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A question keeps arising when talking to people.
“Where are you now that things have been moved to the
auditorium?” Many are under the impression that the museum is out
of commission and no longer is operating. This is far from the
truth. The museum is open and operating in the Library/Museum
building in the same place it has always been. The museum is open
for all visitors.
From the cramped sleeping quarters to an accordion
player, travel from Norway to American was ever changing in the
late 1800s. Chronicled in “Here Come the Norwegians” by Carol
Hanson Schwinkendorf, we continue with Ludvig Hanson relating his
trip from Norway to American with his parents and brother, Gunder.
“The next evening we reached England, at the mouth
of the river near Hull. Because of low water the boat could not go
up the river and we had to stay on board another night. That time
we all slept.
“In the morning, the boat went in to the dock. We
were ordered up on deck and into a big room where there were
tables and chairs. Someone yelled ‘Breakfast,’ which everyone
seemed to understand, as no one had eaten for two days. We had
taken dried meat and sardines with us, also rye bread and butter.
We had a coffee pot, too, but we had eaten very little.
“Our breakfast was sweet coffee, wheat bread, with
a little butter, but no cheese or anything else. We had to get
the coffee in our own cups or cans. Nobody liked that sweet
coffee, so they just emptied it out. The girls laughed, and
thought that was fun.
“Oh what a babble of different dialects surrounded
us. Everyone spoke his or her own language.
“When we went ashore we were joined by a group from
Finland, and a bunch from Poland, Russia, and Germany. Someone
yelled ‘March,’ and we all followed a man who carried a red stick
high in the air, so all could see it. So we got to the railway
station.
“There we were stuffed into carriages, 8 or 10 in
each compartment. There were 2 small benches on each side. Then
the door was locked. The train started, we passed several small
towns, and some big ones. Manchester was large industrial city.
It was a beautiful country, with wheat and other grain growing
well. It was beginning to set the ears, much earlier than in
Norway. I was most impressed by the huge horses, twice as big as
the Norwegian breeds.
“In the next compartment a bunch of Swedes had a
bottle of brandy. They could open the windows in the door, and
stick the bottle out, so that we could see it, and offered it to
us; but it was too far to reach. They were smart! In the roof
between the compartments, there was (a) lamp in a hole in the
wall. They managed to take the lamp out, and passed us the bottle
through the hole, so we all had drinks. Once the train stopped
the doors were opened, and we were all able to get our and stretch
our legs.” (to be continued next week)
RCHS Footnotes
We continue to see little improvements day by day.
This past week some natural history was placed back into place
when the animals went back into exhibits and on top of the cases.
The warm weather presented the opportunity for staff to transfer
items from the auditorium to the museum, and visa versa, the
animals were one of those items.
It is wonderful to see researchers return to the
center. For most it had been put on the shelf since the flood. We
find e-mail research has also picked up, perhaps because it is
winter? If you are looking for information for a family tree or
for area history stop in the center is open to all.
We are looking forward to seeing the bridal dresses
from the past in the bridal style review, both past and present
will be modeled.
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