LaVilla (Dalager) Peterson: Memories

Lavilla is the daughter of Hans and Amelia, half-sister to Karl. What follows are some memories I compiled from an interview. –James Dalager

I was born May 18, 1903. I have been reminded many times by my sister Tillie that she, a girl of 14, came home from a dance and had to stay up and take care of things in the home while I was born. No doubt it was more like being born into a company as I had 7 sisters and 3 brothers older than I. I was also unfortunate enough to be born on a different place than any of my sisters and brothers. This was because the family was living on the Allen Hanson (1976) place waiting for their new home to be vacated by our Lutheran pastor Gens Bale. Pastor Bale was living there until the parsonage was completed and ready for occupancy.

My older sisters tell me that the family moved to the new home in September of 1903. I never lived on the homestead as this had been rented to Sophia and Theodore Ogdahl. Sophia was my half-sister. We never moved back to the homestead. I have two sisters younger than I so that was 10 children my mother had between 1888 and 1910.

During the 1908-09 school year my sister Cora went to live with Julia and Tollof Solverud in Sherwood, North Dakota. She finished 8th grade there. Tollof was real friendly and treated Cora as their adopted daughter who they nicknamed ‘Tootse.’

Tollof was a druggist by profession. Later Julia and Tollof went to Kirksville, Mo. to study and become chiropractic doctors. The started their Osteopathy business in Mankato. Later Tollof and Julia adopted a boy who they named Truman. They had plans to adopt girls also; however, Tollof died at an early age (1915-1916) so they never adopted a girl. Julia continued the Osteopathy work at Mankato for a short time and then moved to Glenwood. Julia took a job as teacher in Lowry. Later she became Superintendent of Pope County schools. Mother rented the house Hans had bought in Glenwood to Julia. Frances, Hilda’s daughter, still lives in this house.

Later Julia was a matron at an orphanage in Willmar and director of the House of Mercy, a home for pregnant girls in Fargo.

Julia’s son, Truman Solverud, finished college at St. Olaf during the depression years. Jobs were scarce. Julia suggested that he do volunteer work at the welfare office. This eventually lead to his work with the Red Cross. Following WWII he became director of Red Cross activities in Japan, Korea and Okinawa, the Philippines and Taiwan. By 1956 he was director in Hawaii, Guam, Enewetok and Kwajalein working with military hospitals, educational programs for military personal.

In later years Truman was located in Washington D.C. and lived at 5701 Colfax Ave., Alexandria, Va. His wife, Lila, whom he met while a student at St. Olaf College, was from Watford City, North Dakota.

In 1914-1915 my sister Cora took normal training in Glenwood and taught in school district 78 during the 1915-1916 school year. Lucille, Helen and I all had Cora as our teacher that year. She was super.

My niece Christine also taught for a number of years at Cokato, Minnesota. She had a blond haired boy friend named Tilrud but this didn’t go. Alice went to live with Christine in Herman, Minnesota where she took her 8th grade.

My nephew Kenneth Dalager married Barbara Steward June 15, 1956. Ken was employed as an electrical engineer at Remington Rand Univac. They have divorced and Ken has married Judy Beiswinger and they live in New Brighton. She is the owner of Biswinger Hardware.

My brother Herman Dalager and Clarence Pladson were head of the church crops project to raise money for the Barsness Church. The project leased 65 acres from N. P. Halvorson.

Fun on the farm

When growing up Hannah played a mouth organ and the youngest children danced and had fun.

The hired men were Anton Hoff, Rasmus Feigum, Anton Ogdahl, ‘fatty’ Gunder Johnson. Fatty became part of the Dalager family for a long time. After working for dad he worked for Cora and Adolph Anderson and later in the 3d generation my son Ralph teased my daughter Lila about him by just pointing his finger at her and saying ‘fatty Gunder.’

Julia (Dalager) Solverud-Knutson: Last days in Dakota, the move to Minnesota, and Tollef’s passing

Deering Herald News

Jan 7, 1911 Mr. and Mrs. Tollef Solverud departed Monday for an extended visit with relatives in southern Minnesota.

June 3, 1911 The first section of an article by Julia Solverud comparing the US government with that of Great Britian appeared.

July 8, 1911 On Friday evening, June 30, the Deering Birthday Club held their regular social gathering in Koch’s hall, the guests of honor being Mrs. Tollef Solverud, Mrs. F. L. Allen and Mrs. Fred Long. Mrs. Solverud, president of the club, had just returned from an extended trip east and was happily surprised by being presented with a beautiful bouquet of American Beauty roses. The tables were tastefully decorated with ferns, rose leaves and wild flowers, and the banquet served in its usual happy style and thoroughly enjoyed by all present. Mrs. Long being absent was remembered by each lady present, with a post card reminding her of the happy event. The out of town guests were Mrs. G. M. Wedge of Plainview, Minn, Miss Dora Schram of Long Prairie, Minn and Miss Anna Solverud of Hayfield, Minn.

July 11, 1911 Miss Anna Solverud arrived last Saturday from Hayfield, Minnesota. She will spend the summer here with her brother Tollef Solverud and family and will assist Mr. Solverud in the store.

August 5, 1911 Misses Anna Solverud and Ida Franze and K. T. Dalager were among those from Deering who took in the circus at Granville Wednesday.

September 16, 1911 On Wednesday evening, September 13, the Deering Birthday Club held their regular business meeting at the home of Mrs. Solverud, twelve ladies were present. It was decided to give the last birthday entertainment on Monday evening, September 18. The yearly reports were read and approved. It was then decided by the ladies to discontinue the coming year.

November 25, 1911 Tollef Solverud arrived Thursday morning from Des Moines, Iowa and will spend time here looking after business interests.

February 3, 1912 Tollef Solverud visits friends at Sherewood between trains last Tuesday.

February 10, 1912 Tollef Solverud went to Minot Thursday evening to look after business matters for a few days.

On September 9, 1912 Julia Solverud, sister of the groom, was Matron of Honor in the wedding of Ida Franze and Karl T. Dalager on the Franze farm near Battle Lake, Minnesota.

It was about this time when Tollef and Julia left Deering, N. D. and moved to Kirksville, Missouri to study Chiropractic Medicine. Following this they moved to Mankato, Minnesota where they set up a Chiropractic Clinic. It was during this time that they adopted Truman. Truman was born February 11, 1911 and was perhaps about 3 years old.

On November 29, 1915, shortly after they had adopted Truman, Tollef Solverud died and Julia was left alone with a young child to raise.

Following Tollef’s death, Julia went back to teaching and taught at Lowry, Minnesota the 1916-1917 school year.

Julia (Dalager) Solverud-Knutson: Pope County Superintendent of Schools

Glenwood Herald, Oct 24, 1918

Mrs. Solverud seeks county Superintendent of School

• Born June 7, 1879 in Pope County
• Graduate of St. Cloud State Normal School 1901
• Taught Rural & graded school in Minnesota for 8 years
• Married to T. Solverud of Hayfield, Minnesota
• T. Solverud died November 29, 1915 in Mankato, Minn.
• Mrs. Solverud moved to Glenwood with son Truman
• Julia has been a speaker on various war topics
• Candidate for Superintendent of Schools of Pope County

In the fall of 1918 Julia was elected Superintendent of Schools of Pope county and served two terms serving until 1926. Here she met with much success, encouraging her teachers and helping them to make the most of their teaching opportunities. In those days there were no welfare boards to provide help and people began to come to her with their problems.

On June 27, 1923 Julia married Knute Knutson of Minneapolis. The ceremony was performed by Rev. G. G. Beito at the home of the groom’s parents in Swift Falls, Mn. Following the wedding reception the couple left for Minneapolis, Chicago and many places made famous by Lincoln.

Julia and Knute made their home in Glenwood where Julia continued her work as Pope County Superintendent of schools. Knute was an attorney and was later appointed judge of the district court at Benson, Minnesota, and would later become a State Legislator.

Julia ran for reelection in 1926 against some strong forces. Following is a message to the voters of Pope County on the behalf of Julia written by teachers and ex-teachers of Pope County.

We, the voluntary committee of teachers and ex-teachers, are urging the re-election of Julia D. Solverud-Knutson as County Superintendent of Schools of Pope County by making a straight forward plea upon the ground of efficiency and merit.

Julia D. Solverud-Knutson was born and raised in Pope County, was graduated from St. Cloud Teacher’ College in the class of 1901. She has had eighteen years of successful experience in the Educational Field, has taught for a period of ten years in the rural and semi-graded and graded schools of our state. She has also taught art in high school. She has served eight years as our County Superintendent of Schools and has proven to be a most efficient officer.

We, that have worked for years in the schools under the supervision of our present County Superintendent, have had the opportunity of seeing the great progress in the rural schools and have learned what it means to be of service to the boys and girls. More and more interest has been manifested in the pupils, teachers and parents of our county.

When Mrs. Knutson comes to visit the schools she brings with her the spirit of love and service. Teachers and pupils look forward to her coming. Her valuable suggestions are given in such a way that no offense can be taken. She always brings a beautiful message to the children in the form of a friendly, motherly talk. In these messages she sews seeds that we believe in due time will sprout and bring forth its valuable fruit and prepare the children to become citizens that will be a credit to themselves and to our nation.

Some of us have taught in other counties and we find that the pupils here are given wonderful opportunities. Mrs. Knutson gives the eight-graders a chance to make up one conditional mark during the summer vacation. This saves the pupil from attending school in the country for only one subject. You can imagine the extra work this gives her and for such services she charges no compensation.

Pupils who are unable to attend school after they are sixteen years and have been unable to finish the eighth grade are not forgotten by our County Superintendent. For those she has prepared a correspondence course that she offers to give them free. Many ambitious boys and girls in Pope County have availed themselves of this opportunity and many have made records for themselves which they could never have attained without the encouragement and help of Mrs. Knutson.

It may be well to touch upon the duties of our County Superintendent. Some hold that the County Superintendent has charge of all the Schools. This is not true. The County Superintendent of Pope County where all the districts are organized has charge of all the semi-graded and rural school, eighty-four in number. The four high school, namely Villard, Glenwood, Starbuck, and Cyrus. are directly under the state and visited by the high school inspector. Lowry and Sedan are graded schools and inspected by the graded school inspector.

The voters of the villages of our county should consider this carefully, and it should be their aim to cast their ballot for the candidate that will give the semi-graded and rural schools the best services. We feel that in the coming election the villages have the best opportunity to prove their loyalty to the rural districts by casting their ballots for our much loved County Superintendent, Mrs. Solverud-Knutson.

We teachers feel, furthermore, that the office of county Superintendent of Schools is a woman’s job. We feel more free to deal with a woman, and at present 95 per cent of the teachers are women and 75 percent of these are young girls. The value of Mrs. Knutson’s advice and council to these young teachers can not be estimated in dollars and cents. We find in her a most sincere friend and advisor. We learn she rejoices with us in our achievements and grieves with us in our sorrows.

The social work which Mrs. Knutson is giving to our people without compensation must not be forgotten. If any of the children are physically unfit to study she seems to pick them out very readily and we find that she drives miles out of her way to visit with parents of such children and the result invariably is that the parents will consult their family physician within a short time.

Some say that Mrs. Knutson is married and should not have the position. What about the men in office who are married? Does either the law or common sense specify or recognize nuptial relations as a qualification for service? In every state in the Union married women are active in educational work as directors, superintendents and teachers. President Coolidge said recently: “I can conceive of no experience better adapted to give either a woman or man that knowledge which is more likely to be of value in the discharge of public office than that which comes from family life.”

In this pleasure seeking age we can all truly say our County Superintendent is not numbered among those. She is on the job all the time. She is so conscientious in her work that we know it would be unlike her to take the time that rightfully belongs to the boys and girls in the rural schools to campaign. Seventy-five per cent of the schools have already been visited this fall. We feel that it is only our duty to take this step in order to let the voters of Pope County know what our County Superintendent means to the teachers and pupils in the school under her supervision. Let us show her our appreciation for the splendid service she has given us in the past by re-electing her with an overwhelming majority on November 2nd.

Yours for efficient service,

TEACHERS AND EX-TEACHERS OF POPE CT

Julia won that election, but was not re-elected in her third bid. Following her defeat, Julia wrote a farewell message. She had given so much of herself to this job. Excerpts from that message follow.

To the three great pillars that assisted me during the tragic accident and illness that made my son a cripple, I wish to extend my heartiest thanks. These pillars took the form of three neighborhood boys, namely: Bernhard Linnevold, Erwin Haldorson and Howard Vegoe. Through the faithful assistance you gave me, I was able to survive. Your services to me could never be paid in dollars and cents. Only the Giver of all Good Gifts can reward you, and I have an assurance from Him that you will become vessels of much value, and thus bring your Maker a Good Price.

To the teachers and ex-teachers who have served during my two terms in office, I wish to express my sincere thanks for the faithful manner in which you have performed your duties. The great wave of progress which has taken place in Pope county is mostly due to the efficient services you have rendered. Remember that I shall always stand ready to serve you whenever you feel that my services will be of value to you.

The boys and girls in the rural and semi-graded schools of Pope county will never be forgotten by me. Your courteous treatment, the kindness you have shown me, and the great efforts you have put forth to please me and live up to my expectations will ever linger in my mind.

I was taught, when a child, by my kind father, that it is not the stone that broke the window, but the force that throws it. He taught me never to carry grudges, but to serve my fellow men with heart and soul. I have tried to live up to his teachings and can at this time say with the Great Emancipator, “Malice toward none and charity to all.”

Pope County, the home of my birth, much have I labored inside your walls, and greatly do I love your people. And now, may the New Year Bells proclaim happiness and liberty to all your inhabitants, and may the Redeemer of Mankind cast the shadow of His wing over each and every one of you and give you peace.

As County Superintendent of Schools, Pope County, I bid you a kind FAREWELL. Most sincerely,

Mrs. Julia D. Solverud-Knutson.

Julia (Dalager) Solverud-Knutson: 1880-1967 Remembered

Julia Knutson died April 9, 1967 at the age of 87 years and 10 months. The following are excerpts from The Passing Parade as seen by Edward E. Barsness in the Glenwood Herald in April, 1967.

Julia’s life was one of valuable service to many people. She saw the need of work to be done, and no task was too difficult for her to put her time and energy into. A lady with high ideals, she lived up to the high standards she had set up for herself. She never forgot her old home community and it was a great delight for her to come back and visit the old pioneers who gave so much for the real progress of the county. There are still a few left of those who went to the country school when she was a teacher.

Julia was laid to rest in an old cemetery near her son Truman Solverud’s home, called Thornrose. The cemetery is located on top of a high hill overlooking the lovely grounds and beautiful trees.

In view of Mrs. Knutson’s interest in young people and in religious education, a scholarship has been set up at St. Olaf College in her memory. Each year appropriate faculty members select a student from St. Olaf to permit him or her to purchase books that will help their studies. A very substantial gift of money was given to the Pope County Historical Society in Mrs. Knutson’s memory, by her son Truman Solverud.

Acknowledgements:

The material on the life of Julia Dalager Solverud Knutson has been gathered and put into biography form by her nephew, James Dalager, the son of Julia’s brother Karl. Without the help of many people, this biography could not have been written. Lavilla Peterson, Julia’s sister was a great help as well as Shirley Dalager Westacott, the writer’s sister. I wish to express my thanks to them for their valuable and needed assistance.

Thank you also to John E. Bye from the North Dakota Institute of Regional Studies and Howard Barlow from Lutheran Social Service of North Dakota for providing information on and history of the House of Mercy.

Thank you to LeRoy Knutson of Benson, Mn, a nephew of Knute Knutson for providing information on Knute Knutson.

The letters to Julia Dalager of Webster, S. D. were given to the writer, James Dalager, at the Dalager family reunion at Webster, S. D. on August 8, 1998 by Margaret Dalager Lindroth. Margaret is a niece of Julia Dalager of Webster.