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.’

Karl and Ida: Starting out in North Dakota

Deering Herald

October 5, 1912 Mr. and Mrs. K.T. Dalager were over Sunday visitors in Deering, guests at the Fred L. Allen home. They returned to their home at Glenburn Sunday evening in the company with Mr. and Mrs. Allen in their auto.

October 25, 1912 Mrs. K.T. Dalager of Glenburn visited friends in Deering between trains on Wednesday.

Karl and Ida Dalager’s first child, Horace Joel, was born August 31, 1913. His place of birth is unknown. He was baptized at Hope Lutheran Church in Makoti, ND on October 5, 1913. The pastor was N. H. Holen and the sponsors were Mrs. Henry Staflien, Rognhild Nilsen and Otto Franze. Otto was Ida’s brother who was working in a bank in Ryder, N.D. at the time. Ryder was not far from Makoti. Makoti is on the Soo Line railroad about 30 miles southwest of Minot, N.D.

James Franze remembered that Karl and Ida stayed with grandma Emma one winter when Horace was a baby. He said that Horace was a pretty big baby. Since Horace was born August 31, 1913, this must have been the winter of 1913-14. At that time the Franzes were working at clearing the three-acre piece of woods just east of the farm building. Karl would help with cutting the trees. James said Karl was pretty good with the ax. Since there were a lot of oak trees there were also a lot of squirrels. Karl shot some and prepared a meal from them. It was the first time James had seen a squirrel skinned. There seemed to be a second skin or film that had to be removed. Then Karl prepared a dish he called chicken pie but James didn’t care too much for it because he knew it was squirrel.

Karl and Ida farmed near Herman, Minnesota after they left grandma Emma’s farm. James was a kid at the time and was tickled to visit Karl and Ida. He remembered once when they went to visit Karl and Ida at Herman. It was a stormy cloudy day and he was turned around in his directions. When he saw the place he asked Karl why the windows on the chicken house were on the north side facing the winter storms. The windows were not on the north side: he had become mixed up in his directions because of the storm and clouds.