It was a scorcher today – 90 degrees. Too hot for me. I should have been sitting by a river or lake enjoying a cool breeze, but instead I was sitting in a library most of the day, without air conditioning. I couldn’t pass up the chance to find out a few more details about Kory’s father’s side of the family that are missing from my collection of data on dead relatives. I should have passions that cause me to be outdoors more, as this one caused me to sit in a hot room and sweat for four hours as there wasn’t even a breeze that reached the research room.
Kaleb and I arrived an hour too early to the city of Ulefoss, thinking the library opened at 10 instead of 11. At least it opened. Many businesses in Norway are closed the entire month of July, including churches, because so many people are on vacation. We had an hour to kill so we found a little second hand store that was a gold mine. I love old Norwegian tin, pewter and wood things. I told myself I was getting my Christmas shopping done, but how I’ll get it all home, I have no idea.
This part of Telemark is well known for its locks and canal system. Kaleb and I stopped to watch them in action for a while this afternoon on our way back to the farm. There are a total of 18 locks in 8 locations near here. They were important 150 years ago when shipping was the only way to transport goods, but today they are mostly used by tourists. We thought about taking the steamboat that goes up and down the canal, but we didn’t want to go without Kory, so we just stood by and watched as the boats full of tourists took the stair steps down the river where a large waterfall once stood. Kaleb was fascinated by the process so at least we did something today that was fun for him because he didn’t enjoy hanging out at the library so much. A water balloon fight when we got home also helped keep his spirits up.
Kory and Hallvard spent their day up on the roof again. They replaced some rotten wood and took down a modification Hallvard never liked. It would make the most sense to tear down the building as it has a serious insect invasion going on and many of the interior boards are rotten, but he feels a responsibility to preserve it for the family. Hallvard has no plans to ever make it livable but he wouldn’t mind turning it into a kind of family history museum (it already is with all the contents it holds). Kory’s family only moved to this farm in 1912, but his grandparents had so many children and some of them had so many children, there are a lot of people now with roots in this place. I suggested they have some kind of 100 year jubilee on the farm and in preparation, ask some of the descendants to sponsor a new window or door or a side of the house in honor of their grandparents who lived here. Hallvard’s wife would just as soon tear it down. Kory’s most worried about future degradation to the building and he wants to be sure it’s tight so the elements don’t continue to eat it up. I think he’s already agreed to pay for the fumigation to get the bugs out, but he’s hoping to get other relatives to pitch in either time or money to help put a good shell around it so it will last another lifetime. We’ll be visiting a lot of his cousins soon so we’ll find out what the interest is in doing something like that. The inside of the house isn’t great, but it won’t hurt anything to stay the way it is and just move things around in an easy-to-view fashion and then it would be something worth visiting. I think the house was built in the 1820s but that isn’t old by Norwegian standards so there is no historical society that could help out. Kory feels like he is honoring his father by working on the house. He never puts flowers on his grave, so I guess this is the man’s way of expressing the same sentiment.
After the roof was done, Kory and Hallvard were drenched in sweat, so we headed to the nearest swimming hole so they could dive in. Hallvard’s oldest brother came by for a visit so he drove us all there. I was already cooled down from the constant bombardments of water balloons, otherwise I would have jumped in, too. We found out while we were there that the farm right next to that lake is where Kory’s grandparents lived before they bought Slaattehaugen. We went up for a visit so I could take pictures of the house and we could all see the setting. Family lore has it that Kory’s grandfather did NOT want to move from that place but his wife insisted, as she got a good price for Slaattehaugen from her uncle (see photo of the farm from a distance – Slaattehaugen means “ the harvested hill” – the old house it behind the new one). Kory’s grandfather did not want to be a farmer, as he was a shoemaker, so his grandmother had to do all the farming herself. His grandfather became depressed and never adjusted to living on the farm. He moved to the second floor of the house and didn’t talk much to his wife after that. That was how they avoided divorce back then. On second thought, maybe tearing down the old house might be the best thing. At least it’s not haunted.
Kaleb and I arrived an hour too early to the city of Ulefoss, thinking the library opened at 10 instead of 11. At least it opened. Many businesses in Norway are closed the entire month of July, including churches, because so many people are on vacation. We had an hour to kill so we found a little second hand store that was a gold mine. I love old Norwegian tin, pewter and wood things. I told myself I was getting my Christmas shopping done, but how I’ll get it all home, I have no idea.
This part of Telemark is well known for its locks and canal system. Kaleb and I stopped to watch them in action for a while this afternoon on our way back to the farm. There are a total of 18 locks in 8 locations near here. They were important 150 years ago when shipping was the only way to transport goods, but today they are mostly used by tourists. We thought about taking the steamboat that goes up and down the canal, but we didn’t want to go without Kory, so we just stood by and watched as the boats full of tourists took the stair steps down the river where a large waterfall once stood. Kaleb was fascinated by the process so at least we did something today that was fun for him because he didn’t enjoy hanging out at the library so much. A water balloon fight when we got home also helped keep his spirits up.
Kory and Hallvard spent their day up on the roof again. They replaced some rotten wood and took down a modification Hallvard never liked. It would make the most sense to tear down the building as it has a serious insect invasion going on and many of the interior boards are rotten, but he feels a responsibility to preserve it for the family. Hallvard has no plans to ever make it livable but he wouldn’t mind turning it into a kind of family history museum (it already is with all the contents it holds). Kory’s family only moved to this farm in 1912, but his grandparents had so many children and some of them had so many children, there are a lot of people now with roots in this place. I suggested they have some kind of 100 year jubilee on the farm and in preparation, ask some of the descendants to sponsor a new window or door or a side of the house in honor of their grandparents who lived here. Hallvard’s wife would just as soon tear it down. Kory’s most worried about future degradation to the building and he wants to be sure it’s tight so the elements don’t continue to eat it up. I think he’s already agreed to pay for the fumigation to get the bugs out, but he’s hoping to get other relatives to pitch in either time or money to help put a good shell around it so it will last another lifetime. We’ll be visiting a lot of his cousins soon so we’ll find out what the interest is in doing something like that. The inside of the house isn’t great, but it won’t hurt anything to stay the way it is and just move things around in an easy-to-view fashion and then it would be something worth visiting. I think the house was built in the 1820s but that isn’t old by Norwegian standards so there is no historical society that could help out. Kory feels like he is honoring his father by working on the house. He never puts flowers on his grave, so I guess this is the man’s way of expressing the same sentiment.
After the roof was done, Kory and Hallvard were drenched in sweat, so we headed to the nearest swimming hole so they could dive in. Hallvard’s oldest brother came by for a visit so he drove us all there. I was already cooled down from the constant bombardments of water balloons, otherwise I would have jumped in, too. We found out while we were there that the farm right next to that lake is where Kory’s grandparents lived before they bought Slaattehaugen. We went up for a visit so I could take pictures of the house and we could all see the setting. Family lore has it that Kory’s grandfather did NOT want to move from that place but his wife insisted, as she got a good price for Slaattehaugen from her uncle (see photo of the farm from a distance – Slaattehaugen means “ the harvested hill” – the old house it behind the new one). Kory’s grandfather did not want to be a farmer, as he was a shoemaker, so his grandmother had to do all the farming herself. His grandfather became depressed and never adjusted to living on the farm. He moved to the second floor of the house and didn’t talk much to his wife after that. That was how they avoided divorce back then. On second thought, maybe tearing down the old house might be the best thing. At least it’s not haunted.
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