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Preface

An experimental course on Scandinavian women in the Pacific Northwest that I taught during the spring of 1979 provided the initial impetus for documenting the life experiences of Scandinavian immigrants. My students eagerly sought out local female informants in order to learn about such things as food traditions, home remedies, and ethnic organizations. At the same time, they learned the value of first-person testimony.

In the months that followed, two of the students and I launched, with support from the President’s Office at Pacific Lutheran University (PLU), the recording of oral history interviews with persons of Scandinavian heritage. For this pilot project, we focused on individuals who had played important roles in the history of the university.

Expansion of the collecting effort was made possible by a two-year grant from the L. J. Skaggs and Mary C. Skaggs Foundation of Oakland, California. The grant allowed us to define a broader target population—first-generation Scandinavians who had settled in the Pacific Northwest during the early decades of the twentieth century. The grant-sponsored interviewing and tape processing began in 1981, with dedicated involvement by several PLU students, former students, and staff members. Additional funding for the development of an oral history archive came from the Joel E. Ferris Foundation of Spokane, Washington, and the Norwegian Emigration Fund of the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Oslo.

The resulting oral history archive is housed in the Scandinavian Immigrant Experience Collection in the Robert A. L. Mortvedt Library at Pacific Lutheran University. The interview material presented here has been drawn exclusively from that archive. As such, it represents a new source of information about the Scandinavian presence in North America.

I am very grateful for the capable assistance rendered by fellow interviewers Inger Nygaard Carr, Cynthia S. Klein, Donna Mallonee, and Morrene Head Nesvig. Serving as student assistants for the project were Linda Carlson, Carol Skog Fox, Becky Husby, Kimberly Labes, Andrea Leuenberger, Phillip Nelson, Karen Olson, Julie Peterson, Patricia Sargent, Laura Schubert, and Laurie Stumme. Media services supervisor Layne Nordgren and his student assistant Damon Kirk helped with specific tasks, as did community volunteer Patricia Nelson. As Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations, Molly Edman facilitated the requisite outside funding. Isabel Watness and other members of the PLU Humanities staff provided essential office support.

Mary Sue Gee supplied valuable research assistance during the final stage of project activity and helped me select the interviews for this book. PLU archivist Kerstin Ringdahl shared her expertise and enthusiasm throughout. Both Kerstin and Mary Sue have my deep thanks. I also gratefully acknowledge the indispensable advice and encouragement of Norwegian-American Historical Association editor Odd Lovoll. Other friends and colleagues who smoothed the way for this publication include Sue Davidson, Bjørn Jensen, Pat Kelley, Joanne Klein, Steve Murray, Harald Naess, Tiina Nunnally, Audun Toven, and Solveig Zempel. My work also benefited greatly from a sabbatical leave and a Regency Advancement Award from Pacific Lutheran University, a grant-in-aid from the American Association for State and Local History, and a Faculty Growth Award from the American Lutheran Church.

Of course, none of this activity could have gone forward without the cooperation and generosity of the people we interviewed. Their stories enriched and inspired me, both personally and professionally. To them and their families I owe a profound debt of gratitude.

This book is dedicated to my husband Ulf Rasmussen, whose path to the United States from Norway wove the saga of the immigrant experience into the fabric of my day-to-day existence. His unflagging support, including the sacrifice of countless weekends and evenings of companionship, made it possible for me to complete the necessary research, transcribing, editing, and writing. For his patience, good humor, and constant encouragement, he deserves, as the Scandinavians say, a thousand thanks!

Janet E. Rasmussen

Lincoln, Nebraska

New Land, New Lives

Scandinavian Immigrants to the Pacific Northwest