Saturday, March 31, 2007

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

2 comments:

Norseland Community Preservation Association said...

This looks like a lot of fun, Judy. As a relatively "new" person to Norseland/New Sweden, our stories only go back thirty-three years, so I am looking forward to reading the stories of old! I hope people will write so we can read.
sue schott

sue schott said...

Okay, I fixed it now... I can post as myself... I used the account name and password you gave me but then it came up as if I were posting as you... now I can post with my own name...
sue schott