Friday, June 19, 2020
Friday, June 12, 2020
Preface to "I Couldn't Milk Another Goat"
Preface to
"I Couldn't Milk Another Goat"
My Grandmother Carrie was almost 91 in 1969 when
she put her green-ink-filled fountain pen on paper to start her memoir. Her working space was a gnarly old desk in the
study on the second floor of their house on McKinley Street in Northeast Minneapolis. She made it to almost 10 pages but then
couldn’t finish it. She’d been in the
States since 1903 but rarely wrote anything in English - not even the grocery
lists she gave to her husband, Rasmus.
She didn’t want us to have to translate from Norwegian, so she felt
miserable when she stopped writing. I
was the one who had encouraged her to take on the project, so I was the one she
telephoned.
She had an absolutely amazing memory. This collaboration lasted until just a month
before she passed in 1974, just shy of 96 years of age.
Her firm wish was that I write the book as if
she were dictating it. She gave me
license to “add some spice” – akin to the way she thought about adding flavor
to her sometimes “mild tasting” Norwegian cooking. “I’ll let you add da
pepper” she said. This book is,
therefore, a historical novel. The main entrée
is hers with complementary side dishes I provide.
Since our collaboration on Carrie Thorson’s life
story took place almost 50 years ago, you might rightly ask… why a book
now? Why her? Of what possible interest is this lady to
me? Well, see if any of the questions
below are ones you might ask. If so, Carrie
Thorson has some answers.
Norwegian History
Why did so many Norwegians immigrate to America
in the late 19th and early 20th centuries? What was the process many went through to
make the trip? What did immigrants give
up when they left the “old country?” What
was life like when farming machinery was not yet available? What were the options when farms could no
longer sustain a family? What were rural
Norwegian schools like in the 19th and early 20th
centuries? How did the Nazis occupation
change Norwegian life during World War II?
Minnesota (especially Northeast Minneapolis) History
What kind of a city was Minneapolis like before
cars, telephones, radios, and residential electricity? Why was 1918 one of the worst years in
Minnesota history? In what ways did the
Great Depression affect life in Northeast Minneapolis? What did families do for entertainment? Who were the early politicians of renown in
the city and state?
Until recently I don’t
think I truly appreciated the gift Carrie Thorson had given me during our
talks. Her memory for events was amazing. It
took me several years to realize just how revealing she had been about subjects
many people were curious about.
Here are a
few things she had hand-scribed in Norwegian before electing to do the oral
history sessions with me:
Let
me also explain my “given” name change.
In Norway it was “Kari” but when I got to America, I immediately changed
it to “Carrie.” It wasn’t really my idea
but that of the attendant at Ellis Island who said she knew how it “should be”
spelled. I thought that was rude but
didn’t want to get in an argument with someone on my first day on American
soil. I could see me being deported for
insubordination. In my head, I’m still
Kari.
Carrie wanted her book to include a map of
Northeast Minneapolis showing how many residences her family lived in from 1905
to the time she had to sell the house on McKinley
Street in 1971.
While they did live in all nine listed below, four were vacated and kept as rental properties after
only a few months stay (#s 1, 2, 4, and 6).
To see a 40-second video clip of Carrie Kirkeeide Thorson in 1971 go to: www.tinyurl.com/CarrieKirkeeide
Another highly recommended video you
might view before continuing. In 2013
two young Norwegian fellows (Lars Gathe and Hartvig Johannsen) toured the U.S.
to document the lives of descendants of Norwegian immigrants.
It’s an amazing 51 minutes well worth your time:
Table of Contents of "I Couldn't Milk Another Goat: Goodbye Norway, Hello Minnesota"
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Preface
by Paul Arneson 5
Part
One First You Should Know
Chapter 1 Where I Come From (Nordfjord) 10
Chapter 2 Who We Are (The Kirkeeides) 17
Part
Two One Norwegian Immigrant’s Story
Chapter 3 1880s
Where Am I? 38
Chapter 4 1890s
What Do I Want to Do? 46
Chapter 5 1900s
Now Where Am I? 52
Chapter 6 1910s
Now a Family of Six With a Car 85
Chapter 7 1920s
Wonderful Years…at Least at First 100
Chapter 8 1930s
Work, Joy, Pain, and Missing Norway
136
Chapter 9 1940s
Ten Years of Uff Da 158
Chapter 10 1950s, ‘60s, and ‘70s Learning to Let Go 188
Part
Three Paul’s Epilogue 191
Part Four Carrie's Scrapbook 195
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)