This is the story of Adolph Solvang, last week's Mr. Blank. His story is not what you might term colorful, but Adolph Solvang is the kind of person every community must have, else there would be no ditches dug, no mortar mixed and no hods carried. If Adolph Solvang is not up and about at six in the morning, he apologizes for having overslept. If the sun goes down without Adolph Solvang still at some mean task, he explains that be put in a short day.
He is neither illiterate nor ignorant and the name of Adolph Solvang does not appear on the relief rolls at the Memorial building1, a fact of which he is very proud.
His best boosters are those people for whom he has worked digging a ditch, laying a sewer or the performance of some other task that calls for labor of the hardest kind.
Sunday finds him in his church. Weekdays, he practices what the parson preached about on Sunday. Adolph Solvang hears, sees or speaks no evil. If we were all of his temperament, there would be no wars in Europe; the penal code could be ripped from our law books and lock manufacturers would go out of business. That's Adolph Solvang as we know him.
While forking angle worms from the black loam of the Solvang garden, preparatory to a bullhead excursion to the Missouri river. Adolph yielding the fork - we discussed war, politics, religion and the young generation, and found that Adolph was no dumbbell. The bullheads refused to bite and those that did weren't fit to eat, but the day was not lost because of the discussion. and the simple lesson in live and let live, learned earlier in the day from a simple man for whom the forking of angle worms was a diversion
He was born in Norway. December 31, 18862, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Andreas Johannson Solvang There were two sons and three daughters. The sisters are still Norway, two are trained nurses
Adolph and his brother Elmer. set out for "America" in 1908, and after two weeks on the Atlantic, landed at Concord, Mass3. Adolph says he enjoyed the crossing, even though the sea was a little rough and the passengers were kept below decks for two days. He aspired to become blacksmith and believes that he would have been a good one but somehow the opportunity to learn the trade never presented itself. In Massachusetts, he found work on a farm and remained there for a year and four months.
In 1909, he came to Park River, N. D., and took in harvest and threshing. That winter, he went to Eli, Minnesota and found employment in the lumber woods.
He came to Lunds Valley in the spring of 1910 and found work in the neighborhood.
While at Lunds Valley, Adolph decided to send back to Norway for his boyhood sweetheart. So he caused a transportation ticket to be forwarded and in the due course of time Selma Gunderson4 arrived. She and Adolph worked in the Lunds Valley and Powers Lake communities. They were married at Park River, December 2, 1911, and lived the following year at Burdette, Minn.
In 1913 they returned to the Lunds Valley community and filed on a 320 acre homestead. Adolph explains that the place was rocky and hilly and that they kept three cows and one horse. Selma held down the claim while Adolph worked at what he could get. The homestead days were lonesome and the nearest neighbor was two miles distant. Upon three occasions, Adolph performed the duties of nurse and doctor, and upon each occasion a husky young Solvang was ushered into the world. That's how they got along.
They moved to Stanley in 1923 and in 1934 bought the dwelling in which Mr. Solvang resides today. Mrs. Solvang died July 1, 1934 from heart trouble.
There are nine living sons and one daughter5. One son, Lewis, died last spring.
Gustav was born at Burdette Minn, Affred, Albert, Lewis, Sigurd Helge and Paul were born near Lunds Valley. Kenneth. Clarence and Bonnie May were born in Stanley.
Helge is in the army at Fort Snelling while Paul is serving in the army at Portland, Ore. Alfred is in Los Angeles and Albert is in Donna, Wash father. Kenneth is here with his father.
Bonnie Mae. the baby, has been adopted by Mrs. G. M. Ellefson a neighbor6, and Adolph's eyes light up when he tells of the wonderful home Bonnie has and his praise of Mrs. Ellefson is limitless.
He has 3 lots that he puts into irrigated garden and furnishes vegetables to much of the town. That's where the fishin' worms are.
When we found him the other day to get this writeup, he was working on the basement for his church. The building is being moved in from west of Lostwood.
“relief rolls”. I’ve seen several mentions of people who were not on ‘relief’. There seems to have been a kind of pride for not needing relief during The Great Depression. I wonder if those who accepted relief felt stigmatized.
“Landed in Concord, Massachusetts” This is very improbable as Concord is 20 miles inland from Boston. He likely landed in Boston which was a significant port for Norwegian and Scandinavian immigrants.
Adolph and Selma appear to have given up their first daughter and last child to a neighbor! The Family Search website has all the boys listed with their parents but Bonnie Mae is (was) missing.
