Margit Carlsen Johnson Oral History Interview, 1982 PDF
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Johnson, Margit Carlsen
- Title
- Dates
- 1982 (inclusive)19821982
- Quantity
- 2 file folders
1 sound cassette - Collection Number
- t149
- Summary
- An oral history interview with Margit Carlsen Johnson, a Norwegian immigrant.
- Repository
- Pacific Lutheran University, Archives and Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections
Pacific Lutheran University
12180 Park Avenue South
Tacoma, Washington
98447
Telephone: 253-535-7586
Fax: 253-535-7315
archives@plu.edu - Access Restrictions
-
The oral history collection is open to all users.
- Additional Reference Guides
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Margit Carlsen Johnson was born on June 5, 1901 in Leines, Norway, a small town twenty-eight miles north of Bodø. She is one of seven children by Bergitte Danielsen and Ludvik Carlsen, who was a farmer and fisherman. Margit went to school until she was confirmed at age 15 and then stayed with a neighbor and worked until she was 18; she had gone to work on neighboring farms since she was 13. She then went to Bodø and worked in the canneries. An uncle had emigrated and while he was visiting Norway, he extended an invitation to her to live with him in the U.S. Six years after she started working in the canneries, she decided to emigrate and wrote to her uncle in 1924. She waited a year before leaving and left from home on a boat to Trondheim in July 1925, took a train from Oslo, and then took the "Bergensfjord" to Ellis Island. It took ten days to get from Oslo to New York and 5 days by train to get to Tacoma, where her uncle met her. Her uncle owned a boarding house in Tacoma, and her aunt helped her get a job in a fruit cannery in Sumner, WA. She also stayed with a Danish family, the Hansens, for seven months doing housework. She then got a job working in the kitchen for a herring company in Alaska and worked there for two summers; she also worked at Nalley's for a while. Her husband, Einok Johnsen, was a friend of her uncle's and had stayed in his hotel, the St. Francis Hotel. Einok came to the U.S. from Bodø, Norway in 1911, at which time his name was changed from Johansen to Johnsen. They were married at the courthouse in 1927. Einok was a fisherman and a longshoreman and fished on the Bering Sea in Alaska during the summer; he died in 1954. Margit and Einok had one son, Earl; he was born on June 22, 1929 and died in 1958. Margit became a member of Daughters of Norway when she first came to the U.S., belongs to Bethlehem Lutheran Church, and now helps with Scandinavian Days. She visited Norway on 1948 and saw her parents, and her last trip was in 1978.
Lineage
Full Name: Margit Carlsen Johnson. Maiden Name: Margit Carlsen. Father: Ludvik Carlsen. Mother: Bergitte Danielsen Carlsen. Brothers and Sisters: Elbjørg Carlsen, Kåre Carlsen, Haakon Carlsen, Leif Carlsen, Einar Carlsen, Thorstein Carlsen. Spouse: Einok Johnsen. Children: Earl Johnsen.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The interview was conducted with Margit Johnsen on March 11, 1982 in Tacoma, Washington. This interview contains information on family history, childhood home, living in a fishing family, Christmas traditions, church, climate in northern Norway, school, work in Norway, emigration, Ellis Island, train trip to Tacoma, language difficulties, work in the U.S., marriage and family, community involvement, trips back to Norway, and pride in Norwegian heritage. The interview was conducted in English.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
The partial interview transcription highlights important aspects of the interview. Numbers may be used as guides to important subjects. Two numbers separated by a slash indicate that the first number is for cassette and the second for CD.
| Container(s) | Description |
|---|---|
| Cassette/CD | |
| Cassette | |
| 149, side 1 | 021: Margit Johnsen. Maiden name was Carlsen. Born on June 5, 1901
in a small town, four Norwegian miles north of Bodø, Norway. A Norwegian mile
is equal to seven English miles. Used to go by boat everywhere. Home place is
Aasjord, this is still a community.
|
| 149, side 1 | 117: PARENTS Ludvik Carlsen and Bergitte Danielsen. Father was a farmer.
Did fishing in the wintertime and farmed in the summer.
|
| 149, side 1 | 163: Father was fishing from January to late April. He was gone
all this time. This was in the Lofoten Islands. Mother stayed home with the
children.
|
| 149, side 1 | 199: BROTHERS AND
SISTERS Seven children. Elbjørg, Kaare,
Haakon, Leif, Einar, and Thorstein. Three brother left Norway.
|
| 149, side 1 | 221: GRANDPARENTS Does not remember seeing them and never heard about
them. Mother was from a village farther south. Dad was from the area Margit was
born.
|
| 149, side 1 | 253: Mother came to Aasjord as a tailor and then met her husband.
Did men's tailoring.
|
| 149, side 1 | 297: Does not know anything about her name Carlsen. Tells where
her mother's maiden name comes from. Husband changed his name from Johansen to
Johnsen when he came to America. He was from Bodø.
|
| 149, side 1 | 350: CHILDHOOD HOME Lived close to the ocean. Mountains behind them.
Sunsets were beautiful. Storms on the ocean were common. One brother lives in
the home place. Always at the ocean fishing and swimming. Had their own boat
and fished for food.
|
| 149, side 1 | 450: FISH Salted or dried it. Split and filleted it. Buried in it
salt. Had a cellar underground to store their food. This past year (1982) the
potatoes froze, first time this had happened. The fjord froze over this year
too.
|
| 149, side 1 | 494: Storms on the fjord caused the fishermen to stay on shore
some days. Many lost their lives. Always worried that their father may not
return.
|
| 149, side 1 | 512: Hardship for the woman to raise families, they were used to
it. They lived happily, never complained.
|
| 149, side 1 | 525: Children got wood from the woods, split it, and brought it
in. They carried the water. Got the feed for the cows nine months out of the
year.
|
| 149, side 1 | 537: Children started working when they were 6-7 years old. Grew
potatoes and hay. Planted carrots and rutabagas in the summer. Diet was mostly
fish and potatoes.
|
| 149, side 1 | 553: CHRISTMAS A fun time for everybody. Celebrated for a long time.
Started Christmas Eve. First day of Christmas you could not visit anyone, had
to stay home. Christmas Day was a family day. Father read the Bible at
home.
|
| 149, side 1 | 585: CHURCH Was one Norwegian mile from home. Every third week had
church. Minister had two other places. One fellow with a big motorboat gathered
up all the people in the community and took them to church.
|
| 149, side 1 | 624: CHRISTMAS Second day of Christmas was visiting day. Went around
to everybody in the community. It was custom that you could not leave the home
without getting something to eat. You were through all your work by noon on
Christmas Eve. Dressed in the best clothes that they had.
|
| 149, side 1 | 668: DECORATED HOUSE FOR
CHRISTMAS Had a tree decorated with
baskets made of paper woven together. Had candles on the tree.
|
| 149, side 1 | 694: EASTER Easter was an important holiday. Celebrated Thursday and
Friday before Easter. Had first and second Easter days.
|
| 149, side 1 | 710: CHRISTMAS FOOD Did not have meat very often because slaughter was in
the fall. Had a little meat at Christmas. Baked cookies, lefse. No lutefisk at
her home.
|
| 149, side 1 | 733: CLIMATE IN NORTHERN
NORWAY Had kerosene lamps when it was
dark. Sun starts shining again in late January. By June there is all light.
People are not that affected by the change in night and day. Did a lot of
spinning, weaving, and knitting. Were self-sufficient.
|
| 149, side 1 | 775: Skied most of the time because of the snow. Went to school by
skis. Had school for three weeks at a time and then were home for three weeks.
Teacher had many places to teach. This all the teaching she had. Went until she
was confirmed, age 15.
|
| 149, side 1 | 806: Went out to work on neighboring farms since she was 13 years
old. Stayed with a neighbor and worked until she was 18.
|
| 149, side 1 | 832: Went to Bodø to work. Gives an account of her uncle who went
to America. They passed through Bodø on a visit, her uncle gave her invitation
to go to America. She had been working in Bodø for six years before she decided
to go to America. She had worked in the canneries.
|
| 149, side 1 | 880: In 1924 she wrote to her uncle in America. She did not like
it anymore in Norway. She could not see a future in Norway. There were many
immigrants going.
|
| 149, side 1 | 894: Waited for a year before she left. Came in July 1925. Margit
knew many people who were leaving Norway.
|
| 149, side 1 | 913: Did not know anything about America before she came. Uncle
sent a ticket.
|
| 149, side 1 | 922: Left from home on a boat to Trondheim then took a train to
Oslo. She did not think much about leaving. She traveled alone.
|
| 149, side 1 | 941: Took the Bergensfjord. Was sick the first day. Shared a room
with two others. Food was okay. All Norwegian immigrants on the boat.
|
| 149, side 1 | 956: Seeing the Statute of Liberty for the first time. It was
early Saturday morning.
|
| 149, side 1 | 984: ELLIS ISLAND Went by ferry from Ellis Island to the main land. It
was dirty. Talks about the differences between the Norwegian immigrants and the
Italian immigrants. Tells about an experience she had where she was quite
scared. First time she saw black people.
|
| 149, side 1 | 1034: Took ten days to cross the Atlantic. All immigrants went
through Ellis Island. No examination. Had to have a head tax of $25.
|
| 149, side 1 | 1059: Mentions seeing the skyscraper in New York and the Statue of
Liberty. Did not know the meaning behind the Statue at that time.
|
| 149, side 1 | 1072: TRAIN TRIP Got on the Southern Pacific. People helped her get on
the right train.
|
| 149, side 2 | 045: TRAIN TRIP Miserable time because it was so hot in July. Went
through the southern states, changed trains in Chicago. Her and a friend were
the only ones from the ship to get on this southern line. Someone helped them
get on the right train. Margit had two suitcases with her.
|
| 149, side 2 | 160 : Her friend warned her not to go with anyone. A girl
approached her and found her something to read. She brought her four magazines.
Her friend had read about white slavery, so she was scared. They were so dirty
when they reached Tacoma.
|
| 149, side 2 | 246: LANDED IN
TACOMA Uncle was there to meet her. Took
five days from New York to Tacoma. Sat up the whole trip.
|
| 149, side 2 | 291: Had language difficulties on the train. They did not
understand about money. Her friend had a package from Ellis Island full of
everything: crackers, bread, and summer sausage. Bought sandwiches on the
train. Met up with people in Portland, who they knew from the boat. Her
friend's name was Osbjornson. They met in Oslo. He was from Bodø.
|
| 149, side 2 | 364: Uncle had a boarding house. He used to have a hotel on 17th.
Then they had a rooming house on 11th and J. Her uncle's name was Timmermo.
|
| 149, side 2 | 400: Started working in Sumner and worked in a cannery with fruit.
Her aunt helped get this job. She took the bus out everyday.
|
| 149, side 2 | 424: HOUSEWORK Stayed with one family for seven months, the
Hansen's. They were Danish. Roland Hansen had an insurance company. Margit
could speak Danish. She never liked housework, liked the outdoors better.
|
| 149, side 2 | 472: Heard of someone who went to Alaska. Went to Seattle for work
in Alaska and worked with the herring company. Mostly Norwegians up there.
Margit got picked to work in the kitchen, better pay. She did the gibbing of
the herring. Took the guts out and salted it.
|
| 149, side 2 | 553: Had monthly wages in the kitchen, cooked for the men. They
made herring meal, oil and salted herring. She did the dished when they were
all through. Spoke Norwegian in the camp. Her best friend married the head
cook. Margit worked two summers in Alaska. Worked for Nalley's for a while.
|
| 149, side 2 | 617: LEARNING
ENGLISH Did not learn much at first
because she worked where Norwegian and Danish was spoken. When she first got a
radio this helped her to learn the language. Learned from her own child.
|
| 149, side 2 | 655: Margit has always felt at home in this country. She was on
her own early in Norway.
|
| 149, side 2 | 674: EARLY TACOMA Did not like the way they handled the horses here.
She worked hard when she came to America.
|
| 149, side 2 | 701: DAYS OF
HOUSEWORK Made breakfast, cleaning, made
beds, took a whole day to iron. All the kids went to Annie Wright Seminary.
They had uniforms that had to be ironed and starched. Fixed lunch for the
girls. Cooked dinner and washed clothes.
|
| 149, side 2 | 735: Woman in the house did not do much where she was. She sat
upstairs.
|
| 149, side 2 | 759: Had half of Thursday and half of Sunday off. Usually never
got off until the middle of the afternoon.
|
| 149, side 2 | 761: WAGES Started out with $40 a month plus room and board. Got a
raise to $45 a month. She quit to go to Alaska.
|
| 149, side 2 | 812: MEETING
HUSBAND He was a friend of her uncle's.
Einok Johnsen, he came to America in 1911 from Norway. He had stayed at her
uncle's hotel, the St. Francis Hotel. They were married in 1927. They went to
the courthouse.
|
| 149, side 2 | 843: Bought a home after they were married a week. On 38th and F
Street. Tore down the house in 1965 for a road.
|
| 149, side 2 | 862: Husband was a fisherman and a longshoreman. He went to the
Bering Sea in Alaska during the summer. He was gone a lot.
|
| 149, side 2 | 884: Did not work after she was married except for a friend once
and a while.
|
| 149, side 2 | 890: CHILDREN Earl Johnsen died in 1958.
|
| 149, side 2 | 896: SCANDINAVIAN
COMMUNITY Daughters of Norway, became a
member when she first came. Have done so many things. Used to take baked goods
to the wounded soldiers at Madigan. A service club. Now helps with Scandinavian
Days. Tacoma is the biggest Daughters group on the West Coast.
|
| 149, side 2 | 954: Used to do demonstrating of making Norwegian foods. Once she
made fish pudding.
|
| 149, side 2 | 996: ROLE OF THE
DAUGHTERS Meant an awful lot to her. She
has met many friends. Has grown in size lately.
|
| 149, side 2 | 1025: Husband was a member of the Sons of Norway but he was gone a
lot so he did not take part in much. He passed away in 1954.
|
| 149, side 2 | 1033: CHURCH Belongs to Bethlehem Lutheran.
|
| 149, side 2 | 1039: TRIPS BACK TO
NORWAY In 1948, 23 years after she left.
Lots of fun. Boat was crowded because everybody was going home after the war.
Saw her parents in 1948. Hard to speak Norwegian when she first went back. Last
trip was in 1978.
|
| 149, side 2 | 1092: Her brother has visited her in Tacoma. She still keeps in
contact with relatives there.
|
| 149, side 2 | 1103: NORWEGIAN
HERITAGE "Means everything to you." Proud
of her language.
|
| 149, side 2 | 1114: Being a Norwegian means a lot to her. A good feeling you
have. She also feels American.
|
| 149, side 2 | 1127: SPEAKS A LITTLE
NORWEGIAN Table prayer, always says this
before meals. Go to top Maintained by archives@plu.edu © 2002-2003 Pacific
Lutheran University
|
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
- Subject Terms :
- Christmas
- Emigration and immigration
- Family--Norway
- Naturalization
- Norway--Social conditions--1945-
- Norwegian-Americans--Ethnic identity
- Norwegian-Americans--Northwest, Pacific--Interviews
- Norwegian-Americans--Social life and customs
- Ocean travel
- Railroad travel
- Personal Names :
- Carlsen, Margit --Interviews (creator)
- Carlsen, Bergitte Danielsen
- Carlsen, Ludvik
- Johansen, Einok
- Johnsen, Earl
- Johnsen, Einok
- Johnsen, Margit
- Corporate Names :
- Bergensfjord (Steamship)
- Bethlehem Lutheran Church (Tacoma, Wash.)
- Daughters of Norway (U.S.) Embla Lodge #2 (Tacoma, Wash.)
- Ellis Island ( N.J. and N.Y.)
- Family Names :
- Carlsen family
- Danielsen family
- Johansen family
- Johnsen family
- Geographical Names :
- Bodø (Norway)
- Leines (Norway)
- Mosjøen (Norway)
- Sumner (Wash.)
- Tacoma (Wash.)
- Form or Genre Terms :
- Oral histories
- Occupations :
- Cannery workers
- Domestics
- Tailors
