Follow

• 

  Jerome Johnson Interview, ca. 1979

  Jerome Johnson

  Jerome Johnson was 74 years old and lived in Cyrus. His parents died when he was young and he went to live with relatives. He spent 62 years in the barbering business.

  In this interview, he reflects on many aspects of the barbering business over the years. He also mentions working for the railroad, living at Moose Island, and going to movies. He fixes up old cars as a hobby.

• 

  Oliver Kahldahl Interview, ca. 1977

  Oliver Kahldahl

  Oliver "Tuddy" Kahldahl was 77 years old and lived in Glenwood.

  In this interview, he talks about ski jumping and his skiing career. He discusses various bands which appeared at the Lakeside Ballroom while he owned it. He talks about the decline of the big bands.

• 

  Mabel Koch Interview, 1979

  Mabel Koch

  Mabel Koch discusses church activities and family life while growing up on a farm north of Cyrus, Minnesota in Pope County. She also discusses her Norwegian ethnicity, the use of Norwegian in the church she attended, Nora Lutheran Church, and that church's switch from using Norwegian in the services to using English. She also discusses the jobs she held in West Central Minnesota as a housekeeper for several families.

• 

  Cora Larson Interview, ca. 1979

  Cora Larson

  Cora Larson was 92 years old and lived in Starbuck. She was born in Belgrade, Minnesota. Her father owned a general store. She went to college in St. Olaf College and then taught school; she was also the principal in Starbuck. Her husband was the only dentist in Starbuck at the time.

  In this interview, Cora discusses the merchandise her father carried in his general store. She talks about going to college and her career as a teacher. She was the coordinator of the school play at the school, and discusses that experience. She talks about the various organizations and clubs she was a part of in Starbuck, Minnesota.

• 

  Inge Linde Interview, ca. 1977

  Inge Linde

  Inge Linde was 84 years old and was born in New Prairie Township in Pope County, Minnesota. She went to Augustana University and married the doctor in Cyrus. She taught in rural schools for seven years.

  In this interview, Inge relates how she met her husband. She talks about the life of a doctor in the early 20th century. She discusses the car that they had. She also talks about how she ended up at the nursing home in Pope County.

• 

  Mabel Mithun Interview, ca. 1977

  Mabel Mithun

  Mabel Mithun was 86 years old and was born in New Prairie, Minnesota.

  In this interview, she discusses the location of New Prairie and what it consisted of. She also mentions growing up on a farm, the changes in types of machinery and the dances that were held near a hotel she used to work at.

• 

  Edward Nordgaard Interview, 1978

  Edward Nordgaard

  Edward Nordgaard was born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1900. He graduated from Luther College, Decorah, Iowa and began a 44-year teaching and administrative career in the Glenwood area. More than 30 years was spent as Glenwood Superintendent.

  In this interview, Ed Nordgaard discusses his family history, rural schools, city schools, the Minnesota High School League, school consolidation, teacher-administrator-community relations and related material.

• 

  Myrtle Olson Interview, 1978

  Myrtle Olson

  Myrtle Olson was born in Benson, Minnesota in 1893. She was the daughter of a thresher mechanic and graduated from high school in Starbuck. She spent 44 years teaching in the Glenwood area, the first 4 years in a one-room rural school three miles west of Glenwood. Twenty of those years were spent as a junior high principal in Glenwood. She retired in 1960 and lived at the time of the interview in Glenwood.

  In this interview, she discusses early schools, rural schools, the role of a principal, Norwegian ethnicity, religion, and school consolidation.

• 

  Mabel Pederson Interview, 1976

  Mabel Pederson

  In this interview, Mabel Knutson Pederson discusses the process of changing church services conducted in Norwegian to church services conducted in English at the East Zion Lutheran church in rural Starbuck, Minnesota. The transition lasted from 1925-1951 with two thirds of the services in English by 1951. She also touches on the problems the changeover caused in the community as a whole.

• 

  Agnes Ranum Interview, ca. 1977

  Agnes Ranum

  Agnes Ranum was 83 years old and lived in Starbuck, Minnesota. She was born in Fillmore County and moved to Pope County in 1898 when she was 5 years old. Her family moved to the area because of cheaper land and the Norwegians in the area.

  In this interview, she discusses the rural school and the education she got there. She talks about the work she did in Texas for many years and the family she worked for (A.B. Pierce family). Then she discusses her time as a farm wife after marrying in 1928. She talks about the Depression and her experiences during that time. She mentions her children and their occupations at the time of the interview. Finally, she discusses the Minnewaska Home and its founding in the town.

• 

  Alma Rasmusson Interview, 1979

  Alma Rasmusson

  In this interview, Alma Rasmusson discusses her family heritage and Norwegian ethnicity along with her education and her teaching career in North Dakota. She discusses life on the farm in Pope County and Stevens County. Her sister Agnes Haldorson is also mentioned, who was a nurse in Hancock and Minneapolis. The interview consists mainly of reminiscences of her life and family.

• 

  Mary Ronnie Interview, ca. 1976

  Mary Ronnie

  Mary Ronnie was 90 years old and was born in Norway. She worked in the tourist trade with her father in Norway.

  In this interview, Mary Ronnie discusses the government-operated churches and schools in Norway. She reminisces about emigration to the United States from Norway. She also discusses Cyrus in days past.

• 

  Fred Rust Interview, ca. 1977

  Fred Rust

  Fred Rust was 67 years old and was born in Fargo, North Dakota. His father was born in Norway. His family moved to Cyrus, Minnesota, then moved to Norway for a year. After his father died in Norway, the family moved back to Cyrus, Minnesota.

  In this interview, Fred mostly talks about the various occupations he had. He worked for some time doing farm work. He then worked in road construction and setting pins in the bowling alley. He then worked as a welder and blacksmith; he talks briefly about an accident that occurred on the job and about what being a blacksmith entailed. He also discusses fishing as a hobby.

• 

  Ruth Storlie Rosten Interview, 1980

  Ruth Storlie Rosten

  In this interview, Ruth Storlie Rosten talks about life and farming around Glenwood, Minnesota during World War II. Mrs. Rosten was born on March 22, 1894 in Spring Grove, Minnesota.

• 

  Elisabeth Strandness Interview, 1975

  Elisabeth Strandness

  Elisabeth Strandness was born on April 5, 1896 on the farm on which she was residing at the time of the interview. After working for the U.S. Forest Service for 30 years, she retired to the farm. She was the former owner of the Strandness Prairie tract recently acquired by the Nature Conservancy.

  In this interview, Elisabeth Strandness discusses the history of the management of the land, the flora and fauna, activities concerning the prairie since the Nature Conservancy acquired it and her attitudes towards the land.

• 

  Bill Torgerson Interview, ca. 1976

  Bill Torgerson

  Bill Torgerson was 92 years old and was born in Fargo, North Dakota and moved to Starbuck in 1914 to assume operation of the Starbuck bank. His father was a pioneer doctor and before coming to Starbuck, Bill Torgerson worked in a livery barn and as a carpenter. He operated an early filling station in Starbuck. As a former member of the school board, town treasurer and mayor, he was active in local affairs. He was instrumental in selling Starbuck a municipal power plant and the establishment of Lakeshore Park.

  In this interview, Bill Torgerson discusses his time working at the bank in Starbuck and operating the early filling station. He discusses all the things he did as school board member and mayor, particularly the power plant and the establishment of Lakeshore Park.

• 

  Ernest Weiss Interview, ca. 1977

  Ernest Weiss

  Ernest Weiss was 83 years old and was born in Kingsbury County, South Dakota. His parents immigrated from Germany. He grew up on a farm in South Dakota. He farmed in both South Dakota and Minnesota in his life.

  In this interview, he discusses living on the farm as a child. He talks about going to country school. He then discusses World War I--he was in the service but never went overseas. He then moved to Minnesota to farm and talks about the droughts they had there. He mentions his horses and the training of them. He was a carpenter for some time and discusses those experiences.

• 

  Clara Wheeler Interview, 1976

  Clara Torgerson Wheeler

  Clara Wheeler was born July 12, 1891 on a farm in Glenwood, Minnesota. Her father farmed 120 acres and raised cattle. She went to school in District 40 and was one of 14 children. She also taught school before her marriage, in a one-room schoolhouse. She also attended the Glenwood Academy.

  In this interview, she discusses farming, life on a farm, and around Glenwood in general. She also briefly discusses interactions with Native Americans in her childhood.

• 

  Obed Wiger Interview, ca. 1977

  Obed Wiger

  Obed Wiger was 86 years old and was born in Jackson, Minnesota. His parents immigrated from Norway and homesteaded in Jackson County. His father was a tailor, but became a farmer in Jackson. He farmed at his father's homestead until he was 20, then he homesteaded in Canada for four years. He then settled in Pope County, Minnesota.

  In this interview, Obed talk about growing up on the farm. He talks about the grasshopper problems with the farm. He mentions going to a country school. He discusses his own homestead in Canada and farming experiences in Pope County, Minnesota. He talks about the mechanization of farming with tractors and the implementation of fertilizers and pesticides. Finally, he discusses his marriage and how he met his wife.

• 

  Dr. Sanford Wilson Interview, 1976

  Sanford Wilson

  Dr. Wilson served as chairman of the board of citizens who fought to build a new hospital in Starbuck, Minnesota.

  In this interview, he discusses the problems involved, including the decision to switch from a community operated hospital to a district operated one. Other specifics discussed include Glenwood's unwillingness to help with the project and the difficulty in finding an adequate plot of ground on which to build.