My People

My People

Why They Left

My people came from Norway & Sweden. I believe they crossed the Atlantic for the same reasons most immigrants choose to leave their homes - the promise of a better life for themselves and their children. Of course, the reasons are not that simple but the story of my people is a universal one.  In Norway, many of the early immigrants were farm families, so it is not a surprise that the promise of finding land led many to the United States, and to Minnesota. The Homestead Act of 1862 opened up land to settlers if they promised to farm and live on the land for five years. 

Land in the United States was also quite inexpensive. In Minnesota, land costs were as low as $1.25 per acre by the mid- to late-1800s when purchased from the government, or $5 to $10 when purchased from private corporations.

The difference between America and Norway socially and politically also pulled immigrants to the United States. In the 1800's, Norway lived under a strict social class system, with the "lower classes" (my people) expected to show deference to the upper classes.  And, during the nineteenth century, Norway gave the right to vote to only an elite minority of the population. In the United States white men were given universal suffrage in the 1820s, and by the end of the 1860s many states were looking into the possibility of allowing some women the right to vote as well - but the 19th amendment was not passed until 1920.

But the main reason for emigration from Norway from the middle of the 1860s was due to the country's ever-increasing population coupled with fewer jobs. Norway is only 3% tillable so little farmable land was available. Crop failures and farm foreclosures during this period coupled with a typically large family drove families to the brink of destitution. Because of this, many people left for the United States.  Often, the older children of the family "volunteered" to emigrate. [This was the case with my wife's Leksvig ancestors. Her grandmother and 2 sisters were "chosen" and sadly, never returned to Norway.]

Workers in the New World could make money, enough to live on and possibly even send some back the Old Country. For example, by the late 1800s, a sailor on an American ship could earn three to four times the wage of a sailor on a Norwegian ship. Jobs in American cities offered work and good wages for Norwegian immigrants. A laborer in Norway could earn $40 to $50 a year, while a laborer in an American city could earn as much $4 to $5 a day when times were good.

And of course, there were the promoters - some who were charlatans - the "emigration agents", newspapers and the railroads promising streets of gold. In 1862, American consuls in Norway were urged to promote the employment opportunities in America. The Bergenposten, for example, advertised the many mining jobs that existed in the iron ranges of Minnesota and shipping in the Lake Superior region. 

And the bold "early adopter" settlers often sent letters back to friends and family in the Scandinavia telling the benefits of living in the United States. These letters helped increase the "America fever". 

My People - Immigrants all

Why Minnesota

In Minnesota, land was inexpensive and available due to treaties with American Indian and attracted many Norwegian immigrants. Also in Minnesota, farmers often persuaded additional Norwegian immigrants to come to these new settlements by paying for their tickets to America. This was the case with my great grandfather Carl. His wife's sister, Elizabeth  & husband Carl Aas, had settled in Brandon, MN and they made 3 separate offers to sponsor the Nelson's immigration.  Carl Aas wrote to him in Sweden, " ... you can sit in a rocker on a painted floor and eat butter on rye bread and all the land around was as much his as anybody's". Elizabeth wanted to come but Carl steadfastly refused. Finally, an ultimatum that "this is the final offer" tipped the scales and Carl, Sofia & 4 boys packed and left Sweden for Brandon, Douglas County, MN.

The first permanent Norwegian settlements were in Minnesota were in the southeastern corner of the state, mainly in Goodhue, Fillmore and Houston Counties and by 1860, half of Minnesota's 12,000 Norwegians resided in those counties. My wife's Norwegian ancestors went to Houston County but her grandparents later migrated to Pope County - a story for another time.

{Editor note: Hoplins & Nelsons settled in Douglas, Cass and Pope Counties}

Immigrants also came to the Red River Valley in northwestern Minnesota, settling in the counties of Clay, Marshall, Norman, and Polk. The lure of railroad jobs during the early 1870s, the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad helped increase migration. 

Duluth was also a significant center for Norwegian immigration due to it's location on Lake Superior which provided Norwegian fishermen with employment. As a result, the Norwegian population of Duluth increased dramatically between 1870 and 1900. By 1900 the population had reached 7,500.

In the 1880s, Norwegian migration to Minnesota shifted to cities, many planning merely to make some money in America and then to return to Norway. The city of Minneapolis saw a large influx of Norwegian immigrations during the period from the 1880s to early 1900s, and settlement in St. Paul occurred as well.

Nils' Story

Nil's and grandchildren

The parents of my immigrant great grandfather Nils Hoplin were Olaus Jonsen and Berit Nilsdotter Undlein, married in Asen, Norway in 1844.  (aka “Olaus Jonsen Risan fra Frosta” in some documents.) 

From the Rygh Norwegian Farms website - http://www.dokpro.uio.no/rygh_ng/rygh_info.html - “Risan Frosten” is farm #37 and dates from the 1500's.

37-39. Risan. Udt. rí2san. -- af Risom AB. 28.Rise NRJ.
II 236. Riisze OE. 99. Rysse DN. XI 776 c. 1550. Ryse 1559. Riisse 1590. 1610. Rißemb 1626. Riiße 1664. Risum, Riisem, Risem 1723.

The names Risan and Risset are related. Risan comes from an alternate form of Risset (ved Sammensætning med sætr (not sure what this means - saeter is a pasture in the high mountains). The farms are neighboring farms and Risset are the closest to the sea. Risan is the older name of the two. Risan or Rise are a common farm name. farm 36 is in the land index as Risan,.}

Frosta is on the north shore of Åsen fjord, north of Trondheim. Nils was born in 1848 in Levanger, north of Åsen, in a hired man’s house. In 1865, Nils was a hired man ("dreng") in Nesjo farm near Åsen. In 1875, Nils was a hired man in Hopla - from which the name Hoplin is derived, I believe. (Risan and Nesjo are both examples of Norwegian farm names that were commonly appended to a person's given name.)  

Hopla Fjord & sawmill

Nils immigrated to Baldwin, WI in 1879, where a cousin lived, leaving wife Hanna and two children, Peter & Nikoline, behind. (My wife's grandmother, Johanna,  immigrated from Leksvig, across the Trondheim fjord.)

In 1880, Nils moved to Alexandria, MN. He was met at the train station by Johan Berg, who he had known in Norway. Johan Berg was the father of Ole J. Berg, former Judge of Probate of Douglas County, who related this story to Nil's son, Ole Hoplin. Nils arrived in Alexandria late at night and he and Johan walked 14 miles to Johan’s farm. While they were having lunch, Nils was told he could get work on the wood train that supplied the railroad. He did not sleep and got on the 7:00 o’clock train to Brandon the next morning to go to work for the railroad. Hanna and the children joined Nils in 1881.

{Editor note: This quote is famously attributed to James J. Hill, the Minnesota railroad tycoon. "Give me snuff, whiskey and Swedes, and I will build a railroad to hell.” I trust on the same diet, Norwegians could too.}

In 1884, Nils purchased some land near Brandon, on the shore of Little Chippewa Lake from Lars Flynn. He continued to buy adjoining parcels of land.

• May 1884. 23.16 acres. Lots 7 of sub A of Lot 8 Section 9. Township 129 Range 39. for $256.76 from Lars Flynn. 
• Oct 13, 1890 – 40 acres. Lot 75 Subsection A of Lot 8, Section 9 from George A Fredenrich
• Date <~1890's> 24.24 acres. Lot #2 Sect 9 Township 129, the woods between Baumbach & Little Chiippewa for $222.50 
• July 2, 1898, SE 1⁄4 + NE 1⁄4 Section 16, Township 129, Range 30, 40 acres from A.M.Clough
• July 14, 1899 40 acres NW 1/4 + SW 1⁄4 Section 16 from John Lind
• Aug 31, 1903. 40 acres NW 1⁄4 + SW 1⁄4 Section 15 from Wold Estate, $1120 
• Dec 2, 1918 - 40 acres SE of farm buildings from C.G. Rosengren for $2600

Hanna died of pneumonia in 1923 and Nils died of a heart attack in 1927. 

Copyright © 2016 Dave Hoplin

REA

My grandfather Ole had built the big Swedish style house in Lowry in 1929 with a loan from the Sogaaden brothers, bachelor farmers. You might recall that 1929 was a bad year for the stock market, ushering in the Great Depression. Foreclosure on that loan was avoided only through the goodness of the hearts of those brothers. There were many missed payments and the loan was not fully paid off until after WWII. The second thing that saved the family from destitution was the New Deal program, Rural Electrification Association (REA).

In the mid-30's, 90% of rural farms were without electricity. This was not true in towns and cities where electrical service was becoming common. In fact, the 1929 Hoplin's Lowry house had knob-and-tube wiring and a radio antenna wired into every room of the house - never used by the way. (See my 304 Drury Avenue post). But on the farm, candles and kerosene lamps were the norm and were carried from room to room, particularly in the long, dark Minnesota winters. Kerosene lamps were hung from the ceiling, required regular cleaning but even so, the kerosene aroma was pervasive in a farm house.  A kerosene lamp was carried to the barn and hung from the rafters at milking time. Hoplin & Nelson did a fine business in kerosene, wicks, mantles and chimneys. 

President Roosevelt established the Rural Electrification Association in 1935 under the auspices of the Department of Agriculture, but individual states were left to create co-ops and organize the effort. The REA role was to provide federal loans to electrical co-ops to install the distribution systems to serve rural areas of the US. 

Farmers paid $5 to join a co-op but of course needed to have the electrical services installed - and pay the subsequent light bill. 

REA crews traveled the countryside with local teams of electricians. REA teams brought power to a central location in a farmyard - the "yard pole" - and the electricians added wiring to houses, barn & perhaps out-buildings. A standard REA installation in a house usually consisted of a 60 amp service, 230 volt panel with:

1. A 60 amp range circuit
2. A 20 amp kitchen circuit
3. Two or three 15 amp lighting circuits

My grandfather was partner in Hoplin & Nelson and had a Master Electrician's license, a requirement to lead a REA installer team. This work provided a steady income when the hardware, furniture and undertaking business was operating but carrying many accounts receivables with few, scattered payments.

The average price for installation was $70, which seems small by today's standards, but these were depression days. Lights were the first priority - no farm family mourned the passing of the kerosene lamp.  After lights, a radio was the next most wanted appliance.  It was an end to isolation.

Ceiling mount light fixtures were installed in each room, usually controlled with a single-pole switch near a door. At most, one outlet was installed per room since plug-in appliances were expensive and rare. Wire was 'NM' (nonmetallic) sheathed cable insulated with asbestos reinforced rubber covered with jute and tar.

Many of these installations still exist today, though most have been upgraded. After World War II "...the number of rural electric systems doubled within four years, the number of consumers connected more than tripled, and the miles of energized line grew more than five fold.  By 1953, more than 90 percent of the U.S. farms had electricity."

{Editor note: What follows are memories of John Erickson, the oldest son of Axel Erickson, who I remember as the Watkin’s man}

John Erickson worked as an electrical helper for Ole Hoplin's electrical crew during the summers while he was in high school plus Saturdays during school. This was just after WWII. His mother, Judith, also worked for Ole preparing the forms that the government required for each farmer to get his farm wired for electricity. Also, the Erickson's rented and eventually bought the first Hoplin home up the street from the 1929 home on Drury Avenue.

John Erickson writes:

"After REA had brought electrical power lines to the farmstead, terminating them at a yard pole somewhere in the center of the farm yard, it was then the job of the Hoplin & Nelson electrical wiring crew to run power lines from this pole to the various farm buildings. At each building the entrance cable would be run into the building switch box, and the building wired to accommodate the various power receptacles, switches, outlets, and lights and fixtures installed. Each farmstead project would take from 3 to 5 days depending on the size, and number of buildings, and size of the work crew.

There were generally three, and sometimes four, people in the work crew. Clarence “Erick” Erickson was the journeyman electrician; he knew all of the code requirements and was the experienced electrician on the crew. In addition, Clarence Anderson, a retired farmer from Lowry was a helper, and I was also a helper. Occasionally, Hank Grondahl, another journeyman, was a part of the crew. Ole Hoplin was a master electrician and was the person responsible for all the work, the government requiring that a master electrician be responsible. Ole, however, didn't feel it necessary to show up on most jobs; he trusted his crew to do the right thing.

The work week was generally ten hours per day, six days per week. My assigned tasks gradually increased to cover most of the job tasks: cutting holes in walls and ceilings for receptacles, switches and lights; removing and restoring second story flooring in the process of drilling holes in joists for concealed wires; stringing wires in ceilings and walls; connecting up receptacles etc.; plaster patching around the outlets; making hookups at switch boxes; stringing outside wires between the center pole and the buildings; and installing the entry cables into the buildings. It was usually my job to do any required work in the hot attic or upstairs crawl space, a very hot location during the summer months. When working during the winter vacation, it was also seemingly my job to make the outside installations; an extension ladder against a wall can just accentuate the subzero temperature.

Hoplin’s good reputation in the area was enhanced in that they had a second Hoplin & Nelson Hardware store in Brandon, about 20 miles north of Lowry. The farm projects worked by Ole Hoplin thus covered quite a wide area - from south of Starbuck to well north of Brandon, and from Elbow Lake on the west to Villard on the east - an area with 40-50 miles on a side. In addition to farm projects, Hoplin also did some commercial work. I recall being involved in the electrical work for a new movie theater in Elbow Lake and for a new grain elevator in Kensington. The code requirements for such installations were much more demanding than for the farm installations. All wires had to be installed in metal conduits; some had to be explosion proof etc. In the theater, again I drew the duty in the workspace above the theater ceiling. Spending most of one day in the sweltering heat of this area, my belt and billfold had both essentially been ruined by the salty perspiration

Hoplin & Nelson was also involved with plumbing and heating work, although not to the extent of their electrical work. Ole Hoplin himself and his son Glenn were the principals involved with this work. This work was usually done in connection with a new home or a major remodeling of a home, with the territory covering the same as their electrical projects. In any case, I frequently had the chance to work with Glenn or Ole in such installations. This would involve cutting and threading pipes, sweating copper joints, packing and pouring lead into sewer pipe installations, running ductwork for furnace installations etc.

Ole Hoplin was “Mr. Outside” in this business but Dave Nelson was “Mr. Inside”. Dave not only ran the store, but handled all of the billing, paying, and other finance matters. At the start of my employment with Hoplin & Nelson, Dave told me that my pay would be $0.45 per hour. After working for some period -1 or more seasons - I recall asking Dave for a raise. After a few days, he came back to tell me that I would be raised to $0.70 per hour. The last season at Hoplin & Nelson, I believe the pay was $1.25 per hour. Working for Hoplin & Nelson was a great opportunity and a wonderful experience. Not only did it provide money that could be saved toward college expenses, it was a great practical learning experience for several of the building trades. It was, no doubt, a big motivating factor in my choosing - or falling into - electrical engineering as a college and career choice."

John A. Erickson 

Copyright © 2016 Dave Hoplin

What me, worry?

And now for something completely different. Allow the inner-nerd in you to engage.



In a previous, now ill-remembered life, I was responsible for identifying and investigating emerging technologies that had the potential to be applied in the products our company built or might build. In the course of this rather happy charter, I came across a truly marvelous website: edge.org. The Canberra Times dubs it "The most stimulating English-language reading to be had from anywhere in the world." 

One particularly tantalizing aspect of this site is the "annual question". Since 1998, Edge has posed a question and asks scientists and thinkers around the world to respond. At the end of the year, they publish a book of the responses. Some past questions:  

1.          What Do You Think About Machines That Think?
2.          What Scientific Idea is Ready for Retirement?
3.          This Explains Everything
4.          This Will Make You Smarter
5.          Is the Internet Changing the Way You Think?
6.          What Have You Changed Your Mind About? Why?

What follows is based on the 2013 question: What *Should* We Be Worried About? and asks (for scientific reasons) what worries you, but may not be on the popular radar yet.  

Try not to let reading this spike your anxiety levels.

A sampling of responses - paraphrased.

• An astro-physicist worries that we fret too much over the minor, improbable hazards of everyday life - air crashes, carcinogens in food, etc. rather than "scenarios that have thankfully not yet happened—but which, if they occurred, could cause such world-wide devastation that even once would be too often." Global warming, nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists, super-viruses, the electrical power grid, international finance ... 

• "If we have a million photos, we tend to value each less than if you had 10". A Yale computer scientist worries about the “internet drivel factor” creating a devaluation of words - and the ability to communicate with the written word. “...the Internet Drivel Factor can't be good—and is almost certain to grow in importance as the world fills gradually with people who have spent their whole lives glued to their iToys.”

• An artist/composer worries that smart people want nothing to do with politics. “...we don't do politics. We expect other people to do it for us, and grumble when they get it wrong.“

• An MIT professor worries about banks - once again. “... don't worry about the end of the universe or our sun collapsing into a black hole. But if banks leverage to the hilt again, then you should worry about hearing another big sucking sound.”

• A physicist worries that search engines are making judgements for you on what is true, real and important - a search engine with a point of view. “From now on, search engines will have an editorial point of view, and search results will reflect that viewpoint. We can no longer ignore the assumptions behind the results.”

• A journalists worries about “global greying”. “For example, out of the 9 billion people expected when the Earth's population peaks in 2050, the World Health Organization expects 2 billion—more than one person in five—to suffer from dementia. Is any society ready for this? ...  I think we can expect to see some frank and ugly intergenerational conflict."

• A Harvard physicist worries that long-term research investments will not be made. “We need to know what the universe is telling us. Some of the best new ideas come from trying to explain mysterious phenomena.”

• Stanford wild-man Robert Sapolsky worries of “the danger of inadvertently praising zygomatic arches”.  [Editor note:  I don't know what that means either, but how can you ignore such a declaration? Anatomy. 1. the bony arch at the outer border of the eye socket, formed by the union of the cheekbone and the zygomatic process of the temporal bone. Note - Sapolsky has a fascinating book on stress - Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers.]

• Tim O’Reilly fears the rise of anti-intellectualism and the end of progress. “... it's at least as probable that as we fail to find those solutions quickly enough, the world falls into apathy, disbelief in science and progress, and after a melancholy decline, a new dark age.”

• A Harvard Business School prof worries about “science by social media” - knowledge by tweet - e.g. red wine linked to longevity.  Is that enough information? “... science that laypeople encounter will become increasingly unfiltered by scientific experts. And even when science has been vetted by experts, laypeople will increasingly make their own determination of the credibility of that science not by the quality of the research but by the media outlet in which that science appears.”

• A professor of life science worries about the vulnerability of complex systems. "On the morning of August 31, 1859, the sun ejected a giant burst of charged particles. They hit the earth 18 hours later, creating auroras so bright that at 1 AM birds sang and people thought morning had dawned.  A similar event now would cause "extensive social and economic disruptions." Power outages would last for months, and there would be no GPS navigation, cell phone communication, or air travel.  “Complex systems like the markets, transportation, and the Internet seem stable, but their complexity makes them inherently fragile. 

• A professor of psychology worries that “idiocracy is looming”.  See Luke Wilson movie.

• A Stanford mathematician worries about the “death of mathematics”. “if (free-form) scribbling goes away, then I think mathematics goes with it. You simply cannot do original mathematics at a keyboard. The cognitive load is too great.”  [Editor note: A man after my own heart.]

• Wikipedia founder worries about “internet silos” - information with a single point-of-view. “We should be worried about online silos. They make us stupid and hostile toward each other.”

• A historian worries about “presentism”, collective amnesia. “While access to information has never been so universal as it is now—thanks to the Internet—the total sum of knowledge of anything beyond the present seems to be dwindling among those people who came of age with the Internet. Anything beyond 1945, if then, is a messy, remote landscape ...”

• A mathematician worries about Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). “Breakers (vandals, griefers) have more leverage than Makers (builders, creators), even though the Makers far outnumber the Breakers. This is the source of some of our greatest fears about technology—that if weapons of mass destruction are cheap enough, then the relatively small percentage of Breakers will be sufficient to destroy civilization.”

• Steven Pinker worries about the “real risk factors for war” - narcissistic leaders, groupism, perfect justice, utopian ideologies, warfare as a necessary tactic, ... “It's natural to worry about physical stuff like weaponry and resources. What we should really worry about is psychological stuff like ideologies and norms. As the UNESCO slogan puts it, ‘Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed. ”

• A professor of Psychology worries about the epidemic of lying and cheating that has infected public discourse in a diversity of domains. "The psychological mechanism that motivates and facilitates these corrupt behaviors is hubristic pride—the emotional feeling of arrogance, egotism, and superiority that drives people to brag, lie, cheat, and bully others to get ahead can lead to large-scale deception and even crime, and further increase the gap between true accomplishments and just rewards. "

• A professor of neurology worries about the consequences of exporting America's view of an unhealthy mind to the rest of the world? "In my own travels to India, it's obvious to see these trends in full bloom. As the Asian psyche becomes more Americanized, people from Bombay to Beijing are increasingly turning to pills for stress, insomnia, and depression. Is this the best direction for the entire world to follow? "

• A physicist worries about water resources. "In the next twenty years, we will need to supply roughly 40 percent more water than we do today to support greater economic activity, from food to energy production. Because almost half of global food production comes from 20 percent of cultivated land that is under irrigation, it is unlikely that we are going to meet the food requirements of a growing and wealthier population without capturing, storing and delivering more water."

• A neuroscience professor worries about the teenage brain. "Recent research on the human brain has demonstrated that many brain regions undergo protracted development throughout adolescence and beyond in humans. There's a lot of concern about the hours some teenagers spend online and playing video games.We don't know whether the effects of new technologies on the developing brain are positive, negative or neutral. We need to find out."

• An anthropologist worries that more than ever we depend on the successful cooperation of nations on planetary scale decisions. Many of today’s most dire problems cannot be solved by actions taken within single countries, but will only find solutions if the global community joins forces in a collective action. More often than not, however, global cooperation is failing. Why? 

• A research fellow worries about fictional violence. Hard as it is, we must struggle to keep these acts of terrorism in perspective. We worry a lot about mass shootings, but we are all in so much more danger from a simple traffic accident on the way to a school , a theatre, a political rally, than we are from gunfire once we get there.  It’s cliché but true: when we overreact, the terrorist wins. When we overreact, we give the sicko meme of the mass shooting the attention it needs to thrive. So here's what shouldn't worry us: fictional violence. Here's what should: the way our very understandable pain and fear leads us to respond ineffectively to real violence. 

• A journalist worries about "capture". When a business gets caught breaking the rules, the regulatory agencies tend not to impose penalties that amount to more than a slap on the wrist. As a result, the watchdogs are toothless. This process, known as "regulatory capture," turns regulators from watchdogs into lapdogs.

• A professor of psychology worries about the outsourcing of your mind. "My spelling has deteriorated as automated spell checking has improved. With a smartphone at my fingertips, why bother doing multi-digit multiplication in my head? And I can't say whether GPS and navigation software have made my mental maps any more or less accurate. We have to give up on the idea that fast and easy access to information is always better access to information."

And this is a brief summary of just a few thoughts in the Edge report. You can read the full text of the responses at: https://www.edge.org/responses/q2013. 

This is all a bit humbling as I have been mostly worrying whether the Twins can escape last place next season.

What are you worried about?