The interview was
conducted in Norwegian and was translated by Christer Uthus on June 14, 2001.
Norwegian
Sponsor:
Funding for encoding this finding aid was
provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the
Humanities.
Biographical Note
Peter Laurits Fet was born on March 10, 1900
in Hellen, Ikornes, Sykkylven, Norway, which is on the West Coast of Norway.
His parents were Peter Syverin Fet and Karoline Hellen, and he had one sister,
Signe Karoline. When Peter was sixteen years old, he began to fish and remained
in the industry for two seasons until deciding to immigrate to America with
some friends. Once in America, he worked in the timber industry near the
Hoquiam-Aberdeen area in Washington State. Peter stayed in Washington for six
or seven years before returning to Norway, where he married Åsta Brudevold and
had two children, Kjell and Olaug Gjersrud. Åsta's brother Erling also spent
time in America when he was younger. He worked on a farm in Minnesota, then
moved to the West Coast, where he lived his whole life. Normal jobs for women
immigrating to America was housekeeping and work in the Alaskan fishing
industry. Both Peter and Åsta visited America in 1962, where they visited the
Yakima area where a cousin lived. Three things she remembers about America are
the Grand Coulee Dam, Roosevelt, and the dark green American mountains. Åsta
also talks about Norway during the Second World War.
Lineage
Full Name: Peter Laurits Fet. Father: Peter Syverin Fet. Mother:
Karoline Hellen. Paternal Grandfather: Lars Peter Guttormsen. Paternal
Grandmother: Inger Larsdatter Fet. Maternal Grandfather: Ole Larson Hellen.
Maternal Grandmother: Anne Marta Gertmundsdatter Lade. Brothers and Sisters:
Signe Karoline Fet, Spouse: Åsta Brudevold. Children: Kjell Fet, Olaug
Gjersrud.
Content Description
This interview was conducted with Peter
Fet on June 16, 1984 in Sykkylven, Norway. It contains information about family
background, emigration, work, return to Norway, and marriage. The interview was
conducted in Norwegian and was translated by Christer Uthus on June 14, 2001.
Also available are photographs of Peter at an immigrant funeral in Tacoma,
Washington, Peter beside his automobile, Peter and friends at Christmas in
Hoquiam, Washington, and Peter and his wife Åsta at the time of the
interview.
Use of the Collection
Restrictions on Access :
The oral history collection is open to all users.
Restrictions on Use :
There are no restrictions on use.
Administrative Information
Custodial History :
The Oral History collection
project was started during an experimental course on Scandinavian Women in the
Pacific Northwest. Students in the course were encouraged to interview women
and learn about their experiences as immigrants to the United States. The
project was continued and expanded with support from the president's office and
by grants from the L.J. Skaggs and Mary C. Skaggs Foundation, from the Joel E.
Ferris Foundation and the Norwegian Emigration Fund of the Royal Norwegian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The project was directed by Dr. Janet E.
Rasmussen. The collection was transferred to the Archives and Special
Collections Department.
Acquisition Information :
Related Materials :
To search and view Pacific
Lutheran University's digitized images, visit our
Digital Assets
Website
Processing Note :
The interview was conducted by
Janet Rasmussen using a cassette recorder. A research copy was also prepared
from the original. To further preserve the content of the interview, it is now
being transferred to compact disc. We deliberately did not transcribe the
entire interview because we want the researchers to listen to the interviewee's
own voice. The transcription index highlights important aspects of the
interview and the tape counter numbers noted on the Partial Interview
Transcription are meant as approximate finding guides and refer to the location
of a subject on the cassette/CD. The recording quality is good
The
collection was transcribed by Mary Sue Gee, Julie Peterson and Becky Husby.
Bibliography :
Rasmussen, Janet Elaine. New Land
New Lives: Scandinavian Immigrants to the Pacific NorthwestTacoma, WashingtonUniversity of Washington
Press1993
Additional Reference Guides :
Detailed Description of the Collection
The partial interview transcription
highlights important aspects of the interview. Numbers may be used as guides to
important subjects. Two numbers separated by a slash indicate that the first
number is for cassette and the second for CD.
Cassette
264, side 1
011: PERSONAL
BACKGROUND
Peter Lauritz Fet was born at
Hellen at his mother's house on March 10, 1900. Peter grew up at Hellen and
moved thereafter to Fet. Not many houses were available in Fet at that time.
The families living in Fet have been living there for centuries.
264, side 1
039: FAMILY
Father's name was Peter Severin. Mother, Karoline Hellen,
worked as a midwife and was killed in a bus accident in the area in 1951. His
sister, Signe is 20 years younger than Peter.
264, side 1
060: CHILDHOOD
Six families in the area. Every family owned a farm
and each family had several kids, which meant that he had several friends
growing up. Remembers quarrels with friends, but they usually became friends
quickly again. Peter enjoyed growing up at Fet.
264, side 1
076: SCHOOL
: Peter lived one kilometer from the school. The class had
one teacher, Johan Brunstad. Had this teacher almost all the years and he was a
very good teacher. Went to school with kids from three other farms in the area:
Fet, Dravlaus and Velle. Peter describes this as the best time of his life.
Went to school until confirmation, Peter was then 15 years old. The old
system was school every day for two weeks and then two weeks off. The new
system was school every second day throughout the whole year. Peter remembered
a strike when the school wanted to change between these two systems. A new
teacher, Lars Johannes, retired, was there during the strike for a couple of
months. This incident happened when Peter was 10 years old.
264, side 1
126: WORK IN NORWAY
Helped his father on the farm when he was not
attending school. Started working after confirmation, 15 years old. Worked the
first year as a fisherman on a herring boat. Did not get any fish this year.
Fishing was seasonal work and happened during the winter. Fishing took place
along the shore and there could be 15-20 people working on one boat. The next
year he worked in a boathouse, where the boats delivered the herring. There the
herring was salted, put in barrels, and sold, mostly to Englishmen. When he was
18 years old, he got a job as an apprentice in a lumber mill. Worked for Johan
Ørsta at the Ekornes Company. Worked together with 7 other people. When he was
20 years old, he worked on the roads in the area. Difficult to get a job now,
not jobs for everybody. Low wages: 50-60 øre/hour. Many thought about leaving
home to get jobs and America was the best alternative.
264, side 1
195: EMIGRATION
The first people from Sykkylven, mostly youths,
emigrated to America, starting at the turn of the century. Many in the
community got the so-called "America-fever" and several left for America
between 1900-1930. Some left even if they owned farms and had family. Some had
been there before and already knew the language. People from Sykkylven mostly
settled on the West coast. People that had emigrated earlier helped the new
emigrants to settle in.
264, side 1
247: PETER'S
JOURNEY
Peter emigrated to America in
1923, together with 20 other youths from Sykkylven. Almost 100 persons from
Sykkylven emigrated to America in 1923. Not everyone ended up in Hoquiam, some
went to Tacoma and some even went to Seattle. Many of them had been there
before. Peter did not know a single English word, so sign language helped him
in the beginning. Learned the language quickly and he also received help from
people already living in the area. Peter arrived in Hoquiam in February 1923.
He lived together with a man, Bernh Brunstad, and his family that had been in
the area since around 1900.
264, side 1
276: WORK/LIFE IN
AMERICA
Peter had done some construction
work before and therefore got the job as a house builder together with Brunstad
In Aberdeen. They continued to work together for six years. When he worked he
got room and board for free. A man named Rikstad from Bergen, Norway helped him
get his first job. Peter enjoyed working in the city, but also visited his
friends that worked in the forest sometimes. The people working in the forest
worked there for several months at a time, without ever visiting the city.
Peter, together with Brunstad, helped people when they came to the city and
many lived in Brunstad's house. Brunstad had a big house with many bedrooms in
the attic. He did not charge rent for at this occasions. People stored their
best clothes at Brunstad's and it was Peter's task to get the clothes repaired
and cleaned in between visits. Brunstad was married and had several kids. His
wife made food for everyone and the whole family was very generous. Peter
usually ate at Brunstad's and he therefore ate mostly Norwegian food. Peter
traveled together with Brunstad by car in the weekends and he met many people
since Brunstad had many friends. Many immigrants bought a car after a while,
but Peter never owned a car in America. Peter started as an apprentice and had
to join a union. The job paid a good salary after a while. Peter and Brunstad
helped build a house for Arnar and Alec Poulsen. This house was donated to the
city and are used as a forestry museum today.
264, side 1
383: NORWEGIAN
SOCIETIES
Peter was a member of Sons of
Norway, "Gangerolv" No. 14. Activities in this society: Youth work, Norwegian
work, programs and meetings. Sons of Norway also arranged a party on July 4 and
at Christmas time, when all of the people working in the forest came to the
city. They did not have their own hall, they rented a hall from the Swedish
called "Eastside Hall" for their meetings. Peter was treasurer for Sons of
Norway the last two years he was in America. His main task was then to collect
the membership fees from the members. The membership fee was around $20, which
was paid twice a year. Some Norwegian women emigrated to America, but only a
few came from Sykkylven. He still has contact with friends in America. Met many
new friends, and it was easy to get in touch with other immigrants. Many have
moved or died, only one friend, Pete Olsen, is still living in the area.
264, side 1
455: TICKET TO
AMERICA
Relatives living in Sykkylven
borrowed for Peter NOK 1,200 for the ticket, which was the price of the ticket.
Money he saved while working in Norway also helped him on the journey to
America. It took Peter one year to save enough money to pay back the price of
the ticket. He saved some money, but it was difficult to save money while
living in the city. He never bought property in America.
264, side 1
474: WORK AT A WHALE
STATION
While working for Rikstad in
Aberdeen he got a job at a whale station in Vestbo outside Aberdeen. He
repaired some large containers, in which they cooked whale fat. He worked there
in the summer and because of the heat the smell was very bad in the area. Peter
describes this as the worst job he ever had.
264, side 1
491: ENGLISH
LANGUAGE
Peter took some English courses,
tried to read articles in the newspaper, and listened to people talk to each
other. He also got much help from the people that had lived in the area for
several years.
264, side 1
502: WORK IN THE
FOREST
The forest in the area around
Hoquiam was mostly virgin forest, which made the work difficult. Several
accidents happened in the forest. Mostly manual labor in the beginning, which
made the job dangerous. People at the hospital almost all the time. Most common
injury was broken bones and legs. Peter and a friend, Peter Hole, used to
visited people in the hospital and got many friends during these visits. The
work in the hospital got more mechanical after a while, which limited the
danger for the workers.
264, side 1
525: FAMILY
REACTIONS
Parents could not say much, it
was his decision. He told his parents that he would stay there for some years
and then return. This was the plan for most of the people going to America.
Peter was the only son, but going to America was the only possibility to earn
money. He was definitely returning to Fet to take over the family farm,
however, many of his friends never returned to Norway. Was never in doubt,
because he could claim the family farm because it was a freehold farm. The main
factor for many for returning to Norway were the rights to freehold farms.
264, side 1
552: DIFFERENCES
AMERICA/NORWAY
Peter was in America for 6
1/2 years. He encountered several differences when he returned but enjoyed
returning to Norway. He started building houses when he returned to Norway,
built a hay barn the first year. Built a new house on the family farm
afterwards. His son is running the farm now. Many tasks and he was busy all the
time after returning.
264, side 1
579: NORWEGIAN
NEWSPAPER
He did not subscribe to any
Norwegian newspapers while staying in America. He read "The Western Viking"
while living in America. This newspaper, together with letters from home,
enabled him to be updated on events back home.
264, side 1
586: CONTACT WITH AMERICA AFTER
RETURN
Kept in touch with friends via
letters after returning to Norway. Many have died now, but Pete Olsen and Marie
Blindheim is still alive. Marie is a friend still living in America. She has
many kids. Her husband died while floating timber. Peter also visited America
in 1962 together with his wife Åsta, when the World Fair was in Seattle.
264, side 1
604: U.S.
CITIZENSHIP
Peter was a U.S. citizen. He
got the "first" papers, and could also have gotten the "second", but he never
got around to take them.
264, side 1
608: IDEAS BROUGHT
HOME
He brought some construction ideas
home, especially regarding kitchen furnishings. He built the kitchen furnishing
in the house in Norway himself, and the new idea was to make room for the feet
below the kitchen counter, which was not normal in Norway at that time. He also
got the idea of cupboards. The normal feature in Norway at that time was just
ordinary shelves with maybe a curtain in front.
264, side 1
648: FOOD
Used mostly the same food in America as in Norway, except
that there were more fruit in America at that time.
264, side 1
656: MARRIAGE
Married in 1934, on June 2. Married with: Åsta
Brudevold. Two kids: One boy and one girl. Boy: Kjell Petter. Full-time job as
an architect, but he is also running the farm. Girl: Olaug, married to Odd
Gjersrud, from Oslo. Running an auto repair shop in Straumgjerde. Odd was also
in America for 16 years.
264, side 1
676: COMPARISON
NORWAY/AMERICA
Difficult to compare. Life
in Norway has been good the last years as well, but he feels that people were
more satisfied before. The biggest change came with the introduction of TV and
radio, people talked more to each other before they arrived.
264, side 2
035: PICKPOCKETS
Many pickpockets were in the area when Peter was in
America. They could exploit a newcomer, especially on a crowded bus. Several
friends lost their money for example on the way to Seattle.
264, side 2
070: ROALD AMUNDSEN
Roald Amundsen visited Seattle after his journey over
the North Pole and Peter was in Seattle when that happened. The airship passed
Grace Harbor and anchored up by Tacoma. Peter drove past, there were some
celebrations in that area, and also some celebrations in "Norway Hall" in
Seattle. This was a big happening for the Norwegian immigrants in this area.
264, side 2
113: CHURCH
Went to the Methodist Church in Aberdeen. The church did not
have a Norwegian priest while Peter was there. The priest was Danish, and he
was called Christensen.
264, side 2
130: POPULATION IN
HOQUIAM
Mostly Scandinavian people and
they were mostly Swedish and Swedish-speaking Finns. Peter also worked together
with them. Worked together with a Finn on the previously mentioned whale
station. It was this Finn that helped him to get this job. His name was
Österberg and he was a very good carpenter. House construction was a bit
different in America, but was quite easy to learn.
264, side 2
175: UNION/WORK
There was one union in every city. The union was only
for people working with construction, not for people working in the forest.
Peter did not encounter any strikes. Had to leave work the same day if work was
not completed in a satisfactory manner. Very high work tempo in the beginning,
no time to chat with the other workers. Almost ran in-between assignments. This
improved later when Peter started to know people. The workday was 8 hours and
overtime was possible if needed. Worked the whole year, only had a couple of
days off around July 4 and Christmas.
264, side 2
208: TRAVELS
Visited an uncle in San Francisco once, which also was in
the construction business. Did not travel much besides that.
264, side 2
229: RETURN TO
NORWAY
Most of the people owning farms
and that had family in Norway returned. Peter returned because of the farm and
because he had promised his parents to do so. People living in America got
home-sick and the home-sickness increased as the years passed. Some returned
after they retired in America, but it was hard for them to come back after
several years, because they felt like strangers in their home town.
264, side 2
INTERVIEW WITH ÅSTA FET,
PETER'S WIFE
264, side 2
287: FAMILY
Åsta had three brothers, Johan, Harald, and Erling. All of
them emigrated to America, Johan and Harald in 1925 and Erling in 1927. Erling
was only 17 years old when he emigrated to America and he ended up working on
his aunt's big farm in Minnesota. The aunts name was Louise Revstad. This work
was too hard for Erling and he moved to the west coast after some years. He
married Borghild Leikanger and is still living in America. He worked some years
for a dairy, and ran his own barber shop until retirement. Johan liked fishing
best and he also stayed in America his whole life. Harald took over the farm in
Norway and ran that until he died in 1975.
264, side 2
332: TRIP IN 1962
The best memory Åsta has. She finally got to see the
area from which she had heard many stories and she met many of her husband's
friends.
264, side 2
342: SYKKYLVEN
Industry arrived in Sykkylven after Erling left,
which improved living conditions in Sykkylven a lot. The emigration to America
almost stopped after the industry arrived. Some women left for America and
almost all of them never returned to Norway, because they married in America.
There were mostly women left in Sykkylven for some years when emigration was on
its highest.
264, side 2
356: JOBS FOR WOMEN
Many women worked for the fishing industry in Alaska,
on can factories. Several of the women that left for America also did housework
for rich families. The immigrants were well-known for doing good work, so it
was easy for the women to get a job.
264, side 2
365: ÅSTA IN NORWAY
Åsta also wanted to go to America, but she had to
help her parents on the farm, since she was the only child left. They managed
to run the farm together, but also got help from younger boys that they payed
to help them.
264, side 2
374: ÅSTA'S TRIP TO
AMERICA
As previously mentioned, Peter
and Åsta visited America in 1962. America was much bigger and better than she
thought before she got there, it is impossible to imagine how it is. She
remember a trip to Eastern Washington and Grand Coulee Dam. They also visited
Roosevelt, WA where they saw a statue of President Roosevelt. She also
remembers the big mountains with the dark-red rock. They also visited relatives
in Yakima and were able to see the apple gardens in Yakima. They also saw the
Leiv Eriksson monument and a big Norwegian ship that passed by that statue.
They went to a concert on the world fair, with a Norwegian choir from Utah.
They also sang Norwegian songs, including "Vår Gud han er så fast en borg." She
started to pick up some English words at the end of the trip, but she wished
she had learned English before she went.
264, side 2
434: WORLD WAR II AND YEARS
AFTER
After the war was over they
received many packages from America, not just from relatives but also through
the Marshall treaty. Her brother also knew people in Sweden so they also
received help from them. Åsta remembers receiving letters from Sweden during
the war. They had been opened by the Germans, and had several censor stamps on
them. It was a sad time during the war years, and she is glad that those years
are over.
Subjects
This collection is indexed under
the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials
about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these
headings.
Personal Names :
Brudevold, Åsta
Fet,
Kjell
Fet,
Olaug Gjersrud
Fet, Peter
Laurits--Interviews
(
creator)
Fet,
Peter Syverin
Fet, Signe Karoline
Hellen, Karoline
Corporate Names :
Sons
of Norway.(U.S.) Gangerolvo Lodge No.14.(Hoquiam, Wash.)
