My First Stevne

MY FIRST STEVNE

by Gary Oistad

I GOT TO GO TO MY FIRST STEVNE! First a little history. I had been thinking that I should go to a stevne after joining Telelaget and Totenlag in 2019. It appeared to me that stevne might be a good place to learn more about my Norway heritage. I had also begun to work on documenting my Norwegian roots in 2019. I already had a lot of information about my Norwegian relatives, spread out over several documents, that other relatives had produced and given to me. Then, shortly after writing my first article in the Toten Bulletin, I received a lot more information from a genealogist. Altogether I had enough information to confirm that parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, great great-grandparents, and so on, were all rooted in Norway. The majority of my relatives are rooted in Telemark with Toten and Rogaland providing of the rest.

December 2022 - I am working for Rapid Transit System in Rapid City, South Dakota and I had to put in my vacation requests for 2023. I knew that the first post-covid 7+ Lag Stevne would happen in 2023. There was already a preliminary schedule for that 2023 stevne, so I had to put those dates into my vacation requests. The firm schedule did not happen for another few months and as you might expect the firm schedule dates and the preliminary schedule dates were not the same. No stevne for me in 2023.

December 2023. I am still working for Rapid Transit, and it is time for me to once again make my vacation requests. But this time things were much different. The dates and place for the 2024 7+ Lag Stevne had been finalized at the 2023 Stevne. So, I knew that if my vacation requests were approved, I would be going to my first 7+ Lag Stevne, and yes, my requests were approved.

I knew one of the biggest benefits of attending stevne was access to lots of genealogy information. Each of the lags that make up the 7+ Lag Stevne had genealogy resources available for use. This was my first encounter with all these Bygdabøker, libraries, and many other resources, focused on Norwegian genealogy, and frankly it was pretty overwhelming.

I have one great grandfather, Gullik Lee, that remains a bit of a mystery. I know he came from Norway, because I have a copy of his naturalization document, but details about him, both in Norway and the US, are few. The genealogist that helped me had identified one promising person that “could be” Gullik Lee in Norway. So far, however, he remains just that, a “could be.” My “could be” Gullik Lee came from Telemark. So, I spent some time doing some research about him in Telelag’s area. While I did not confirm that the “could be” Gullik Lee and my great grandfather Gullik Lee are the same person, I gained a little appreciation of, and a very little bit of exposure to, the process of doing Norwegian genealogy research.

The challenge for me at stevne was time. There just wasn’t enough time for a novice like myself to accomplish any serious research. Besides there were many other things to do at stevne.

Another benefit of attending stevne is the classes, and I attended several. They were all informative and very well presented. The North Dakota State College of Science dorm room accommodations were very affordable. The on-campus cafeteria dining was also reasonably priced. There was quite a variety of foods to choose from for breakfast. Lunch and dinner focused on a primary food item. Everything that I had to eat was well prepared and tasty.

I truly loved the entertainers! Bud Larsen entertained us on Friday night. Bud built his first Hardanger Fiddle, a uniquely Norwegian musical instrument, when he was in the 7th grade. Over the years Bud has made over 40 Hardanger fiddles, and has also repaired more than 100. I was astonished by Bud’s artistry and craftsmanship in the fiddles that he had made and brought with him. Bud is also the owner of an antique Hardanger fiddle. He brought that antique fiddle with him, and played this fiddle during his performance. In appearance this antique fiddle is very plain and is certainly totally different in design and appearance from the fiddles Bud has made. Lastly, Bud is also the instructor of several students learning how to make Hardanger fiddles.

Bud had invited the audience to dance during his performance so when he played a schottische, I could not resist the opportunity. Bud’s wife joined me, and I had a great time dancing with her. Then Bud played a waltz, and I showed his wife a fairly easy pattern waltz that I had learned many years ago. Unfortunately, I made her a little dizzy and ended up apologizing to her the next morning at breakfast. If you ever get the chance to see Bud perform, I strongly recommend that you do! He is truly a master performer with, and maker of, the Hardanger fiddle.

The high energy duo, named The Norwegian Bachelor Farmers, delivered a spectacular performance! Amazing vocals, use of multiple instruments, and the virtuoso guitar playing dominated the performance. So don’t pass up a chance to go see The Norwegian Bachelor Farmers perform either!

Our trip back to Rapid City provided two additional highlights. First, we had arranged to spend Saturday the night at the Heritage House B&B in De Smet, South Dakota. This early 20th century themed B&B was truly enjoyable! To top it off the window treatments and table runners in our room had a plaid pattern that closely resembles my Totendrakt vest.

And second, we stopped at the Dignity Statue that is located at the Chamberlain, South Dakota rest stop on Interstate 90, overlooking the Missouri River valley. This statue has been in place for several years now, but for me it is always a must stop and see, whenever I am traveling on I-90. There is also an amazing Lewis and Clark exhibit at this rest stop.

About the author: The Oistad name comes from Toten. The farm name is Øystad and it is close to Raufoss. Gary visited this farm in 1998 and it was an overwhelming experience. His grandfather was a toddler on this farm when they left for Henrytown, Minnesota. Gary had visions of walking where he had walked. Gary’s ancestry is 100% Norwegian. His mother would sometimes refer to him and his three siblings as thoroughbreds. She wasn’t being snooty just stating a fact. The majority of Gary’s Norwegian ancestors come from Telemark.