Family history center for genealogical research

Genealogy is one of my favorite pastimes. Obsession, even.

I have now been in Moss nearly a year and had not realised the Mormons have a Family Center at their local church.
The fact that non Mormons can use the facilities, is a blessing for any genealogist.


The address is Nesveien 29, 1513 Moss and they are open on Wednesdays from 17.00 -21.00 and on Thursdays from 17.00 - 21.00.


What do they have there, according to a flyer I received?
Around 500 microfilms, with most of the church books from the fylke of Oestfold.
2 PCs with internet connection.
2 microfilm readers
One microfiche reader
Family Search databases on CD
Written material (books, magazines etc)
Volunteers to help you.

Report will follow after I have been there.

Røros - the place, the cheese and the cow

http://www.unefilledulimmatquai.ch/2006/02/09/bullerbu

Røros (Roeros) is on UNESCO's list of Heritage Places.
It is a small mining town between Oslo and Trondheim.
I have never visited Røros.
I hope I will be able to go there one day.

As I have been exploring Norwegian cheeses lately,
I found there was a cheese called Røros cheese,
produced at a mountain farm,
700 meters about sea level,
called Galåvolden Gård.

There even is a Røros cow, that is supposed to look like this.

http://www.kulturminnefondet.no/aktuelt/nyhet.asp?thisId=1179735819

PS. The Galåvolden farm has a website, but it is all in Norwegian.
http://www.galaavolden.no/

Pultost and three ladies living in Oslo

The Pultost I bought comes from a dairy firm called Synnove Finden.

(The biggest dairy firm in Norway is Tine. )

Synnove Finden was born on a little farm in western Norway in 1882, left the farm to learn how to make cheese, moved to Oslo and in 1928 started her own firm with a woman from Hedmark, Pernille Holmen who had the capital and a trading license. Synnove Finden took it as a challenge to produce first class commercial Pultost.

My grandmother Lina, just like Pernille Holmen, also came from Hedmark. Lina was born in 1883 and had moved to Oslo before she was 20 years old.

I don't think my grandmother knew Pernille Holmen, but she must certainly have heard about her.

Now I am sitting here with Synnove Finden's Pultost in my hand.

I wonder if my grandmother bought her Pultost from the same firm.

During World War Two I know she received parcels with Pultost from her family living in Hedmark.

You can read a little about Synnove Finden in English.

http://www.synnove.no/?module=Articles;action=Article.publicShow;ID=231

The farm she came from in Sognefjord has a website - in Norwegian, but at least look at their homepage to see the nature.

http://www.finden-gard.no/

These days you can stay there as a tourist, but there are no roads so you get to the farm by boat.

Autumn in Moss

There is a saying in Norway:

"There is no bad weather, only unsuitable clothes."

Grandmother Lina's stink cheese "Pultost"

At my grandmother's apartment in Oslo a small container with a cow on the lid had some smelly stuff in it.

As a child I knew it was called "Pultost" but I sure thought it was strange my grandmother ate the cheese inside.

My uncle Ellef also liked Pultost , so when my grandmother died, he inherited that little container with the cow on the lid. Where it is now, I don't know.

Years later, my mother found exactly the same kind of container in a flee market here in Moss, and bought it.

Today I decided to buy Pultost. It is already in my fridge.

How does it really taste?

I am a little scared to taste it.

First I wanted to know a little more about this cheese but the stub on the Wikipedia only said

"Pultost is a soft, mature Norwegian sour milk cheese flavored with caraway seeds. Pultost is found in two forms, spreadable and porous. The spreadable kind has a stronger taste."

Now I am even more scared.

Alpaca

A few days ago I received an alpaca scarf from Peru as a present.
It is soft and very warm.

Checking out the internet, I found the alpaca is a South American relative of the camel!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpaca

It turns out that a few years ago some Norwegians imported alpacas for breeding purposes.
http://www.alpacasofnorway.no/pub/kat.php?id=19&lang=eng

Another painting with PAINT

Using the PC program PAINT as a beginner, this is one of the results.

Certainly part of it comes from being inexperienced, but another part

is just because that's me.

I have been doing similiar drawings in the past with felt pens.

A new holiday

Halloween has never been part of my life, but now I find out that this holiday is being celebrated by more and more Norwegians.
My American daughter-in-law is introducing my son to this holiday in Chicago.
Here is the pumpkin my son decorated for his first Halloween celebration:



And this is the pumpkin my daughter-in-law, his teacher, made:


A new holiday for me to relate to.
Certainly a new holiday for my son to relate to.

Religion in Norway

On the bus, I can usually read the news headlines on a screen while going to and from work.
How to describe any content in the few words of a headline, is of course an interesting matter in itself, and probably a science....

Yesterday I learnt that God is still alive in Norway.
Nearly 52 % of Norwegians said they believe in God.

How many of these belong to any organized religious community?

How do the 48 % define themselves?
How many of the 48 % who do not believe in God, belong to the Norwegian State Church?

According to statistics, around 85 % of the Norwegian population belong to the State Church.
The 85 per cent include children and grownups.
51 % and 48 % probably only refer to grownups. Or not?

How exact did the headline describe what must have been some kind of a gallup or study?

Samediggi = the Sami parliament

Photo from their website. Photographer: John-Marcus Kuhmunen

Just found out the Sami Parliament (Sametinget in Norwegian and Samidiggi in the Sami language) has an English version on their website.

About the Sami Parliament

http://www.sametinget.no/artikkel.aspx?AId=884&back=1&MId1=270

About the Sami language

http://www.sametinget.no/artikkel.aspx?AId=895&back=1&MId1=271&MId2=289

About the Sami flag ( I once wrote about that)

http://www.sametinget.no/artikkel.aspx?AId=896&back=1&MId1=271&MId2=291

About the Sami National Day on Feb 6th

http://www.sametinget.no/artikkel.aspx?AId=898&back=1&MId1=271&MId2=290

About the Sami National anthem

http://www.sametinget.no/artikkel.aspx?AId=897&back=1&MId1=271&MId2=292

For me, their situation brings up the question of how to keep your language and your culture when you are a minority in a modern society.

My candelabrum

A chocolate that survived

2007
From the website http://www.scanspecialties.com/products.php?cat=11

1960

Firkløver in Norwegian does - of course - mean four leaf clover in English.
A sign of good luck.

But for most Norwegians this is the name of a very popular chocolate bar with hazel nuts.
The first Firkløver was made in 1926, I read on the internet.

Try a Firkløver when you get here!

The war between butter and margarine

My father used to say: "Eat carrots while it is
still considered healthy!"

Looking through that old magazine from 1960,
I was reminded of that, looking at two
different ads - one for margarine and one
for butter.
When I grew up in the fifties we only ate
"healthy margarine" at home.
As a child I really disliked the taste of butter!

These days, "healthy margarine" is not
considered healthy any more.
Butter is not so healthy either, we are told,
but today mostNorwegians would consider
butter more healthy than margarine.

I don't use much of it, but these days I do
like the taste of butter!

Magazines in the fifties and sixties

You may be one of those who read women's magazines waiting for the dentist or the hairdresser, but who never buy one yourself.

That was my mother's attitude when I grew up, but one of my aunts did not have this principle.

When we stayed at my grandmother's summerhouse near the Oslo fjord, there would be piles with old magazines upstairs where we slept. Norsk Ukeblad , Det Nye, Hjemmet, Kvinner og Klær are some of the names I remember. They are still around!

Anyway, coming from a home without these magazines, a rainy day at my grandmother's summerhouse was a DREAM, snuggling under the warm blanket I would read and read and read.

A wooden dream in a window

It is a shop for those who fish as a hobby and for those with boats.
After walking past the shop for months I have been studying one
of the displays in their window - a wooden cup.
A carved wooden cup.
The surface of the wood, the design of the handle.
My eyes were drawn to this.

In general I try not to buy too many things.
After all, I am not quite sure where I will live and when I will move.

But today I decided that this cup will move with me.

Painting with PAINT

I have used the computer for many years, but it was only this week

I found out about the program PAINT on my computer.

So I did some experiments for myself, like this.

I was also fortunate to see two and three and four year old kids using

PAINT.

The different ways they used this program to create their own art,

was very impressive.

Finding pieces in some puzzle

Yesterday I started to write down what I have done,
both for a living, but also not for pay, in my life,
dividing it into spans of ten years.

It was an interesting exercize.

I have decided to add more information in the future.

Looking at what I had written, also gave me additional feedback.
Many jobs I liked very much. Some jobs were not exactly for me.

One thing I like very much is finding a piece in my own or somebody
else's genealogical puzzle.
A document.
A photograph.
A living person.
A gravestone.
A name.
A story.
A place.

Those are the moments I feel that I have used those special qualities
and the knowledge that make me me.
I know that many others could find those answers too,
but I was fortunate to be the one doing the job,
finding the piece in the puzzle.

At the same time I feel humble, knowing it is only one
or a few pieces in a very big puzzle.
A big puzzle where many of the pieces are lost forever.

Five candles in a candelabrum

Imagine gravestones with decorations of candelabrums for three and five candles.
Imagine spending around around 14 full days indexing those gravestones.
Imagine finding that each candelabrum was slightly different.

You guess it, ever since I have to look twice when I see a similiar candelabrum.

Last weekend I gave in - and bought one.
At a flee market, of course.

But I am very happy.

OGGZ with a flash

Observation:

When you photograph the OGGZ with a flash, the colored lamp inside the OGGZ "disappears" on the photo, showing the white original surface of the OGGZ.

But the color of the inside lamp shows itself in the mirrored image on the table.

Blogging: for keeping in contact

When I grew up, my mother in Norway would write letters to her mother in Sweden.

500 km or 750 km distance back in the 1950's and 1960's was some distance.
The fact that there were two different countries probably also played a role.
In Sweden my grandparents were farmers, while we lived in Norway where my father had an executive job at a factory.

As for my Norwegian grandmother, the distance to her was maximum 250 km, though for many years our family lived here in Moss, with an hour or so to Oslo and to grandmother.

What did my parents tell their parents about their daily life? I don't know.
I should probably ask my mother.

Now I am in a similiar situation myself:
My son has married in Chicago.
My new daughter-in-law Cheryl and I have not had many hours to spend together, so far.

On the other hand, I will try hard not to be the proverbial mother-in-law.

So, because Cheryl writes a blog, the blog gives me a chance to get to know her a little better, but also to learn a little of their life together in Chicago.

Compared to old fashioned letters, the information gets to me fast and the photos are an added bonus.

Thanks, Cheryl!
I enjoy your blog!

King Sverre's saga

One of the old Norwegian kings was King Sverre who died in 1202.

Like many of the other kings at that time and earlier, his life story was told in a saga.

I just obtained a book printed in 1914 in Oslo, then Kristiania,

with King Sverre's saga.

It cost me 20 Norwegian crowns on a flea market the Historical Society in Rygge arranged this weekend.

20 crowns equals a little more than three US dollars. A bargain!

So what can you learn about this man from the internet, before studying his version and the version of his supporters in the book?

Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sverre_of_Norway

Now, you may even want to read an English translation of this book, and that is possible on

http://www.northvegr.org/lore/sverri/index.php

Why this interest in a man who lived so long ago?

Well, in theory, he is my direct ancestor, 26 generations back from myself.

He is probably also a direct ancestor of most other Norwegians,

because 26 generations ago the number of direct ancestors belonging to the 26th generation, in theory, is so big (13.5 million?), and the population in this country was so much smaller than that.

Perhaps between half a million to one million? I don't know.

In addition I estimate the king probably became the father of many children.

Then there are of course many reasons to doubt such a claim.

The basic one is that the only nearly certain thing about a newborn baby is you know who the mother is. The father was more a case of belief before DNA came along.

In any case, King Sverre is part of my Norwegian roots, at least culturally,

and now I will have the opportunity to read about him in his saga.

Towards the end of the saga, it says:

"King Sverri died on the Saturday in Ember week, and his body was laid out
with all honour, as was expected. His face was left uncovered, as he had
commanded. All who were present observed, and all afterwards bore one and the
same testimony, that they had never seen a fairer corpse than his. While he was
alive his complexion was very beautiful.
King Sverri was most polished in
manner. He was low of stature, stout and strong, broad of face and well
featured. His beard was usually trimmed, and his eyes were hazel in colour, set
deeply and handsomely. He was calm and thoughtful. He was most eloquent in
speech; his ideas were lofty, his articulation was distinct, and when he spoke,
the ring of his voice was so clear that though he did not appear to speak loud,
all understood him, even though they were far off. He was a seemly chief as he
sat in his high-seat grandly dressed; for though his legs were short he sat high
in the seat. He never drank strong drink to the injury of his reason, and always
ate but one meal a day. He was valiant and bold, very capable of enduring
fatigue and loss of sleep. "

Watch out on the motorway E6

Source for this photo: http://www.elg.no/elg.jpg

The elk or moose can weigh between 300 - 500 kg and is in Norway considered the King of the Forest.
In Moss there even is a bronze statue of this magnificent animal.

But imagine driving in 90 or 100 km an hour on the motorway and "meeting" such an animal.
That means, at least, death to the animal and heavy damage to the car.
In worst case scenario, that also can mean the death of the passengers in the car.


Source for these two photos : http://www.nesseby.kommune.no/se-opp-for-elg.422998.html

Outside Moss is the E6, the main motorway for those coming from Gothenburg in Sweden to Oslo. Along the motorway, tall fences keep animals and people off the motorway.
Now, in nearby Raade, part of the fence will be down till the end of the month, and there have been some near accidents when elks have walked up on the road.

Look out!

The water in Moss is ok

About forty years ago, the tap water in Moss tasted terrible. There was so much fluor , I hated drinking it.

When I came back last year, that memory was still strong.

I bought bottled water or boiled the water for tea.

My nephews told me the water in Moss was good

and there was no reason to buy bottled water.

I still did not want that terrible fluor taste.

I had a hard time getting over my aversion.

In the end I did drink the water.
And they were right, my nephews.
The taste is OK.

This situation where the message in "an old tape" in my head is no longer relevant, probably happens more than just with the tap water in Moss.

The postal services

Very close to my house is a supermarket and in that supermarket you find a post office.
I once wrote to some of you about this concept of "Post in the supermarket ".
The supermarket is usually open till nine o'clock at night.

On Monday I came home from work and found a note that I had a parcel that was too big for my postbox. That would, in the past, mean I would get that parcel the next day or the day after if I could get to a post office during their limited working hours.

Here I just walked straight to the supermarket - it was only seven in the evening - and voila, I got my OGGZ. Not only that, but that parcel had been sent from the USA on September 25th and arrived here on October 1st. Impressive!
Yesterday I got another parcel from the States, also sent on September 25th. That firm promises delivery within 4-6 weeks for customers abroad. Pleasant surprise.
Yesterday I got a third parcel sent from my other country. It had been sent from a small rural post office on Monday October 1st and arrived here on Friday Nov 5th.
Both of yesterday's parcels I picked up ten minutes before the supermarket closed last night.

So I have had some good experiences with the post services in Norway and abroad this week.

PS. Do not believe I get parcels this often!
I had ordered the two from the States as presents for myself. :)

My OGGZ is looking for an adapter

What is an OGGZ?
It looks like a big egg and it changes colors.
It is just for fun.

But my OGGZ wanted DC7.5V through an AC adapter of 120V.
Norway uses 220V.

My knowledge of electricity is extremely basic, but in the two stores I visited in Moss, I could not find a suitable adapter. In one store the saleswoman said that she was not allowed to sell such an adapter in this country, but that you could buy one at the airport!

Somehow I feel the solution should be much simpler - an adapter where 220V AC comes in from the wall and 7.5V DC goes into the OGGZ.
Wrong?

Problem solved!
Thank you, Gena, for sending me back to the shop to buy the adapter!

Loop hole for Norwegian milk farmers?

The other day, in Aftenposten, the biggest Norwegian newspaper, I read about Norwegian milk quotas.

One farmer can own maximum five milk quotas.

One farmer can produce maximum three milk quotas.

Three milk quotas equal 750 000 liters.

(My question: What is the farmer supposed to do with his two extra quotas? Perhaps this is the reason for the story you will read here? In that case, the Norwegian law seems strange...)

In order to produce 750 000 liters, the article said, you need around 120 milk cows.

In Norway the milk farmers can deliver their milk either to the Tine dairies or to the Q-dairies.

The Q-dairies pay a little more per liter.

In Norway the area of Jaeren on the southwest coast of Norway, south of Stavanger, is considered the most ideal area for milk production.

Lately Tine has informed that they do not get the amount of milk they are interested in from the Norwegian farmers.

(My thought: Perhaps the Tine dairies should pay at least the same amount of money as the Q-dairies do to their farmers?)

The story in the newspaper concerned a group of between five to ten Norwegian farmers who plan to send 30000 liters of milk a day to two dairies in Germany. With higher prices there than in Norway, and problems with the milk quotas in Norway, they have figured out this will be worth it. It should also be legal, the article said.

Climbing a radio mast in Motala, Sweden

From the Swedish Wikipedia entry for Motala longwave radio station.
Source: http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motala_långvåg

For the adventurous souls, interested in extreme experiences:

What about climbing up the 120 meter high radio mast in Motala, Sweden?
This radio station was inaugurated in 1927. I remember the name Motala on our old radio back in the 1950's.

For two hours of climbing with a guide, you pay 450 Swedish crowns ( less than 60 US dollars?).

You can book such a tour in the summer time by phoning the local Swedish telephone number 070-5451354.

The view from the top is spectacular, I am told.

I don't like heights myself, so it is NOT on my list of what to do in Scandinavia.
But perhaps an idea for you?

Beautiful glass objects by Anne Haavind

Source: http://www.norway.org.uk/100percent/glass/glass.htm

In a magazine I saw some beautiful art objects by graphic artist and glass artist Anne Haavind from Oslo.

Ms. Haavind has a website.

I wasn't too keen on the opening page of her website, but do click on the glass objects under the names Unica Design and Design collection.

Beautiful!
http://www.annehaavind.com/

There is an article in Norwegian about her work, but even if you do not read Norwegian, check it out for some additional photos.
http://forbruker.no/bolig/trendoginterior/article1338818.ece