Person:Hans Olsen (58)

Hans was a different person to his family members. Other reports he was a marvelous person, just a very poor norwegian farmer. In 1891 Hans went with two of his brothers to Minnesota, America. He left his wife and 7 children in Norway. The were ages 13 through a new baby, Josef, born while Hans was gone. When he was here, in America, he worked in the lumber industry in Stillwater, on the eastern border of the state. He also spent time with brother Otto, who owned a farm in Mound, and sometimes his sister Thea, who lived a distance away. There were also cousins who were living in Minnesota. In 1891 he went home to Norway, and met his son Josef for the first time. He lived in the family home Kjenshaugen 27, until his death in a home fire in 1923. When I visited one of Hans' grandchildren, Leif, in Norway told me the story of the fire. Josef, the youngest son lived with his family in the home. Leif was 4 years old at the time. In the middle of the night, his parents picked Leif up out of his bed and took him out into the snow. He woke up, and felt the cold, and went back into the burning house and crawled back into bed. His parents were still trying to pull things out of the house, and happened to grab Leif's bedclothes, and so he was rescued. I think, putting it all together, Hans was a great father. He took care of his family in the best way that he could. I think that working in America was difficult for his family, but his intent was either to bring the whole family to America, or send enough money back to the family, to create a little better life for his family.