Five of my great grandparents' had come from Scandinavia. Particularly from Hardanger, Norway, Vendsyssle, Denmark; Västergötland and Östergötland, Sweden; the Finnish Laplands.
The Hardanger side of the family lived in Årvik, located on the Hardanger Fjord in Ullensvang. They came to the US in the 1870s and settled in Pequot Lakes and Nisswa, Minnesota. The earliest known Hardanger fiddle came from the same small peninsula my family came from. Robert Bly’s family was from that peninsula, too; I’ve always loved his cadence and pacing.
Unfortunately, many of my family's Scandinavian traditions have not been passed down, but I am interested in learning more about them; I am also curious to know how these histories present themselves in how I interact with other folk music traditions in the U.S.
My Family
Song and Dance
My Great Grand Parents, John and Linnea. They were from Lugnås and Linköping, Sweden. My Great Grandmother played mandolin in string bands all of her life! My great-grandfather was also the master of ceremonies at the Svenskarnasdag festival in Minneapolis for many years. Later in life, my Great Grandfather was awarded the Order of Vasa Knight 1st Class from the King of Sweden for his humanitarian work.
Life on The Plains
This is the Christensen side of my family. They settled in Iowa after emigrating from Vendsyssel Denmark. The area of Denmark that they came from is the same area that Dwight Lamb's family came from. Lots of cool tunes!
My Great Grandmother playing her Gibson Mandolin.
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This is my great grandmother, Emma’s uncle John Laageri. He and my great, great grandfather played music in Minneapolis in the 1920s. They emigrated from Ylitornio, Finland.
The Libby Dancehall and Pavillion
My great, great grandfather Albert Leroy Libby owned and operated 2 dancehalls on Bass Lake, in Plymouth, Minnesota.
He and my great grandfather's stepmother, Minnie purchased the property in 1916.
They had a general store, a few cabins, and they hosted old time dances, concerts, picnics, weddings, as well as union and labor gatherings!
I’m still researching the history of the ballroom and dancehall but I’ve been able to find a lot of old event advertisements. There’s so much left to learn. They had a lot of music from the Ukrainian, German, Norwegian, Finish, and Swedish immigrant communities!
I know that the upper midwest was often passed over by folklorists and song catchers... but as Bob Dylan recollects in Chronicles - "Polka dances always got my blood pumping. That was the first loud, live music I ever heard!"
Well, back in the day, we had double accordions every Saturday night! WHoopaa!
Watch out for Duck Hunters!
My favorite non-music story is when a couple of federal agents dressed as duck hunters came to the Libby Place during prohibition seeking a cup of coffee... STRONG coffee... Wink. wink... Minnie and Albert were charged with distributing alcohol. Albert took it to court and argued that it was entrapment. The charges were dropped! And then as a way, I am sure, to capitalize on that notoriety, once prohibition was repealed they hosted a massive "bartender's picnic" event that drew more that 25,000 people seeking "Strong Drinks."
Old Ads
Double accordions up at the old Libby place!
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The Dance Hall burned to the Ground in 1934, it was rebuilt and that Ballroom was in operation until 1963.
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