Mrs Gust Sundt Carries Farm Work Following Loss of Her Husband
Another citizen profile from The Stanley Sun, Oct 17 1940
This is the story of a woman who was born in Norway in 1871. Who has never asked for or received any charity of any nature, Who keeps her share of the work caught up. Who raised 9 children. Who shocked 50 acres1 of wheat this year, also 15 acres of oats, besides helping her son with the rest of the farm work. Who pitched 20 loads of hay and never owned a washing machine.
Cut the Wheat, Gather into Sheaves, Set up Shocks
[image from Wisconsin Historical Society]
The purpose of shocking was to allow the wheat to continue drying in the sun and air, protecting the grain from moisture and spoilage before it was threshed.
Who is she? Mrs. Gust Sundt, pioneer farm woman 3 miles southeast of Stanley. She was Mrs. Blank two weeks ago, and her story should have appeared last week.
Theoline Lovaas2 was born in Åsnes, Norway, November 9, 1871. the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Olaf Lornas. There were 9 children, four boys and five girls. During her girlhood she worked for neighbors - five-years in one place, 3 years in another. And about two miles away there was a neighbor boy Gustav Sundt. The wedding took place on March 20, 1894.
Mrs. Sundt recalls when her husband worked for 3 cents a day, his salt herring and potatoes. With a cow or two and the vegetables they raised, the Sundts lived. When there were two children, Ole and Christine, Mr. Sundt decided to come to America. He had a brother in this country who wrote of opportunities here within the grasp of the working man. The brother came back to Norway in 1898 on a visit and Gust was convinced. The following year, 1899, Mrs. Sundt and the two children set out for America.
It was not altogether a pleasant voyage. Theoline had the two babies and a grip to carry. She carried one baby on one arm and in the other hand she carried the grip. The second baby was fastened to her by a rope. At sea, she became terribly sick and the crew cared for her babies. "Everybody was so kind to us," she says.
At Dawson, Minnesota, Mr. Sundt and the brother were batching. Theoline became their housekeeper. The corn crop was to be harvested, so Theoline took the two babies to the field, chopped corn and tied it by hand. She was accustomed to hard work. The next move the Sundts made was to Montevideo, Minnesota where Mr. Sundt worked on the section3. Theoline's brother, Ole Aas joined them and they moved to Clarkfield (MN), where they rented a farm.
In 1905, Gust Sundt landed in the city of Stanley, filed on his homestead southeast of Stanley. He built the buildings and made preparations for the arrival of the family. Mrs, Sundt and the children came in the spring of 1906. In the party that arrived at that time were Mr. and Mrs. Martin Holter, John and Thorwald Holter, Mrs. Alfred Peterson and Mrs. Anton Olen. They were not exactly delighted, with the looks of things and the girl who is now Mrs. Alfred Peterson was so disgusted that she was on the verge of leaving at once. She is still here and likes the place.
On the Sundt homestead was the one-room shack with the ladder leading to the attic. For beds there were boxes holding up the corners of the bed spring. The boxes were removed during the day and the springs leaned against the wall to make room. There were mostly "trollas,4" dance to you, the accordion music carried Gust and Theoline back to the land of their birth and they were a happy lot.
There was always a shortage of money, but Gust and Theoline were young and strong. In the first years before the homestead began to produce, Gust was away from home a great deal of the time working for wages. The few broken acres had been sown to flax. While Gust was away, Theoline carried water a quarter of a mile for two cows, a pig and for the household use.
The flax crop came through and the next years were happy ones. The first team of horses and the wagon and sleigh were a dream materialized.
The children were wrapped in blankets, bundled into the sleigh and off to “trolla” went the whole Sundt family.
There were 9 children. Today they are all grown and are:
Christine, Mrs. Eddie Kappang, Monteredio, Minn;
Ole at Attica, Indiana;
Eleanor, Mrs. Henry Duttan of Freewater, Ore;
(Inga) Mrs. Ernest Larson of Stanley;
Maurice and Oscar of Richmond, California;
Jennie. Mrs. James Hoping also of Richmond (CA);
Thelma, Mrs. Art Waise of Minot (ND); and
Clifford was at home.5
Gust died on September 4, 1937, He was missed in the Sundt home but the blow did not stop Theoline. She and Clifford the youngest, carry on the farm and this year-raised a good crop. That is the kind of stuff Theoline is made of.
With the exception of a trip to Minnesota and a trip to California in 1937, Theoline has stuck by the homestead that Gust Sundt filed on in 1905. There are 17 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. She is a charter member of the Knife River Ladies Aid, having helped to organize the Knife River church just a short distance from the Sundt home, will stand a long time as landmark of her faith, and industry. She helped build it.
She talks of the past when asked about it, but her mind is still in the future. A homemaker who (illegible) her home. Thrifty and intelligent - Theoline Sundt. A Mountrail county pioneer who does not like to talk about herself, but has something to tell when cornered. A person who makes light of hardship. Success? We say so.
50 acres is about 38 football fields or 28 soccer fields.
"Working on the section” meant working on a crew that maintained a specific portion of the railway track. Significant railroad development occurred during this period. This created a high demand for unskilled laborers to build and maintain the tracks.
Link to Norwegian Troll dancers:
Christine Sundt 1894–1962
Ole Sundt 1896–1988
Elenora Sundt 1900–1991
Inga Sundt 1903–1951
Morris Sundt 1904–1983
Oscar Sundt 1907–1979
Jennie Margaret Sundt 1909–1995
Clifford Sundt 1911–1988