To Norway for my Family Reunion
My father, Hans Slaattebrekk Davidson, immigrated from Norway when he was a very young man and was the typical immigrant who came to America for a better life. This picture is what my father looked like at 17 years old when he left Norway, unable to speak English. His mantra was, "speak English, work hard, and you can be anything you want to be in America". To my dad, there was no such thing as Norwegian-American or “anything-hyphen-American”. He loved the idea of being an American and he loved his children being Americans, but he never really assimilated or acculturated into America and until the end of his life, he considered himself a “foreigner”. Any nostalgia for the "old country" was not seen by me. He naturalized at the beginning of WWII to fight for this country. Tomorrow, I am taking my first trip to Norway for a family reunion of the descendants of my grandfather, David Slaattebrekk. I will meet all of my first cousins and many of their children. My father was the oldest of 5 children. The attached picture is Dad at 5 years old. He was one of the original precious children and was a very spoiled, indulged child who was expected to carry on the family name as the oldest son, not immigrate to America! My father was a very private, quiet man who even in his last years didn’t talk about his life and as a result, I know very little about his life before marrying my mother.
My father, Hans Slaattebrekk Davidson, immigrated from Norway when he was a very young man and was the typical immigrant who came to America for a better life. This picture is what my father looked like at 17 years old when he left Norway, unable to speak English. His mantra was, "speak English, work hard, and you can be anything you want to be in America". To my dad, there was no such thing as Norwegian-American or “anything-hyphen-American”. He loved the idea of being an American and he loved his children being Americans, but he never really assimilated or acculturated into America and until the end of his life, he considered himself a “foreigner”. Any nostalgia for the "old country" was not seen by me. He naturalized at the beginning of WWII to fight for this country. Tomorrow, I am taking my first trip to Norway for a family reunion of the descendants of my grandfather, David Slaattebrekk. I will meet all of my first cousins and many of their children. My father was the oldest of 5 children. The attached picture is Dad at 5 years old. He was one of the original precious children and was a very spoiled, indulged child who was expected to carry on the family name as the oldest son, not immigrate to America! My father was a very private, quiet man who even in his last years didn’t talk about his life and as a result, I know very little about his life before marrying my mother.
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