November 4, 2014 by PrairieChat
The Lambs of the Prairie
As a child my mother spoke gently of her family’s story and those that went before. She spoke of a special recollection of young children buried way too young on the plains of North Dakota. Her haunting stories spoke of the children buried beneath the plain white markers embossed with fading lambs representing their youth. The Prairie Rest Cemetery is solitary remembrance dedicated to the youngest lambs who died while establishing our state many years ago.
Beneath the broad Dakota blue
On a hilltop kissed with morning dew
Were the silent lambs on prairie old
Lying peacefully, a family’s tears consoled.
Soundless sentinels endlessly resting
Reverent callers gazes arresting.
Their fading faces don’t betray
Machine etched stones, long in decay.
An eternal place of gathering,
Sweet memories in stone are offering
Old stories lost and gone
Waiting together for their eternal dawn.
Posted in Family Memories, Poetry	| Tagged Barnes County, Family Stories, Farming, Genealogy, Graveyards, Homesteading, Immigrant, North Dakota, Poetry, Prairie, Tombstone, Valley City | Leave a comment
The Sharing Economy – Sharpen Your Fork
Lyft, Airbnb, and Uber have created quite a stir. Some have claimed it’s “The End of Capitalism” or “The Millennial’s American Dream” another says. Social medial can’t seem to get enough of the “new” ways to provide goods and services.
To the proponents of these dreams, I say “Beware, sharing is not all it’s cracked up to be!”
First of all, I must acknowledge that I have a predisposition to suspect the motives of anyone who wants to share. From a very early age I learned to be leery of anyone who asks for you “a little bite” of your hotdog or a “sip” of your chocolate milk. Experience taught me that not only would the little bite from the hot dog not be small, but there was a good chance they would also take the remaining wiener, leaving you with only a smear of ketchup and mustard on an empty, soggy bun. And as for sipping your chocolate milk, if it wasn’t slurped in one big gulp, chances are very good there would be left over hot dog bun floating on the top.
If the “no sharing” lesson didn’t take hold in grade school, college should have finished off the sharing spirit. It only took you one time to learn that if you hold a keg party in your house and put a cup out for people to “chip in” not only will you not get any money, but someone will steal the cup. At the same time the keg is being emptied other “guests” will share everything in your cupboards or refrigerator (cooked or raw).
Of course, everything changed when I graduated from college and entered into the world of grown-ups and business. Times were tough and because I was living on a tight starting salary it made sense to me to share an apartment. It turns out that sharing included roommates skipping out in the middle of the night with my record collection in tow and leaving me to discover that he had a girlfriend four states away that loved to talk on the telephone –funny how he thought it would be a great idea to get a phone line under my name only.
Now I hear of the great idea called Airbnb that suggests sharing my home with completely unknown individuals, who were paired with me by a computer program, over the internet. I mean what could go wrong with that idea? Or better yet, I should drive and pick up a stranger (Lyft anyone) and take them on a ride like a taxi to a destination of their choice. Again, what could go wrong with that? (Hasn’t anyone noticed that taxi cabs have sturdy bullet proof dividers between them and their customers?)
Now many would think that I am over reaching and my fears of “someone is being taken advantage” of are totally unfounded but, I still have misgivings. I guess it is hard to get over going to a local diner with high school buddies and ordering french fries. I learned pretty quick it was a good idea to order that side of fries with a sharp fork to defend them with.
Posted in Foolish thoughts, Marketing	| Tagged Humor, Immigrant, satire, Youth | 1 Comment
July 31, 2014 by PrairieChat
Tales From The Rosencrans Family Tree
While my primary genealogy research has been on my family, I have done quite a bit of research on my wife’s paternal family tree (Rosencrans/Rosenkrans/Rosenkranz). While I knew that her family was an early arriver to America from Europe, I was surprised to discover just how early in colonial history it was.
My wife’s 7th great grandfather was Harmon Hendrick Rosenkrans, who was born in Norway in 1634 and had moved to Amsterdam in New Netherlands prior to 1657. According to census figures, the non-native American population was less than 60,000. Harmon married Magdalene Dirckse on March 3, 1657 in New Netherlands. Apparently his new wife had a sense of humor as illustrated by court records dated just a few days later.
“Only a few days after the wedding of Herman and Magdalena, the court records of New Amsterdam registered the following: [March 15, 1657] “The Scout N: de Silla, plaintiff v|s Madaleen Dirck and her bridegroom, defendants. The plaintiff says that the defendants have presumed to insult the Firewardens of this City on the public highway, and to make a street riot, according to the complaint made to his Worship. Requesting for the maintenance of the aforesaid gentlemen’s quality that the petitioners [?] be publicly punished or fined as their Worship shall think proper. Defendant Madaleen Dirck appears alone in Court; admits, that she and her sister passed by the door of the Firewarden Litschoe, and as they always joked, when the Firewarden came to their house, she said: ‘There is the chimney sweep in the door, his chimney is well swept, and not another word was said about it.’
Such behavior cannot, and ought not to be tolerated on account of its bad consequences, the Burgomaster’s condemn, as they do hereby, the above named Madaleen Dirck in a fine of two pounds Flemish, to be applied, one half for the Church and one half for the Poor, and notify her at the same time to avoid all such and similar faults, or in default thereof other disposition shall be made. Done in Court at the City Hall at Amsterdam in N. Netherland.”
-The Records of New Amsterdam, 1653 – 1674, VII., p. 146.
To understand the seriousness of the fine, consider that a Flemish Pound was equal to 6 Dutch Guilders. On May 24, 1626 Peter Minuit, Director of the Dutch Colony was reported to have bought the entire Island of Manhattan from the Native Americans for goods valued at 60 Guilders. That would mean the fine leveled in Amsterdam on my wife’s 7th great grandmother was equal to one fifth the purchase price of Manhattan.
Obviously whatever was intended by her remarks was taken quite seriously.
Posted in Family Memories, Genealogy	| Tagged Colonial History, family history, Genealogy, Immigrant | 3 Comments
January 24, 2014 by PrairieChat
Swedish Saga
The story of the Anders Erikson (Holm) Family
Anders Erikson (Holm) was born in Eggvena Parish of Herrljunga, Alvsborgs lan, Sweden on February 2, 1829. He was the son on Erik Larson and Maja Andersdotter. They lived in a small village of Herrljunga in the southern portion of Sweden, also known as Götaland.
Ander’s father was the second husband of Maja (Maja is the Swedish version of Mary) Andersdotter. Her first husband was Anders (last name unknown) and they had a son named Andreas Anderson, who was born three years earlier than Anders, in 1826.
The family’s life in Sweden would have been harsh. Property was handed down though the generations and was subdivided between the siblings. Parents remained on the farm and were then supported by the children. Because few children, born prior to 1750, survived into adulthood, the farms remained relatively intact. But, as advances were made in science and mortality decreased, the population doubled between the years of 1750 to 1850. The small farms were divided by larger and larger families.
The famous Swedish bishop and poet Esaias Tegne’r explained the population pressure in three words: “peace, vaccination and potatoes.” He was referring to the fact that Sweden had not been in war since the Russian war of 1809 and the war against the Danes in 1814. Smallpox vaccination had reduced the infant mortality from 21% in 1750 to 15% in 1850. Potatoes became more popular and were a nutritious supplement to the Swedish diet. The combined effects resulted in a growth in population which in turn produced other problems for society. In a country with few industries and cities, the burden had to be carried by the primitive agricultural society.
By the early 1820’s, farms were less that a few non contiguous acres that were spread over the entire village in small fields. Whatever production was achieved was shared with the State’s Swedish Lutheran Church, local government and the Swedish Monarchy through taxes. The combination of a growing population and an inefficient agrarian society pushed the economy of Sweden to its limits. A famine swept the nation, killing 22 out of every 1,000 Swedes.
At the same time that the farm economy was breaking down, Sweden was also forcing more and more people into compulsory military service. By the 1900’s Sweden had drafted almost all it males into compulsorily military service.
The Journey To Amerika
In 1852, the eldest of Maja’s sons, Andreas, left with his wife and children for America.
Anders Erikson followed with Inga Stina Persdotter and a two year old son named Anders in 1855. Both families left well before the wave of emigrants from Sweden in 1865.
In order to leave Sweden they would have had to first obtain permission from the local and federal government to emigrate. Swedish emigration restrictions weren’t eased until about 1865, so the process in the 1850’s probably would have involved a certain amount of harassment, including extra red tape. Once permission was obtained, the families would meet with their church where it was notated in the church records that they had “Gone to Amerika” and their name was crossed off the roles.
It was very hard to get the permissions needed to emigrate, so hard that less the 1 in 2000 people were able to leave Herrljunga area during the period of 1850 to 1860. In fact, according to Swedish emigration records only 586 people total were allowed to leave Sweden in 1855. Anders and Inga were in the vanguard of emigrants to the new land. In contrast, during 1869 32,050 Swedes left for America.
It is difficult to imagine overseas migration without the common people of Sweden being able to read and write. Thanks to the Lutheran Church the rate of illiteracy had always been relatively low in Sweden. The Elementary School Act of 1842 almost erased illiteracy among the younger generation. These young Swedes read about America in newspapers, popular books or pamphlets. The “America-letters” brought news from relatives. Young people learned that success was available for everyone who emigrated. Those letters were circulated from person to person, cottage to cottage and city to city.
Location of Herrljunga in Sweden
The route Anders Erikson’s family took probably started with a walk of about 15 miles carrying their immigrant trunk to Lake Vänern followed by a barge trip on the Göta Canal.
The Göta Canal was built by 58,000 billeted soldiers from 16 different regiments. About 60,000 men, including a company of Russian war prisoners, and a number of civilian workers worked a total of about 7 million man-days, (each of 12 hours) during a period of 22 years.
The canal stretches all the way from Gothenburg on the Swedish west coast, combined with the river Göta älv and the Trollhätte canal, through the great lakes Vänern and Vättern, in parallel with Motala ström, and to Söderköping on the Baltic Sea.
The Erikson family’s canal trip would have ended at the Gothenburg Seaport. They would have boarded the two masted sailing brig call the Anna Margaretta. They sailed “on top of the cargo” or “between the decks”, spending months on the sea and finally, more dead than alive, landing in New York. At Castle Garden, in New York, they would have been inspected for disease, with the sickest ones being returned to Sweden at the ship owner’s expense. Many families were broken up at New York, with little prospect of being reunited.
Emigrants Disembarking Near Castle Garden
Castle Garden Interior
Many of the emigrants landed at Castle Garden with very little funds, just enough to qualify for entry into America. Their first contact with America would have been the Labor Exchange located in Castle Garden. Some would end up as servants other would be recruited for labor. Many were hired to work on the new railroad lines being laid to Chicago and points west.
Castle Garden Labor Exchange
While we do not know for sure how Anders Erikson and his family got from New York to Minnesota, the normal route was a train to Buffalo, New York and the Great Lakes. From there they were taken by paddle steamer over the lakes to Chicago, Milwaukee or Duluth. The last part of the journey would have been on foot. Although his name was on the ship log as arriving in New York somewhere along the route to Minnesota, Anders first son perished. His name was not listed in the remaining church records, the 1860 US Census or tombstones in Minnesota.
Settling Minnesota
Once Anders reached Minnesota the top priority would have been land selection, then shelter. The first home was a simple cabin much like the poor “torpstuga” in Herrljunga, Sweden, but built on Minnesota’s fertile soil. It is apparent that Anders arrived in Minnesota with enough money to buy 180 acres of land. They did not homestead, but instead bought land from Alexander Ramsey. The farm was located on a half mile north of Gotha, MN.
Carver County, Minnesota
The area that Anders chose was in Carver County and was known as part of “The Big Woods”. Clearing the ground of stones in Sweden was replaced by the rooting out of stumps in Minnesota. Luckily the Swedes were use to wood as their principal material for the construction of tools, furniture, buildings, and fuel.
Natural woodland in Wood-Rill Scientific and Natural Area, located near Orono, MN
In order to plant crops in the open meadows, the early settlers would have to break the sod. The sod was extremely thick and would normally need to turned and left to rot till the next crop season. Settlers could plant potatoes under the turned sod to aid in breaking it up and allowing them to get some food from the land.
The first years were tough, as the settlers cleared land and prepared fields. For some the only income received was from the wood they obtained and shipped by riverboat to Minneapolis for sale as firewood. Others foraged for the numerous wild ginger plants found in the woodland forest. The ginger was highly sought after and could be sold in the Orient. Ginger Agents paid handsomely for the prized roots. In fact, ginger harvesting paid so well, that many farmers abandoned their field preparations to work full time searching for the roots.
Wild Ginger- The roots were gathered for sale to oriental markets
Other settlers moved into Benton Township quickly, including the Ranft family to Ander’s north and the Schug family to Anders’s west. Both of these Germanic families had been in America for a number of years, first living in Butler County, Pennsylvania, before moving to Minnesota.
The Swedish Evangelical Church
Religion was still a major part of Anders and Inga’s life and they joined the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church in East Union (Also known as King Oscar’s Settlement) that lay to the East.
It was soon apparent that some regulations were needed by the Church Elders to guard themselves and their congregation against preachers who were not followers of the “true evangelical Lutheran doctrine”. “Some of the settlers apparently experienced emotional of spiritual unrest caused by missionary efforts of the Baptists, Methodists, and various fly-by-night preachers including a Lutheran minister who allegedly had problems with alcohol.” Speakers found it necessary to show church authorities their licenses or letters of recommendation before delivering messages from the pulpit at Oscar’s Settlement church.
From the time members in the congregation organized at the Union Settlement, the community had been pushing farther west. Some families who were now located four or more miles beyond the church discovered the reality of Minnesota’s unpredictable and often harsh winter weather. Traveling even a few additional miles became a critical factor during an era when most pioneers depended upon a few fortunate sled-owning families to pick them up along the way to Sunday services; otherwise they walked. These factors prompted these distant members to seek support for their effort to build another place of worship.
In 1858, The East Union settlement church board approved a request made by some of its members to build a second church, creating two congregations of the same Lutheran denomination. Thus the East and West Union churches came into being in 1858. Anders Erickson, whose farm was a half mile NW of the new church was a charter member of West Union and served as a Deacon of the Church.
Swedish Education
One of the first responsibilities assumed by the newly installed deacons at Union Settlement church was to plan for their school, which became the forerunner to Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter.
Church members were expected to help build the school and furnish the wood needed. Plans were drawn and then the boards and beams needed were divided among the members to bring to the school site. Strict instructions as to thickness and length were given for each board they were expected to bring.
During the 1860’s, an increasing number of Scandinavians were entering Minnesota and the need for Lutheran pastors to serve grew. The residents of Carver County thought it would be beneficial to have somewhere to school these future pastors. After some politicking and fund raising, a school that was located in Red Wing was moved to East Union, near Carver, in order to prepare more students for the seminary. It was named St. Ansgar’s Academy in 1865 in honor of St. Ansgar, the first Christian missionary to Sweden. About half of the students attending were from Carver County. Some students were as young as 10 but many were grown men. In fact, the oldest student entered the academy at age fifty-six!
With hopes of strengthening the school financially and increasing attendance, the Lutheran Synod moved the school program from East Union to St. Peter in 1876. The school was re-organized as Gustavus Adolphus College. The original school building remains at this East Union site.
Minnesota Statehood
Until the second half of the 19th century, immigration into Minnesota was slow. But, once the value of the state’s woodlands and fertile prairie was realized, settlers poured into the region with New England lumbermen leading the way. Between 1850 and 1857, the state population skyrocketed from 6,077 to over 150,000.
On May 11, 1858, Minnesota became the 32nd state admitted into the Union. Minnesota’s application for statehood was submitted to President James Buchanan in January, but became entangled with the controversial issue of Kansas statehood, delaying it for several months until it was finally approved by Congress.
1862 Indian Wars
On August 15, 1862, Santee Sioux Chief Little Crow went to the Indian Agency located on the Minnesota River to ask government agent Thomas J. Galbraith to distribute the Indians’ government-stockpiled provisions to his hungry people. “We have no food, but here are these stores filled with food”, he yelled at Galbraith. “So far as I’m concerned, if they are hungry, let them eat grass or their own dung”, retorted trading post operator Andrew J. Myrick. The angry Indians left, but a few days later Myrick’s corpse was found- with grass stuffed in his mouth.
On Sunday, August 17th, four teenage Sioux killed a white family of five in a dispute over farm eggs. Rather than hand the boys over to the army, some of the Sioux chiefs decided the time to fight had come. By dawn the next day, the horrible uprising had begun. At approximately the same hour ironically, a government wagon left St. Paul, carrying $71,000 in gold coins. The long overdue annuity payment was finally on its way.
Little Crow had never wanted to battle the white man. He was highly intelligent and had the bearing of a gentleman. He was considered an expert in dealing with the media of the day. Both on the reservation and in Washington he charmed reporters with his wit and subtle use of sarcasm. He knew the futility of trying to subdue the dominant culture. He gave his most impassioned speech of his life to the young warriors who came to him that morning of August 17th. He had never been more forceful, more passionate, more persuasive, and if he had stopped the council then, there might never have been a war. But another chief who favored war declared Little Crow a coward who was really afraid of the white man. In a resigned, nearly desolate voice, Little Crow responded, “I am not a coward. I will die with you.”
By the end of September, the Sioux uprising in Minnesota was mostly over, though other Sioux tribes in neighboring territories had taken to the warpath. The U.S. troops who were rushed to Minnesota contained the uprising, but not before an estimated 800 white settlers had been murdered and several million dollars’ worth of property had been destroyed. Of 2,000 Indians captured and tried, a military board sentenced 303 to be hanged. President Abraham Lincoln reviewed the list and trimmed it to 38. (With France undecided as to which side it should enter the Civil War on, Lincoln wisely reconsidered the image of hanging over 300 Indians!) The United States’ largest public mass execution was held December 26, 1862, when the 38 Indians were hanged.
SAINT PAUL, December 27, 1862. – To The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES:
“I have the honor to inform you that the thirty-eight Indians and half-breeds ordered by you for execution were hung yesterday at Mankato at 10 a.m. everything went off quietly and the other prisoners are well secured.
Respectfully, H. H. SIBLEY, Brigadier-General.”
Early Agriculture
Pennock’s Horse Drawn Seed and Grain Planter, circa 1846
In 1859, Wendelin Grimm and his wife Julianna, German immigrant farmers came to Carver County carrying a wooden box full of alfalfa seeds that he soon planted on the Carver County prairie. He gathered the seeds from the alfalfa that survived the first winter and re-planted every year until he had a full crop. Grimm Alfalfa became the most winter-hardy strain of alfalfa available and was an important contributor to the rise of the local dairy industry. Grimm’s Alfalfa was still in use on the Holm’s farm in North Dakota.
Besides Wendelin Grimm, numerous other early pioneers practiced agricultural and horticultural experimentation. Charles Luedloff of Dahlgren Township and Andrew Peterson of Scandia (near Waconia) experimented with apples, plums, and cherries. James Robinson of Dahlgren Township developed the Robinson apple seedling. Louis Suelter of Carver developed several types of grapes including the “Beta.”
Naturalization and a New Name
Surnames were given based on the father’s first name as per Swedish custom. Erik Larson’s son would be “Eriksson” and daughters would be “Eriksdotter”. So Ander’s name was Anders Eriksson. (Later shortened to Erikson) Swedish naming customs were changed by the military beginning in 1820, when the surname stayed with the family. The adoption of surnames made it much easier to track people and information. Many Swedes took that time to adopt a name they liked. Many took names to reflect the area they lived in or a trade association.
The US Census of 1860 listed Anders last name as Erikson. After his final naturalization papers were completed his surname was changed to Holm. Anders was reported to say “There are too many Erickson’s in Minnesota” so he took the last name of his wife’s father, John Petter Andersson Holm.
Holm is a common Scandinavian name. The name has multiple meanings but the most common one refers to an island or a hill. John Petter probably added the surname Holm (his right as a soldier) based on the geographical features of his farm in Sweden. Because his farm lay miles from the sea, we can surmise his farm was located on a hill.
Anders Erickson Holm
Hancock Township, Carver County, Minnesota
The children of Anders and Inga
Anders Peter Erikson 1853-1855?
John Erikson Holm 1857-1926
Ander Peter Holm 1860 – abt 1923 “Outwest”
Emmeli Kristina Holm Pehrson 1861 – 1901
Matilda Holm Noyed 1864 – 1916
John Erickson Holm
In the 1880 Census John E Holm was listed as the head of household, with Anders E Holm listed as a dependent.
North Dakota Statehood 1889
In 1876, units of the 7th Cavalry commanded by Lt. Col. George A. Custer left Fort Abraham Lincoln near Bismarck to search for the Dakota who had refused confinement on reservations. The resulting annihilation of Custer’s immediate command at the Little Big Horn River in MontanaTerritory made names such as Crazy Horse, Gall, and Sitting Bull familiar throughout the nation. Many Dakota moved to Canada to escape relentless punitive expeditions sent by the army, and remnants finally surrendered at Fort Buford in 1881. Nine years later Sitting Bull, the leading opponent of reservation life, identified with the Ghost Dance religion, one that forecast the return of traditional Plains Indian ways. Standing Rock Reservation Indian police were sent to arrest the elderly leader at his home in 1890, and Sitting Bull was killed.
Significant immigration commenced when the westbound Northern Pacific Railway built to the Missouri River in 1872 and 1873. A great settlement “boom” in northern Dakota occurred between 1879 and 1886. During those years, over 100,000 people entered the territory. So significant was this foreign immigration that in 1915 over 79% of all North Dakotans were either immigrants or children of immigrants.
Around 1885, John E Holm moves to ND for first time, settles in Hobart Township, Barnes County. He rents land from John Anderson. The accompanying ledger page from the John Anderson Collection at the Minnesota Historical Society lists the first purchases John E Holm made at that time.
The purchases demonstrate the necessities needed to began a farming operation at that time. Purchases include a team of horses (named Jack and Jennie) $400, a mule (named Sallie) $150, a wagon $50, 150 bushels of oats $45, one hay stack $16, a cow calf $60 and other miscellaneous items. The total for this for the first few months of purchases was $1,184.49. According to an inflation calculator an 1885 dollar would be worth about 20 dollars in 2005 dollars. That would mean John E Holm’s purchase would have been nearly $24,000 in today’s (2006) dollars. It was interesting to notice that on the 1887 ledger pages, John E was given a $75 credit for a “Dead Mule”. Obviously, a warrantee clause was invoked.
According to an interview of Kathryn Ranft Holm, kept by the North Dakota Historical Society, John E’s farm is destroyed around 1889 by fire and he returns to Carver County. This seems to be backed up by an 1888 notation in the ledger saying that the account had been balanced and closed by mutual agreement.
John E Holm family returns to ND in about 1891 and settles in Cuba Township, Barnes County. He bought a quarter section of land on crop payments from John Anderson. John Holm’s family moves back and forth with the seasons between Cologne and Cuba for four years, using the railroad which has lines located in Cuba and Cologne. The farm was established and a home was finally completed in 1895, so they were finally able to take residence in North Dakota.
John Anderson was the first cousin of John E. Holm, and the son of Andreas (Anders Erickson Holm’s half brother). John Anderson managed over four thousand acres of land in and around Barnes County, ND. He was one of the original owners of the “Cuba Farmers Cooperative Mercantile Co”,
along with John E Holm. He also was a major shareholder in stores located in Oriska, ND and Glencoe, MN.
It appears from the ledger books he maintained, that he and John E Holm still had a very close business relationship. The books we examined showed Anderson carried a credit line for John E Holm. Because of this line of credit, John E was able to increase his land holdings, even in the face of multiple years of crop failure in the Dakotas. Evidence of their friendship was found in pictures, found in the files, of John Anderson and John E Holm taken in 1907 in Los Angeles, CA while they were visiting relatives.
John & Mollie (Haish) Anderson moved to Valley City in 1882. During the 1880’s John served as the Valley City Justice of the Peace and ran for Mayor of Valley City. In the late 1890’s, John moved Mollie and the children back to Minnesota. John maintained a business presence in Valley City for the remainder of his life. He was one of the original members of the Masons in Valley City and was given a Life Time Membership from the group. The certificate presented to him was signed by Stanley Mythaler and Vernon Gale. After returning to school to attain his Law Degree in 1891 from the University of Minnesota, he continued to operate out of Valley City.
One of John Anderson’s sons was Leslie Anderson. Leslie, a veteran and a Harvard Graduate, went on to become a District Court Judge of Minneapolis. Leslie was also very active in the National GOP Party. The National GOP gave him the assignment of creating the Young Republicans Group in Minnesota. Leslie was married, but unfortunately his wife died of a brain aneurism within a few months of that marriage.
A daughter of John Anderson, named Ruth, became a Home Economist and found employment with a Minneapolis Flour Co. Her department there was better known as Betty Crocker. Ruth’s job was to answer consumer questions under the pen name of Betty Crocker.
Cuba Mercantile and Partners
John E Holm Threshing Crew – Cuba, ND
Threshing Machine – Cuba, ND
John Holm photographing John E Holm (in white shirt) and friends
John E Holm’s Children
John Holm 1883 – 1951
George Holm 1884 – 1964
Henry Albert Holm 1887 – 1963
Edward Paul Holm 1888 – 1945
Anna Matilda Holm Dill Smith 1891 – 1946
Catherine Mary Holm Kreidlkamp 1894 – 1944
Herman (Fritz) Frederick Holm 1897 – 1976
For many, however, the economic hardships of the Depression could not be overcome. Thousands of North Dakotans lost their farms and either moved into the cities and towns or from the state. One historian estimates that over 70% of the state’s people required one form or another of public assistance. The toll in broken dreams, physical hunger and hardship, and displacement will never be completely measured. Still, most North Dakotans stubbornly held on, husbanding their resources and spending carefully. Even during the hard times, for example, drought-stricken counties and cities rarely missed bond payments, and indeed the public debt in the state was substantially reduced during the Depression years.
Posted in Family Memories, Genealogy	| Tagged Carver County, Farming, Immigrant, Minnesota, North Dakota, Settler, Sweden | Leave a comment


Adult Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Fellowship - Leadership & Faculty
Kelly Ural, MD - Program Director
Dr. Kelly Ural joined the Ochsner department of anesthesia in 2011 and assumed the role of Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Fellowship program director in 2014. She completed her anesthesiology residency at Ochsner Medical Center, and then completed a Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Fellowship at Cleveland Clinic Foundation, serving as chief fellow during her year there. She is board certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology and by the National Board of Echocardiography in advanced perioperative transesophageal echocardiography. She currently serves on the SCA Fellowship Program Director's council and the cardiac education subcommittee for the ASA.
David M. Broussard, MD, MBA - Chair, Department of Anesthesiology
Dr. Broussard joined Ochsner in 2004 and assumed the role of Chair, Department of Anesthesiology at Ochsner Medical Center -New Orleans in 2017. Dr. Broussard earned his medical degree from the Louisiana State University Medical Center - New Orleans and completed his internship and residency at Ochsner Medical Center. Dr. Broussard is board certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology and the National Board of Echocardiography in advanced perioperative transesophageal echocardiography. He received his MBA from Tulane in 2009 and recently completed two terms on the Board of Directors of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.
Emilie E. Donaldson, MD
Dr. Donaldson earned her medical degree from Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans and completed her internship and residency at Ochsner Clinic Foundation. She also completed her fellowship in Adult Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesiology at Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine. She is board certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology. She has been at Ochsner since 2008.
Jason Falterman, MD
Dr. Falterman earned his medical degree from Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans and completed his internship and residency at Ochsner Clinic Foundation. He also completed his fellowship in Cardiothoracic Anesthesia at Emory University Hospital where he served as Chief Fellow. He is Board Certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology and National Board of Echocardiography in Intraoperative Transesophageal Echocardiography. He has been on staff at Ochsner since 2008.
Logan Kosarek, MD
Dr. Kosarek earned his medical degree from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans, LA and completed both his internship in Internal Medicine and residency in Anesthesia at Ochsner Clinic Foundation New Orleans, LA. He also has completed a fellowship in Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology at Emory University, Atlanta, GA. He is board certified in anesthesiology and has been on staff at Ochsner since 2013.
T. Michael Truxillo, MD
Dr. Truxillo earned his medical degree Louisiana State University School of Medicine New Orleans, LA and completed his residency in Anesthesia at University of Washington, Seattle, WA. He also did a fellowship in Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology at Emory University, Atlanta, GA. He is board certified in anesthesiology and has been on staff at Ochsner since 2010.
Adult Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Fellowship Program
Anesthesiology Residency Program
Anesthesiology at Ochsner


About Our Seminars
Free Preliminary Evaluation
Full Assessment
About the Ask Us Service
About Australia & New Zealand
Unit 2M, Level 2
REGULAR POSTS FROM NEW ZEALAND & AUSTRALIA
Posts in category: Lighthearted
Migrating is more than just filling in forms and submitting paperwork; its a complex process that will test even the most resilient of people. Understanding Australia & New Zealand at a grass-roots level is paramount to your immigration survival, and to give you a realistic view of both countries, its people and how we see the world, as well as updates about any current or imminent policy changes, subscribe to our regular blog posts by entering your details below.
A Day in Threatened Paradise - I am a Lucky Man
Posted by Iain on June 28, 2019, 7:38 p.m. in Lighthearted
I have been having one of those magical New Zealand days that reminds me why I was so lucky to be born in this country.
It is mid winter, yet temperatures continue to be mild; it’s dry and for the most part sunny but certainly not tropical. It can be a fantastic time of year with days of blue skies, little wind and bookended by chilly nights snuggling up in front of a fire with a glass of good New Zealand red wine. The days are perfect for getting outside, working in the garden and taking long walks in our patch of rainforest or along local beaches.
My wife and I try and spend Friday working from our beach house in Northland. The beach house sits high on a hill overlooking Bream Bay and the coast, lined with fine whitish sand which sweeps in a wide arc to the north of us.
I was chatting to a client on my cell phone this morning when I looked out and saw the unmistakable fine mist of an exhaling whale. I nearly dropped the phone.
Orca are regular visitors to this part of New Zealand and while massive schools of pygmy pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins regularly hunt and pass through the bay, large whales are a rarity but are increasingly being seen. There is a resident population of around 200 Brydes whales in the Hauraki Gulf that lies between us and Auckland to our south, and many years ago through my telescope I saw a pod far out to sea from our deck.
The two whales this morning however were very large and no more than 300 m offshore. I was clearly looking at a mother and her calf.
For a while they were rolling onto their sides exposing their massive dorsal fins. I wonder if in fact they were not Brydes but Humpbacks or possibly Southern Right whales, once incredibly common around New Zealand and clearly making a comeback.
Then, this afternoon, when I was talking to my colleagues in Melbourne and Auckland on a Skype call I heard the unmistakable song of a bellbird outside and then saw it sipping from a banksia flower, a tree planted many years ago to provide winter food for nectar loving native species. Bellbirds are quite a small bird, olive green with a flash of yellow on their wings but possess an outsized call that is incredibly melodic and beautiful to listen to. This forest bird is very common in some parts of New Zealand where predator control takes place but they are rare at Langs beach where we are. Like the whales however they are making something of a comeback.
With more and more people stepping up trapping programmes and controlling the numbers of rats and mustelids on their properties, thus creating safer environment for our native birds to breed and raise chicks, I am increasingly seeing species like Bellbird that we have never seen in the 23 years we have owned this property.
I have to say, it lifts my spirit.
Having recently returned from another three weeks in Asia cooped up in concrete and glass buildings and being surrounded by so many people so far removed from nature, I find it hard to not feel a certain level of despondency when I think of leaving this corner of the world behind. I certainly feel claustrophobic in those cities. I actually question the future of humanity when most of the population lives in cities and have no connection to the natural world. They consume relentlessly without understanding the damage they do to the environment that sustains us and every other living creature on the planet.
That disconnection from nature, a connection that by and large as New Zealanders we take for granted, might explain the oceans of plastic I encounter when I go scuba-diving in Asia and the mountains of rubbish that line the roads in countries like Malaysia. I’ve almost stopped looking out of airplane windows flying over Malaysia and Indonesia as I bear sad witness to the intense destruction of the rainforests.
Over this weekend however my ritual of clearing and re-baiting our traplines of possums, rats, mice, the odd feral cat and occasional stoat or weasel will continue.
I absolutely love the time that I spend in the rainforest and I tell myself that over time as we continue to eliminate the introduced predators one at a time, we will be creating a home for native species like the Bellbirds. After 18 months of trapping we are now approaching 500 dead possums, mustelids and rodents but it seems as fast as we kill them, the faster the traps we set fill up.
It is not an exaggeration to call it a war and one which never seems to end. A war I'm happy to fight even though I’d prefer not to be killing what in other situations are extremely cute animals.
When the reward is the song of Bellbirds, the promise of our embattled Kiwis (birds) being seen in their ancestral forests once again and our seas have enough food in them to sustain migrating and resident whales passing through in peace, it is all so very worthwhile.
I am indeed a lucky man.
Until next week...
>> Southern Man on Instagram (New Zealand)
>> IMMagine Australia & New Zealand on Instagram
>> IMMagine Australia & New Zealand on Facebook
Posted by Iain on Feb. 26, 2017, 4:26 p.m. in Lighthearted
Sun. Rain. Wind.
It is interesting how much of a role climate - perceived or real - plays in terms of where migrants might choose to live.
If you are Singaporean or Malaysian you love the fact that New Zealand is, for the most part, both drier and for most of the year, cooler, than you are used to. Comfortable is the word I hear a lot. Migrants from these countries tell me how much they love the climate of ‘New Zealand’ (they are usually referring to Auckland or Christchurch).
If you are a South African you tended historically to perceive the climate in New Zealand as being both cold and wet. I should say as thousands more South Africans settle here this perception is changing as expectation hits reality.
If you are from the UK you’ll report back to friends and family that it seems you have moved to the tropics (which the very north of New Zealand it is starting to become).
Rainfall in Auckland is around 1200mm per year. Tauranga 1100mm. Hamilton, the same. Christchurch 600mm. Dunedin 700mm.
Durban has around 950mm. Johannesburg 500mm. Cape Town around 700mm. Singapore and Kuala Lumpur average 3000mm or more. London, believe it or not, comes in around 750mm.
As many readers know I have a beach house which is 160km north of Auckland and about 50km south of Whangarei (NZ’s last northern most biggish city). Nestled along the east coast temperatures here and only 90 minutes drive north of Auckland are at least 2 degrees warmer at any given time of year. Rainfall in Whangarei is 1500mm per year which makes it probably the wettest big city in the country.
Temperatures up here last week were in the low 30 degrees (Celcius) with temperature records being set almost monthly.
This part of NZ lies in the sub-tropics and I was reading an article recently which said if temperatures increase by as little as 1 degree Celsius then this region will begin to be more tropical than ‘sub’.
While it has been a funny old summer (it came later than ‘normal’ and many evenings have been far cooler than normal) and climate change is playing its part, we have had a preponderance of South Westerlies which is unusual for us in summer. Lying on the east coast of the North Island the rain shadow effect has been amplified so I suspect the summer has been a far drier one for Northland than ‘normal’.
Having said that in the past 8 years there has been drought in all but three years up this way. So ‘big dry’ summers are very much the norm. The fields and paddocks are the colour of the Serengeti. Stock has been moved off many farms. Many of the small villages that rely on rainwater and don’t have water bores for their water supply have dry tanks and have to buy it in from water tankers.
Spending so much time up here the annual pattern of rain has almost started to mirror the tropics insofar as there is increasingly a rainy season and a dry one - both of around six months.
I have 6000 square meters of land here which I am slowly planting out in native trees and shrubs. By September each year I consider laying drainage across the property so my trees do not drown. By November I have to irrigate. The past few years here in January there are cracks in the hillsides big enough to lose a toddler down (okay, slight poetic license) such is the lack of rain.
When it does rain here in summer, it rains. A week ago I suggested to some friends that what we desperately needed was a solid 24 hours of non stop light rain or my water bills for irrigation will go through the roof. I got my wish and then some. I suspect we have had close to 70mm the past 24 hours. Today the sun is out, the temperature is around 25 degrees and the humidity must be around 90%. I can almost watch the plants grow. It feels very much like a cool day in the tropics.
At the same time and 1000km to the south Christchurch has been reeling as a massive fire has spread through thousands of hectares of farm and forest on the city’s outskirts destroying homes, buildings and resulting in one death. That part of the country gets half the rainfall we get up here ‘normally’. Their summers are warm and the wind they often get coming down off the Southern Alps, desiccates the land. These fires are the result.
In the Hawke’s Bay where summer temperatures are routinely over 30 degrees and their rainfall is closer to 600mm per year they too are coping with a lack of rain, drought and fires.
Northern Canterbury (north of Christchurch) has seen no significant rain for three solid years.
One only needs to travel 100km or so to the west (and through the weather system blocking Southern Alps) and rainfall is in the order of Singapore or KL - 3000mm plus.
So rain falls in very different quantities in very different ways across the country.
It is overwhelmingly wetter in winter (although the wettest month in Dunedin in the deep south is actually December) and much drier in summer.
This country has such rugged terrain with mountains and plains, hills and valleys all spread across 1600km of (relatively) thin islands and is surrounded by very warm oceans in the north and cold ones in the south. It means you can drive 30km and find very different microclimates. For those from larger countries with more consistent topographies and spread over fewer degrees of latitude it can be quite a climatological shock.
In fact we probably have a far more varied climate than Australia for example which is probably 20 times our size. This myth of sun, surf and BBQs everywhere there is exactly that. Myth. Many parts of Australia are far wetter than many here in New Zealand. Many parts of New Zealand have far hotter summers than parts of Australia.
I am constantly surprised for example how cold Melbourne is whenever I am there between April and October - far colder most of the time than, say, humid Auckland.
Perceptions and realities.
The climate you find when you get here might in the end be very different to what you perceived the climate and rainfall to be like before you emigrated.
Iain MacLeod
Southern Man - Letters from New Zealand
That Summer Feeling
Posted by danni on May 6, 2016, 8:07 p.m. in Lighthearted
One thing that surprised me as a South African migrant was just how summery New Zealand is so much of the time.
Maybe it’s because I’m from Johannesburg that being surrounded by beaches means “holiday” to me, but I’ve travelled quite a bit and really think that Auckland in particular has one of the nicest, most ‘summery’ summers ever. And it seems to last forever too…
A few short weeks ago I started writing a blog post about this in the midst of a scorcher of a summer – a post sparked by having to slow my car down to allow what can only be described as a shimmy across the street to the big blue ocean by a gaggle of ladies (all over 70), their polka dot towels flung over their bikinied bodies. Even today – and it’s definitely cooling down – on my way to work I saw two people frolicking in what must have been a pretty cold ocean in the mist at 7am. We South Africans don’t believe this kind of life will be the case when moving to New Zealand! Not weather wise necessarily but this perpetual summer feeling.
It’s so beautiful and temperate so much of the time and while it does rain, it’s often just a mild spurt a few times a minute. For the remaining seconds it’s really quite pleasant and often quite bright and sunny...(sometimes experiences committment issues, the weather does).
Having looked up the average rainfall for both cities, it seems it rains twice as much in volume in Auckland as in Johannesburg. Sometimes it rains hard for days at a time…but it doesn’t happen too often. (And it’s quite nice when it does, isn’t it?)
Before moving to New Zealand I was sure the weather would be different and particularly rainy and a lot of potential migrants do too - while it’s different (lightning storms are pretty scarce, I miss those on the Highveld) it’s never felt “rainy”. It still looks and feels like I’m on holiday outside so much of the time - 6 years and counting.
Last weekend my husband was lucky enough to be invited aboard a 50ft yacht for a sail through the Hauraki gulf – the weather was perfect although autumn has definitely started taper off. That summer feeling really never does! (Have a look at the shots below he got from the ferry on his commute to work in the city from Gulf Harbour - these photos are a day apart although a very extreme example!)
This week at Little Manly beach on the Hibiscus Coast (close to where two of us from IMMagine live and about 45 minutes from the city) locals were treated to a visit by a pod of dolphins. Not just once but every single day for almost a week. On one occasion when the dolphins where particularly close to shore, they stayed for nearly 7 hours just playing with the people who’d gathered in the water to be with them.
It even got a mention on the news – you can read about it and see some pictures here. I saw this spectacle right in my back yard and thought…you can’t beat this. It’s a good place to live and honestly, the weather’s great. Mostly.
- Danni Balsaras, Auckland Office
New Ausland
Posted by danni on April 15, 2016, 6:07 p.m. in Lighthearted
One of Crowded House’s most well known songs is called “Better Be Home Soon” – but where, actually, is “home” to the band?
This is just one of the topics Australians and Kiwis argue over in what’s often termed a “sibling rivalry” between the two countries. It’s a question many of us ‘down under’ have heatedly discussed (and that includes New Zealand, by the way. Given its geographical location, you might say NZ is even further "under" than Australia but let's not argue!) - Are Crowded House a Kiwi band, or are they Australian?
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the banter between these two brother nations. It doesn’t help the ego of either to learn that many people around the world admit to not even knowing that Australia and New Zealand are individual countries to begin with! Who could forget the Olympics faux pas when our medal count was combined for the country "New Ausland"?
I must admit I enjoy the rivalry – when two countries have the time and inclination to focus on things like who really invented the Pavlova, it means that they’re clearly not desperately trying to avoid being hijacked in South Africa or blackening of their children’s lungs from the filthy, polluted air in parts of Asia.
My husband, upon touching ground in New Zealand, declared himself an instant Kiwi by immediately denouncing any form of affection for Australia and adopting the ‘Pavlova Stance’. He said it’s a rite of passage into Kiwihood! He can’t be blamed – his South African father is notorious for saying that he supports the Springboks “and any team playing against Australia” so the country was never given a fair chance in his eyes.
I can only speak from my own perspective, but frankly, I love Australians. (I can hear the wailing from my New Zealand office mates and the cheering from my colleagues in Melbourne…) Maybe you need to be a real Kiwi to really feel it, but I love their slightly dark humour, their often brash approach, their ‘salt-of-the-earth’ realness and as a South African, I especially love their accents. (And yes, fellow Saffas, it is possible to tell the accents apart…eventually!)
As for the actual country of Australia – the contrast of beauty and danger in the wilderness, the great expanse of the Outback, the harshness of the land and environment – all of that is character building! I often joke that I’ll send my kids to school in the Outback so that they develop strong spines and the ability to defend themselves. It’s not that this is impossible in New Zealand, but it is a more delicate comparison! (On the North Island, anyway. My husband always reminds me that the South Island exists and that the environment there is harsh in many ways, too.)
I put together this list of some of the things both the Aussies & Kiwis lay claim to, just for fun:
Crowded House were a rock band formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1985. The founding members were New Zealander Neil Finn (vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter) and Australians Paul Hester (drums) and Nick Seymour (bass). So if you're going by numbers, Australia should probably take this one...(sorry, Paul) - although, granted, Neil's Kiwi brother Tim joined the band later which balanced it out a little.
Phar Lap
Champion horse Phar Lap, the thoroughbred foaled in New Zealand but trained and raced in Australia where he forged an incredible career. Phar Lap was best known for being much faster than other horses and has since been a disputed possession for both nations.
The Pavlova
In 2007, insurance company NZI ran a humorous series of television advertisements in New Zealand highlighting what are locally considered to be historic New Zealand icons being adopted elsewhere, including the pavlova playing on its status as a common feature of the friendly trans-Tasman rivalry. NZI's parent company is Australian owned!
Well, I'm not sure why either country wants to claim him, but he was in fact born in New Zealand. What's really funny is after Mel Gibson (who was born in Australia) lost the plot and became the anti-semetic lunatic he is, Australia instantly disowned him and called him an American!
To be honest, while researching the finer points of this post I found very few Australians ranting about New Zealanders, and many New Zealanders expressing their thoughts about Australians – make of that what you will! – perhaps there’s an underlying sense of living in Australia’s shadow, and Kiwis do not like that.
New Zealand has a very strong sense of “little New Zealand nationalism” whereby we take national pride in being small and punching above our weight. We revel in being the plucky country that surprises everyone. The two countries do however share language and cultural traits as well as similar political, legal and economic institutions. The Anzac spirit forged at Gallipoli in 1915 has endured through theatres of war in Europe, Africa and Southeast Asia and the way I see it is, like brothers we are rivals. But in war & times of crisis, we are united.
Just don’t mention the rugby...
- Danielle Balsaras, Marketing Coordinator, Auckland Office
The Great Australian Visa Lolly Scramble
Oi Mate
Pieter Van Schalkwyk commented on The Great Australian Visa Lolly Scramble on July 13, 2019, 9:29 a.m.
Rare commented on Oi Mate on July 10, 2019, 10:08 a.m.
Charmain van der Watt commented on Parent Category - What To Do With It on July 8, 2019, 8:43 p.m.
Jason N commented on Oi Mate on July 8, 2019, 7:43 p.m.
Ian commented on Oi Mate on July 5, 2019, 9:01 p.m.
Motlalepula mokgothu commented on Oi Mate on July 5, 2019, 7:09 p.m.
Rod Harris commented on Oi Mate on July 5, 2019, 6:12 p.m.
Kobus Duvenage commented on Oi Mate on July 5, 2019, 5:29 p.m.
Nkosingiphile Scott commented on Oi Mate on July 5, 2019, 5:13 p.m.
Graham commented on A Day in Threatened Paradise - I am a Lucky Man on June 29, 2019, 11:35 p.m.
It's just a thought...
Attend a
FREE SEMINAR
Attend a seminar as a starting point to learn more about the lifestyle of each country, their general migration process and a broad overview of Visa categories.
Do I stand a chance?
Complete a
Have a preliminary evaluation to establish which Visa category may suit you and whether it’s worth your while ordering a comprehensive Full Assessment.
I'm ready to talk strategy
Let us develop your detailed strategy, timeline and pricing structure in-person or on Skype. Naturally, a small cost applies for this full and comprehensive assessment.
Join over 35,000 people who subscribe to our weekly newsletters for up to date migration, lifestyle and light-hearted updates
Level 2, 55-57 High Street, Auckland, New Zealand
+64 9 359 9319 | Contact Form
Level 2, 517 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, Australia
+61 3 9628 2555 | Contact Form
All of our advisers are individually licensed by the Immigration Advisers Authority (IAA)
All of our advisers are individually licensed by the Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA)


Identity, where does it come from?
Current Events, Family, gay, History, Insights, leadership, Politics, psychology, World
Definition of identity
a: the distinguishing character or personality of an individual : INDIVIDUALITY
b: the relation established by psychological identification
Our identities are composed of many parts. Some are visible, and some are not. One way to explain the widespread emergence of self, as separate from the rest, would be in the 1500’s with Martin Luther, in what today is Germany. Once we understood that we could communicate with god directly, without intermediaries; I could pray to god, I can relate to god, and I can relate to others. I can get to know myself, and thus the emergence of personal identity.
“On the plane of ideas, we can see that the distinction between inner and outer, and the valorization of the former over the latter, starts in an important sense with Luther.*” 1
We have our identity and we depend on it to transact business, to relate to others, and to choose what we do. We all agree on what documents will prove our identity. We fight hard to be who we are. We struggle to gain acceptance, so we can safely say, “I am this way”. However, we haven’t had to prove we are not something else. Identity disbelief. How far has the concept of identity gone to where it has been weaponized, to deny something to someone?
Included in the references are two short video interviews. The first one is a parody, the second, to give the first context, is an interview that delves deeper into immigration issues in Europe. The videos are from Jazza John, a YouTube blogger and activist.
The video clips show how individuals are asked to prove they are gay, to be granted asylum on such grounds. To prove their sexual identity in a vacuum. Once the idea of identity is established, it can be denied. The interview ends with a parody that shows how identity can be used as a weapon. Something purely conceptual. The video also illustrates what are believed to be ways to prove who you are. What kind of questions would prove your sexual identity.
Identity derives from a mutual understanding that we will both see each other. We will recognize each other, as friend or foe. When the management of identity is given to an institution, aspects of identity can be deleted from the roster. In the USA, it is said that transgender could be removed from the possible identities, then transgender people could become a non-identity. This rings to the inter war era where individuals were striped of their nationality, becoming stateless.
The 2004 movie The Terminal, with Tom Hanks and directed by Steven Spielberg is a spoof about a stateless traveler. This movie is an adaptation of a 1994 French film Tombés du ciel . Nationality is an important part of identity, especially our professional and financial identity. We have social identity and identity theft. This last one costing consumers 16 billion in 2017.
I believe It would be difficult to prove one’s identity without trust or good faith; Without one’s peers. It’s not factual. One ought to keep in mind that often people are forced to obfuscate who they are in order to survive. How could one turn it around and be genuine, when all you’ve had is persecution? Individuals become guarded. We learn to deflect and obscure, and that eventually becomes part of our identity.
Prove you are straight, parody.
Full interview
1) from “Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment” by Francis Fukuyama.
Note; Many centuries before Martin Luther, Augustine went through a similar tortured exploration of his inner self in his Confessions. Unlike Luther, however, his writings did not devalue established social institutions or trigger massive upheavals in the politics and society of his time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/stripping-naturalized-immigrants-their-citizenship-isnt-new-180969733/
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/01/consumers-lost-more-than-16b-to-fraud-and-identity-theft-last-year.html
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/identity
https://www.ags.school.nz/at-grammar/student-services/guidance-and-counselling/identity/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0362227/faq
November 29, 2018 Current Events, education, gay, information, Insights, Politics, success
Previous Previous post: NEWS!-LITTLE BOOTS LIVE from Allaire Studios | HEADSPACE by AKG and Mixmag- mellow rhythmic voice
Next Next post: Giuseppe Ottaviani live at Dreamstate SoCal 2018-Amazingly brilliant!!! So lost in the music I felt transcended!!! Giuseppe is the master!!!


Big Project ME
Construction Machinery ME
ME Consultant
Truck&Fleet ME
Video: The View at The Palm
Why choose LACASA?
ALEC’s BIM Journey
What makes LACASA different
Video: MBR Solar Park, a CNN mini-doc
Retail & Hospitality Construction Summit 2019
Access and Handling Summit
ME BIM Summit 2019
Big Project ME Awards 2019
ME Consultant Awards 2019
Interview: Andrew Mackenzie, partner at Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla
By Gavin Davids
Developing a firm’s construction arbitration practice and where the region’s industry is headed
“That’s what’s very typical of this region, especially on government-related projects. They’re told that everything will be fine, but then they get to a level where the budget isn’t there to clear these costly claims”
At the start of the year, international law firm Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla announced that it had expanded its capabilities in the GCC region through the appointment of Andrew Mackenzie as partner in its UAE Arbitration practice. Coming off the back of a recent shake-up of the UAE practice, the appointment of Mackenzie was hailed by executive chairman Dr Habib Al Mulla, who said the move would allow the firm to support clients operating in the Middle East through the lifecycle of their operations, from structuring and advisory all the way through to dispute resolution.
Joining Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla from Hogan Lovells in the UAE, Mackenzie brings with him an expertise in international arbitration law, with a particular focus on construction, engineering, energy and insurance disputes. He has been based in the UAE for more than eight years and has full rights of audience in the Dubai International Financial Centre courts, and has also been admitted as a solicitor in both his native Scotland and England and Wales, where he is also a solicitor advocate in the higher courts.
Mckenzie acts for international corporations and governments across the Middle East, Africa and Asia on complex commercial disputes under a variety of civil and common law systems, having tried cases in all of the major arbitration forums (both treaty-based and commercial), representing developers, contractors and consultants from around the world for a variety of projects.
With the senior leadership of Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla determined to establish the firm as a leader in construction arbitration across the GCC and wider MENA region, Mackenzie’s expertise and experience is invaluable to their plans for expansion and growth over the coming years.
“Myself and Dr Habib have one vision, which is to ensure that the team based in the UAE works regionally – more so than we already do. We focus on working in Saudi Arabia, in conjunction with our colleagues there, in Bahrain, Kuwait and Muscat – across the GCC and the wider region. Baker McKenzie benefits from the fact that we’ve got a very hefty footprint in Africa – we’re in Johannesburg, Cairo and Casablanca – and because of that, we can tap into the MENA region, the northern African states, where there are more than a trillion dollars worth of projects ongoing,” Mackenzie says during an interview with Big Project ME at the Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla offices in Business Bay, Dubai.
“It also means that we can become a legal hub. We’re already a business hub for sub-Saharan Africa. We want to be seen as, both externally and internally, a centre of excellence for arbitration across all industries,” he continues.
Having been brought in to head the international arbitration and construction team, Mackenzie aims to put a particular focus on disputes, arbitration and litigation. With seven lawyers under him – soon to be eight – all construction and arbitration specialists themselves, he hopes to put in place a team that will offer a range of services and expertise to clients from all over the region.
“I also do front-end construction work as well, I know my way around ECP contracts and the drafting of the usual standard forms. The team ranges in levels as well, which is good, because I obviously can’t be everywhere at once. Dr Habib is a very well-known arbitrator and UAE law expert, and the calls on his time are very demanding as well.
“But the nice thing is that we have a wonderful synergy at Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla. We have the local law experience – by that I mean all regional local laws – we have the common law background – which is mine – and we obviously have the construction and engineering arbitration expertise. We’re also trying to be multilingual as well, which helps. It means that we can tender for work that would usually fall outside my remit, because proceedings are usually conducted in Arabic or because it’s for a particular client in a style or culture that other international firms would find it difficult to adopt into.”
Having moved to Dubai at the tail end of 2009, Mackenzie had a first-hand look at how the construction industry in the region operated right when external pressures were at the highest levels. With the real estate market in collapse, he was able to focus on the construction boom disputes that inevitably arose.
“It was chiefly construction disputes at the time. Projects like Dubai Mall and the Dubai Airport – that’s probably one of the most heavily litigated buildings in the world. I think everyone has been involved in it, one way or another. I cut my teeth on some very sizeable and complex disputes, involving multiple parties on the contractor, consultant and government end as well. It was nice to have that experience and exposure to all the different sectors and the different viewpoints in the industry.
“From there, I broadened my practice to a degree, focusing on services beyond construction to other general commercial disputes as well. Arbitration was about 90% construction and engineering-related, and I picked up a number of disputes that were typically main contractor, subcontractor and developer. But then I started doing work for architects and engineers, which then involved the insurers – who are a very active and often neglected part of the construction industry,” he says.
“People don’t often see things from an insurer’s perspective, so it was fascinating to gain that insight and see how disputes that are on the face of it very clearly construction disputes often evolve into very complex coverage claims under contractual risk or professional indemnities policies.”
This experience is likely to stand him in good stead, given that the last few years have seen a slump in performance for the regional construction market. While experts predict that 2018 is likely to see an increase in project awards in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the region is still grappling with the issue of funding for developments. As a result, the likelihood of disputes and arbitration in the industry is likely to increase, especially since Mackenzie says one of the fundamental lessons from 2009 still hasn’t been learnt – the importance of adhering to a contract.
“Sometimes these parties take months, if not years, to negotiate and sign these documents. They can run into hundreds of pages, with many different schedules, and then typically what happens is that the client takes it and sticks it into a drawer [and forgets about it]. They just never read it, and they forget that the contract is supposed to be the fundamental basis upon which they’re delivering their project.
“And when they forget about it, it ultimately leads to disaster because they forget to put notices in and they forget to comply with the provisions of the contract. You do have this honeymoon period when both parties get on really well and neither party wants to break that by appearing too contractual or notice-oriented, but what that ultimately leads to is smaller issues building up, snowballing and becoming global claims that ultimately lead to large-scale arbitration, because the parties are poles apart.”
Despite having been very successful at arbitration for the last twelve years, Mackenzie insists that if he can stop a client from going into arbitration, he always will. Not only is it an all-consuming process, it is also time-intensive, costly and rarely results in both parties walking away fully satisfied with the result.
“That’s what’s very typical of this region, especially on government-related projects. They’re told that everything will be fine, but then they get to a level where the budget isn’t there to clear these costly claims. This leads to another issue – communication. Because these claims aren’t going through, because these warnings aren’t coming in to the people with the purse strings, they then turn around and say, ‘Well, we’ve paid $2.4 billion for this project, but now you’re saying it’s going to cost $3.8 billion – and you’re telling us this at the eleventh hour. What do you expect us to do?’
“That is an issue that often arises, but adherence to the contract would stop all of that,” he asserts.
However, Mackenzie does point out that there has been some improvement, particularly in regard to companies being more reluctant to press ahead with formal dispute resolutions and go straight into arbitration.
“Basically, that was the only real outcome of the crash in 2009. Everyone was going into arbitration, those who could afford to at least. The others that couldn’t just had to pull out of the market. Their bonds were called and there was very little they could do about it.
“There’s a reluctance now to go into formal proceedings, and there’s certainly more adherence to the contract. I find that there’s certainly an understanding internally, for those who had learnt their lessons and lived through it, that they had to take contracts more seriously and update their internal processes and procedures.
“Unfortunately, those lessons were learnt through a baptism of fire. You saw companies go through these horrendous disputes which were very time-intensive and costly, and as a result of that, they’ve learnt that catching things as they arise on a project could save you years of grief that you have to go through during arbitration. However, I would say that they’re in the minority. I think a lot of these big contractors, subcontractors and engineers, even the sophisticated international ones, still don’t fully appreciate the things that they could be doing now to stop a repeat of what happened in 2009,” he warns ominously.
This is especially frustrating, as he says it’s not like there hasn’t been enough opportunity. The market has gone through three dispute cycles since 2009, he points out, adding that it looks likely to be edging towards a fourth.
“2017 was quiet, but again, without sounding too corny, it was perhaps too quiet! People were battening down the hatches. Clients certainly said that to me. They just wanted to get through 2017 and hope that 2018 would bring more growth. But tie that in with the oil price rise, and tie that in with the increase in liquidity, which will slowly return to the market, and I think we’re going to see people get a bit more prone to launch formal proceedings. We’ve already seen that in January.”
Despite his wariness, Mackenzie does see positive developments on the horizon. Based on recent experiences with government-backed developers, he believes that change is coming – and not a moment too soon, with events like Expo 2020 coming up in a couple of years.
“Dubai Properties has actually put out a call-out for a contractor-led framework [for tendering]. Basically, the old traditional form of tendering is seen as outdated, outmoded and generally not fit for purpose. It generally leaves the contractor exposed, which ultimately leaves the developer being unable to complete. I think Dubai Properties and Nakheel have felt that most keenly, and so it’s slightly more contractor-led at the moment.
“I think the fact that developers like Dubai Properties are prepared to look at it seriously is a good indicator that a quasi-government entity is thinking to itself, ‘Do we just want to carry on as normal?’ They’ll ultimately come out the better party, but you compare it to Emaar’s model, where they adopted an approach to the market focused on completing specific projects and delivering for its customers, and not getting entangled in big, hefty disputes.”
While these steps are certainly welcome, Mackenzie does think more can be done by government entities, particularly when it comes to developing communication and relationships with the region’s contractors. This will allow all stakeholders to move away from the traditional design and build contract model and find a better way to develop projects in a more collaborative manner.
“If you have that framework in place and an understanding that a number of contractors have fed into that framework, then it’s quite clever in a way, because while the developers are still setting the rules of the game, the contractors are going in there with their eyes wide open.”
Another positive development in recent years has been the work done with the DIFC courts, he adds. Although there was initial resistance to the idea, and a lack of awareness of what was on offer, Dubai’s leadership has acted quickly to allay concerns and position the courts as the region’s premier dispute resolution service, he says. The DIFC courts have been so successful that other countries in the region have tried to emulate the system, though with considerably less success.
“It’s great that many of our competitors, from a GCC perspective, have tried to copy – in various different guises – what the Dispute Resolution Authority and the DIFC have done. But they’ve not done it successfully, because they haven’t really followed through.
“To give you an example, Qatar tried to create an adjudication process, but there was no appetite for it. I had advised on it, way back in the day with a number of other peers, but there was no real push from the government to embrace it. In hindsight, given the problems with Qatar Rail and other projects, that would have been very sensible.
“Other bodies around the GCC have done likewise, but with no real follow through. With the DIFC, they’ve not only given people access to things like the Small Claims Court, but they’ve also launched their own specific Construction Technology Court, which is similar to the TCC in London. There’s an education process ongoing, and I think it’s far better for the industry.”
Finally, Mackenzie brings up another topic that he believes will have a significant impact on the construction industry. January 1 was the launch of VAT in the UAE, and he is keen to stress that entities in the region, particularly in the construction industry, need to start considering the implications.
“For the sophisticated players, the ones who are used to working in regions where this is already in existence, or have been keeping an eye on it and planning for it, it will be a far smoother transition. What’s noticeable, and using VAT as a prime example, is that some entities didn’t even contemplate – even though it was discussed widely in the market – what the implications were for the introduction of VAT.
“Be under no illusions, the introduction of VAT is merely the beginning of greater regulation, and indeed taxation of the industry – of all industries. Corporation tax is already under discussion; they do say it’s in the early stages, but I think we should expect to see a draft law within the next two of three years,” he forecasts.
“Many of our clients, and other players in the industry, have not fully planned for the introduction of VAT, hence why they have approached us and we have taken various steps to not only provide them with advice and guidelines prior to the introduction, but also, as of the beginning of this year, created a tax specific department.”
Coupled with this is the UAE’s – and Dubai’s – ambitions to become a greener, more efficient state that uses smart technology and renewables. In the last few years, stringent regulations around green building codes and energy usage have been put in place by the authorities, while government agendas and policies have been adopted to drive change across the economy.
As a result, companies will have to change and adapt to keep up with the new reality, and Mackenzie says that process will not be easy if companies do not prepare.
“I think part of the industry is prepared, but the ones that aren’t are going to suffer. Many companies have had it good for too long. They haven’t had much regulation, they haven’t had to adhere to specific building codes. Dubai, and the region in general, has been reactive rather than proactive.
“[Moving from a reactive to a proactive stance] is an inevitable part of a growing and developing industry. I think the industry players will try and hold on to the good old days for as long as possible and live in denial, but these regulations are coming.
“VAT is difficult [to dodge] because it’s so heavily regulated and they’ll be punished if they don’t comply, but other players will attempt to get away with regulations that are looser in nature and have more wriggle room. However, I think that you’ll see the ones that are adhering to the regulations and abiding by them will begin to be singled out by the government, who wants to see this agenda pushed – they’ll want to see that the industry is responding to them.
“Therefore, I think that these companies will begin to win a larger share of the work, as opposed to the ones who do it on the cheap and provide things that are not in compliance,” he concludes.
Related Items:Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla, construction disputes, law
Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla: Appeals win sets precedent…
Saudi mid-day break rule introduced
New Dubai law amends Performance Bond requirements of contractors
Dubai Municipality cracks down on lawbreakers
Law firm calls for off plan sales regulation
New contract will address gaps in market
A new generation, a new style
Geberit Gulf debuts 2019 product range at glitzy Dubai…
ABB to help deliver clean energy in Dubai
Interview: Omer Al-Jamel, KONE MEA, on changing regulation and demand in the region
Region could be heading towards fourth dispute cycle since 2009
‘We have the firepower to build Saudi’s future,’ Red Sea Project chief tells MECN
Aldar Properties wins multiple AUH contracts
Project Profile: How the Coco-Cola Arena was delivered ahead of schedule
EllisDon wins Canada Pavilion contract for Expo 2020 Dubai
Al Bawani wins $89mn commercial tower project from Asharqia Chamber
Saipem wins $3.5bn worth contracts in Saudi Arabia
Arabtec Holding appoints Adel Al Wahedi as acting Group CFO
Peugeot introduces all-new 2020 Partner in GCC
Target wins additional work on ADNOC Onshore project
Siemens wins $319mn contract for Maisan Combined Cycle Power Plant
MEConstructionNews.com is the central website of leading construction magazines - Big Project Middle East, Construction Machinery Middle East, Middle East Consultant and Truck & Fleet Middle East.
A one stop shop updated daily with industry news, interviews, analysis, expert opinion, videos and more.
John Pagano on creating a tourist destination the size of Belgium from scratch, while...
Contractors will be appointed immediately to commence works on Saadiyat Island, Yas Island and...
ASGC and HPBS on creating and building Dubai's new state-of-the-art multi-purpose arena
Complementary including business, investment attraction and cultural components will unfold in the Canada Pavilion
Asharqia’s chairman explains Chamber is moving to a new stage that will strengthen its...
featurednews featuredpost dubai constructions saudi arabia United Arab Emirates the big picture PROJECTS MACHINERY construction abu dhabi qatar infrastructure uae Oman Property development real estate network magazines development sustainability Bahrain Egypt middle east Nakheel
© 2019 CPI Trade Media. All rights reserved New Template