Days 9 to 12 – Family Ties

My grandparents immigrated from Norway around 1912. Well, actually my grandfather, Kristian, was supposed to sail to America in 1912. He had a ticket on the maiden voyage of the Titanic… luckily for my branch of the family tree he, and a friend he was traveling with, were bumped from that sailing! However, when they eventually did get to America they first settled in Erskine, Minnesota. Minnesota, "the Land of 10,000 lakes" had, and still has, a large Scandinavian population. Since Grandpa Kristian was a carpenter, it makes sense that he migrated to an area which was well known for it’s timber harvesting in the early 1900’s.

We still have quite a bit of family living in that part of the country, so we ventured east for a visit. Currently, the family live in, or around, Bemidji which is known for it’s lake. Lake Bemidji (not pictured) is the first lake that feeds the Mississippi River. Bemidji is also alleged to have been the birth place of Paul Bunyan, and his pal, Babe, the blue ox. More modern attractions for this area are fishing, watersports, and Bemidji State University.


I always marvel at the hardiness of the people who live in this area. While summer temperatures typically range between the 70’s to 90’s (which is typically when we visit), in the winter, sub-zero temperatures are commonplace. My sister chuckles and says she would tell the kids that when the temperature went below -30 degrees Fahrenheit, they didn’t have to go to school… minus 30 ?!?  When visiting, we enjoying hearing the tales of winter activities, like ice fishing, and watching the northern lights. 

The last time we traveled to Minnesota, I asked my elderly aunt why grandpa Kristian moved out west to Cedro Wooley (just north of Seattle). She chuckled and in her sweet Minnesotan accent replied, “Oh, Kristian,” more chuckling, “yah, he didn’t like the cold.”


Laughter and fun are a wonderful part of family visits. Card games, like "Pounce", get intertwined with reminiscing about past events and relative’s antics. Sharing recent adventures, future plans, and additions to the family keep those family ties strong.

However, the leaves began to fall, so it was our time to head for home. Even though we live in the day of cell phones and email, it was bittersweet to wave our good byes... until we gather together again. 




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