Ole A. Kaastad immigrated to the United States from Norway in the year 1882, at the age of 16 years. Oline E. Stromme was born at Redwing, Minnesota, in the year 1874. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Einar E. Stromme, some years later, moved from the Red River Valley to Griggs County. Grandfather Stromme was among the first early settlers in Griggs County.
My parents were married on August 7, 1893, in Griggs County. A short time later, they took up a homestead in Greenfield Township. They lived on this farm until our father's death on December 8, 1932. In a span of 42 years, eight children were born to this family, six that are still living.
Mrs. John Kvamme, nee Gudrid Kaastad, the first born, was born in June 1894, and was married to John Kvamme on March 15, 1910. Ten children were born to this family, eight that are still living in various parts of Canada. John Kvamme passed away on December 29, 1930. Our beloved sister passed away on April 24, 1955.
Andrew Kaastad was born on October 29, 1896. He married Freida Welter on June 24, 1929. They were blessed with four children, one boy and three girls.
Mrs. John Richardson, nee Ann Kaastad, was born on November 10, 1904. Ann and John were married on December 30, 1925. Ann was a grade school teacher in Griggs County for a number of years. Two boys were born to this family and they all live in the Minot area.
Oscar Kaastad was born on July 18, 1901. Our dear brother passed away in December of the same year.
Mrs. John Ronnie, nee Cline B. Kaastad, was born on March 10, 1907. Oline was also a grade school teacher for a few years. On December 31, 1926, she married John Ronnie of Mindoro, Wisconsin. Four boys and two girls were born to this family.
Mrs. Everett C. Edgar, nee Caroline Kaastad, was born on January 21, 1909. After high school graduation, Caroline found employment at Fargo, North Dakota. At Fargo she married Mr. Everett C. Edgar on August 24, 1936.
Einar Kaastad, the writer of this article, was born on December 13, 1911. I was married at Camp Gordon, Geo., to Miss Rosemary Beckler from Richardton, North Dakota, on August 5, 1944. I was drafted for military service from Griggs County in November 1942, and spent three years in the service during World War II, two years in the states and one year in combat in Europe. We have two children, one boy and one girl. I am now semi-retired after working for 30 years for the Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior. We now live in Blair, Nebraska.
Mrs. Richard Klein, nee Gudrun Kaastad, the youngest of the family, was born on January 8, 1915. After graduation from high school, she found employment at Minneapolis, Minnesota. On March 5, 1936, she married Richard Klein, who was in the Military service at Fort Spelling, Minnesota, at that time. They are the parents of two daughters.
In bygone days, it seemed common to have three and four day blizzards. Often, as children, we had to walk to school into a stiff, north wind in sub-zero temperatures. Occasionally, hail storms destroyed what little crop we had. Then came the "dirty '30s" with the billowing clouds of dust and a difficult time for everyone. Yet, through it all, people seemed to persevere. I can remember my father's remark if one of us made some scathing remark about North Dakota's weather, "North Dakota has the most healthy climate in the United States."
During one tough winter, our father was called up for jury duty in Cooperstown. Since all the roads were blocked and there was even too much snow for horse travel, he walked the railroad tracks to Karnak, then took the local train to Hannaford and the second local from Hannaford to Cooperstown. In a few hours, a blizzard did blow up and its fury raged for three days. No one left the house. On the fourth day, the storm subsided. Now one must look after the livestock. Although only nine years old, I made my way through huge drifts to the barns. In the main barn, all livestock appeared to be alright but in a lean-to attached to the barn where the calves were penned, there was only a large snow bank. Where had it come in? In the northwest corner of the lean-to, I found a small crack, perhaps less than half an inch in width and perhaps six inches long. It seemed impossible that so much snow could have blown in from such a small crack. It seems incredible even to this day. After some shoveling, I found the calves under the snow bank and none the worse except for hunger and thirst. Needless to say, when the livestock had been cared for, I was a tired boy.
From the little house on the prairie with only three rooms and a root cellar, a generation grew up. As of this date, I believe that house is still standing and no other family has lived there since. The little house had many happy days and some sad days, some good days and some days of adversity but through it all emerged a good people. Though living many miles apart, we have always remained a close family and are considerate of each other in time of need and in happy events and in time of sorrow.
We must also thank our neighbors and many Griggs Countians who helped us through the years. We must also count the blessings that we all grew up in a church oriented community. The old Union Lutheran church was the center of community affairs in the early days. Most of all, we thank our parents for their loving guidance.
Since all of us have had a modicum of success, each in our fields of endeavor, one must conclude that from a humble beginning, many good things can happen.
In the affluent society of today, many people can not cope, the reasons not for me to judge. As for myself, I am thankful to have grown up in an era where one had to cope to survive. In the coming bicentennial year of our nation, it is fitting that we should review our heritage.
Indeed, the little house on the Griggs County prairie is our "Heritage."
Source: Hannaford Area History North Dakota Centennial 1889 - 1989 Page 172