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"Vi burde sætte mærke efter os ! "
(We should leave an impression!)
Those were Torkel's words in his speech at the very first Telelag stevne. The founders of Telelaget certainly did leave and impression.
In January of 1907 Telelaget i Amerika was organized, making it the second oldest bygdelag in America. It's venerable historian, Torkel Oftelie, 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. Few other lags have been blessed with such an extensive record of the early history of their bygdefolk in America.
In August of 2002 Gene Estensen traveled to Fergus Falls, Minnesota to search for information on his life work. At the history center for Ottertail County he was greeted by Vicky Anderson and together they searched the files for Oftelie information. His obituary (November 4, 1943) contains a picture and states that "he was deeply interested in Norse history and literature". He died at the age of 86 and is buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in Fergus Falls next to his wife Signe. He came to Fergus Falls as editor of the Norwegian paper Rodhugeren, and later the paper Ugeblad. In Telesoga Volume 10 of 1911 is a much better picture of Torkel, and a bit of his life history.
The very good news from this visit to Fergus Falls is that all editions of Rofhugeren and Ugeblad have been preserved on microfilm. They are in Norwegian and will serve as a valuable resource for some students of Telemark history one day.
Gene Estensen has heard that all of his issues of Telesoga are preserved at the Vesterheim in Decorah, Iowa, or at Luther College. Also, there is reported to be a file on Torkel at the Norwegian-American Historical Association (NAHA) at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.
In February of 2005 we received this photo and note from Anthony Torkelson of Lakeville, MN. These items were owned by a late great aunt, Gudrun Aslakson, daughter of Sveinung Aslakson the cross country skier and ski jumper from Telemark who settled in Sheyenne, ND. Sveinung was married to Signe Hustveit, also from Telemark.
In October of 2007 we received this biography of the life of Torkel from Alice Kirn. Alice has met with the relatives of Torkel, both in America and in Telemark.
The Tour to Telemark of 2007 brought futher recognition to the life of Torkel Oftelie. Many of his descendants made the journey to Telemark. This picture came to us from Telemark in May of 2008.
The Webmaster is seeking more information on the life of Torkel Oftelie to present in this space. His contribution to Telelaget of America was enormous.
