INSTALLMENT
#7
[Day 11 - Tuesday, July 4, 2000]
Peg & Keith
Wheeler's Norway trip report, Summer 2000
Continuation
of Day 11 - Tuesday, July 4th - Emigration Festival in Stavanger - Gazellen, Parade, Anna of
Sand,
Pageant & Concert, Cruise on the Gamle Rogaland
We returned
to our hotel just in time to freshen up a bit before the start of the Emigration Festival program. Again Ernst and Uncle Sverre met us and we walked around the lake
to the other side were the program was about to begin. Here a crowd had gathered at the
"Gazellen" for speeches and the laying of a wreath. The Gazellen was a statue of a gazelle
on a pedestal (why a gazelle, no one could answer). With a Norwegian inscription on one side and English on the
other, it said, "Dedicated to the men and women of Norwegian blood who
have contributed to the building of America." A wreath was laid and dedicated amid speeches and costumed
participants who were role playing the emigrants of 1825. Horse-drawn carts were loaded with
belongings and the parade began. A replica of the "Restoration" (on
wheels) joined the procession as it made its way around the lake, past the
church and to the wharf beside the customs house where further ceremonies were
to take place.
At
this point it becomes difficult to remember and record all of the events that
ensued, at least in their correct order.
During the parade Keith met Nils Olav Østrem, a bygdebok (local
history book) author, with whom he had corresponded previously. Nils had written some of books for
Tysvær. At the same time he was trying
to also stay with the Torkelson group that was growing. Somehow we ended up at the back of the
parade and when we got to the bleachers they were already filled to capacity. Large standing crowds had gathered as
dignitaries made presentations and music and folk dancing began. It was shortly
after the parade that Keith and Ernst
were approached by the Stavanger Aftenblad journalist for an interview
and pictures. By this time the sloop "Anna of Sand"
had sailed up and was tying up. This
beautifully restored old boat is believed to be quite similar in type and size
to the sloop Restoration that sailed from here so long ago. It is also reputed to be "Europe's
oldest vessel afloat, from 1852" (or 1848 according to another source …
either way, OLD). As the interview
progressed, the Aftenblad's photographer directed Ernst and Keith for quite a
series of photographs that included the sloop.
This was all a bit overwhelming for Keith. It was important to him to see this celebration that honored his
ancestors but he did not expect to be thrust into the celebrity role
himself. The next day's paper would
have a small color photo of Keith and Ernst on the front page with an article
and a 9 x 11 inch black and white photo on page 6. The highlight of all this for Keith was being invited on board
the sloop. The captain invited him to
go below where Keith was able to get a better idea of how small this vessel
would be for the 3 month voyage of 52 people. (Too bad that his "15 minutes of
fame" was recorded in Norwegian!
For those of you who can read Norwegian, the July 5th
Stavanger Aftenblad's article is archived at:
http://stavanger-aftenblad.no/nyheter/lokalt/article.jhtml?articleID=23113
Another
related article appeared on August 8th regarding the incorrect flag
on the Anna of Sand. While this article
did not apply to Keith, there is a nice photo of him and his cousin Ernst
there. See:
http://stavanger-aftenblad.no/nyheter/lokalt/article.jhtml?articleID=29691
See our "Newspaper
Articles" page for more on these and other articles. English
translations now available.)
<
Keith coming up on deck of the Anna
with journalist Ludvig Lorentzen on left
and the sloop's captain (seated) & mate on right. >
As
Keith was still on the sloop a familiar face passed by. With an exclamation, he greeted Mikkel
Thompson from San Jose. We had
first met Mikkel when he brought his dance group [ http://home.att.net/~williamlikens/ngls/ngls.html#general
] up to the Ferndale Scandinavian Days Festival a couple of years ago. Then we met him, his mother and others of
his group in Iowa last year where they were attending and performing at the
Bygdelag celebration. Now, he and some
of his group were performing at this celebration. Small world. As Keith
got off the sloop and was finished with the newspaper people, more of Ernst's
family arrived. We were able to meet
his daughter Anette, another 5th cousin Arne Maudal, and Uncle
Sverre's older brother. About this
time another person Keith had corresponded with found us. His name was Lars Nag and, through
the process of Lars helping Keith with some translation problems over the
Internet, they discovered they had common ancestors dating back to the 1500's
and were 11th cousins. There
was little time to visit with all this confusion so Lars and Keith agreed to
meet later. We also briefly met another
Slooper descendant, Matt Rosdail, with whom Keith had corresponded. In an act of futility Keith tried to watch
the program performance over the heads of the crowd while maintaining social
contact with all the new folks he was meeting.
During
this time Peg let herself fade into the background letting Keith have the
limelight. Peg couldn't get too close
to the performance either but was able to catch bits and pieces of it. The theatrical group that had been playing
the role of the Slooper folk since the beginning continued their pageant. They moved from the center of the
performance area to dockside next to the Anna of Sand. This enabled Peg and Keith to get a little
better view. They enacted the emotional
parting of those sailing to America from those who were staying behind. It was all very well done and soon the
pioneers were aboard the sloop. With music,
singing and waving farewell the sloop left the dock, set sail and headed in the
direction of the open sea. As Keith
tried to imagine his 4 ancestors sailing from this very area 175 years ago on
this long dangerous voyage, tears again came to his eyes.
Shortly
after they sailed off, the sound of a steamer's whistle or horn could be
heard. The thematic sequence of events
called for the symbolic return of some emigrants to their homeland. This was accomplished when the old
refurbished Gamle Rogaland steamship arrived in port. Aboard were the actors dressed in 20's (or later) attire.
This
was the finale of this part of the program.
Now the crowd moved down the wharf a short distance where a stage had
been set up for the "People on
the Move" concert. This was essentially the same
concert that we attended in Aksdal a couple of days previously. Again Hanne Krogh was the star and MC and
Tom Russell, Andrew Hardin, Mick O'Brien and the group from Haugesund were the
other headliners. For this concert we
were ushered onto the "Gamle
Rogaland," a fine old restored steam ship moored at the
wharf. Built in the 1920's, this
coastal steamer provided regular passenger and freight service to the ports of
southern Norway for many years. She was
in port in Bergen in April 1944 when the munitions explosion we spoke of
earlier sank her. She is now used for
excursions and special events and is staffed by a dedicated group of volunteers
who enjoy seeing an old Norwegian tradition preserved.
<
Gamle Rogaland moored in front of
the Custom House.
Picture taken the next day; covered stage for the
concert is still up on the right. >
From
our comfortable perspective in the bow of the ship, we enjoyed the
concert. With maybe exceptions of some
of the Haugesund group's songs, we had a growing appreciation for the music and
performances of these musicians. By
this time Keith was in love with Hanne and Keith was accusing Peg of rolling
her eyes at Tom. (She denies this - but
you check out the photo below.) We were
joined here with Ernst, his uncle and his daughter. David Cross, his wife and daughter also joined us along with Matt
Rosdail and his cousin. During the concert Tom Russell even dedicated one of
his songs to "the Wheelers from California." Were we celebrities or what? Peg went down where they were selling CDs
and had Tom sign one of his brochures for her and a CD to be a gift for our
friend Rotraud.
As
part of the concert program a special award was made. It was presented by Hanne Krogh to a very popular Norwegian TV
personality, Erik Bye. This
award was made by the Emigration Center and the county of Rogaland to Mr. Bye
for his work in strengthening the "cultural and human connections between
Norway and those who emigrated."
He was then ushered aboard the Rogaland just as Keith was being sent
down to buy some more music CDs. Not
knowing what was going on, Keith waited at the top of the gangplank with a
group of people while this elderly distinguished gentleman came up using a
cane. Unwittingly Keith was now part of
the welcoming committee bringing Erik Bye on board. They shook each other's hands as if they were old friends and
then Keith went down to get the CDs.
At
the concert close, the entertainers joined the rest of us celebrities aboard the
Gamle Rogaland for a cruise that lasted over 2 hours. With a blast from the whistle we steamed out of the harbor and
cruised the large outer fjords. It
was spectacular with the play of the light on the buildings, the water, the
land and the sky. A jazz band was
playing on the fantail and a special vintage of red and white "Cleng
Peerson" wines were served. Later
shrimp and crab were served.
While
appreciating the history and tradition of this steamship voyage, new technology
was evident. Once she knew our route
and that it went by her summer home, Anette, Ernst's daughter, used her cell
phone to call her boyfriend who was onshore with their baby to tell him to come
out and wave at us as we steamed by. It
was an enjoyable time to enjoy the magnificent scenery and visit with some of
the people we had met that day in a more leisurely way. We also had the opportunity to meet new
interesting folks and to get a very special photograph for Keith and his Irish music
loving son Kent.
< Keith with uilleann pipes player Mick O'Brien.
The
cruise ended in the always "early twilight" of the summer evening
(after 10 pm) as we all posed for one last photo op with the entertainers on
shore. It was an exhausted, windblown,
exhilarated couple of old tourists that fell into bed that night.
<
And now the star of the show! PEG with friend Tom Russell - Hanne to left
of Tom with
Andrew behind her - Mick is on the far left -
Haugesund group fiddle player behind Peg. >
As
very grateful guests of the Emigration Center we send our thanks to the
staff there for their invitation and their cordial hospitality on this
memorable and special day.
See Photo Albums #15 & #16
for more photos
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