|
|
1869, Paul Hjelm-Hansen traveled around the Alexandria area to Stephens County where the railroad was to come through shortly. He still feared the Sioux. Blegen, Land of Their Choice, p. 442.
Gene Estensen, Telelaget member, came from this area of Minnesota. Cross-country skiing was required as transportation in this area during the pioneer days. Read about the early Telemark skiers and the first National Ski Championship at Glenwood (west-central Minnesota) in this article.
Fergus Falls became a center for Norwegian-American activity. Norwegian language newspapers lived on into the 1900s thanks to the work of Telelaget of America historian Torkel Oftelie. He visited most of the major Telemark settlements in the Upper Midwest and as editor of Telesoga, the Lag's quarterly publication, he wrote up the stories he heard.
