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1900, Some Norwegians had moved westward to Montana, Idaho, and Colorado.
1901, Austin and Anne Estensen move from Granite Falls, MN to Cyrus, MN to be by his brother Jon Estensen. Gene Estensen Family.
1901, Only 350 people live in Dal Parish, Tinn, Telemark. The next 20 years witnessed a revolution.
1901, Charley Austin (Kjetil Tovsen Bøkasse) visited Norway. One hundred years later, to the month, Gene Estensen made the same journey to Tinn, Telemark. Gene Estensen Family.
1901, Rasmus B. Anderson calls for bygdelags, or district societies. Blegen, The American Transition, p. 582. The Minnesota Historical Society has files of all the lags.
1901, O. N. Nelson comes out with two-volume, English, compendium on early Scandinavians. Blegen, The American Transition, p. 593.
1903, Det Norske Selskab i Amerika (The Norwegian Society in America) was founded in Minneapolis. The goal was to unite all Norwegians in a national organization for the advancement of Norwegian culture. Waldemar Ager was a major force in the society.
1904, The monthly, Sønner av Norge (Sons of Norway), edited by Laurits Stavnheim, began publication. In 1943, the magazine was renamed Sons of Norway (since November 1963, The Viking).
1904, The first church is moved from Muskego to Luther Seminary, St. Paul. Rønning, N. N. The Saga of old Muskego, p. 23.
1905, The Swedish-Norwegian union is dissolved without bloodshed.
1905, Sam Eyde founded Norsk Hydro. A new fertilizer plant was built at Rjukan in 1911 and a satlpetre plant at Såheim. By 1920 the Rjukan falls had been tamed.
1905, Roald Amundsen crosses the Northwest-passage on December 5.
1905, The Swedish-Norwegian union was dissolved. National fervor reached new heights among the immigrants. The Norwegian university student singing society's tour in America was a celebrated event. Symra was published in Decorah, Iowa, edited by Johs. B. Wist and Kristian Prestgard. Symra was published until 1914.
1906, There were 237 Norwegian organizations in the United States. The St. Olaf Band visited Norway.
1907, Telelaget and Hallinglaget were organized. Nearly fifty societies (bygdelag) came into being. In the heyday of the movement at least 75,000 people took part in the annual reunions. Nordmanns-Forbundet (Norse Federation) was founded, partly due to the initiative of the Norwegian man of letters, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson. It is an international organization that promotes solidarity between Norway and Norwegians abroad and furthers the cause of Norwegian culture and Norwegian interests. Nordmanns-Forbundet was published in Norwegian (from 1908) and The Norseman in English (from 1965) until 1984. Since then the Norse Federation has published the bilingual magazine The Norseman. There are many chapters in the US. The headquarters are in Oslo.
Martin Ulvestad's Nordmændene i Amerika, deres historie og rekord (The history of the Norewegians in America). The book also contains articles about Norwegian music in America, a list of newspapers and magazines, and Norwegian-American educational institutions.
1907, Telelag of America was organized with Telesoga (the Telemarkings' Saga) its publication. Torkel Oftelie of Fergus Falls, MN was the guiding force for many years. His slogan was "we must see to it that the Telers are not forgotten", and every waking hour was devoted to that thought. Norlie, The History of the Norwegian People in America, p. 438. Also see Telelaget, Telemark to America Volume II, p. 2.
1907, Kittil, son to Tov and Astrid Kaase died May 7. Gene Estensen Family.
1907, Few people leave Tinn for America after this year. Norwegian-American Studies, Vol. 29, p. 44.
1908, Hjalmar Rued Holand, De norske settlementers historie (The history of the Norewegian settlements was published).
1909, Telesoga comes to life. Norlie, The History of the Norwegian People in America, p. 438. Also Telelaget, Telemark to America Volume II, p. 3.
1910, Telestevne convenes at Minot, N.D. Telelaget, Telemark to America Volume II, p. 4.
1910, The Norwegian census indicates that 19,000+ Norwegians and their children had returned from America to Norway. By 1920 the number had reached nearly 50,000.
1911, The emigrants from Tinn and Gransherad organized a Telelag at Lake Madison, SD on June 22, 1911 and adopted the name Tinnsjo-laget. Norlie, The History of the Norwegian People in America, p. 438. Also, Telelaget, Telemark to America Volume II, p. 4.
1911, Roald Amundsen reaches the South Pole on December 14. Hansen, Carl, My Minneapolis, p. 322.
1911, a dam and hydro plant tame the Mana River and establishes the town of Rjukan.
1912, Telelaget met in Glenwood, MN on June 24-25. Telelaget, Telemark to America Volume II, p. 15.
1913, The Norwegian America Line made it possible for emigrants to sail directly from Norway. Ragnar Omtvedt of Chicago set a new world record in ski jumping. Olive Fremstad, who emigrated from Oslo when she was 12 years old, became an internationally renowned Wagnerian opera singer. She sang the role of Isolde at the Metropolitan in New York City.
1914, "The Great Homecoming" resulted when 20,000 Norwegians visited the homeland to take part in the centennial celebrations. The largest May 17 ever held in Minneapolis. Hansen, Carl, My Minneapolis, p. 261. See also Lovoll, Odd, The Promise of America, p. 280. Twenty-six veterans of the 15th Wisconsin were present.
1914, The Norse-American celebration led to the formation of the NAHA. The winner of an essay contest was Waldemar Ager. Hansen, Carl, My Minneapolis, p. 280.
1915, February 18, Tom Austin dies. Born in Tinn, Telemark as Tov Østensen, he was Gene Estensen's g-g-grandfather, one of two from Tinn. Oien, Minnehaha County's Norwegian Pioneers, p. 249.
1918, Astrid Kjitilsdatter Tveito/Kaase dies. She left Tinn, Telemark, insisting on moving to America to be near her brothers at Decorah, Iowa. She pioneered three times, first at Decorah, then at Harmony, then at Colton, SD. Gene Estensen Family.
1918, Epidemic, Influenza, Worldwide
1918, Bratsberg Amt becomes Telemark. This is a fylke (county). Telelaget, Telemark to America Volume II, p. 4. and Norwegian-American Studies, Vol. 29, p. 45.
1918, Ole Hanson, who had grown up in Wisconsin, was elected mayor of Seattle. Peter Julius Rosendahl created the comic strip Han Ola og han Per which was published in Decorah-Posten until 1935. Later, the comic strip was reprinted frequently until 1972 when the newspaper ceased publication.
Knute Rockne from Voss was made coach of the football team of the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana. He held the position until he died in a plane crash in 1931.
1924, Herbjørn Gausta, painter from Tinn, dies. Telelaget of America honored him with a huge grave stone at Harmony, MN. Hansen, Carl, My Minneapolis, p. 171.
1924, The Norwegian-American newspaper Decorah-Posten had 25 correspondents in Norway. Ole E. Rølgvaag's account of Norwegian pioneer life on the prairies, I de dage, was published. A year later the sequel Riket grundlægges appeared. Rølvaag is the best and most representative of Norwegian-American authors. He taught at St. Olaf College from 1906 until his untimely death in 1931. During the course of 70 years 200 emigrant novels, stories and poems have appeared that interpret the life and experiences of emigrants in their new homeland.
1925, The Norwegian-American community flourished between 1895 and 1925. Norwegian forces united around the celebration of the centennial of the first Norwegian immigration. Patriotic feelings reached a high point during the 100th anniversary for Norwegian immigration. A large exhibit was held in Minneapolis/St. Paul depicting several aspects of immigrant life. President Coolidge praised the Norwegians in his speech " The President's Tribute to the Norwegians". The Norwegian-American Historical Association ( NAHA) was founded in Northfield, Minnesota. NAHA is considered to be one of the most active ethnic historical societies in the US. Nordisk Tidende in New York reported that 10,000 people paraded along 4th Avenue with Norwegian flags and banners. A statue of the Civil War hero Hans Christian Heg was unveiled in Lier near Drammen.
1925, The Norwegian-American Historical Society (NAHA) is established on October 6 at St. Olaf College. Theodore C. Blegen became a force in the organization. Semmingsen, Norway to America, p. 160.
1926, Ole Rølvaag wrote "It is vital in all cultural life to maintain a link between the present and the past. If there is anything that history makes clear it is this, that when a people becomes interested in its past life, seeks to acquire knowledge in or better to understand itself, it always experiences an awakening of new life". See Blegen, Land of Their Choice, p. 596.
1927, Ole Rølvaag publishes Giants in the Earth. This masterpiece was characterized by "Nation" as the "fullest, finest, and most powerful novel that has been written about pioneer life in America." Rølvaag taught Norwegian at St. Olaf College from 1906 until he died in 1931. In the course of 70 years, 200 novels that dealt with the immigrant experience were published.
1928-1929, A fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation
of New York permitted Theodore C. Blegen to spend the year in Norway studying
the emigration
movement at its source
1929, Waldemar Ager published his last novel, Hundeøine (Dog Eyes) translated into English as "I Sit Alone". It is an account of an old man who sits alone in a shack on the North Dakota grassland and reflects on his life. Lovoll, Odd, The Promise of America, p. 223.
1930, May 8, Austin Estensen (Østen Olsen Bøen) dies and is buried at Cyrus, Minnesota. He was a pioneer in South Dakota, then returned to Minnesota. He was my g-grandfather. Gene Estensen Family.
1934, Centennial celebration of the first permanent Norwegian settlement in the United States in the Fox River valley, La Salle County, Illinois.
1940, April 9, the Germans attack Norway. Hansen, Carl, My Minneapolis, p. 270 and 362.
1940, December, noted Nobel Prize winner, and writer, Sigrid Undset visited Minneapolis. Hansen, Carl, My Minneapolis, p. 351.
1940, Theodore C. Blegen's Norwegian Migration to America : The American Transition was published by the Norwegian-American Historical Association.
1941, Ingrid Semmingsen was the first emigration historian in Norway to study emigration to America in depth. Her two volumes entitled Veien mot vest. Utvandringen fra Norge til Amerika (The emigration from Norway to America) were published in 1941 and 1950.
1942-43, Innumerable young men from Minnesota who spoke Norwegian joined the 99th Infantry Battalion, sometimes called the Norwegian Battalion. Hansen, Carl, My Minneapolis, p. 370.
1946, The church dropped "Norwegian" from its name: it was now the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Semmingsen, Norway to America, p. 155.
1961, First volume of Alfred Hauge's trilogy about Cleng Peerson, Hundevakt was published.
1969, A replica of Borgund stave church was erected in Rapid City in South-Dakota,
1974, Vesterheim Genealogical Center & Naeseth Library, a section of Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, was established in Madison, Wisconsin, by Gerhard B. Naeseth.
1975, The Sesquicentennial of Norwegian emigration to America was celebrated on both sides of the Atlantic. In Norway there was a matiné in the Nationalteatret on May 17. King Olav V visited "Norwegian America." Alfred Hauge's trilogy about Cleng Peerson, translated by Eric J. Friis, was published as one of the Official Publications of the Norwegian Immigration Sesquicentennial. The Norwegian Society of Texas was formed.
1978, Norsk Høstfest took place for the first time in Minot, North Dakota.
1981, A Norwegian chapter of the Norwegian-American Historical Association (NAHA-Norway) was formed. NAHA-Norway organizes seminars and publishes essay collections.
1982, A new replica of the Gokstad Ship crossed the Atlantic. Hjemkomst sailed from Duluth in Minnesota to Norway. The ship was built by Robert Asp, Hawley, Minnesota.
1987, King Olav visited Norwegian America and insisted on driving to Decorah, Iowa, despite bad weather conditions.
1989, Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, Decorah, Iowa, sent three exhibitions to Norway. Norway in America: Painting and Drawing was shown at Maihaugen, Lillehammer; Norway in America: Folk and Decorative Arts was shown at Hedmarksmuseet, Hamar; and Norway in America: The photography of Andrew Dahl was shown at Eiketunet, Gjøvik.
1990, According to the 1990 census, sixteen thousand persons in Minnesota claimed to speak Norwegian. Lovoll, Odd, The Promise of America, p. 335.
1992, King Olav V Chair in Scandinavian-American Studies was inaugurated at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Professor Odd S. Lovoll, who is also the editor of the publications of the Norwegian-American Historical Association in Northfield, holds the position.
1993, The first volume of Gerhard Naseth's Norwegian Immigrants to the United States: A Biographical Directory was published. Volume I contains biographies of emigrants from Norwegian between 1825 and 1843. Volume II, which was published in 1997, contains biographies from 1844 to 1846. Naeseth collected material for biographies until 1850.
1997, The exhibition The Migration of a Tradition was shown at Norsk Folkemuseum, Oslo, after having toured several cities and museums in the US. Esso Perspektiv published a special issue on Norwegian emigration to America.
1998, A replica of Hopperstad stave church, Vik in Sogn and Fjordane, was inaugurated in Moorhead, Minnesota.
1999, The Bygdelag Centennial was celebrated at Luther College, Decorah, Iowa 27 - 29 July. There are 32 bygdelags in Amerika. The centennial was arranged by The National Council of Bygdelags in America (Bygdelagenes Fellesraad).St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, celebrated its 125th anniversary. The Norwegian-American Historical Association in Northfield published Bernt Julius Muus : Founder of St. Olaf College by Joseph M. Shaw.
2000, 175th anniversary of Norwegian emigration to America. The
anniversary is observed on both sides of the Atlantic. The Norwegian-American
Historical Association and Minnesota Historical Society organized a conference
at Minnesota History Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, entitled Vandringer: Norwegians
in the American Mosaic 1825-2000. An exhibition of paintings by Minnesotans
of Norwegian background 1870-1970 opened in James Hill House, St. Paul, at the
same time. Marion John Nelson, professor emeritus and former director of Vesterheim
Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah, Iowa, curated the exhibition. The Norwegian
chapter of the Norwegian-American Historical Association (NAHA-Norge) organized
its seventh seminar in Hamar in August
The exhibition Norwegians in New York 1825 to 2000: Builders of City, Community
and Culture opened at Ellis Island in New York in April.
Sogn og Fjordane College held a conference in September. The conference
theme was the letters and diaries of Norwegian Americans.
