52Ancestors52Weeks Week 4 Theme: My Favorite Photo (Harold Hansen)

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   Week 4 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge brings us to the theme of "My favorite photo"....

  How on earth do you pick a favorite photograph out of hundreds and hundreds on both sides of your family?  There are so many memories and stories to choose from. I have had this photograph of my grandfather, Harold Hansen, in my favorites file on my computer for some time.  I spent this last summer going through photographs that he took, or were taken of him, on his trip to Norway in 1930.  Later in his life he wrote his "Life Story", which my Aunt transcribed, and I added it to the blog (April, 2020).  I especially loved the stories of his trip to Norway.   Most of the pictures he took on his trip were in a house fire in 1950; many were rescued, but were burnt or had singed edges.  As I was going through other files and boxes, I discovered a manila envelope with "Norway" written on the front.  Inside were many more pictures of my grandfather on his trip, taken by family members.  This picture was in that envelope.  I did not include this picture in my summer posts, so this seems like a perfect place to add it. 

  I remember looking at it for the first time and thinking about his face.  This must have been at an early stage in his trip, perhaps before he left the dock from San Francisco.  His clothes look brand new, not like in other pictures where you can tell he was dirty and disheveled from working off his passage.  I can imagine his  father taking this picture before he left.   His face had such a look of youthful exuberance and expectation!  

  He was a young man, out of high school, looking for adventure and possibly a vocation to take up in life.  His father John Hartwig Hansen was from Norway and still had close family living near Oslo.  He was a sailor in his youth.  John Hartwig Hansen wrote to  his brother-in-law Harald Klemmetsen  who ran a shipping business and got Grandpa on the ship Balboa to Norway.   Grandpa was to work off his passage and in the process see if sailing might be a good future vocation.  He figured out pretty fast that sailing was not the life for him,  but had a wonderful adventure none the less and got to connect with his Norwegian family and heritage.  It was a trip that provided a life time of memories. 

  I received a packet of letters from my mother this summer that my grandfather had written home while on his trip.  I have been in the process of transcribing them.  I am sharing a letter he wrote after his arrival in Norway.  It is a long one, but it describes his trip from San Francisco to Norway and everything in between.  I think my favorite part might be his last line before he signs off as "Heine H.".  

I shared this picture in a previous post.  My grandfather Harold Hansen is with his father, John Hartwig Hansen,  right before his trip to Norway in June of 1930.  This picture was most likely taken the same day as the top photo.  Who took the photo? 

Relationship Reference:  Me->Mom->Harold Hansen->John Hartwig Hansen

Are You My (Norwegian) Cousin? (Hansen)

  As I write this family history, I digitize and archive as I go.  All the while uncovering new finds to  ponder over and then figure out how they fit into this wonderful puzzle.    I found a large manila folder marked  "Norwegian Family".  Under that was marked "Hans Gunderson" and "Emma".  Under that was marked "Knud Nilsen"; all in my Auntie Claire's writing.  This was a mix of old pictures, pictures from the 30's, pictures from my Grandfather Harold Hansen's 1930 trip to Norway, and a few pictures from the 1950's.  I am posting the majority of the pictures with some interpretation, but I will have to save more research for a later date.  Enjoy! 

These two pictures appear to have been taken at the same photography studio, at the same time in Kristiana, Norway (spelled Kristiana on the back).   This second picture has some writing in Norwegian which I believe says that the picture is being sent to California from Marie.  Marie was John Hartwig Hansen's cousin, born in 1889.  I believe the top picture is of  Marie's younger sister Emma, born in 1894.  They were daughters of John's sister Hulda, who married Harold Klemmetsen.  I am guessing that Emma might be around 13 years old, and Marie may be around 18 years old, making the date of these pictures around 1907.  It is just a guess.  

  I have posted this picture of my Great Grandfather John Hartwig Hansen before, but it appears to have been taken at the same studio.   It is fun to compare with the above pictures.   This picture has always been hard to judge as far as when it was taken. The collar looks more turn of the century, but he would have been in his mid 30's by then, and in California.   Was it taken when he was a young man in his twenties?  That would date the picture to around 1885.  I am sure his clothing gives lots of clues, but maybe someone else can take on that project. Or I can put it on my to-do list. 

   Then we come to this picture, which was taken at the very same studio. The exception is that on the back, Kristiana is spelled Christiana, making me think it was taken at a later date. I do not know who this could be.  More research is needed on this one.  That tie may be a big clue. Is it Knud Nilsen who wrote the letters to the family in 1945? Is it a younger brother of Marie and Emma? It might be the youngest brother  Rolph (Ralph) born in 1898.  He looks like a younger version of the young man on the left in the picture below.   A mystery for sure. 

  This next picture is from my Grandfather Harold's trip to Norway in 1930.  I know that the older gentleman on the right is Harold Klemmetsen with his wife, Hulda.  I believe that the younger woman on the left is their daughter Emma. I am not sure of the identify of the gentleman on the left  with any certainty. I have not yet been able to find any census records listing Emma's  husband or her children. He may be her husband, or a brother.  I am leaning towards brother.  But, we can use this picture as a reference to identifying other people in other pictures. 

  This picture has writing on the back....I recognize the words Ski (where Grandpa visited the farm), Emma, and the date September 26, 1931.  The older couple is Harold and Hulda. I do not know the identity of the young man. 

Harold Hansen with Hulda (left) and Emma (right) 1930.

Harold Hansen with ? 1930. 

Hulda Klemmetsen 1930.  

The farm in Ski

 

Unidentified 

Unidentified. Probably a later date from the pictures above. 

This is signed   "Sincerely Emma" 1933

Unidentified.  1930's? 

This one is from 1958

"Girl Scouts  1958"  Unknown cousin. 

Earlier photograph than the two above.  Maybe the mother in the upper photo? 

  

  

  I will leave this post with one more picture.  John Hartwig Hansen is in the middle holding some seaweed.  Who is he with? He is obviously a very young man.  What year was this?  I have so many more questions about his family and early life in Norway.  What was the close connection to his sister Hulda and her family?  I don't know when his parents Hans and Anna died, but perhaps his sister helped to raise him, as he was the baby of the family.  Hulda's husband Harold certainly had a big influence on him, with his connection to the sea. He would later use that connection to help my Grandfather with his trip to Norway in 1930. 

And who was Knud Nilsen? It is still a mystery not yet solved. 

More Fire Pictures...The Life Story of Harold Hansen (Excerpts about his trip to Norway) (Hansen)

                              A continuation from The Life Story of Harold Hansen.  

  "Then we sailed to Gothenburg, Sweden.  It had taken us 21 days for the voyage.....

  We went ashore to a hotel.  My room was near theirs.  We got up early the next day to get the train to Oslo, Norway.  We had breakfast on the train, a steam train.  Soon we passed over the border to Norway.  I was in my father's native land.  It was beautiful farm lands in summer time.  Clean white houses with red barns, dairies, hay fields and lots of forests around the farms.

  We went to the family house in Oslo.  There I met my father's family.  His sister, Aunt Hulda and Aunt Emma married to Harald Klemmetsen.  Their son, Ralph, a ship captain was at sea so didn't meet him.  Christian, a farmer had a farm at Ski.  Aunt Emma had studied Norwegian history at university.  Mia, too. 

  Their house was two story with a basement.  That is where my room was.  It had feather mattress, no blanket, yet sometimes too warm.  There was a 'dumbwaiter from the kitchen.  Upstairs was the parlor and dining room.  The family put on a Norwegian style birthday party Oct. 11, 1930, the year I turned 21.  That was a memorable moment for me.  Many parts of the family arrived for it and we all sat down in the drawing room before dinner where we sang and talked.  I was able to meet many relatives from my Dad's family.  Of course, I sang and played the piano for them.   The highlight of the dinner was the toast of my birthday and the cake made in layers with candies and lots of decorations, made by cousin Mia."

  There is no caption on this picture, but I'm going out on a limb and saying it was taken on Harold's trip to Norway.  

  "I learned some of the language, some words I haven't forgotten either.  I went on a walking tour around the city of Oslo.  I learned about the place where my Dad was born.  I visited the house where the Bishop lived near the cathedral, and the palace of the King.  The ship of Amundsen who went to the Arctic was there. 

  My Aunt and Uncle took me to their farm at Ski where their son, Christian operated it.  He raised potatoes, blueberries, cranberries, and other berries.  When the produce was ready for market, they were  put on a wagon train of small carts to be taken to Ski where they were auctioned off.  That was quite a site.  Another trip that was impressive was around the country.  Aunt Emma and Uncle Harald took me on a trip around the fjords and up the coast partly by ferries and partly by train to the Tronheim Cathedral for the 900 year anniversary celebration of when King Olav Helvev accepted Christianity.  I was able to get into the celebration service because my aunt told them I was a University student.  We also saw the place (Edesball) where Norwegians and Swedes worked out the settlement so that Norway could be independent.  Another trip they took me on was up a mountain area to a lake resort area.  It was beautiful.  We caught fish and my uncle went hunting, but as that's not my sport, ' I went hiking around the forests and lake.  I got lost and a goatherd took me into his cabin, then helped me get back on the right trail.  I even became interested in a young lady while I was there.  But, at last I needed to return home, as jobs were scarce in the depression.  Besides my girlfriend Louise was waiting for me.  So, I decided to leave Norway and work my way back home. 

  I worked on a ship of the Johnson lines "Bueno Aires".  I was a deck hand this time to get added experience.  My aunt and uncle took me to docks where they prayed with me for my safety and then we said "good-bye".  The ship left the Oslo Fjord.  This was the port my father sailed from in his youth.  We were heading out of the Northern Sea when a terrific storm came up in the winter sea.  We had to be careful not to be knocked overboard by lashing waves.

  We answered the SOS of a disabled lumber schooner, but a bigger ship had already given them aid, so we sailed on down the coast to Antwerp, Belgium.  After Belgium, we headed to South America and Porto Columbo, Venezuela.  The rest of the trip across the Atlantic Ocean was uneventful.  We passed the Azores again when storms came up.  We had to control the rolls of pulp to keep the ship upright.

  The, we headed up back through the Panama Canal again to the Pacific up the coast of Central America.  We got to Point Arena to let off cement and were headed up to San Francisco where my trip to Norway came to an end.  I got back to Grass Valley just before Christmas and was happy to celebrate with my brothers and parents.  There were lots of exciting stories to tell, and I had the pictures from my Brownie printed to show them beautiful Norway and our family there." 

Possibly crew mates? I love the accordion! 

   "The young lady that I had thought I was in love with had gotten married while I was gone.  I lost interest in being a sailor, as it was hard work and not as exciting as I had expected.  So I went to work at the Idaho-Maryland Mine."  

And so the story of Harold Hansen will continue through these blog posts.  His name was originally spelled Harald, but was recorded on his birth certificate as Harold.  

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John Hartwig Hansen born 2 Feb. 1865 Christiana, Norway died  10 April 1945 Grass Valley, California

                                                                        married 3 July 1904

Clara Vere Burrows born 25 Sept. 1882 Grass Valley died  17 Oct. 1974 Grass Valley, California  
                                                    (They are my Great Grandparents)

                

                                                                         Children

1. Hulda Hansen (born and died 1905 Grass Valley)

2. Jack Clemmet Hansen b. 6 Oct.  1906 d. 10 Aug.  1986 Grass Valley CA (Uncle Jack)

3. Robley Evans Hansen b. 23 Jan.  1909 Grass Valley d. 1 Oct.  1985 Reno, NV married Alma Goins 17 Oct. 1931 in Reno, NV (Uncle Bob and Aunt Alma)

4. Harold Lloyd Hansen b. 11 Oct.  1910 Oakland, CA d. Oct. 21  1993 Grass Valley, CA  married Margaret Elizabeth Hayes 2 July 1939 Grass Valley, CA (Grandpa and Grandma).

More Fire Pictures.....The Life Story of Harold Hansen (excerpts about his trip to Norway) (Hansen)

   I found a curious collection of images among the last of the fire pictures.  Some had writing on the back which gave a few clues to a story.  They were all the same size (approximately 3"x 5") and looked like they had been taken out of a photo album. I dug through my files and found a gem..a transcript of "The Life Story of Harold Hansen", compiled from his own writings and audio cassettes that he recorded in 1991.  Claire Hansen Clark had added this to her genealogy research on Family Tree Maker in 2011. What gave me a real start was finding this picture..

On the back was written "Panama Canal-Train crossing long bridge". As I was reading through the transcript I came to the part where my Grandfather, Harold Hansen, talked about using his Brownie postcard camera to take a picture of the Panama RR with a train crossing on Gotham Lake.  Bingo!  I knew these pictures were from his trip to Norway in 1930.  Following is a section from his Life Story telling of his wonderful and unique adventures when he was a young man.  Enjoy! 

(Harold graduated from High School in 1928)....
  "Following graduation, I went to work with the forestry service at Lewis Mill.  I was part of a crew to construct a phone line on Babbitt Peak to Sardine Peak.  We had to brush out cottonwood trees and haul the poles up the hill. We were above the timber line where the wind blew fiercely.  I was the flunky on the job.  I had to get all the cement, water, lumber.  I was cook also.  After taking the supplies to the work site, I came back and prepared meals while the other fellows worked.  The nearest town was Truckee or Loyalton, where we went once a month for provisions.  We also went to forest fires. We used a rake/hoe to make fire breaks.

  After that fire season, I was ready to study to be a forester.  So, I enrolled in Sacramento City College.  There I took courses with that in mind.  One of those classes was botany.  That's where I met Louise. As I was doing pretty well in the class, the instructor asked me to help another student.  It turned out to be Louise.  Soon we became friends as well and I spent a lot of time with her. 

  I had tried out for the men's glee club, a quartet, and that all took my time.  We performed at the Alhambra Theater, Lions, etc around Sacramento. Soon I was too busy and my studies started to slip.  I decided to take a leave of absence and go to Norway, my father's homeland.  This was the fall of 1930, I was soon to be 21 years old. 

  My Dad's brother-in-law, Harald P. Klemmetsen had a shipping firm out of Norway.  So, Dad wrote to him to see if it was possible for me to get on a ship of his sometime.  Well, Uncle Harald wired that he had a ship coming up the Pacific and that I was to get ready to be on it.  That was so exciting and there was much to do.  I had to get a passport and clothes and get packed.  I got white tables (? possibly pants) to wait on tables and blue jeans and shirts for other work.  then my folks drove me to San Francisco to wait for the ship. 

  Before the ship could take on cargo and passengers, it had to be cleaned out and fumigated.  I worked for a week living on ship before it was ready.  My quarters were in the aft below deck.  I was going to be a real good sailor, so I bought tobacco, and stuff like Popeye.  So, I got my things settled then went out on the deck to watch as the ship left San Francisco Bay the Pacific.  I was told that if I stood on the deck and looked up at the mast that I wouldn't get seasick.  That seemed to work for me.  But, I forgot to close the porthole in my quarters and in came seawater.  What a mess!

  I was assigned to the galley squad for the passengers and crew.  Since this was a Swedish ship, they sure like potatoes.  Before long we stopped at San Diego for cargo and passengers.  One was a Dane who had a tropical fever, so he was put with me.  He rubbed something on his chest, drank some wine and went to sleep. 

  Next, we stopped at Acapulco, San Salvador, Costa Rica, and finally we got to Panama.  I thought that I had earned days off and I was all ready to go on deck and take photographs with my Brownie postcard camera.  But crews from the canal came on board to guide the ship through and we had to feed them.  But I did get some pictures of the Panama RR with a train crossing on Gotham Lake.  The Battleship New Mexico was making its way to the Pacific.  Finally we go to Cristobal on the Atlantic side. 

  Out in the Atlantic we went to the Azores then to England.  We put in on the North end of the English Island.  We had some time off in Edinburgh.  I went to church there and walked around the streets to see the buildings, heard bag players, saw changing of the guard at the castle.  It was the 4th of July.  We were at that port 3 days.
  

"Here I am on the Balboa. Take a look at my nice white pants. This was taken just outside of Hull
in the outer harbor.  You can see the land in the extreme back ground"

"This is the American Memmorial (sp.) to the Scottish soldiers in Edinburgh.
I also snapped Edinburgh castle and Scott's Monument but no luck." 

  Then we sailed to Gothenburg, Sweden.  It had taken us 21 days for the voyage.  My aunt and uncle met me and Uncle took me to the fore deck to the captain's cabin to toast my arrival.  The steward had to serve me!

To be continued.....