,” Digital Collections, accessed October 18, 2026, https://norwegianamericanhistory.org/digital-collections/items/show/4693.