I paid all my debts: A Norwegian-American Immigrant Saga of Life on the Prairie of North Dakota
Norwegians had been coming to America for three generations before Lloyd Svendsbye's family did. The life was hard in Norway and the stories of "the new land" continued to draw those who remained and gave them hope for a better life. So they came at the turn of the 20th century but the land remaining in America was not like the mountains and valleys of Norway that had satisfied the soul for the eons of time. Flat lands with insufficient water was available. Then came drought, economic depression and debt. This is a story of duty, tenacity, responsibility, integrity and struggling before God. The Svendsbye family experience brings the reader back to the life that was, close family, producing food, community ties, and leadership. They developed strength of character, exercised responsibility and care for family and neighbor, developed the gifts God had given them, and practiced stewardship over God's creation. --Al Quiie, former Governor of MinnesotaI encourage everyone interested in immigrant and frontier history to read this book. Many accounts of immigrants on the frontier are either overly sentimental or bloodlessly objective. Svendsbye avoids both of these extremes by dealing with the harsh and objective realities of frontier life in human contexts. Carefully researched and forthrightly told, this story tells the reader how one family navigated the vicissitudes of frontier life with forbearance, industry, loyalty and faith...and paid all their debts! --Paul Dovre, President Emeritus, Concordia College, Moorhead, MinnesotaThis is a candid and moving account of the life of a Norwegian immigrant couple and their children in North Dakota in the twentieth century. It is a plainly and powerfully told tale of both defeat and accomplishment in trying times and a challenging environment. It deserves a place alongside the works of Aagot Raaen, Carrie Lee Young, and others who have written about Norwegian-American life on the high plains. Lloyd Svensbye s story is something of its own, but he has also given us a book to temper and expand our understanding of Norwegian-American life as a whole. Read and relish it. --Todd W. Nichol, King Olav V Professor of Scandinavian-American Studies, St. Olaf CollegeI encourage everyone interested in immigrant and frontier history to read this book. Many accounts of immigrants on the frontier are either overly sentimental or bloodlessly objective. Svendsbye avoids both of these extremes by dealing with the harsh and objective realities of frontier life in human contexts. Carefully researched and forthrightly told, this story tells the reader how one family navigated the vicissitudes of frontier life with forbearance, industry, loyalty and faith...and paid all their debts! --Paul Dovre, President Emeritus, Concordia College, Moorhead, MinnesotaThis is a candid and moving account of the life of a Norwegian immigrant couple and their children in North Dakota in the twentieth century. It is a plainly and powerfully told tale of both defeat and accomplishment in trying times and a challenging environment. It deserves a place alongside the works of Aagot Raaen, Carrie Lee Young, and others who have written about Norwegian-American life on the high plains. Lloyd Svensbye s story is something of its own, but he has also given us a book to temper and expand our understanding of Norwegian-American life as a whole. Read and relish it. --Todd W. Nichol, King Olav V Professor of Scandinavian-American Studies, St. Olaf CollegeI encourage everyone interested in immigrant and frontier history to read this book. Many accounts of immigrants on the frontier are either overly sentimental or bloodlessly objective. Svendsbye avoids both of these extremes by dealing with the harsh and objective realities of frontier life in human contexts. Carefully researched and forthrightly told, this story tells the reader how one family navigated the vicissitudes of frontier life with forbearance, industry, loyalty and faith...and paid all their debts! --Paul Dovre, President Emeritus, Concordia College, Moorhead, MinnesotaThis is a candid and moving account of the life of a Norwegian immigrant couple and their children in North Dakota in the twentieth century. It is a plainly and powerfully told tale of both defeat and accomplishment in trying times and a challenging environment. It deserves a place alongside the works of Aagot Raaen, Carrie Lee Young, and others who have written about Norwegian-American life on the high plains. Lloyd Svensbye s story is something of its own, but he has also given us a book to temper and expand our understanding of Norwegian-American life as a whole. Read and relish it. --Todd W. Nichol, King Olav V Professor of Scandinavian-American Studies, St. Olaf College