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In 1926, Torkel Oftelie looked back over his years with Telelaget and put some thoughts to paper. The result was the "Yearbook for 1926". He wrote:
It is appropriate now, as I finish my work as Sogawriter for Telelaget, to look back a little on the work and on Telelaget. As we know, the district movement began in the first years of the century. "It began like a rustling in the corn on a summer's day." All this life, which has inspired the movement, in great gatherings around the Northwest, and which has filled the newspapers with announcements and reports of meetings, and with collections for distant gifts and memorials, grew in just a few years less than twenty years ago. Sons of Norway, The Norwegian Society (Det Norske Selskap), The Northman's League (Nordmands-forbundet), and district groups all began about the same time in those years. They must be related to the rising Nationalism in Norway. Invisible bonds bind us to the homeland, first that which ties the emigrant to his home district, and then those that come from national ideals.
The new Norwegian life has imprinted itself in many ways on this land. Statues have been raised to the memory of great Northmen, and not so little has been done in Soga-writing and other literary work. The first they thought about here in the land, was a great association of all Northmen, "The Norwegian Society". They were fine people, who got it started, but they were not able to get the people with them. They always met just a few wholehearted idealists. It was then that some of them got the idea of starting district groups, which could be subsidiaries under the "The Norwegian Society". The Valdres people had already for several years had their "party" in Como Park and Professor Veblen had begun with "Greetings from Valdres". So the Telers began to talk about starting a Telelag. Pastor B. Bondal at Buffalo River in Clay County was the first to get it going sometime in 1905. He was then the Chairman of the Norwegian Society. A.A. Trovatten did much for the thought of district groups in his newspaper, "Fram", in Fargo, North Dakota.
We don't know a lot about that first ever meeting of Telelaget. What were the dreams of the founders? Fortunately, Torkel Oftelie left us with a short description of the meeting:
Just before Christmas in 1906 a cry was sent out for some Telers to start a Telelag. Those who signed up during this call were Pastor B. Bondal, Torkel Oftelie, A. A. Trovatten, Kjetil Knutson, Gunder Howard and Torjus Lundevall. We held a meeting in a hall in Fargo, January 16, 1907. There was a lively discussion at the meeting over whether Telelaget should be independent or whether it should be a subsidiary of the Norwegian Society. Pastor Bondal and Dr. Herman Fjeld, who was with us, were very eager for the latter, and it was also adopted that we should be under the Norwegian Society, Pastor Bondal read a constitution for Telelaget endorsed by Bondal, H. H. Aaker, Torkel Oftelie, S.B. Salverson, Leif Tortvedt, A. O. Kragnes, A. H. Breiland, Knut Midgard and A. K. Tveito. This draft was adopted. Pastor Bondal was elected Chairman, A. A. Trovatten, Vice Chairman, S. B. Salverson, Secretary and Torkel Oftelie Soga writer.
Another meeting (Stevne) was held in 1907. On the 25th of June the meeting was held at the Loyal Knights Hall at Fargo. This meeting is described in Telesoga (#1, March, 1909).
Telelaget was founded at the meeting described above at Piries Hall at Fargo, North Dakota on January 16, 1907. Torkel became the Soga Writer and over the next 20 years would visit the "Teler" settlements of the Midwest and record the stories of the pioneers. Torkel returned to Fargo later in the year to attend nother meeting (Stevne) which was held on the 25th of June, 1907. The meeting was held at the Loyal Knights Hall at Fargo. This meeting is described in Telesoga (#1, March, 1909).
It was March of 1909 before the first Telesoga was printed. I mention it here because in this first issue one can find the minutes of the founding meetings of Telelaget.
The following men led the way in the founding of Telelaget, according to Torkel Oftelie:
Pastor Bendik Bondal of Buffalo River in Clay County, Minnesota was the Chairman of the "Norwegian Society" and had a major role in the founding of Telelaget. His powerful influence can be assumed because was the first Chairman of Telelaget. There is a picture of Pastor Bondal in the first issue of Telesoga (#1, March, 1909). Bondal died in 1909, and A. A. Trovatten succeeded him as president.
Torkel Oftelie of Little Falls, Minnesota was a "small town" editor of a newspaper, the Ugeblad. (Gene Estensen's note - Ugeblad was published from January 1886 until December 1946). Torkel was Soga Writer until 1926, and what a job he did in recording our history. Here is a picture of Torkel Oftelie and a second picture of Torkel in his later years.
A. A. Trovatten ran his newspaper, "Fram", from Fargo, North Dakota. He was the first Vice Chairman of Telelaget. Here is a picture of A. A. Trovatten.
S. B. Salverson of Fargo, North Dakota was the first Secretary of Telelaget. Here is a picture of S. B. Salverson.
Kjetil Knutson
Gunder Howard
Torjus Lundevall
Dr. Herman Fjeld
H. H. Aaker
Leif Tortvedt
A. O. Kragnes
A. H. Breiland
Knut Midgard
A. K. Tveito
Do you recognize one of the family names? We would love to have your family story for the archives of Telelaget.
There was an attempt to schedule a meeting (stevne) "in a hall" at Fargo in North Dakota on January 16, 2007 (Gene Estensen's birthday by the way). In 1907, the founding meeting was held at Piries Hall and I am not certain it is still standing. A second meeting was held at Loyal Knights Hall, and it is uncertain whether this building is still standing. Our hope was to have in attendance the present-day leaders of Telelaget and some descendants of the the founders of Telelaget. Unfortunately, gathering a group of descendants of the founders proved to be too difficult to accomplish. Thus, the plans were changed. We celebrated the founding of Telelaget of America at the 2007 Annual stevne. Look under NEWS, then PREVIOUS EVENTS for more on this topic.
Historical Perspective from the Webmaster: The Norwegian Society of America (Det Norske Selskap) was founded in Minneapolis in 1903. For a time it was "the most ambitious and active national cultural group in America." This earliest of organizations for Norwegian-Americans never had a large number of members. Their membership problems were blamed on "immigrant clannishness and devisiveness". It appeared to some that formations based upon the old fylke (folk district) in Norway might offer a better form of organization. Pastor Bendik Bondal, President of The Norwegian Society, called for a bygdelag for the Telemark fylke by 1905. He would find a friend in this endeavor in A. A. Trovaten, the editor of a weekly newspaper in Fargo named FRAM. Trovaten was a "Teler" and FRAM promoted the bygdelag concept through the winter of 1906-1907. Dr. Herman Fjelde worked with Trovatten to propose nineteen fylker "lags" and proposed leaders (fylke-kings) for each of them in FRAM. All of this activity would soon lead to Pastor Bondahl becoming President of the organization Telelaget i Amerika when it was founded January 16, 1907 in Fargo. Bondahl was the only fylke-king to step forward and lead an organization. Thus, in summary, it is interesting to note that we have a direct link to the early attempts to unite the Norwegians in America. It is also apparent that Fargo was the center of activity in establishment of such organizations. My gratitude to the author of "The Bygdelag in America", Odd Sverre Lovall, for some of the information provided in this historical perspective - Webmaster.
