| A History of STRUM and the TOWN OF UNITY by Roy Matson |
| THIS IS PAGE 65 | TABLE OF CONTENTS | PAGE BACK | PAGE FORWARD |
| his large family to choose homestead land just west in the same section. He had contact with Gustav Gulliksrud and family who settled further up the valley; Christoffer Swendby, the Civil War veteran, and Hans Moltzau drove up from La Crosse County behind Swendby’s mules one day, acquired the quarter-section next south. Moltzau was an old Hurdal name, Swendby came from nearby Feiring. A cousin, Anton Dahl, had homesteaded in section 32 a year after Evenson. H. J. Rognlien was an early arrival. Blacksmith Per Bonkerud and John Nelson Indgjer were influenced by Evenson. Later arrivals from Hurdal were Nels Garson, his brother Olaus, and Olof Indgjer. Johannes Dahl’s large family of grown sons and daughters were all from the small home valley. The sons were merchants in various places. A son, Oluf, was in partnership at Strum for several years. Johannes lived in section 27. Other immigrants came to this community, lived and worked here a short time and found homes elsewhere. From Rindal Rindal, a valley near Trondheim, had a group of immigrants who formed a transplanted community in the Big Creek area. Fredrik Olsen found one settler in that part of the long valley when he and Nels Hagestad came there in 1868. The two men had met in Sparta, were looking for land and had heard it was available north of the Beef River in Eau Claire County. Olsen had left Norway in 1861, landed in Quebec and had worked in Lodi in Dane County some years prior to meeting Hagestad. Both men found what they wanted and applied for homestead rights later that year. Both families settled in northern Big Creek the next spring. Nine people left Rindal in 1869, among this group were three Romunstad brothers and Erik Hanson who had employment on WRR track preparation north of Black River Falls. Letters from the old country informed them of Olsen’s location and when an opportunity arose, these men hiked across the unsettled miles and found their acquaintance. All were impressed and the three brothers obtained their quarter sections of land in one little valley that presently bears their name. Hanson worked as a blacksmith at Eau Claire some years, returned to Norway for a bride, came back and bought land within a mile of the others. Late arrivals from Rindal that settled in the same area were the Peder Shermoe family, Ole and Lars Stomprud, Lars Hatlee, the Rindal family, besides others who came and moved after a short time. Hamlin and Osseo were the closest post offices when these arrivals located. These Rindal people erected a small house of worship the very first years. Later several families joined the St. Paul’s congregation when it formed. Others became members of the West Beef River synod. From Solør Northeast of Oslo, perhaps 75 miles or more, the Glomma River makes a right angle turn westward as it drains the length of a large valley named Osterdal. Inside this angle and northward lies Solør, a fairly large bygd that has two large settlements in this country. Blair has a great number of Solør descendants as well as does Bruce Valley and Chimney Rock of this area. These descendants were often called “solungs”. Karelis Wenberg came to America in 1867, worked a couple of years and then began looking for a place to live. Trempealeau County was reputed to have many Norwegian settlements at that time and he was naturally attracted by this rumor. He claimed land in Chimney Rock and tells that three English speaking settlers preceded him. These men left and Wenberg’s countrymen began moving in. In a few years the whole area was settled and the majority were from Solør. Wenberg’s home was a postal station in the Whitehall-Eau Claire stage run. He was authorized to open mail bags. He mentions that knolls had a blue haze where the blueberry crop was ripe, that old Norwegians pronounced Trempealeau “Trommela” and wheat was hauled to a village by that name. |