Grandpa Sever came from Norway when he was only six years old. I remember him most by his white hair and mustache. He would always pick me up and put me on his knee and bounce me up and down. Then he would give me a nickel. It was always so much fun to go to his place for the big picnic every summer. The bigger kids always got to play softball. But us littler ones had to play by ourselves. It seemed like there was a lot of people. Leonard (my dad) was born March 28, 1904. There were 11 children in his family. He married Celia Legreid (my mother) in June 1928. My mother was from Maddock, North Dakota. She was born April 4, 1908 and passed away March 1960. Her mother, Julia, came from Norway when she was a teenager.
I remember her most by when she used to come and stay with us once in a while. Her and mom would make lefse and other Norwegian foods. Then they would talk Norwegian. It was so funny to listen to them but we couldn't understand it.
My folks moved around a lot to wherever the jobs were, but seems we always came back to Hannaford. I remember a few places, one was in Sutton. Dad worked for the WPA. Then we lived on a farm across from a church. We would cross the road every Sunday to go to Sunday School. We lived on a farm by Karnak. Dad worked as a guard, guarding the High Bridge during the war. Also going to school in a homemade covered sleigh, traveling several miles to the school that Lorna Hanson taught in. Then we moved back to Hannaford to a farm that Tom Daily owned.
Dad was the drayman for Hannaford at that time. We also lived upstairs in the old Hotel in town.
There were nine of us kids. Herman, deceased; Myrtle, Aneta, North Dakota; Clarice, Aneta; Howard, deceased; Doris (me), Farmington, Minnesota; Sylvia, Rolette, North Dakota; Jeanette, Cooperstown, North Dakota; Edward, Litchville, North Dakota; Joyce, Des Moines, Iowa.
I married David Dahl June 14, 1953. He is the son of Iver and Thelma Dahl, Cooperstown, North Dakota. Then they lived by Walum on the C. A. Johnson farm. We moved to Minnesota in 1958. We have three children. The oldest is Richard, born November 24, 1953. He married Patricia Speidahl of Medelia, Minnesota, August 11, 1973. They live in Roland, Iowa. He is a manager of the bakery department at the Hi-Vee store in Ames. Pat works at the Target Store there. They have three children. Richard, Jr., born February 15, 1974; Gerald, born September 29, 1976; and Mellissa, born November 24, 1978.
Our second child, Lille, was born August 4, 1955. She lives in Crystal, Minnesota. She works in a factory.
Our third child is Donna, who was born February 17, 1957. She married Gary Lukkes April 28, 1979.
They live in Apple Valley, Minnesota. Gary drives a tanker semi for Kelley Fuels in Bloomington. Donna was a factory worker for the past 10 years but now is a student at Vo Tech to become a legal secretary. They have two children. Amanda, born November 21, 1980; and Jacob, born June 1, 1983.
I work in a factory (Peerless Plastics) in town here and Dave works for the city of Farmington, Minnesota.
Source: Hannaford Area History North Dakota Centennial 1889 - 1989 Page 218