A Centerfold and More!

The book committee is in the process of proofing and placing photos in appropriate sections. There are many wonderful photos for us to use. In fact, we plan on having several pages with only photos and captions. The committee, in good nature refers to this as our "centerfold". It may be of interest for you to know that our book contains 69 family/farm histories. This includes nine family farm stories where the farm has being in the same family for 150 years or more. We have had 111 individuals write stories for the book and we have 327 individual articles. The total word count is 171,000 words. end

Modern Cook Stove

In 1860, a early pioneer family wrote a letter back home to Norway telling about a cookstove that was multipurpose. "And we have bought a cooking stove which cost $36, and with that one we can cook, fry pork, bake bread and make coffee, all at the same time."

This information came from Svend Svensen and Guri Sandersdatter.

The Governor Ate Here

The story is told about "Burke's Black Lantern Cafe" which was a business establishment in Norseland during the 1930's. The cafe was a type of outside restaurant and was located across the street from the Norseland Store.

Sibley Burke, proprietor of the cafe, was considered a man ahead of his time and very flamboyant. Evidently, Floyd B. Olson, who later became the Governor or the state stopped at the Burke restaurant. He ordered an "onion sandwich". The cook was fresh out of onions and had to rob a neighbor's garden to fulfill the request. I imagine that made the sandwich taste even better. end

The Governor Ate Here

Rivalries at District 46

"In that school the Swedes and Norwegians were equally divided with one German family and one half German family in the minority. I was half Norwegian and half Swedish, so I was the swing vote, although we never really argued about nationality except in fun. However, we did argue about breeds of cattle. Of course, the Swensons and others dominated with their Holsteins. My father had Shorthorns which weren't very highly regarded. The favorite comment we used to taunt the Holstein people with, was to say that they might as well milk the water tank!"
......Ruth Snyder Larson

4-H Club Congress

The Norseland 4-H has sent four outstanding 4-Hers to the national 4-H Club Congress. They were:
Jean Blomstin in 1946;
Grace Johnson in 1957;
Burt Johnson in 1962;
Karen Annexstad in 1969.
The Club Congress was the premier award for 4-Hers from all over the country. It was held every year sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas. If my memory is correct, it was held at the Palmer House, a hotel of great distinction in Chicago, Illinois. end

4-Her Broke the Gender Barrier

Lorraine Gunderson Struck was a member of the Norseland 4-H in the early 1930’s. Lorraine broke the gender barrier when she exhibited a hog at the Nicollet County Fair in 1932. She was the first girl to exhibit livestock at the fair. In the 4-H show, her competitor was her cousin and Lorraine’s entry was the top hog. The following day, the same two hogs were shown in the open class division and the order was reversed.end

WCCO Radio Commercial

Someone who grew up in Norseland took a class trip to the "big city". While the class was in Minneapolis, they toured WCCO radio and watched Cedric Adams do his show. This someone was a lucky student, because Cedric Adams, "Mr. Midwest" chose him or her, to take part in a commercial. So our Norseland young person became a radio personality telling all of the listeners to buy Tide detergent. Find out who this is when our book is printed. As of this time, our book will be 300 pages. end

Baseball Ringer

Some years ago, maybe in the 30's or 40's, the Norseland Store sponsored a baseball team. To help the team out, the Store hired a excellent athlete to come and work at the store during the summer and play with the team.
It was noted that these ringers might be good ball players, but did not make good store clerks. Most often they might be found sleeping in a obscure corner. end

FROM BUTTERHEAD TO ANGELS

The Norseland Community has three women who achieved the distinction of being a finalist in the Princess Kay of the Milky Way Contest. They are Joanne Bergevoet in 1956, Melody Schultz in 1974, and Denise Hermanson in 1978.

The last two women were contestants who had their heads carved in butter as part of the Minnesota State Fair activities. When asked what she did with the butter, Denise Hermanson said, "My Mom froze it and then at Christmas time, she cut it into chunks and gave to family members to use to make Christmas cookies." I bet angels never tasted so good! end

EARLY FEMINIST

In 1934, Mrs. Chester B. Nelson was elected Clerk of the District 6 School Board. Records indicated she served in that position until 1941. This was fairly uncommon for a woman to serve in elected office during that time frame. end

SCHOOL DAYS

While millions of students all over the country are going back to school and fussing and fuming about "what to wear" and hoping to be sure to portray that "cool" image; it is well to remember that many of their grandparents went to school under very different conditions.

For example, students at District 4 in Lake Prairie Township a few years ago were content to have two changes of clothes to wear to school. "We wore the same set of clothes all week," said Fred Hanson Jr. Then the Mom's would launder that set and the following week the students wore the second set of clothes. Alternating like that got them through the whole school year with little "to do" about "what to wear".

There was probably some changes from short sleeve to long sleeve shirts or the addition of a sweater when the winter weather came along. The District 4 alumni have some interesting stories that will be published in our Norseland History book. Keep the information coming. Send your stores to norseland150@gmail.com end

Commemorative Medallion

A limited edition Commemorative Medallion is now available for the Norseland Sesquicentennial. This limited edition pewter finish ornament depicts the Norseland General Store, the steeple of Norseland Lutheran Church, and the bell tower of Scandian Grove Lutheran Church. These are wonderful commemoratives and will make good gifts for family and friends. They also will made great Christmas tree ornaments. Medallions are $10 and are available at Norseland Lutheran Church, Scandian Grove Lutheran Church, or Traverse De Sioux Garden Center in St. Peter. The medallions have the same image which is printed on the community T-shirts.

GUARD DOG AND A TRACTOR TOO?

During World War II it was hard to get farm machinery. There were also price controls placed on machinery to allow for some fairness in the marketplace. Davis Renneke, who farmed in New Sweden Township told about farm auctions and unscrupulous auctioneers. I interviewed the late Davis Renneke in 1992. This is what he told me. "Items like tractors were hard to come by and would bring big prices, if it weren't for the price controls. To get around that ruling, they would not sell the tractor. They would tie a dog to the tractor and sell the dog--and everything with it." Remember History Matters! end

THE T SHIRTS ARE HERE!

The Norseland 150 Community Celebration T Shirts with our official logo are available at Traverse des Sioux Garden Center in St. Peter. They are located on the north end of town just off Highway 169. Their telephone number is 931-6683.

Independence Day Celebrations

We all have our traditions and celebrating the 4th of July is one of them. Over the years, families, friends, community members form groups that follow traditions of picnics, parades, fun and games. One July 4th many years ago was pretty special.

On July 4, 1926, a great celebration was held in the grove at the home of John and Gulina and Gust and Olga Annexstad. Minnesota Governor Theodore Christianson was the invited speaker and enthralled a crowd of 2,000 people. The St. Peter Herald reported, “Favored indeed was the Norseland Community by the presence of the state’s executive who brought a message on ‘Obligations of Citizenship’ to his friends and hearers that will not soon be forgotten. Out of the hundreds of communities who sought his presence that day, Norseland was the favored one.”

Read more about it in our history book. end

AN ACT OF GOD?

Generally, the Norseland Community has been “dry”. However, at one time (perhaps during the 1930’s) a tavern was opened and operated for a time. At least one current resident was able to make an underage purchase of a case of beer at said tavern. According to Jerry Johnson, the pastor at Scandian Grove Lutheran Church was not thrilled that there was a tavern in the community. Jerry Johnson said, “our preacher preached about closing (it) and how happy he as that it melted into the dust.” The tavern burned to the ground when the sawdust used to keep the ice ignited from spontaneous combustion. Could it have been an Act of God? Find out who was able to buy the case of beer and other good stuff when our book is published. Remember History Matters!

Rural Youth Have Aged

In 1960, the Rural Youth Group in Nicollet County was changing. The young single people who made up the group were getting married! What to do? What to do? Why not start a young married couples group? Good Idea!!!!!
With the help of Fred Wetherill, County Agent, the Nicollet County Young Couple's Club was born. Now, 48 years later, we are still a couple's club - even though we are not young! We have taken the word "young" out of our name - but we are still young in other ways. How you ask?
We probably hold the record for the group that has attended the most Syttende Mai events at Hanska. That would be 18 years that our group has laughed at those Norwegians.
We have held Halloween Costume parties; gone roller skating; taken mystery trips; held hay rides, progressive dinners, fondue parties and more. We like history and we have seem many historic sites and learned much about the people who settled our area. Read more about our group in the book in progress. REMEMBER HISTORY MATTERS! end

New Sweden township history

In the 1890’s the township started graveling roads. The town purchased several gravel pits, and the graveling was done by men who had been assessed one or more days of work on the road.

An interesting entry from the annual meeting of 1898 reads as follows:

“on motion it was resolved that no one whatsoever shall be allowed to enter upon the public highway with their plows for the purpose of using said highway to scour their plows, nor for any other purpose, both before and after said highway has been graded”.

An entry from the annual meeting of March 10, 1914 reads, “on motion it was resolved to pay 20 cents an hour for man and 20 cents an hour for a team of horses or mules for road labor.”end

Tell Us Your Story

The committee is looking for your story to publish in our book. Our members are doing research - but we need your help to get the "good stuff" that only you community members know about. Our research is limited to what was printed in local newspapers and some documented histories of families and organizations. A lot of you folks who live in other areas grew up here and have many good memories and stories of happenings that did not make the local paper!
Please take a moment and jot down your accounting and send it to our Google mail box at norseland150@gmail.com or make a comment on this blog and we will use your story in our history book. Thanks for your help! And remember, History Matters! end

LEFSE BY MARY

Ole and Mary Olmanson were Norseland residents. Ole-1876-1968; Mary 1881-1964. Mary was famous for baking Lefse. In 1959, she was featured in a Mankato Free Press article and was quoted as follows: "I have made about 32,000 lefse in my lifetime!"

That's a lot of lefse! Ole said that the secret was to wait for the potato, shortening, sugar, and salt mixture to cool before adding the flour. Read more about lefse in our Norseland History book, entitled "Norseland: Where the Big Woods Meets the Prairie". Remember, History Matters! end

150th Anniversary Logo

Grasshopper Plague

The pioneers in the Norseland Area were attacked by grasshoppers during the years of 1874-1877. The worst year was 1875. During that year, Nicollet County reported 5,000 acres of damage. During this plague, the state of Minnesota allowed counties to offer a bounty on all grasshoppers caught and destroyed. The price paid by the Nicollet County Auditor was from three to ten cents a bushel. Read a full account of the plague in our coming book. Find out which Nicollet County farmer caught 633 bushels of them. Learn about the cottage industry that developed as local entrepreneurs built "hopperdozers" to trap the locusts. Remember, "History Matters!" end

IS IT MURDER?

IS IT MURDER? That was the headline of the St. Peter Tribune in 1889.

In 1889, the possibility of murder shocked the community. Mr. and Mrs. Svenke Torgerson were found dead in the burned-out remains of their home. Svenke Torgerson was 73 years of age and his wife, Bergit, was 69 years old. They had been among the earliest Norwegian settlers in New Sweden Township having arrived in 1855. Their farm-site was established in the northern part of New Sweden Township. The Torgersons were charter members of Norseland Lutheran Church and, eight years prior to their death, also were founding members of Norwegian Grove Lutheran Church.

The suspicion of their murder arose because, as the St. Peter Tribune points out, “some very tough looking hunters” were seen in the area the previous day. Some “tramps” were seen traveling toward Nicollet the afternoon after their death. Also, a wagon was heard speeding through the neighborhood between 1:00 and 2:00 o’clock of that morning.

Read the rest of the story in our book to be published in 2008. end

T-Shirts and The Big Woods

The Norseland Community 150th Anniversary Committee met this past week. Here is an update.

1. We have interesting historical data on “The Big Woods”. This will be used in the introduction of our book which will be entitled: “Norseland: Where the Big Woods Meets the Prairie”.
2. Financially we are looking good with a cash balance of $12,675.75 in our treasury. We are grateful to the Schmidt Foundation of St. Peter for a substantial part of these funds. Committee members will be calling on area businesses and asking them to donate. We are registered as a non-profit through the Nicollet County Historical Society so donations will be tax exempt. If you care to donate make checks to Norseland 150 and mail to Myrna Schoeb, 37658 410th Street, St. Peter, Mn. 56082. Your donations are much appreciated.
3. We will be ordering small refrigerator magnets with our logo and the date of the event on them. These will be distributed at the Nicollet County Fair. A magnate advertising our event on your refrigerator door is always a good way to remember a special celebration.
4. Norseland 150 T shirts are being ordered and are expected to be available at the Norseland Lutheran Church’s Syttende Mai dinner on May 17 and Scandian Grove’s Memorial Day dinner which is May 28.
   
   Historical Bits of Information
   During the years of 1874-1876, the farmers in the Norseland area suffered the scourge of grasshoppers. The plague was so bad that one farmer wrote to his relatives in Sweden that he would give up everything and return to his native land if things did not get better. During this time the Minnesota legislature allowed county auditors to pay grasshopper bounties from 3-10 cents a bushel.
   School District 4 residents decided to build a 26x38 foot frame building for a school in 1876. The low bid for the building was $822 by Swan Johnson.
   Country schools were eliminated in the late 1940’s. The state legislature passed a law asking counties to set up school-survey committees to examine the strengths and weaknesses of their local school systems. This was the impetus for consolidation of districts and the end of rural one-room schools. Read more about all of these subjects in our book to be published in 2008. end

Bits of Farm History

The committee has received historical accounts from two area farms which have been in the same family for 150 years or more. The Andrew Thorson farm, now owned by his great granddaughter, Donna Pankratz and the Swen Swenson Jr. farm, now operated by great, great grandson Paul Swenson and his wife Cindy.

History at a glance

The Thorson farm was the site of the formation of the Scandian Grove Lutheran Church.
A house on this farm was constructed from lumber salvaged from taking down a church building from the Norseland Lutheran Church. Pankratz writes the following about the house construction done by Ole Olson. “It must have been the two front doors of the church that he put into the pantry door opening as we had two swinging doors there. Another unique thing was the inside doors were installed upside down so the door handles were lower than normal.”

The Swenson farm has been the home of Registered Holstein cattle since 1885. The farm has also produced governmental leaders. Swen Swenson served a term in the State Legislature, his son Oscar Swenson served many years in the Minnesota House of Representatives, and Oscar’s grandson, Howard Swenson served 10 years in the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Read the Rest of the Stories – when the Norseland History book is published next year.end

Sesquicentennial Farms

Information is coming in from area farms that have been in the same family for 150 years or more. Thank you all very much. 150 years has meant drastic changes in the way we farm. Check this site for some dramatic examples! end

With a Little Help From Our Friends

The Norseland Community is large in enthusiasm, but pretty small in manpower. When faced with a task of collecting historical information about the community, the Norseland 150th Anniversary Committee asked for some help. The help came in the way of Sarah Wolter’s Interpersonal Communication Class at Gustavus Adolphus College.

The class assignment was to conduct an interview with complete strangers. Certainly it takes some particular skills to establish a rapport with a complete stranger and then get them to open up and answer personal questions. These are the kinds of skills needed if students want to go on to become journalists. The class needed people who would be willing to be interviewed and the 150th Anniversary Committee needed historical information for our project. A partnership was developed and on March 20 a meeting was arranged at the Norseland Lutheran Church. Our committee lined up 17 people from the area to attend and be interviewed. The class was comprised of 21 students who came to Norseland from the campus. Our committee had prepared a list of topics pertinent to the Norseland Community and students also had an opportunity to pose their own questions. The final product of each interview will be placed on a compact disc and presented to our committee.

The students accomplished in one afternoon what would have taken many, many hours for our committee.
Our event got some publicity that day also as, Ruth Kossner, editor of The Ledger attended and did a front-page story in the Mar. 29 edition. Thanks to all who made this event a success. Community members who were interviewed were: Paul and Lois Bjorklund, Harold and Louise Rodning, Caroll and Elaine Hermanson, Don and Laurie Webster, Bob and Corinne Johnson; Jerry Johnson, Duane Olmanson, Hubert Anderson, Garfield Eckberg, Margaret Norell, Margaret Annexstad, and Beatrice Enter. Willard and Marilyn Bjorklund were interviewed at a later date by a student who was ill that day.

This event continues a unique partnership between Gustavus Adolphus and the Norseland Community. Early settlers to Norseland were responsible for encouraging the location of Gustavus in the city of St. Peter. end

You Been Farming Long?

Remember the poster of the two little boys in their bib overalls? They were standing in the yard, about to kick a bit of gravel with the toe of one of their work boots. One of them had his hands in the pockets of his overalls. The one dimensional poster invited the viewer to imagine that one looked down a bit and then tilted his head back up and looked at the first little boy and asked, “You been farming long?”

The Norseland/New Sweden Community has quite a few little boys that grew into men and then farmed for quite a long time. Farms started over 100 years ago have been passed down from generation to generation. The Minnesota Century Farm program acknowledges those farms and a listing at the Nicollet County Museum indicates 21 farms in the Norseland/New Sweden Area that have been in the same family for over 100 years.
(These are the names of the farm owners at the time Century Farm designation was bestowed. Today, the farms may be officially owned by different family members.)
1. James Allerson
2. Hubert Anderson
3. Martin Annexstad
4. Marian Anthony
5. Robert Bjorklund
6. Wayne Bjorklund
7. William Brandt
8. Garfield Eckberg
9. Carroll Hermanson
10. Ernest Jonason
11. Harvey Johnson
12. Emily Lokensgard
13. Richard Nelson
14. Duane/Marilyn Olmanson
15. Valborg Pearson
16. Allen Quist
17. Warren Rodning
18. Howard Swenson
19. Ellis Thorson
20. Floyd Tungsvik
21. Don Webster
Several of these farms have been in the same family for 150 or more years. These farms will be highlighted in our book. Remember, HISTORY MATTERS.end

Financing the Event

The committee is planning on having T shirts printed. (I hope to have our logo posted here soon. - Hoping that our computer guru, Dick Kinkeade can take care of that task.) We will have them on sale at the Nicollet County Fair or before! Look for our booth at the fair. It will be an opportunity for you to volunteer to help with the celebration. We have secured a grant from the Schmidt Foundation to help defray some of the expenses. Also, Garfield solicited a donation from our State Representative, Terry Morrow. Thank you very much Rep. Morrow!

Garfield has also contacted the Minnesota Sesquicentennial Office and made an application for grant funding. We are covering all the bases as they say. Speaking of baseball, I believe there is some very interesting historical information about Norseland Baseball and Softball teams. If anyone can contribute memories - please send them along. norseland150@gmail.com That's all for now.
Remember - HISTORY MATTERS
end

Norseland Community 150th Anniversary Committee

The committee that is working on the Norseland Sesquicentennial is as follows:

• Co-Chairs: Fred Struck and Garfield Eckberg
• Evie Swenson, Secretary
• Myrna Schoeb, Treasurer
• Pastor Craig Ferkenstad
• Pastor Jerry Lanes
• Dick Kinkeade
• Darwin Gunderson
• Emilie Lokensgard
• Margie Eckberg
• Judy Schultz
• Randy Swenson
• Janel Swenson
• Judy Hanson

The committee has been meeting almost every month since June, 2006. Subcommittees have been designated including: parade, supper, and afternoon events. Anyone interested in helping is encouraged to call Garfield or Fred. Garfield's number is 246-5025. Fred's number is 931-6047.

The Norseland Party Line

Remember the days of the party lines? It was common to have ten or twelve people all sharing the same telephone line with each person having a special "ring". Those were the days before privacy became a governmental issue. The point is that those party lines became a source of news in the neighborhood and one could even have a conference call if you chose to. When an emergency happened in the rural area, neighbors used the partly line to get help.

Those days are gone but we still want to communicate. Today our neighbors are all across the nation and world. We want everyone to know about the excitement in Norseland as we plan for our 150th Anniversary. This is our new party line and we hope everyone will read it and add news. The excitement and planning are building daily. Just yesterday I got a call from a neighbor (who lives in California). Wayne Johnson who said he had left the area 50 years ago called to find out about the Anniversary Celebration. He asked that we let other relatives of his know about the plans: Sylvia Johnson, and his sister who lives in Baxter, Mn. (Name escapes me right now, and I can't find my note.)

We are finding out all kinds of interesting historical facts like- there were a couple of pick pockets that took advantage of church members leaving Scandian Grove during one of their celebrations.

There was a member of the community kidnapped and taken to Iowa. You will be able to read all about it when our book is printed. If you have your own history to add or just remembrances, we have set up a Google mail box. You can e mail your comments and information to norseland150@gmail.com OR make your comments right here on the blog.end