Julia (Dalager) Solverud-Knutson: Midwest Hebrew Mission

The Midwest Jewish Mission moved the headquarters to St. Paul in the early 1940’s and renamed themselves the Midwest Hebrew Mission. Their headquarters was located in a large house at 1349 Midway Parkway, St. Paul, Minn. The building still stands only a few blocks east of the east entrance to the State Fair Grounds. The building had two cement lions, one either side of its front steps.

Following is a letter describing her work written by Julia to her sister Cora. She was in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada at the time. Because of her reference to Tollef, we know that the letter was written in November, 1944.

My dear Cora,

Here I am at the above, look it up on the map. Way north, south of Edmonton. I will leave here the later part of the week to go to Edmonton. Calls are coming in fast and I do not know how long I will be here. Have been called back to a few places before I return so may not get back until December. I am meeting a lot of fine people at the meetings. Weather was lovely while I was in Winnipeg. Spoke in four churches and at the Winnipeg Bible Institute gave 8 messages in all. Then I went to Killarney (Irish settlement) gave 4 messages there at two points and thus I have journeyed on thus far. I have delivered 35 messages from 45 minutes to 1 hour & 15 minutes. Where my audiences are most interested some have asked for extra time.

I had such a good rest and fine visit at your house. I think you have a lovely place and am sure you will have it all paid for in a short time. Then one surely can make a good living and not work so hard. As we grow older we need more rest. (Missing a sentence about a fine boy.) I believe in putting all grief behind us and look ahead to the great goal we hope to reach looking neither to the right or to the left but ahead.

I am feeling good but get very tired at times. Yesterday I spoke 4 times, one message was short however and this morning I took an early bus and had a ride of 70 miles. Will rest this evening as it is Monday. Tomorrow at 10 A.M. I am speaking at a ministerial meeting, only ministers. I was surprised when I heard I was booked for that meeting. May the Lord give me a powerful message as I go before that group.

Remember me to all your family. Hope you had a lovely visit with Lorna while she was at home. May God bless the young couple. I feel happy over her marriage. I feel it will be a successful one. Enclosed find one of my articles I have written to fight anti-Semitism.

Lots of Love. Julia

My dear Cora, I so often think of you living with Tollef and I at Sherwood, N.D. Tollef was so proud of Cora. He used to say how lovely that young sister is. Love from Julia.

The close of this month marks Tollef’s rest as 29 years.

The need for this ministry is well described by the following paragraph taken from the Annual Report dated May 1945.

The great difficulty of this work may be seen from the fact that although thousands of able pastors have preached the gospel, and hundreds of splendid churches have been ministering to Jew and Gentile alike for some eighty years or more here in the Twin Cities, yet the fruit among the Jews is so negligible that it can scarcely be seen at all, for hardly a Jew can be found on the church rolls in the entire Northwest.

The work of the mission was carried out using a letter outreach to Jewish families, 2nd using a flyer named “A Voice to Israel” which was given a wider distribution and finally using the spoken word and personal contact. The job of bringing the spoken word fell mainly on the shoulders of Julia.

As a result of the ministry that Aunt Julia carried out during the time that I was growing up, I was able to get to know her well. A lot of her ministry was in Dakota and northwest Minnesota. Therefore, she would stop at our home at St. Hilaire, Minn. quite often. Our family, especially my sister and I, loved to hear her tell of her trip to Palestine. She told about her experience swimming in the Dead Sea and of the Handkerchief spring or geyser. You could put a dirty handkerchief in it and after a while it would return to the surface sparkling clean. She made Bible stories really come alive.

Aunt Julia’s second husband, Judge Knute Knutson, died August 6, 1946. Following is a card written to her sister Lavilla Peterson from Miami, Florida, December 22, 1948.

Dear Johnny and Lavilla,

Must drop you a card from Miami. We are having a nice time. It is however very warm. Sunday it was 82 degrees, like some of our hottest days in July. The city is beautifully decorated for Christmas but to me it seems strange. Children in shorts and barefooted. A Merry Christmas to you all. Julia

My sister Shirley visited Aunt Julia many times when she was in nurses training at Fairview Hospital from 1948-51. She stated that when she needed a change or felt homesick, she would visit Aunt Julia. They would sit together and Julia would entertain Shirley with vivid descriptions of bible stories and of her own adventures. Shirley would sometimes stay over night.

After I was discharged from the Army in February of 1953 I returned to school at the University of Minnesota for the spring quarter and several summer sessions in following years. I remember visiting Aunt Julia at her home at the Midwest Hebrew Mission many times. At this time she was 75 years old but still dedicated to the Jewish ministry. I even remember washing my car at the Mission located at 1549 Midway Parkway.

When she retired, Aunt Julia went to live with her sister Jenny Houston who had a house in St. Paul. Later on she went to live with her son Truman Solverud who lived in Alexandria, Virginia. Truman had a good position with the Red Cross and had just returned from serving seven years in Japan.

When Truman graduated from St. Olaf College in 1933, our country was in the midst of the great depression. Truman had majored in sociology and social work but jobs were hard to find. Julia was still at the House of Mercy in Fargo and she suggested that Truman do volunteer work at the welfare office in Fargo and he could live with her. He did this and he found that he liked social work. Knowing that education was important, Julia urged him to get more education. As a result he earned another degree in social work at the University of Chicago.

This degree, along with his volunteer work in Fargo, led to employment with the American Red Cross. He remained with the Red Cross the rest of his life, moving into supervisory positions and working in many parts of our country and the world.

Karl and Ida: Starting Over

After the fire, August Erickson, a neighbor who had built a new house on a forty about 1/4 mile away, let the family live in his house while a new house was built. The new house was completed during the summer and fall. That fall James was born on August 23 and Horace started high school in St. Hilaire. He drove a model A Ford car to school as long as he could and stayed in town during the winter.

Vincent took his eighth grade at the St. Hilaire School starting in the fall of 1930. Horace was a junior in high school there and Karl and Ida thought it would be simpler if they both went to the same school. Horace and Vincent drove to school every day. A neighbor, Paul Jepson also rode with them. Vincent could not remember what they did on stormy days or when the roads were impassible but they most likely had to resort to horses. Horace graduated in 1932 and Vincent graduated in 1935. Shirley was born May 28, 1930.

St. Hilaire Spectator

May 16, 1929 Evelyn Peterson, Annie Walseth and Horace Dalager spent the weekend at their respective homes.

Jan 9 1930 Mr. & Mrs. K.T. Dalager & family were guests at the home of Mr. & Mrs. Hansen of Red Lake Falls, Sunday Jan 3, 1930.

Feb. 13, 1930 Mr. & Mrs. K.T. Dalager & Mrs. G B Peterson attended the PTA meeting at St. Hilaire last Friday. They reported the Declamatory Contest very good.

May 28, 1930 Karl and Ida Dalager were blessed with the birth of a daughter. This was the birth of Shirley.

July 24, 1930 Rev. & Mrs. M.L. Dahle and family were guests Monday at the K.T. Dalager home.

Oct. 30, 1930 Mr. & Mrs. Fred Erdmann, accompanied by Mrs. K.T. Dalager motored to Moorhead Sunday to spend the day with Helena Erdmann while Mrs. Dalager visited her sister-in-law Mrs. Knutson of Fargo. On their return Mrs. M.L. Dahle and Maria Erdmann who had spent the weekend in Moorhead accompanied them.

Karl and Ida: James and Shirley go to school

After graduating from high school in 1932 Horace stayed home to help on the farm. Following his high school graduation in 1935 Vincent took a two-year electrical course at Wahpeton State School of Science graduating in 1937 with a two-year degree in electricity.

When I started school in the fall of 1934, I rode in a car driven by Clif Schantzen along with Vincent, Paul Jepson, Henry Bothmans and Stella Omundson. The car picked us up at the cluster of mailboxes, located at the intersection of two roads about a half mile north west of our farm. Vincent and I had to walk the half-mile across country. I remember Vincent making a path for me through the snow.

For my second year I had to meet the car bus at the Bothman corner. This was over 1.5 miles from home or one mile west of the cluster of mail boxes.. Since Vincent had graduated from high school and was now at the Wapeton Technical school, I was on my own. During good weather Horace took me to this corner in the car in the morning. During the winter Horace took me on Jerry, our black and white pinto pony. On the way home from school, I would walk home from the Bothman corner. My usual path was one mile east on the gravel road and then across Anderson’s field through the Larson yard where Ron Hink lived later, then the path through the woods to home. Many time I stopped at the Larson house to get warmed up. Iris Larson, who later married Art Dicken, would give me something warm to eat before I left.

When Shirley started school in 1936, they had a real bus and the route was changed and we met the bus on the county line road south of our place. To meet the bus we had two routes. We could walk either through the Gabe Peterson place that was south and east of our place or through the Dan Johnson or Peterson place. We did this for three years until Carol Walseth started school in 1939. I was in sixth grade when Carol started school. The school bus had changed route again and we met the bus at the mailbox corner which was about 1/2 mile north of the Walseth place. Thorstein took Carol and later Bob by car to meet the bus. Shirley and I would walk to the end of our driveway and Thorstein would pick us up in his Model A Ford. We did this for several years until the bus started coming south from the mailboxes and turned at the Walseth crossing. This may have happened when Robert Peterson and Bob Walseth started school. There were five getting on the bus at that location so the bus came to the Walseth driveway.

Karl and Ida: 4-H, the State Fair, and Ida’s driving

Because there was less than two years difference in our age, Shirley and I took part in many of the same activities as we grew up. We had an active 4H club and Luther League. When we were old enough we usually went to the Lake of the Woods Bible Camp. Shirley went several times and I believe I went twice, once when I was in high school

One of the big 4H projects we had was to raise a beef calf. Both Shirley and I did this. This was during World War II and this was to help the war effort. Because it was a special project, there was a special beef competition in the fall. The top prize went on to further competition. The other calves were all sold at a local auction where local merchants bid on the calves. Our calves were sold locally. Shirley’s calf was purchased by the Jung’s Bakery and mine was purchased by Mostue’s Flower Shop.

Shirley was active in the Style Review and also in Demonstration for which she won a trip to the state fair. However, since this would have been a short trip the county agent recommended that she work at the Farm Camp. This way she had to do some grandstand work but she had free food and housing and some free time. In all, she spent 11 days on the fair grounds. When Horace was about 15 or 16, he also won a trip to what was called the Farm Boys camp during state fair time. This was truly an educational experience for him.

When Vincent was in high school, he played in the high school band. The St. Hilaire high school band played at the 1935 Minnesota State Fair. Although Vincent had graduated that spring he was able to take part in this adventure. Therefore, all three of my siblings earned trips to the Minnesota State Fair.

One of the high points of every summer was our annual July 4th trip to visit the Franze cousins in the Battle Lake area. Uncle James lived on the home farm near Battle Lake and most of the other Aunts and Uncles lived near by. There were always many of kids our age and lots of good food, games, swimming. Because of the cows that Dad had, we either had to find someone to do the chores or Dad or Horace had to stay home. I remember on one return trip home we had a billy goat riding on our running board. Another time a small accident occurred on the way home from Battle Lake when mother was driving because Dad was tired and Shirley and I were riding in the back seat. As mother came over the hill on highway 59 just east of Erskin, Minn she was faced by a dead end. Mother did not drive very often and did not know what to do. This was when highway 59 ended at that point. Dad woke up and grabbed the wheel trying to turn to the right. However, we went into the ditch and the car tipped on its side. However, the car was not hurt badly and we were able to drive home from there after getting it back on its wheels

Karl and Ida: The final years

In 1948 Karl and Ida moved into the same house they had lived in following the fire.  This move was made so Horace could purchase and move to the home place.  Karl continued to farm his north quarter.

On July 26, 1953 Shirley married Robert Westacott at Calvary Lutheran church in St. Hilaire, Minnesota. 

Dad had purchased a new Coop E3 tractor  in the late 1940’s and it was while driving the Coop E3 tractor to the land up north on November 18, 1954 that the tractor rolled over on him killing him.  He most likely suffered a stroke or heart attack rendering him unable to control the tractor.  He had turned off the tractor’s ignition.

Thorstein Walseth, a neighbor, remembered clearly the clear November day in 1954 when Dad died on his tractor.  The tractor had rolled over on its side and one of the big wheels was pinning his leg.  Thorstein said, “We thought that was the trouble, that he was pinned but he was also dead.”  Thorstein and Paul Anderson, another neighbor, had the job of telling my mother that my dad had died in a tractor accident.  This was a couple of hours after the accident.  Thorstein remembered Mother saying, “Oh, didn’t he get further than that?”  Dad had died a couple of hours earlier and mother didn’t know it.  Mother appeared to take things pretty calmly.  This was the way it was at the fire also.  After the fire, Dad had stayed with James and Irene Franze for a while but mother stayed on the farm.  Mother seemed to react to stress pretty calmly.  However, following the fire mother’s black hair turned white in less than a year.  Dad’s sister Julia came at this time, staying for a while, and was a frequent visitor over the years and was always a comforting influence.

Ida spent many of her remaining years on the farm.  It was during this period that Gloria Johnson, wife of Harlow Johnson from our neighborhood, got to know mother through ladies aid.  When working with mother in the church kitchen preparing food, mother had reminded her that when buttering bread or buns, be sure to spread the butter to the edge of the bread.  

It was during the summer of 1960 or 1961, when Phyllis and I were home from Camrose, Canada that the garage door fell on mother and broke her leg.  When she got out of the hospital she went to live with Shirley’s family.  She recovered from this break quite well and enjoyed many years living with Shirley and Bob and the Westacott children.  She got to know and enjoy those children like Phyllis and I are getting to know and enjoy Nathan’s and Darcie’s daughters Marryn and Annika.  Mother died October 18, 1971.

Acknowledgements

Many people and organizations have helped me with material for this family history.  The North Dakota Historical Library for microfilm of the Deering, Glenburn, and Sherwood newspapers.  The Thief River Falls Library for microfilm of the St. Hilaire Spectator.  Also Margaret Dalager Lindroth for providing Aunt Julia’s letters.  To the following people for taped interviews:  Helga Johnson, Benny Johnson, Dorothy Gunstad Hanson, Shirley and Vincent Dalager, Evelyn Peterson Hegreness, Gladys Peterson Johannick, Joe Peterson, Uncle James Franze, Thorestine Walseth and others.