The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1927-02-17
Thursday, February II, 1927
q House Members Are
Natives Of Other Lands
Foreign Birth IL Not Handicap
In Political Races-Moser Ma
tive of Switzerland

Being born in a foreign land is
little handicap to an aspirant for
political office in Minnesota says
the Minneapolis Tribune.
In the Minnesota house of rep
resentatives this session there are
% members who were born in
some country other than the Unit
ed States.
Of the 20 foreign-born represen-
tatives, IL came from Norway,
three from Sweden, two from Den
mark, one from Australia, one
from Bohemia, one from Switzer-
land, one from Holland, two from
Canada and one was born on the
North Sea under the British flag.
The latter is Mrs. Hannah j..
Kempfer of Erhard, the first wo-
man chairman of the game and fish
committee of the house in Mime
sofa and the first farmers wife to
ever attain seat in the house.
From Norway came the Rev. F.
o. Fredrickson of Caledonia, who
was born at Oslo, was educated in
Norway and came to the United
States in 1906 at, the age of 18s.
j. I. Lurdahl came from Ber-
gen, Norway, when he was 18
years old, I. o. Undlin from Nor
way when he was a baby and Otto
d. Nellermoe of Minneapolis in
1905.
The question naturally arises as
to how some of these immigrant
youths mastered the English Ian
guage and obtained seats among
the lawmakers of the state.
John M. Nelson of Minneapolis
is typical answer, for in his own
words, it's ''hard work" that
brings man to the top. Mr..
Nelson was born in Norway in
1874.
When Representative Nelson
was 20 years old he came to Min
nesota. By working on the rail-
road in the daytime and studying
law at Minnesota College of Law
at night, he was admitted to the
bar and is now in active practice.
And so on through the list.
There's Thore Klende, Battle Lake,
who was born in Norway in 1860
and came to America IL years lat
er; Kristofer Dalager, Lake Park,
another minister who is the author
of books; Hans Arvik who saw the
world at Tyanes, Norway, in 1881
and J. o. Melby of Oklee, a grad
uate of the Military college of
Norway. Now Mr.. Melby is a
merchant, president of the Garden
Valley Telephone Co., recorder of
the village of Oklee, secretary of
the village light plant, trustee of
the local congregation, and pres
ident of the local lodge of Sons of
Norway.
Sweden furnishes John Nordine
of Lake City, L. E. Olson of Nelson
and Louis Engsarom of Malung.
Mr.. Nordine came to Lake City
in 1888, Mr.. Olson to Douglas
county in 1868 and Mr.. Enstrom
to Rosseau county in 1889.
Mr.. Olson attended schools in
homestead shacks of the early days
and spent his evenings in study be-
cause he was denied better educa-
tional advantages.
From Denmark came H. P.
Christensen of Rochester and A.
o. Knudsen of Storden, while Bo-
hernia sent to America "A. j. Sam
go, Jr., of St. Paul.
II. A. Montgomery Of Mineapo-
lis was born in Australia, left
there at the age of five and &C
cording to his own version, '1and-
ed in Minneapolis before the
Swedes did"
J. b. Hompe of Deer Greek,
only G. "A. R. member of the Min
nesota legislature and the oldest
legislator in point of years, was
born in Holland in 1916, served
three years in the Civil war and
came to Minnesota in 1876.
r. p. Morton of Princeton and
Alexander Graham of Duluth came
from Canada and Zeno F. Moser
of Melrose was born in Switzer-
land.