—One year in America, the First World War, and a return to Norway
Elise Myklebust from Valdalen travels to America in 1914, twenty-one years old, together with her sisters Line and Karoline, who have come home for a visit—dressed in gleaming coats and hats with bows. Portland, Oregon, is the destination. Karoline finds Elise work with a wealthy family. Elise does not know a single word of English. The lady of the house calls Karoline, who serves as interpreter: “You are to make pie. […] With apples. And cream. And then you are to set the table. That is how it began.” (p. 70 in Remember the Ladies!).
Elise meets Oskar Myklebust. Oskar has been in America for a long time and has acquired an American rhythm in his speech. They marry. Elise becomes pregnant. Together they experience a year in Portland. Then the First World War breaks out. Elise and Oskar return to Norway and take over Oskar’s family farm in Sunnmøre. On weekends, Elise bakes pie. Oskar likes the apple one best. Elise carries the dream of America in her heart.
With the First World War came high prices, rationing, and unemployment. The war led many Norwegian emigrants to make the same choice as Elise and Oskar: a return to Norway.
In the days leading up to Christmas, we meet one of the book’s ten Norwegian women each day. They represent a large and diverse group of female voices that are only now, at the 200th anniversary of Norwegian emigration to America, beginning to be heard.
The book Remember the Ladies is now available
The book "Remember the Ladies: Sown in the Past, Harvested in the Future" gives voice to some of the Norwegian women who emigrated to America between 1825 and 1925. Through vivid retellings, you encounter lives that stretch from fjords and mountains to open plains and great cities—and that still move us today.
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In Norwegian emigration history, women were long given little space—but they carried just as much as men: children, language, hope, work, everyday life, and community. Remember the Ladies! is a part ofVågespel– an initiative that brings forward the voices of a selected group of Norwegian emigrant women from Western Norway.
Paperback · 116 pages
Authors: Inger-Kristine Riber and Reidun Horvei
Original language: Norwegian (Nynorsk)
Translation: Katherine Jane Hanson
Publisher: Onen Studio
Year of publication: 2025
The English version is only available in the United States.