This autumn, Science Norway travelled across the United States to explore the legacy of Norwegian emigrants. The journey marked the 200th anniversary of the first ship from Norway carrying people who wanted to build a new life in America.
Will such a journey still be possible at the next anniversary in 25 years? Or 50?
Broadly speaking, it has taken three generations for the ties to Norway to be broken.
The emigrants' first stop was New York. It was also the last stop for those who found work there and settled in Norwegian neighbourhoods in Brooklyn. Those who wanted to become farmers moved on to the Midwest, where Norwegian communities and farms flourished from 1850 onwards. The last place for mass immigration from Norway was the West Coast, continuing into the 1930s.
Brooklyn once had fully Norwegian neighbourhoods. The Norwegian stores have now closed, and the descendants of Norwegian immigrants have moved away.(Photo: Nina Kristiansen)
Leaving the Norwegian community
Annonse
The first generation of immigrants lived close together, spoke Norwegian, shopped in Norwegian stores, read Norwegian-American newspapers, and attended Norwegian schools and churches. Some of them opposed integration, while others wanted to become Americans.
Their children understood Norwegian and grew up with Norwegian culture but left the tight-knit immigrant communities to work, pursue education, and find spouses.
By the third generation – the grandchildren – the language and much of the knowledge about Norway had been lost.
Pressure on hyphenated Americans
During World War I, patriotism grew in the United States.
In 1915, President Theodore Roosevelt gave a speech about hyphenated Americans. These were the people who called themselves Norwegian-Americans and German-Americans.
Roosevelt said loyalty must be solely to the USA: "There
is no such thing as a hyphenated American who is a good American. The
only man who is a good American is the man who is an American and
nothing else."
The speech urged immigrants to Americanise. The pressure to integrate increased. Still, the Norwegian traditions, food, and language did not completely disappear in families.
In an all-American grocery store in Iowa, you can buy authentic Norwegian lefse.(Photo: Nina Kristiansen)
Still celebrate the Norwegian Constitution Day in New York
"We celebrated the 17th of May this year, and we'll celebrate it again next year. I'm looking forward to it," says Victoria Hofmo.
She works to promote Scandinavian history in New York. She was born and raised in the Norwegian part of Brooklyn. She still lives there and helps organise the annual 17th of May parade in the neighbourhood.
"But there are fewer people than before, there's no doubt about that," she says.
Norwegian institutions are also dwindling. Norwegian-language newspapers and churches closed, and the Norwegian hospital has long since been taken over by others.
Victoria Hofmo is trying to keep Norwegian Brooklyn alive. She helps organise the May 17 parade, arranged by Sons of Norway, churches, and other organisations.(Photo: Anders Moen Kaste)
Neighbours join in
Annonse
It's mostly people with Norwegian ancestry who celebrate Norwegian America and May 17 in New York today, says Victoria Hofmo.
"But other New Yorkers from the neighbourhood also join in. The Norwegian element is part of their history too, like visiting friends and getting to taste a grandmother's Norwegian waffles," she says.
Hofmo was baptised in a Norwegian church on 59th Street in Brooklyn. Today, many people with Chinese background attend this church.
"They also take part in the parade. It's still our heritage, but it doesn't have to consist of the same people," says Hofmo.
This is typical of New York's ethnic neighbourhoods, according to historian Robert Snyder. Descendants of Norwegian immigrants moved to the suburbs, while new ethnic groups settled in the former Norwegian areas.
The harbour area of Red Hook in Brooklyn once teemed with Norwegian immigrants. Today, you need to talk to locals to uncover this part of the area's history.(Photo: Anders Moen Kaste)
Lutefisk on the prairie
In the Midwest, Norwegian heritage remains especially strong.
When Science Norway attended a garden party in the small town of Spring Grove, Minnesota, pride in being Norwegian was very much alive.
Residents there also gather to celebrate May 17. The Norwegian Giants of the Earth Heritage Center and Sons of Norway host numerous events throughout the year.
These feature Norwegian food and baked goods, such as lefse, lutefisk (fish cured in lye), and brown cheese. The question is whether the residents of Spring Grove will still recognise the distinctive smell of lutefisk in a few decades.
The Giants of the Earth Heritage Center highlights Norwegian heritage through exhibitions featuring Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, traditional bunads, woodcarving, and immigrant stories.(Photo: Nina Kristiansen)
No time for Norwegian culture
Jill Storlie works hard to involve the next generation.
She sits on the board of Valheim Lodge, the local Sons of Norway club.
"But it's hard to get people under 50 involved," says Storlie.
She believes Sons of Norway faces similar challenges across the country. It's mostly grandparents who have the time to get involved.
"The younger ones are too busy with their careers, the farm, and everything else. But they show interest in Norwegian culture," says Storlie.
This year’s Norwegian-American garden party in Spring Grove, Minnesota, drew a solid crowd, though the average age was high. Jill Storlie hopes to see more young people become involved in Sons of Norway.(Photo: Nina Kristiansen)
One way in is genealogy. Storlie helps people trace their Norwegian family roots and identify where in Norway they came from. Often, this requires going back to great-great-grandparents or even further.
200 years since the first emigrants left
In 2025 it will be 200 years since the first Norwegian emigrants travelled to the USA. Science Norway's reporting trip has been made possible through support from the Fritt Ord Foundation. Science Norway has full editorial freedom.
"I can search through more than 94,000 names in the family tree," says Storlie.
Everyone has some kind of connection to Spring Grove.
"The older people in town often talk about their family history, but they usually know only the broad outlines. They often lack details and names," says Storlie.
The connection to Norway died – and was reborn
Many older Norwegian-Americans told Science Norway that contact with Norway disappeared when their grandparents died. That was when the letters stopped coming.
Growing interest in genealogy in both Norway and the United States, along with the rise of social media, has made it easier for those who want to reconnect.
Anna Marie Jackson and Danna Star Phillips in Seattle got in touch with their Norwegian relatives – and with each other – through Facebook. They now travel to Norway regularly.
Becky Kroll in Minneapolis had no names or addresses when she began exploring her Norwegian roots as an adult.
The only thing she knew was which village her family came from. She therefore wrote to the post office, the bank, and the church in Bjordal. That led to several trips to Norway and family reunions.
In Minneapolis, Mindekirken still holds church services in Norwegian, even though few in the congregation understand the language. Nearby is Norway House, which showcases Norwegian art, food, and business. A large pine cone symbolises Norway.(Photo: Nina Kristiansen)
Invite the local community
One way to maintain the Norwegian associations is to invite people from other backgrounds.
That's what Sons of Norway does in Spring Grove.
"Our group is not exclusive at all. You don't need to have Norwegian ancestry to join," says Jill Storlie.
She believes these organisations are crucial to the survival of Norwegian culture in the United States.
"If Sons of Norway disappears from small towns, Norwegian-American culture will come to an end. I'm not sure people would keep coming together otherwise," says Storlie.
The history is still being written
Even though many Norwegian-Americans now have a more distant relationship to their Norwegian roots, historians remain deeply engaged.
Sandra Bestland meets us at Mindekirken in Minneapolis. The church is now a Norwegian enclave in a Somali neighbourhood. The descendants of those who built the church have long since moved to the suburbs.
Sandra Bestland tells the stories of Norwegian immigrant women.(Photo: Anders Moen Kaste)
Bestland believes the story of Norwegian immigration to the United States is far from finished. That's why the former dancer and office manager, now retired, became a historian.
"So many women have become invisible in the history books," she says.
Bestland writes and gives lectures on women's history – about composers, editors, photographers, and politicians. She still encounters strong interest in Norwegian immigration within Sons of Norway and bygdelag (regional society) that still exist in Minnesota.
Bygdelag become archival material
The first bygdelag was founded in 1899 by immigrants who came from the same regions of Norway, such as the Nordfjord Association and the Toten Association. These associations served as bridges between the old country and life in the United States.
At one point, there were 140 local and national bygdelag. Now only 29 remain, all in the Midwest.
They have provided work for those employed at an archive in Northfield, Minnesota. The Norwegian American Historical Association (NAHA) ensures that old letters, photographs, and documents are not lost.
"We have more than 3,000 collections, ranging from a single folder to hundreds of boxes," says Kristina Warner, who digitises the collections.
NAHA also receives visits from Norwegian historians with an interest in Norwegian America.
"They research all kinds of topics, such as religion, schools, or women. We have never received the same request twice," director Amy Boxrud tells Science Norway.
They collaborate with the National Library of Norway to make old newspapers, letters, and photos available there as well.
Kristina Warner (left) and Amy Boxrud work at NAHA. They manage collections and exhibitions, and publish journals and books – all connected to Norwegian-American history.(Photo: Anders Moen Kaste)
The language is dying
While historians find plenty of source material, linguists observe that the Norwegian language is dying out. Even though some grandchildren and great-grandchildren study Norwegian in college, fewer and fewer people speak Norwegian in the United States.
St. Olaf College was founded by Norwegian immigrants. There, their descendants can learn Norwegian.(Photo: Nina Kristiansen)
Today, Norwegian lives on through a few select words, such as uff da, lefse, and lutefisk.
"They use the words to show their connection to Norway. But sometimes it's more imagined than real," says Joe Salmons, professor of linguistics at the University of Wisconsin.
Joe Salmons researches immigrant languages at the University of Wisconsin.(Photo: Nina Kristiansen)
For example, you can find shops in Minnesota and Wisconsin called Norsk Butikk or Lefse Café.
"But no one speaks Norwegian there. It's a symbolic connection to the language," says Salmons.
Even so, those symbols are important to descendants.
"They no longer speak the language, but they still eat the food and maintain some traditions," says Salmons. "Many of these people also travel to Norway. They visit the fjords and the place their family came from. But it's no longer a living connection."
Laurann Gilbertson is chief curator at the Vesterheim Museum in Iowa. She believes Norwegian immigrants held on to the culture of their homeland longer than other nationalities.
Sisters Birgitta and Greta Meade, who attended the Norwegian garden party in Spring Grove, agree:
"We're really only a quarter Norwegian, but that's the side of the family that's made the most of it," says Birgitta.
