Tag: Relatives

Auntie Ag

We called her Auntie Ag. She was my dad’s older sister, Agnes. She was a special aunt…she never married so her nieces and nephews were very important to her, and she treated us well. She pass away in 2004.

I don’t know the date of this photo of Auntie Ag…perhaps she was in her 20’s or 30’s?

Last summer I inherited a couple of her photo albums from the 1930-40’s. I was amazed at what I could glean from perusing the old photos, where few photos had captions, and very few were dated!

I have many good memories of Auntie Ag. I knew her well, particularly in her older years…But when I looked through her photos, I felt I learned a lot more about her as a young woman. I found it interesting that I felt I could capture her essence from the photos. I decided we had a lot of similar traits.

When I found this photo of Auntie Ag, I remembered a dress I wore to a high school winter dance that was similar. I don’t know the date of Ag’s photo. The photo of me was taken in 1969.

I resonated with the photo of my aunt overlooking Lake Superior when she was a young woman. The photo immediately caught my attention when looking through several of her old photo albums. 

Auntie Ag on the north shore. Date unknown.

One similarity is our love for Lake Superior and the north shore. It is my happy place. It was fun to see how often the north shore showed up in her photos, and to learn she went there often. I also know that my grandmother, my dad and Agnes’ mother, had a love for the north shore.

Me, on the north shore, 2022.

Another trait I share with Auntie Ag is she liked to travel. She liked to travel a lot; across the country, and to cozy cabins, and to Norway in later years. I like to travel too.

She was an adventurer…There were photos of her on hikes, on bikes, on horseback, on the water, on a toboggan, and fishing…what fun! I, too, am fond of adventure and new experiences.

You could see from the different photos she liked being with friends, and she had a lot of them. She loved hosting them for breakfasts and dinner parties, as do I. 

Auntie Ag, all dressed up.

Agnes’ mother, my grandma, was always well-dressed. I think there are stories of grandma having more than one trunk of clothes when she traveled to Norway. I noticed Aggie was always well-dressed in the photos. I know when she was older, her outfits “matched” and she always wore “matching” jewelry. I am not a fashion bug by any means, but do like to dress nice.

Auntie Ag’s nieces and nephews, photo taken in 1971. I am in the front row, in the red dress.

There were hundreds of photos of our families. I know Aggie loved her extended family. She was a believer and prayed for me (and for her nieces and nephews) all her life…and for that, I am grateful. I too, am a believer, and deeply love and pray for my family.

My Grandfather Torkel and Grandmother Elizabeth in the front row. Again, I’m not sure of the year this photo was taken. Elizabeth died in 1962. The siblings in the back row L to R: Herbert (my father), Agnes, Earl, Bob.

Happenings in Kaldestad, part 2

I haven’t mentioned much about my grandmother’s family.

She grew up in Prestnes, an area next to Kaldestad. And therefore, I have relatives in the area on her side of the family too. Jarle Prestnes is another second cousin – on my grandmother’s side. His grandfather and my grandmother were siblings. We had lunch with Jarle and his wife and one daughter, at their home in Bergen. They also traveled to Kaldestad, to Jarle’s father’s home, and Gary and I went there for an enjoyable dinner with his wife, daughter, and Jarle’s sister (and therefore, my second cousin) and her husband. 😉

Redden Jane, front left and Jarle, head of table, are siblings and my second cousins.
Jarle, my second cousin on my grandmother’s side.

We did not see my grandmother’s home this time however, in 2007 we were able to see Grandma Elizabeth’s house. It is not owned by anyone in the family. In fact, I’m not sure if it is still standing.

My grandmother’s family outside their house, early 1900’s. My grandmother is Elisabet (Elizabeth), the one in the white dress.
The front of my grandmother’s house. Photo taken in 2007.

Before leaving Kaldestad, I want to highlight a new boathouse. Some of the grandchildren built a boathouse across the inlet from the old boathouse. It is twin-peaked, modern, and painted white. The boathouse fits right in on the shoreline and is very attractive.

The new boathouse is the white one between the red and the gold one.
On the cement dock by the boathouse.

It has space for several boats and currently there is a kayak, a canoe, and a very special treasure…the old wooden row boat that my grandfather’s brother, Johnannes, used for his livelihood, fishing, back in the early 1900’s. 

The wooden boat underneath the kayak is the fishing boat my grandfather’s brother used in the early 1900’s.

Our times in this very special place, Kaldestad, was enjoyable, exciting, amazing and memorable! I am grateful.

As we left Kaldestad, my heart was full.

Norway Ties: Past and Present

Once upon a time, back in the 1800’s, Haktor Kaldestad married Brita Hovland. They were my great grandparents who lived in Norway and had five children. Johannes (born in 1878) and Torkel (born in 1887) were two of their five children.

Haktor Kaldestad (1853-1892) is the man next to the flagpole in the back.

Torkel, my grandfather, married Elizabeth and they had four children. They immigrated to the United States. Herbert, my father, was one of their sons.

In the 1960’s Herbert began working on his ancestry and started making contact with his family in Norway. Herbert traveled to Norway in 1969 to re-connect with them, and it has been a very good thing as our families continue to connect with each other to this day.

Johannes, Torkel’s brother, married Sella and they had five children. They lived in Norway. Hakon was one of their sons (a first cousin to Herb). Hakon had four children: Jomar, Anund, Heine and Siv.

Last week Jomar and his wife Bente, Heine and his wife Kari, flew to Minnesota from Norway for a vacation in the United States, to visit family and travel to the East Coast. We were grateful we were a part of their itinerary. It was a delight to have them stay with us for a couple of nights. It was not the first time they have been here…they have been to our home in Northfield before, and we have been in their homes in Norway.

We had such a good time filled with lots of laughter and joy. Many more good memories were made to add to our collection of great times together.

Happy to be hosting cousins and their wives from Norway.

The one thing I thought of as we were talking about our ancestors is that my great-grandchildren will probably not know my name, or my husband’s name. Without our ancestry chart I would not have known the names of my grandparent’s parents…how fleeting our lives are.

So I hope to make a difference in the lives of my children and grandchildren.

“Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
Remind me that my days are numbered—
how fleeting my life is.”  Psalm 39:4