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
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Collection Number:
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t180
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Creator:
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Dyrhaug, Agnes
Johanna
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Title:
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Agnes Johanna Dyrhaug Oral
History Interview
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Dates:
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1982 (inclusive)
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Quantity:
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3 file folders
1 sound cassettes
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Languages:
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English
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Summary:
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An oral history interview with Agnes Johanna
Dyrhaug , a Norwegian immigrant.
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Biographical Note
Agnes Dyrhaug was born on July 11, 1896 in
Nord-Statland, Norway to Anton Peterson and Jette Krestine. Anton worked in a
sawmill, and there were three other children in the family: Ole, Johan, and
Wilhelmine. Agnes immigrated to America in 1905 with her mother, sister, two
brothers, and an aunt. Her father had immigrated three and a half years earlier
and lived in Astoria, OR, where he had originally come to fish and later became
a carpenter. The World Fair was in Portland, OR the year Agnes and her family
came, and due to the large number of travelers, the immigrant coaches of the
train were left behind in Minnesota when the train got too long. After two
weeks of travelling, they finally reached Astoria. In Astoria, Agnes's other
siblings, Paul, Helen and Earl, were born, and the family bought a farm in
nearby Napa, OR. Agnes attended school for eight years and also took a
commercial course, after which she began bookkeeping for Haukes.
Agnes
met her first husband, Marinus Berg, in Astoria and was married in 1917.
Marinus was also of Norwegian descent and worked as a carpenter and a
contractor. They continued to live in Astoria for five years and had two
children, Maurice and Bonita (Foster), before moving to Portland. When Marinus
got sick, Agnes began managing apartments and later worked for the Portland
Housing Authority. Marinus passed away in 1939, and Agnes later remarried Peter
Dyrhaug. In Portland, Agnes attends Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and is a
member of the Sons of Norway. She has also been a demonstrator for Nordic Ware
and Chicago Cutlery, which involved demonstrating making Norwegian foods from
Seattle to San Francisco, CA. Agnes has returned to Norway twice and believes
that her Norwegian heritage is very important.
Lineage
IFull Name: Agnes Johanna Dyrhaug. Maiden Name in Norway: Agnes
Johanna Ovesen. Maiden Name in the U.S.: Agnes Johanna Peterson. Father: Anton
Peterson. Mother: Jette Krestine Pettersen. Paternal Grandfather: Ove
Pettersen. Paternal Grandmother: Hannah Pettersen. Maternal Grandfather: Peter
Pettersen. Maternal Grandmother: Indianna Pettersen. Brothers and Sisters: Ole
P. Peterson, Johan H. Peterson, Wilhelmine C. Peterson, Paul A. Peterson, Helen
O. Williams, Earl N. Peterson. Spouse: Marinus Berg, Peter H. Dyrhaug.
Children: Maurice A. Berg, Bonita J. Foster.
Content Description
This interview was conducted with Agnes Dyrhaug on May 21, 1982 in
Portland, Oregon. It contains information concerning family background,
emigration, work, marriage and family, community activities, and Norwegian
heritage. The interview also includes an article in Norwegian from the Western
Viking concerning Agnes's eighty-fifth birthday and her nomination to Gerda
Farestrand's committee on the Oregon Arts Commission. The article also gives an
overview of Agnes's life, including emigration, schooling in Astoria,
Washington, marriage, involvement in Scandinavian organizations, meeting Crown
Prince Olav, and employment with Nordic Ware and Chicago Cutlery. 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
Donna Mallonee 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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| Berg, Marinus |
| Berg, Maurice |
| Dyrhaug,
Agnes--Interviews (creator) |
| Dyrhaug, Peter |
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Foster, Bonita Berg |
| Peterson, Anton |
| Peterson, Jette Krestine |
| Pettersen, Hannah |
| Pettersen, Indianna |
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Pettersen, Ove |
| Pettersen, Peter |
| Berg
family |
| Dyrhaug
family |
| Ovesen
family |
| Peterson family |
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Pettersen family |
| Chicago Cutlery
Consumer Products, Inc. |
| Holy
Trinity Lutheran Church (Portland, Or.) |
| Nordic Ware |
| Sons
of Norway (U.S.) Grieg Lodge No 15 (Portland, Or.) |
| Astoria (Or.)
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| Nord-Statland (Norway) |
| Portland (Or.) |
| Christmas |
| Emigration and
immigration |
| Family--Norway |
| Marriage
service |
| Norwegian-Americans--Ethnic identity |
| Norwegian-Americans--Northwest, Pacific--Interviews |
| Norwegian-Americans--Social life and customs |
| Ocean travel |
| Railway travel |
| Oral histories |
| Bookkeepers |
| Carpenters |
| Sawmill workers |
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
018:
NAME
She lists her name, Agnes Johanna Ovesen Peterson Berg
Dyrhaug. Ovesen was her maiden name when she was in Norway but it was changed
to Peterson in the U.S because it was easier to spell. Dyrhaug means "animal
hill." Her husband's name is Peter Larsen Dyrhaug.
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Cassette Counter
080:
PERSONAL
BACKGROUND
Born on July 11, 1896 in
Nord-Statland, Norway which is between Namsos and Trondheim.
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Cassette Counter
095:
AREA
OCCUPATIONS
There was a sawmill, fishing,
and farming.
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Cassette Counter
100:
PARENTS
Both of her parents had the Peterson, Pettersen name. Her
father worked in the sawmill.
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Cassette Counter
116:
BROTHERS AND
SISTERS
Ole, Johan, Wilhelmine, and Agnes
were born in Norway. Paul, Helen, and Earl were born in the U.S.
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Cassette Counter
135:
GRANDPARENTS
She remembers her maternal grandmother could read,
but she wasn't wealthy enough to learn to write. Paternal grandparents lived
with them.
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Cassette Counter
229:
FAMILY HOUSE
Downstairs there was the kitchen, living room, pantry
and a bedroom. Upstairs there were three bedrooms. The house has since
burned.
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Cassette Counter
242:
CHRISTMAS IN
NORWAY
She recalls the first Christmas
her father was away. Her mother was a seamstress. For Christmas everyone got
clothes and were bathed. For Christmas Eve they had rommegrøt, but it was so
expensive that some would have rice pudding with a layer of the cream pudding
on top. They had a Christmas tree, lefse, pastry.
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Cassette Counter
328:
17TH OF MAY
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Cassette Counter
338:
BUSINESS IN THE
AREA
They had two grocery stores and
shipped out a lot of lumber. They also made prefabricated houses, which were
shipped up north where wood was scarce. This was in 1903 or 1904. There were a
lot of French and Spanish ships that came in to get wood for boxes.
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Cassette Counter
384:
SCHOOL IN
NORWAY
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Cassette Counter
386:
TO AMERICA
She came in 1905 when she was nine. She came with her
mother, sister, two brothers, and her aunt. Her father had been in the U.S. for
three and a half years. He had come to fish in Astoria, Oregon. He later became
a carpenter and also bought a farm in Napa (?), Oregon, which is near Astoria.
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Cassette Counter
410:
FEELINGS ON
EMIGRATION
She didn't want to come, but
she was with her family so she didn't think too much about it. Her brothers
couldn't wait to come. She heard lots of bad stories about America.
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Cassette Counter
438:
NEW YORK 1955
She ran into a lady who thought that the Indians were
still running around with bows and arrows.
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Cassette Counter
468:
LUGGAGE
Brought clothes and the going away gifts they got. The farm
was sold. They weren't allowed to bring food.
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Cassette Counter
500:
SHIP TRAVEL
They were treated like cattle. Eleven days to cross
the ocean. Her father had sent the money for them to take second class passage,
but her aunt decided they had to go third class. She tells about how she was
almost blown off deck during a storm.
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Cassette Counter
581:
NEW YORK
She saw the Statue of Liberty and Castlegarden, and
got on the train on the same day.
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Cassette Counter
597:
TRAIN TRAVEL
This was in August and the World's Fair was being
held in Portland, Oregon that year so there were a lot of people traveling and
when the train got too long their cars were left behind. They were in the
immigrant coaches. They ran out of food with them on the train. In Chicago and
in St. Paul, Minnesota, Norwegians came to the depot and asked to take them out
to dinner. Came to Astoria, Oregon, but came first to Rainier. The first time
her brother saw toothpicks on the table he thought Americans ate wood.
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Cassette Counter
676:
LANGUAGE
Her mother had worked for some people who had been in
the U.S. so she could speak a few words. She found a restaurant, but could only
say coffee. A man came who spoke Norwegian helped them. This man knew her
father and wired to tell him when they would arrive.
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Cassette Counter
725:
ARRIVAL IN ASTORIA,
OREGON
After two weeks of travel. They
crossed the longest trestle in the U.S. in Astoria. She didn't recognize her
father and her youngest sister was born three months after he left. Her father
was a carpenter then.
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Cassette Counter
757:
SCHOOL IN
OREGON
After two weeks she had to begin
school. There were lots of children which had parents that didn't speak
English. In one section of town you couldn't even buy anything unless you could
speak Finnish.
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Cassette Counter
776:
PREJUDICES
She felt some prejudice in school since she had a
hard time with the language. After about nine months she started to feel at
home and started using English.
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Cassette Counter
835:
LANGUAGE
Her mother didn't learn much English until they moved
to the farm and there were a few Norwegians around.
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Cassette Counter
840:
CHINESE
COMMUNITY
There was a large Chinese
community, but she really didn't have contact with them until she started
working.
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Cassette Counter
846:
SCHOOL
Went for eight years. High school lasted two years and she
took a commercial course.
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Cassette Counter
854:
BOOKKEEPING
Went to work bookkeeping and worked for the Haukes
until she was married.
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Cassette Counter
858:
MEETING SPOUSE
They met in Astoria. She had known his brother for a
long time. He was a Norwegian by the name of Marinus Berg. Berg means
"mountain."
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Cassette Counter
874:
WEDDING
It took place on the farm in the apple orchard. She wore a
white wool suit. They went to Portland for their honeymoon and stayed with her
brother-in-law and returned by boat to Astoria. Her husband was a carpenter and
a contractor.
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Cassette Counter
898:
They lived in Astoria for five years after their wedding
(1917-1922) then they moved to Portland. Her husband came from Norway to the
U.S. by working on a ship and then jumped ship in the U.S.
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Cassette Counter
923:
CHILDREN
Son was a pilot in WWII. He got to work in the
Pentagon and for the U.S. government in Europe while stationed in Germany. Her
daughter, Bonita Foster, lives in Seattle and has five children. Agnes has one
great grandchild.
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Cassette Counter
956:
WORK
Her husband got sick so she had to earn the money. She
started managing apartments and later started working for the Portland Housing
Authority. Then she got married and her husband decided she had worked enough.
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Cassette Counter
1011:
CHURCH LIFE
She always goes to church. Now she goes to Holy
Trinity Lutheran Church. There are a few other Scandinavians that go there.
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Cassette Counter
1015:
ORGANIZATIONS
Belongs to the Sons of Norway. Her first husband sang
with the Multnomah Mannskoret. He died in 1939.
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Cassette Counter
1029:
VISITS TO
NORWAY
She has returned twice. The first
time she returned was after 50 years and there was a lot of change. Many people
spoke English. She still corresponds with Norway.
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Cassette Counter
1041:
NORWEGIAN
PEOPLE
They were hard working and had to
struggle to make ends meat, but now they have changed. Now they have oil and
they dress well.
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Cassette Counter
1060:
IMPORTANCE OF NORWEGIAN
HERITAGE
She talks about Norway being
ruled by Sweden and that they were all Swedes at the time that she came.
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Cassette Counter
098:
She continues talking about Sweden and its rule over Norway.
There were no battles and Norway was allowed to have its own king. After this
they changed to name of Kristiania to Oslo.
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Cassette Counter
165:
NORWEGIAN
LANGUAGE
She says in Norwegian that she
can still read, write, and speak it. Her daughter can speak a little Norwegian.
She had to take Norwegian when she went to St. Olaf College. It was required if
your parents were Scandinavian. Bonita's youngest daughter took Norwegian at
the University of Washington and speaks it well.
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Cassette Counter
197:
RELATIVES
She has her brothers and sisters and their families
here. She had some cousins back east which she has lost track of.
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Cassette Counter
220:
SPOKEN
NORWEGIAN
She recites the Lord's Prayer.
She says this every night.
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Cassette Counter
270:
CONCLUDING
COMMENTS
She has had an interesting life.
She took census one year. She has been a demonstrator for the two Minneapolis
companies, Nordic Ware, and Chicago Cutlery for about twenty years. She has
demonstrated all the way from Seattle to San Francisco, California. She
demonstrated by making Scandinavian foods.
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Cassette Counter
339:
SONS OF NORWAY
Finance Secretary for eleven years, treasurer for two
years, district board for six years, and has attended conventions in Chicago,
Minneapolis, and California.
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Cassette Counter
357:
They discuss a picture of her husband's home, which is
hanging on the wall.
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