OLE EDVART R�LVAAG

Abstract

OLE EDVART R0LVAAG BY JOHN HEITMANN " R0lvaag is one of our major prophets," asserts Professor Theodore C. Biegen, "and everything that can be related about him is of historical interest." With this opinion I fully agree. But when Professor Biegen, as well as several others, have expressed the thought that, because I had known Ole R0lvaag for a longer period of time, and probably more intimately, than other persons in the United States, I ought to write extensively about him, somewhat in the nature of a biography, I have begged to disagree. Ole Edvart R0lvaag has, however, reflected a measure of luster on Norway and its people. For that reason those of us who are of Norse descent, especially in the United States, owe him due appreciation. And for the purpose of retaining him and his accomplishments in grateful remembrance, it might be well to present a few revealing incidents about his life and his activities, about his family and kinsfolk, and principally, perhaps, about the surroundings and the conditions in which he was reared and grew to manhood. In doing so I shall, however, endeavor to restrict myself to matters hitherto scarcely mentioned in what has been written about him. Though Ole R0lvaag greatly appreciated America, he entertained at all times a lively interest in everything pertaining to Norway. The northern part of that country, colloquially known as Nordland, was particularly close to his heart, especially that part thereof known as D0nna, an island on the rim of the Arctic Sea, where he was born. In fact, he remained to the end of his days a spiritual denizen of Nordland. He even retained in its native purity the local dialect of the island of his birth. Ole R0lvaag and the Nor144 OLE EDVART R 0 L V A A G 145 wegian bishop, Dr. Anton Chr. Bang, are the only sons of that island, whom I have known, who had maintained that ability after permanently settling elsewhere, in places and in positions affording no occasion for the use of, and no opportunity to hear, the native tongue. Both of those men possessed, however, great natural gifts and remarkable linguistic abilities. The name R0lvaag was originally the name of a narrow bay or inlet on the northwestern point of the island. When people, centuries ago, settled on the strip of soil near the inlet, they adopted its name as the name of the farm. Every farmstead, every little settlement throughout Norway , has a distinct name. The people occupying these farms are commonly known by the name of the place. The inhabitants of R0lvaag, consequently, were known by that name, and they adopted and used it as their own. In that manner it became a family name. D0nna, one of the largest islands on the northern coast of Norway, is situated within about five miles of the Polar Circle, and faces the Arctic Ocean. It is crescent-shaped and indented with numerous fiords, bays, and inlets. Little farmsteads with comfortable homes are found at every bight and bay, and on every point and headland on the island. The interior, consisting mainly of ridges, marshes, and mountains , with numerous lakes, affords splendid grazing land and pasture for the cattle, sheep, and other animals kept by practically every family. At one time the northern part of the island was heavily timbered with pine. Trunks of large, charred pine trees and massive roots are found in every marsh and peat formation , at depths varying from four to ten feet. The forest was evidently destroyed by fire, but no one, to my knowledge , has been able to determine the time or the cause of the conflagration. The southern half of the island is more 146 STUDIES AND RECORDS mountainous than the northern, but has some rather fine stands of pine, oak, and birch. The crest of its main mountain seen from a distance, has the appearance of an upturned face. The mountain is therefore known as the man on D0nna - the D0nna man. Owing to the fact that the island is surrounded throughout the year by open water, tempered by currents from the extended arms of the Gulf Stream, the climate is temperate and invigorating...