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Farming bridges oceans, generations, between cousins
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| By: Rachel Westberg |
July 15, 2009 |
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Pictured, front row, is Raaen, Nichols and Berg; on the tractor is Alex Nichols and Larry Nichols, Patty’s son and husband.
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Years ago, immigrants found their way to the United States in hopes of finding a plot of land to work. Today, farmers are a dying breed, and it's not just in the United States. That isn't stopping the agriculture industry from bridging both family and cultures.
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Distant cousins Patty Nichols, of Chetek, and Anna Lise Berg, of Norway, spent most of their lives unaware of each other. But in 2002, Patty's cousin Sherry Miller, of St. Paul, Minn., began genealogy research on their family at the request of Nichols' mother. Miller put an advertisement in a local newspaper looking for people who might have some knowledge of the family. Thousands of miles away, the advertisement caught the attention of Berg in Norway.
As it turned out, Berg and Nichols share the same great-great-grandfather, Anders Lia, who was from the township of Ringerike about 30 miles north of Oslo, Norway.
Lia's son Andreas (Patty's great-grandfather) came to the United States in 1880. In Norway, a law exists that allows the first-born son or daughter to inherit the family farm. Andreas was not the eldest son, so he made his way to the United States and started a farm in the Elk Mound area. Meanwhile, Lia's eldest son-Andreas' brother-Ole took over the family farm in Norway. Ole was Anna Lise's great-grandfather.
For nearly 130 years, from what Berg and Nichols believe, there was no contact between the two families. But when the families began conversing with one another in 2002, it was clear there was a lot of catching up to do.
"I didn't know I had so many relatives in America," says Berg.
Over the next couple of years the families began e-mailing and talking back and forth with one another, even managing to get together for a vacation in Florida. In 2006, Miller and her sister visited Berg in Norway and got to see the original Lia farm. In 2007, Berg and husband Kaare visited Miller in Minnesota. Nichols was only able to speak with the Bergs for a couple of hours during that trip, but the two started writing one another frequently.
Through Nichols' and Berg's correspondence, the two discovered some similarities. Berg's grandson Lars Raaen and Nichols' son Alex were both into tractors. Like Andreas, Raaen, who is 16, was not the oldest son in his family, but is still interested in farming. In April, Berg asked Nichols if she and Raaen could return to the United States and see the family farm and the Nicholses were excited to host them.
Berg and Raaen flew to the United States June 23 and spent two weeks taking in everything the area has to offer-from a Friday night fish fry and the Hungry Hallow antique tractor show to the Pioneer Village Museum and the Dovre Lutheran Church. Raaen attended UW-Barron County for a day with Nichols' son Austin; and of course everyone participated in as many Liberty Fest activities as they could. Raaen even entertained the group with his accordion and some Norwegian folk songs. Berg and Raaen also spent time discussing Norwegian traditions with the Nicholses, even bringing Patty a traditional Norwegian belt worn by farmers' wives. Through their discussions and time together, they discovered their families and cultures are not all that different.
"I think we decided that even with 129 years and an ocean between us, our views, beliefs and thinking are still very similar," says Patty.
The bulk of activities, however, centered around farming and dairy. Along with everything else, the group took in Indianhead Holsteins in Barron and visited Five Star farms near Elk Mound, where there are more than 1,000 head of cattle. Farm and Fleet became Raaen's new favorite store, according to his grandmother, and they also went to the Ladysmith 4-H District Livestock show. Raaen observed and helped with the Nichols family's farming operations and he and Patty's husband Larry were looking to start up a couple of the Nicholses' tractors. It was a learning experience for both Raaen and Berg.
"I'm not from the farm and I'm not used to animals," says Berg. "The day in Ladysmith really surprised me. I found it so interesting."
"I've really enjoyed being on the farm and seeing how it runs," says Raaen. "There is not a big difference between the farmers in America and Norway."
Raaen still has his sights on owning a farm someday, even marrying a farmer's daughter. Raaen, in many respects, is unique in his ambitions. As in the case in the United States, farmers in Norway are a dying breed.
"There are not many people in Norway left to want to farm," says Raaen. "It is not an easy [industry] to do these days. Not many are willing to take on a farm. It is sad. But it is always something I've been interested in."
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©The Chetek Alert 2009
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