Tronrud and Erstabraaten
Dear Louise & Family, & Edna
I don’t know how much I will be able to tell you about Tronrud and Erstabraaten off hand but that’s the way to spell them. When my father came to this country they told him Erstabraaten was too long, he should either call himself Ersta or Braaten.
Well, he didn’t like that and he could have called himself Haldorson as his father’s name was Haldor but that didn’t appeal to him either. But he had bought and lived on the Liffengren farm in Norway and had his shoemaker’s shop the so he decided to use that name as that was the custom in Norway at that time.
Liffengren is a small place of about 5 acres, I would guess. It has a large house that is painted dark red with white trim. It has a white picket fence next to the high way. At the back of the house there is a beautiful green meadow gently sloping down to the river’s edge.
(Liffengren Farm in 2003.I went to the Town Hall in Bagn, Norway. They told me how to get to the Liffengren Farm. I could not find it, so I hailed a cab. He told me it was only a few hundred feet away, but I took my shortest cab ride ever and found it. I knocked on the door and a friendly lady answered the door. It is still called the Liffengren Farm. She showed me an old photo. - Craig Hullinger)
There are several beautiful birch and apple trees in the yard. There is also a workshop or stable, and a flag pole in front of the house. The river is named Begna. The edge and bottom are all rock pebbles so the water is crystal clear. Along the edges it runs smoothly but the current in the center runs swiftly. About ½ mile above it, in the middle of the town, is a thundering waterfall.
There is a bridge just above the falls that connects the town of Bagn. Otherwise they cross the river by row boat.
Did I tell you about the first time I saw Liffengren? We walked down the hi way to see the church that my parents had been baptized and confirmed in, and a lady, who turned out to be my cousin’s daughter-in-law, took us across the river in their row boat to see Liffengren, as Liffengren is almost straight across from the river’s edge. The other places there are meadows and field and houses between the mountains and the river.
Many of the places are rather steep and the haying and gardening is done by hand or with one horse.
To go to Tronrud you start angling up the mountain from the bridge. It is rather a steep climb but there are many places, well built-up places along the way, but many cars stopped at Tronrud to cool off and get water. Tronrud is a small place with a big house, that stands as straight and tall as it was when built probably 100 years ago.
Most of the sons who came from this place to the US called themselves Rood but grandsons who came to Canada retained the name Tronrud. Further on up the mountain it levels off some and up there is Erstabraaten, The other sons from that place have surnames of Bang, who live in Austin, Minnesota., taken from the town Bagn, sometimes written Bang. Bjorke from the place he purchased, Knute Johann Gjerdinger was the other son. The daughter Anne married a man by the name Knute Bergsun and all these children and grand children used the family name, but not the use of the name of the place. For instance Kristian Bergsun lives on (Nedre) lower Kopperwig. There is also Upper Kopperwig.
He has sons Bjarne Bergsund ne, Hans, Od, Knute.
Bjarne Berggsand is a banker and is chairman of gliding airoplanes. Hans is a farmer and lives ,,,,, Knute lives on Berggsund. Od takes over his father’s place. They have 2 houses and lives near the Bgegna River, lower than Liffengren and further from town.
One of Kristians daughters is Gudrun Frydenlund, the other daughter is Bjorg Langedraf. Her husband’s name is Kristofer. Their son’s name is Trygve.
Od Bergsund has a daughter Anne Lise.
Two of mother’s sisters married Fremgaard, who were not related. Some of their children’s last names after they married were Bohle, Eisgaard, Linekro, Brattrud.
It has really been hot down here. I’ve stood it real well though. It’s been raining lately and the mosquitoes have been awful. They spray the houses once a month for insects. I think I will come home about Thanksgiving. We have a nice apartment here, so we are quite comfortable
Hope you’ll write as its so nice to get letters.
Olga Liffengren Fouss