Overview of the Collection
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Repository Name:
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Robert A.L. Mortvedt Library
Scandinavian Immigrant Experience
Collection
Archives and Special
Collections Department
Pacific Lutheran University
Tacoma, WA, 98447
253-535-7586
Email:archives@plu.edu
http://www.plu.edu/~archives/SIE%20Collection/index.htm
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Collection Number:
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t055
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Creator:
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Enwall, Ogie
(Aage) Enevoldsen
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Title:
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Ogie (Aage) Enevoldsen
Enwall Oral History Interview
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Dates:
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1981 (inclusive)
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Quantity:
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2 file folders
1
photograph
1
sound cassette
2 compact discs
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Languages:
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English
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Summary:
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An oral
history interview with Ogie (Aage) Enevoldsen Enwall, a Danish immigrant.
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Biographical Note
Ogie Enwall was born on November 22, 1899 in
Troldhede, Denmark to Jens Enevoldsen and Johana Mickelsen. Jens was a butcher,
and Johanna was a housewife. Ogie had twelve siblings: Jenssine, Mette,
Enevold, Jens, Peder, Niels, Sofus, Axsel, Harry, Arthur, Rudolf, and Oda. Ogie
attended school until he was fourteen, and then began working on farms to pay
for high school, which you had to be eighteen to enter. In March of 1924, Ogie
immigrated to the United States, where he took the train from New York to
Yakima, Washington. Ogie soon found a job on a farm in Roy, Washington and
worked in exchange for ten cows. With his cows, he rented a farm and stayed
there for ten years. In 1932, Ogie bought a farm in Eatonville, Washington and
began dairy farming. He married Mary Shaw the following year, and they had
three daughters: Doris, Evelyn, and Mary Ellen. Through the years, Ogie has
been a member of Ohop Mutual Light Company's board, Fire District 15, which he
helped start, and the Danish Brotherhood. He has also attended Bethany Lutheran
Church on Mountain Highway. Ogie has returned to Denmark three times and does
not think he could live there again. He is proud of his home country but is
also proud to be an American citizen.
Lineage
Full Name: Aage Enevoldsen. Father: Jens Enevoldsen. Mother: Johana
Mickelsen. Brothers and Sisters: Jenssine Enevoldsen, Mette Enevoldsen, Enevold
Enevoldsen, Jens Peter Enevoldsen, Peder Weslev Enevoldsen, Niels Jul
Enevoldsen, Sofus Enevoldsen, Axsel Otto Enevoldsen, Harry Enevoldsen, Arthur
Enevoldsen, Rudolf Enevoldsen, Oda Enevoldsen. Spouse: Mary Shaw. Children:
Doris Enwall, Evelyn Enwall, Mary Ellen Enwall.
Content Description
This interview was conducted with Ogie Enwall (Aage Enevoldsen) on May 13,
1981. It contains information on family background, emigration, dairy farming,
marriage and family, community involvement, and Danish heritage. The interview
also contains a photograph of Ogie. The interview was conducted in English.
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.
Processing Note The interview was conducted by
Morrene Nesvig 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.
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.
Related Information
Bibliography
Rasmussen, Janet Elaine. New Land
New Lives: Scandinavian Immigrants to the Pacific NorthwestTacoma, WashingtonUniversity of Washington
Press1993
Additional Reference Guides
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.
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Enevoldsen, Aage |
| Enevoldsen, Jens |
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Enwall, Doris |
| Enwall, Evelyn |
| Enwall, Mary Ellen |
| Enwall, Ogie
(Aage) Enevoldsen--Interviews (creator) |
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Mickelsen, Johana |
| Shaw, Mary |
| Enevoldsen family |
| Enwall
family |
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Mickelsen family |
| Shaw
family |
| Bethany Lutheran Church (Spanaway, Wash.) |
| Danish Brotherhood in America (Tacoma, Wash.) |
| Ellis Island (N.J.
and N.Y.) |
| Frederick VIII (Steamship) |
| Ohop
Grange (Eatonville, Wash.) |
| Ohop
Mutual Light Company (Eatonville, Wash.) |
| Swan
Lake Dairy (Mont.) |
| Eatonville (Wash.) |
| Roy
(Wash.) |
| Troldhede (Denmark) |
| Danish-Americans--Interviews |
| Danish-Americans--Northwest,Pacific--Social life and
customs |
| Denmark -- Social
conditions -- 1945- |
| Emigration and
immigration |
| Naturalization |
| Railroad
travel |
| World War, 1914-1915 |
| Oral
histories |
| Butchers |
| Farmers |
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.
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Cassette Counter
008:
PERSONAL
BACKGROUND
Name - Ogie Enwall. Name at
the time of immigration - Aage Enevoldsen. Born on November 22, 1899 in
Jylland, Troldhede, Denmark. Ogie changed his name when he got his citizenship
papers so that it would be easier. Where he was born in Denmark was a farming
community, which was inland.
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Cassette Counter
060:
PARENTS
Jens Enevoldsen was a butcher. Mother - Johana Mickelsen was
a housewife who sometimes helped out in the slaughterhouse.
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Cassette Counter
073:
BROTHERS AND
SISTERS
13 in the family including two
sets of twins. Ogie is a twin. (See attached family tree for names). Ogie
worked on other peoples' farms where he would live too.
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Cassette Counter
092:
GRANDPARENTS
Maternal Grandfather - was a farmer, Justice of the
Peace, and the chairman of the Hede Selskabet which broke up new land and
planted trees on it. They were trying to create more productive land. This was
very hard land.
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Cassette Counter
122:
FIRST TRIP TO
DENMARK
They were developing trees (see
counter II-343). Now there are big trees with deer around too.
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Cassette Counter
137:
BACKGROUND OF FAMILY
NAME
When the missionaries came to Denmark
many of the old records were burned. He talks about how they used names in
Iceland. In Iceland, they refused missionaries.
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Cassette Counter
185:
HIGH SCHOOL DAYS IN
DENMARK
School furnished until age 14.
High school you had to be 18 to enter and you had to pay for it. Ogie worked on
farms. One of Ogie's teachers was from Iceland. Ogie worked on the Island of
Sjaelland which is where Copenhagen is.
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Cassette Counter
213:
ARRIVED U.S.
Was on the last boat to go under the old quota. Came
when he was 24 in March of 1924. The quota was going to move from about 2,000
people a month to 300-400. After high school, he got a job on the Island of
Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. Ogie wrote a Christmas card to the people he had
worked for there and they were the ones to get him interested in coming to the
US. They invited him to go with them.
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Cassette Counter
263:
Intended to go to Minnesota. Went to Yakima instead. Had to
have about $100 to go as far as Yakima, Washington. He got money from a
friend.
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Cassette Counter
275:
CROSSING THE
ATLANTIC
Left from Copenhagen on a
passenger boat, "Frederik VIII." There was a mix of Scandinavians aboard. They
were all surprised when they came into New York because there came guards at
every door and a whole bunch of Gypsies got off. They must have been way down
in the hold of the ship. Trip took nine days. Two days of rough weather.
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Cassette Counter
314:
FEELINGS LEAVING
DENMARK
Excited about the trip. Hadn't
seen much of the world. Transportation by walking and bicycle. Had to have a
permit from the Army to travel. Expected to go for 2-3 years. They got numbers
in the service to see who would go. Ogie had five brothers in the service. The
war ended, so Ogie didn't have to go in, but he was on call.
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Cassette Counter
363:
WWI
Fourteen years old at the time. Talks about how it affected
lives. All the young people were in the service. They didn't have any rubber
for their bicycle tires, so they used straw.
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Cassette Counter
381:
ELLIS ISLAND
Being processed. Checklist for disease and money. Met
a black man who spoke Danish. He was from St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands,
which the US purchased. This man told him about how it was before and after the
US purchased the Islands. They had made their money selling Rum and Cognac but
the US was under prohibition so everything stopped. Had to have a place to go.
Was planning on going to Tyler, Minnesota.
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Cassette Counter
435:
HEADED WEST
More people on the east. They needed workers in the
West. First Impression of US - New York.
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Cassette Counter
450:
CATCHING THE
TRAIN
Experience across the country. They
got in a good car, but many other immigrants were in cars, which were
practically like cattle cars. They were covered with coal dust. Went through
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Washington DC. Remembers seeing the Rocky Mountains
and compares them to a hill, Himmelbjerg, (The hill close to Heaven) in
Denmark. Came into Yakima, Washington and it was warm. He thought it was the
most beautiful town he had ever seen.
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Cassette Counter
502:
ENGLISH
DIFFICULTIES
Didn't speak English when he
came. Took some time to learn. A man suggested that he go west of the mountains
to work on a dairy.
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Cassette Counter
530:
EMPLOYMENT
Farm work at Roy, Washington. Farmer paid the man who
was helping him. Was surprised by all the timber going to waste in Washington
compared to how they work in Denmark. This was a medium sized dairy farm.
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Cassette Counter
575:
LONGACRES RACE TRACK
EARLY DAYS
Neighbor rented the land to
them for 99 years.
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Cassette Counter
609:
Worked in exchange for ten cows. Rented a farm for
improvements on the land. Stayed there for about ten years. Bought a farm in
1932 in Eatonville, Washington during the Depression Days. No one else wanted
the farm. He took over the farm and the payments on the mortgage. One year
later, you buy a farm better than this for $5,000 (he paid $10,000), but they
stayed.
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Cassette Counter
653:
MET
WIFE
She was a clerk in the Mercantile
store in Roy, Washington. She was born in Colorado and then her family moved
out here. Married January 1933.
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Cassette Counter
675:
LIFE AS A DAIRY
FARMER
(see counter II-009): Long hours.
In 1936 bought out a small farm in Eatonville… (Tape ends abruptly).
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Cassette Counter
008:
LIFE AS A DAIRY
FARMER
Started bottling milk. Sold out to
Sanitary Cloverleaf Milk in June of 1969 and went back to shipping milk.
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Cassette Counter
016:
OHOP VALLEY,
WASH.
Scandinavian community. Was
included in this community through the Ohop Grange and the Ohop Mutual Light
Company, etc.
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Cassette Counter
025:
DAIRY FARMING
CHANGES
Talks about the changes with
automatic washers and machines. The changes are for the good. Couldn't make it
farming the old way today. Had 260-300 head of cattle at the most. Has been
milking cows since January 9, 1909 when he got his first job. Sold out three
years ago but still has some of the land.
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Cassette Counter
073:
Member of the Ohop Mutual Light Company's board for twenty
years. Sued the City of Tacoma because their lights cost too much. Tacoma won
the second time after seven years. Five companies went together to become
one.
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Cassette Counter
106:
Member of Fire District 15. Helped to start it. Was on the
board for 25 years and was the chairman for 20 years. Honored by the Fire
District.
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Cassette Counter
122:
CHILDREN
Doris went to Pullman for two years and graduated
from PLU. Mary Ellen lives in Los Angeles, California. She is a schoolteacher.
Evelyn lives in Snohomish. She works for the state in child protection. Wife:
Mary Shaw.
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Cassette Counter
144:
INTENDED TO GO BACK TO
DENMARK
After three years, he had a farm.
He likes the climate. Production went up 2.5 times during the years he worked
in dairying and labor was cut about 60%. Too busy to think about Denmark.
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Cassette Counter
177:
Kept up correspondence with his relatives in Denmark.
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Cassette Counter
185:
LEARNING
ENGLISH
Practice by reading the newspaper
and talking to people.
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Cassette Counter
202:
CHURCH LIFE
Member of Bethany Lutheran Church down on the Mountain
Highway. Had a Danish pastor Svint (?). Had relief pastors from PLU - Dr.
Elkhound and Dr. Govig. In the beginning, they didn't have a minister they only
had Sunday School. A pastor would come only for special occasions. Now they
were talking about building a new church. He talks about the area and how it is
growing. He talks bout the Missouri Lutheran Church wanting to build too. Talks
about the problems of getting water in this area.
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Cassette Counter
318:
CELEBRATING
HOLIDAYS
Christmas Eve - That's the big
time. A few Danish dishes.
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Cassette Counter
330:
SWAN LAKE
DAIRY
This was the name of their dairy.
Tells about this name was derived. Used to be a lake called Swan, which is know
called Krager (?) Lake. There used to be a Swan Lake School District.
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Cassette Counter
343:
TRIPS TO
DENMARK
First trip forty-one years later
in 1965. It was like going into a foreign country, because of all the changes.
Visited Herning, Denmark where his parents were buried. Different to see the
country by car too. Visited relatives. Ogie has a brother in Argentina. He
immigrated there. Made another trip in 1971 or 1972. Has made three trips in
all. Talks about why he goes to Denmark travel.
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Cassette Counter
414:
DENMARK TODAY
Couldn't live there today. Would take too long to get
used to again. Likes the pension system and hospital system. Doesn't like that
they have so much public assistance, no incentive to work. Talks about unions
in Denmark first time that they are lowering their standards to compete with
foreign goods.
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Cassette Counter
523:
STILL SPEAKS
DANISH
In Denmark, they learn English in
school. Talks about learning other languages.
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Cassette Counter
562:
DANISH RELATIVES
VISIT
Some came and worked on the farm for
awhile (see counter II-630).
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Cassette Counter
582:
Member of the Danish Brotherhood for fifty years. Talks
about a family that came over and joined the club, Pete Rasmussen from Esbjerg,
Denmark.
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Cassette Counter
613:
CITIZENSHIP
As soon as he could. Applied one year earlier.
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Cassette Counter
630:
RELATIVES VISIT FROM
DENMARK
(see counter II-562) Youngest
brother and nephew who is an airline pilot for SAS and a distant cousin.
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Cassette Counter
643:
IMPORTANCE OF DANISH
HERITAGE
Proud of country, but proud to
be an American citizen too. Wanted to be a citizen so that he could vote. This
is what he told them and he got his citizenship papers right away. He talks
about a Greek man who was trying for the fifth time. Glad that he immigrated to
the US.
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