Chapter 13 • Mother Dena

In the land of the midnight sun, Hevne, Trondheim, Norway, Randina Strand Peterson was born to Ole and Anna Strand, in August 31 1870.

At the age of eight years, when school was out, she would work during the summer for her room and board, and a few Krona (Norwegian money). They were well-to-do dairy men. They took her to the mountains to herd the milk cows on the lush green grass in the mountains and valleys. They made their cheese and butter there, and kept it in cool caves until it was brought back to the city to sell. This she did until she was confirmed in the big church in Trondjem, with 600 other confirmants from all around the countryside in 1882.

Some friends she knew in Ashland, Wisconsin sponsored her, so they sent her a ticket to come to the U.S. She came to Ashland in 1887 and worked for these people for one year or more to pay for her ticket, at the age of seventeen. From there she went to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, and worked there for some time. She left there and came to Granite Falls to Montevideo and Clarkfield, Minnesota, where she was head cook in a big hotel. She was an excellent cook.

13-01StrandKnudtson
Four Generations, 1920, left to right, Annie Pederson Knudtson, little girl Dorothy Knudtson Hansen, Anna Strand, Randina Strand Peterson
She married Andrew M. Pederson at Clarkfield in 1890. Four children were born to this union: Arent, Jan 1891; Annie, April 30 1892; Palmer, July 13 1894; and Rudy, Oct 9 1896. Her husband left her with four children to support. Arent was born deaf and dumb, so he was put in a state hospital as a baby. Palmer went to live with his grandparents, Anna and Ole Strand.
She read and answered my dad's ad in the paper, so she married my dad Jan 1 1900. They lived on the farm. Dad worked out doing carpenter work; he built houses and barns, when he had time from his farm work. Mother was busy cooking and washing clothes by hand until the hand machines come in, the ones you pulled back and forth by hand, then the power one in about 1908. She always raised a big garden, and I can still taste the chicken soup and dumplings she made on Sundays from a hen she butchered and cooked, it sure was good!

11-22MyrtleElsiePeterson
Myrtle and Elsie Peterson picking potatoes in 1928
When they left Callaway to move into the woods, she would take an axe and go and cut down the trees that were around the house. She said she couldn't breathe, she felt as if she was smothered when the trees were that close to the house, so down they came. We were all very happy in the woods, all working together. Then Dad had a tree fall on his back and was never too well after this, so Frank took over the farm. He had married Astrid Nelson from Stacy, Minnesota, so Mother and Dad bought a small house in Richwood Village, and moved there in 1928. Dad bought the Woodman hall and opened up a pool hall, candy, pop, and tobacco shop, but it did not pay off, so he closed it up and later sold the building to Mike and Anna Roberts.

13-02PetersonFamily
Randina Strand Peterson Family, 1937. Seated: Elsie, Mother Dena, Myrtle. Standing: Rudy, Palmer, Andy and Lawrence (the webmaster's grandfather)
Dad died Aug 26 1930; this was the depression years, which made it very hard for all of us. In the spring of 1936, mom married William Sherman from Detroit Lakes. He was a kind and friendly person, but their marriage did not last long. The same fall, one day Mom and Bill came to the farm to cut some firewood. He had been in for coffee, and was listening to the World Series baseball game. He went back behind the barn and lifted his axe to chop down a dry tree, and dropped dead with the axe in his hand by the tree. So Mom was left alone again.

Andy had died in San Francisco from a car accident on April 25 1938, and this was very hard on Mother. She managed to save money to go to San Francisco to visit Myrtle Maggi for three winters to help pass those long winters in a warm climate. In the spring of 1940, she fell and broke her hip, and was in the hospital for a long time. They operated and put a pin in her hip. She come and stayed with me for a couple of months and then went home to her own home, but was not as well as she would like to be. She lived alone in Richwood as her health was failing right along. She was real sick at Christmas, but she lived until March 13 1943. Most of the children got home before she passed away, but not many came home for the funeral, as it was bad weather and most of them lived out West.

Earthquake!

Today, as I write this, Tuesday, February 9 1971, Los Angeles California had a severe earthquake at one minute past six am. It was six point five. It almost shook us out of bed; some were shook out of bed. Many were killed in a veteran's hospital; one was found 72 hours later under a sink still alive. Refrigerator doors flew open and all contents flew out. Ten thousand were evacuated from the valley below the dam. Many hundreds of homes were demolished. It took Monday and Tuesday to get them out. Some refused to leave their homes, but the law stepped in, and they could not go back until Friday afternoon, at 4pm. It took that long to pump the water from the dam. They were afraid of another hard quake, it may break open. If it did, 32 feet of water would wash through San Fernando Valley and wash everything away.
I knew right away it was an earthquake when the house and bed started to roll; I sure woke up in a hurry. I jumped out of bed, brother Frank ran out into the living room in his shorts and said "What did you think of that one?" and it was still rolling and I never in my life heard such a horrible noise. You could hear the rocks grinding as they were slipping and moving around, my blood ran cold in my veins and we were white as sheets. It lasted for three minutes or more. There was no more sleep that morning, and I could not write or do anything all day. I was about ready to take the next plane back to Minnesota.

They had over two hundred tremors before I left California and they had many more after that. As many times as l have been in California, I never thought too much about earthquakes, but back in my mind I was wondering if I would ever feel one. Well, I did and will never forget it.

Previous Chapter Contents Next Chapter
Leave a comment on the genealogy page.