Editor's Note: Published even though still in editing process! April 11, 2013
"My Summer of 1936" by Klara Kammerud: A European Travel Narrative
Part One, Ireland and the British Isles
John Edward Xavier, Editor
Preface
In late 1936, Klara Kammerud sent a typed carbon-copy manuscript titled "My Summer of 1936" to her nephew, Valdemar Ulrik Ambrosius Hippe Xavier. Valdemar was the youngest son of Klara's older sister, Bina (Kamrud) Xavier, second wife of Rev. Karl Xavier. Beyond nephew Valdemar U. A. H. Xavier, Klara shared this manuscript with about two dozen other family members at that time. [1]
Valdemar's copy was delegated to me, at the urging of various family members, and thus that copy came to be researched, photocopied, transcribed and, at last, edited for this post beginning in 2012. By the good fortune of birth, being Klara Kammerud's grand-nephew and Valdemar U.A.H. Xavier's nephew, I have therefore had the honor of unusual access to family papers and family oral history.
This post of Klara's narrative will be published in chapters called "Parts," even as it remains a work in progress. Each Part of Klara's narrative will include background information as well as footnotes, some the which may offer little to readers familiar with family history. Nonetheless, as Klara's family travelogue dates from well over seventy years ago, it seemed worthwhile to include too much rather than too little material.
The first appendix will give lifespan dates for individuals mentioned in the narrative; in some cases those dates are not available. We welcome any and all additional information about Klara, including corrections to this essay, which can be forwarded to: xavijohn@hotmail.com . New information will be incorporated and acknowledged in writing within the posted article.
Acknowledgements
All honor to Klara Kammerud for composing her narrative and to Valdemar U.A.H. Xavier for preserving his copy of it! Thanks to: Rev. Joel V. Xavier for sharing this inherited document for editing and publishing purposes; Chet Habberstad for his family history The Kamrud Tree; Mary X. LaBelle and Edith (Bethke) Xavier for other materials and information useful for those same purposes; and to my much-loved and much-missed father, Karl Astrup Xavier, for his many conversations about his Aunt Klara. Thanks for encouragement go to Prof. Odell Bjerkness, Prof. Charles Grubb, Prof. David Olshin, and the late Christian Klebo Skjervold II.
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Notes to Preface:
[1] Klara Kammerud, "My Summer of 1936," typescript (December, 1936), in possession of the author, 12 pp.
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Introduction: Klara Kammerud, the extended Xavier and Kamrud families, and her travel narrative
The connections of Klara Kammerud (1886-1958) to the extended Xavier family were many, or more to the point, almost without number. Klara was the youngest sister of Bina Kamrud (or Kammerud) (1880-1931), who was the second wife of Rev. Karl Xavier (1869-1924). Klara and Bina, and nine other siblings in their family hailed from a Starbuck (Pope County), Minnesota family, that of Iver ("Starbuck Iver") Kamrud and Marit (Hippe) Kamrud. Iver and Marit were both Norway-born emigrants from the Valdres region.
Klara was during her lifetime, and deserves to be long-remembered as, one of the more colorful and eccentric characters in the extended Xavier family. As a matter of course, she was well-informed of things pertaining to Norway and to the Valdres home county of her parents. Among her minor eccentricities, Klara held firmly over her lifetime onto the older and traditional spelling of her family name, Kammerud." This was Klara's chosen spelling as noted throughout several sources: Chet Habberstad's monumental work, The Kamrud Tree; a number of event guest book entries; and other references.
While her sister, Bina, sometimes carried this same "Kammerud" spelling, it seems that in Bina's case to have been often a question of paperwork carry-over or some such office-related event rather than a point of insistence by Bina. In referring to family names, this post will use the spelling of "Kamrud," for those who spelled the name with a "K"--with the exception of Klara, for whom we will respect her usage of "Kammerud."
Klara, as the eleventh child born to the Starbuck Kamruds, was sufficiently young to be numbered among Bina's students when Bina taught public school in the rural Starbuck area in the 1890s. Bina was known early on for her intelligence, creativity and musical leadership and by the late 1890s had already studied at the college level, in teacher training at Mayville Normal School, in North Dakota. As it was with Bina, so it was with Klara, who early on also demonstrated intellectual skills.
Klara was active as a school teacher and later entered federal civil service in Washington, DC. Despite her geographic separation from family, Klara kept in close contact with her family members, including nieces and nephews. She was a woman of who carried herself with great dignity who nonetheless stands out as one of several colorful figures in the extended Xavier family. [1]
Klara's nieces and nephews were rather in awe of Klara--renowned for her predictably matriarchal house-guest ways. Beyond her role as sister-in-law, aunt, and more, Klara represented a classical stereotype of the feared white-gloved woman of high standards who over the years of her visits would in stern fashion take stock of the way things were in people's homes. It is not mere family lore that Klara's visits included finely rehearsed gestures worthy of film and stage: donning white gloves, running them over such surfaces as windowsills, shelves, pianos, and mantlepieces.
Then from Aunt Klara would come the time of verification: checking the gloves for dust, and concluding the process by freely sharing house-keeping commentary, all of this as a buttress for the implications of her theatrical dust-sleuthing. Were Klara to be unimpressed with what showed up on her gloves after those deliberate swipes, it would soon become quite clear that things did not meet her standards in whatever household(s) she was visiting.
Feared she was, yes, but Klara had never married and, while feared, was nonetheless subject to cross-generational whispering about her alleged jealousy of siblings who had married and had children. Nonetheless, Klara was loved, as is shown by a number of intriguing stories about her, of which I make brief mention here.
In 1941, her nephew Karl Astrup Xavier, father of this writer, decided to celebrate his hard-earned and long-delayed graduation from Augsburg College in Minneapolis. In correspondence with his Aunt Klara in Washington and half-brothers Paul and Peter, Karl used family contacts to arrange a trip to the East Coast. So, at age 29, Karl was soon off on a major rail trip out east where he would visit New York City (and later, Washington, DC). In New York, he planned to see not only major sights, but to spend time with nearby older half-brothers Paul Xavier and Sgt.Peter L. Xavier. Paul was then an aircraft engineer with Grumman on Long Island, while Pete, a career Army soldier, was posted to West Point as a small arms instructor.
Once the New York portion of his trip was over, Karl would then include Washington, D.C., where Klara worked. Klara showed Karl all about the nation's capital, giving abundantly of her time and (as always) her advice, taking considerable time at the high spots , and directing him to those areas for which she could not spare time to serve as guide. She pointed out to Karl a number of prominent Washington figures as they passed near them in the Capitol or the Library of Congress.
In Washington, Klara was in her glory. There she had held highly responsible positions within the office of Secretary of Agriculture where Mr. Henry Wallace of Iowa served during the early New Deal of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. This was prior to Mr. Wallace's elevation to the office of Vice President in 1941, when Klara moved over to the office of the Secretary of the Treasury. [2]
Klara's on-going relations to the Xaviers carried well into the 1950s, as is evidenced by her attendance at the July, 1951 wedding of niece Valborg Xavier to Phil Houghtelin. Their wedding was held at that long-time family church home, Immanuel Lutheran on Monroe Street in Northeast Minneapolis. Klara attended the wedding, as did other Kamrud extended family members from the old Starbuck home area. Found among the wedding guest signers was Klara Kammerud along with names then easily recognized, some of which are now fading in that regard: Aal, Hippe, Spangrud, Stenerson, and more.[3]
Turning, then from Klara's strong family ties, we now look to Klara's manuscript. Klara's document was originally twelve pages, in single-spacing format, typed in multiple copies on onion-skin copy paper. It was circulated among nephews and nieces as well as other family members, and its survival elsewhere is unknown as of January 2012. The manuscript is more narrative than interpretive.
Although not demonstrating much of an interpretive approach, Klara's manuscript nonetheless gives a thorough personal account of her extensive two-month trip. She traveled with two friends, Emma and Virginia, whose family names and connections to Klara have been lost in the mists of time. Klara's manuscript includes extensive remarks about their travels.
Readers will soon note Klara's classic early 1900s formal style and punctilious approach to spelling and usage. While often preoccupied with the humdrum aspects of travel, Klara's essay nonetheless included some larger insights in her travel narrative, making of it a more than worthy piece for the family blog "A Saami American Experience: Xavier Extended Family."
The goal of posting her narrative is to make Klara's work more accessible and interesting, by adding perspective with informational footnotes. Each of Klara's separate pages will be identified as such, and footnotes will pertain to each page, with numbering by each page only. Information will also be added about the Kamrud family, especially in line with Klara's narrative of her time spent in Norway. All edits and corrections to Klara's account are noted by brackets, for example, as in an illegible word: [illegible, probably "Smith"]. Once Klara's manuscript is keyboarded in, I will attempt to add photographs.
An important fact to keep fully in mind is that the 1936 travels of Klara and her friends were undertaken at a crucial time in history. By that time, Europe had begun to be seriously in awe of Herr Hitler and his ruling Nazi party. That was, in brief, the context of Klara's account, as she and her friends were in Berlin at the time of the 1936 Olympic Games, which were a world-class a showcase of the "new" Germany of Hitler. Yet the Olympics of that year would also represent a major propaganda failure for Hitler and for Nazi Germany, as American athletes competed strongly.
Indeed, for the historically curious, the dramatic 1936 Olympics are most most recalled for the triumphant US athletes led by Jesse Owens, filmed and shown the world over in the movie theater news "shorts" -- revealing the fallacies of Hitler's policy of a "Super Race." Hitler was out an about during his moments of glory, and Klara saw him during one of his public appearances at that time.
As World War II intervened, the 1936 Olympics were the last held until 1948. Thus, we are from Klara's narrative given a front-row seat to some aspects of the waning era of between-the-wars, known to the French as entre les deux guerres. Almost any review of the 1919-1939 era brings out the anxiety or sense of malaise, much as the daily news did for those living it. Of course, we who are living now have the advantage of historical knowledge of the ultimate destructive capabilities of Hitler's Nazi regime. and thus we see the vindication of the anxiety or sense of malaise of that era.
Klara's narrative follows.
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Notes to Introduction:
[1a] Chet Habberstad, The Kamrud Tree (Kamrud Family, No. Place, circa 1981), pp. 1- 42. Much more than a family tree, Habberstad's 101-page work includes valuable narratives and background on the extended Kamrud family. The book is also generously illustrated with photos and helpful maps, and includes several family essays.
Klara's narrative follows.
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Notes to Introduction:
[1a] Chet Habberstad, The Kamrud Tree (Kamrud Family, No. Place, circa 1981), pp. 1- 42. Much more than a family tree, Habberstad's 101-page work includes valuable narratives and background on the extended Kamrud family. The book is also generously illustrated with photos and helpful maps, and includes several family essays.
[1b] Amy and Carl Narvestad, Valdres Samband, 1899-1974 (Granite Falls, MN: Valdres Samband, 1974), various pp. Kamrud, Camrud, Hippe and other Valdres relatives, notably of the Aal and Rotto families, are referenced throughout this work. This work is a combination of history, cultural reference and membership list, all of it heavily weighted with genealogical information. The Narvestads were for decades fixtures in the Valdres ethnic communities, especially the Valdres Samband, the oldest of the Norwegian American immigrant affinity groups.
The Narvestads were productive and devoted in the finest traditions of Valdres Samband founder Andrew Veblen, who authored the first of the Valdres Samband references, The Valdris Book. Andrew Veblen (1848-1932), a prominent professor and lecturer, was the brother of world renowned economist and social thinker, Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929).
[1c] Hugh McIver and Bena [sic.] C Kamrud, "Souvenir School District No. 74 " (New Prairie, Pope Co., MN: School District No. 74, 1898). Among Bina's students were her Kamrud siblings Julius and Klara; Hippe cousins Sophie, Ida, Julia, and Anton, as well as another Kamrud cousin, Mabel Holtan. Mabel went on to a long career in the teaching of music, in New Jersey. Other names from the pupil list which were familiar as neighbors and friends included several from the Spangrud families.
Beyond the obvious family relationship of Klara with her older sister, Bina, Klara would soon have known Bina's husband, Rev. Karl Xavier. Bina (Kamrud) Xavier taught several years in the public and parochial schools before enrolling in 1903 for more education at the Lutheran Normal School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. There she met Rev. Karl Xavier, who had multiple roles at "The Normal," also known simply as LNS.
At The Normal, Rev. Xavier's main roles included: professor of religion and Norwegian; national chair of the Norwegian-language parochial teachers' association; and editor of the parochial school Norwegian-language periodical Skoleblad. However, Karl's first wife Henrietta Elizabeth (Larsen) Xavier had long been in ill health, and Karl soon became a widower, upon her death in 1904. In 1906, following Bina's graduation at age 26, Karl and Bina were married at St. John's Lutheran Church, in rural Starbuck. Klara would have attended the wedding.
[1d] Olaf Morgan Norlie, School Calendar: Who's Who in Norwegian Lutheran Education (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing, 1936), several pages.
[1e] Sivert A. Jordahl, Memorial History: Lutheran Normal School Sioux Falls, South Dakota 1889-1918 (No Location: Sivert A. Jordahl, 1953), pp. 59-62, 80, 109. See also, Lynwood E. Oyos, A Noble Calling: Teacher Education ath Lutheran Normal School and Augustana College, 1889-1989 (Sioux Falls, SD: Center For Western Studies, Augustana College, 1990), 19-22.
The many connections of the Lutheran Normal School (known as The Normal or LNS) to the Xaviers are too numerous to list here. I choose to note only four prominent connections.
First, several Turmo family members were involved in various roles at LNS during Karl Xavier's seven years on faculty, 1903-1910. The Turmos were for decades involved with Karl's later parish in Bradish (Neuman Grove), Nebraska, an area known for a strong presence of Valdres Norwegians. Second, the future foster mother of Karl Astrup Xavier, Rina (Berg) Strand, was a student at LNS during Karl Xavier's first year on faculty there. Third, Magdalene ("Mag") Xavier, eldest child of Karl and Henrietta, attended LNS for one year, 1912-1913 during Karl Xavier's tenure as pastor near Bradish (Newman Grove), Nebraska. Mag finished her B.A. at St. Olaf College, in Northfield, MN, and entered her lifelong work as a teacher. Mag was married in 1926, and thereafter known as Magdalene X. Visovatti. Fourth, Karl Xavier's sister-in-law from his deceased first wife, Karen Larsen, was a faculty member at The Normal during the later years of his time there.
[2a] Karl Astrup Xavier (Karl Astrup) Personal discussion, over several years, notes in possession of editor. Karl Astrup experienced much of New York City, including a baseball game at Yankee Stadium pitting his beloved Red Sox and his favorite player, Ted Williams, "Teddy Ballgame," against the ever-powerful Yankee team. In that last pre-war summer before the U.S. entered World War II, the 1941 Red Sox showcased the slugging Williams, whose batting average finished at .406, a mark unqualled in the next 72 years.
In their own Bronx Bomber traditon, the Yankees featured "The Yankee Clipper," Joe Dimaggio, and a supporting cast that made short work of most opponents. As Karl Astrup Xavier recounted, that reality of "short work"applied to the game he attended, for the Red Sox were defeated. This was the year where Dimaggio piled up his own impressive statistics, and added to his normal Hall of Fame play by his streak of base hits in consecutive games (56), another record that still stands after 72 years; Dimaggio was named Most Valuable Player of the American League. However interesting and entertaining the 1941 trip was, it was clouded by a little-known event of Karl Astrup's attempt to visit half-brother, Sgt. Peter Laurentius Xavier at West Point. Karl Astrup had an open invitation to visit Pete, in form of a letter from him, assuring him no appointment was needed, and that Karl Astrup could simply show up as he saw fit.
However, even a small military grinds its mighty wheels slowly, especially if in secret. Thus, once arrived at the West Point gate, Karl Astrup was denied any and all information about Pete; all inquiries he made that day, including as to whether Pete was even alive, were met with a terse,"That's classified." Karl Astrup was quickly placed in a guarded room. He was held there until his own story and Pete's letter of invitation could be verified by West Point officials via telephone calls to Minneapolis. Once cleared of any suspicion, Karl Astrup was given a perfunctory tour of the West Point facilities and escorted to the rail stop where he had arrived, and told to return to New York. Of course, it became clear to Karl Astrup that there was a major question of military nature at stake.
Yet Karl Astrup's questions would not be answered soon, for it was only after war was declared by Congress on December 8, 1941, that Pete's whereabouts were revealed his own correspondence in January of 1942. Pete had been secretly posted to Great Britain in his role as a small arms expert and trainer, as the armed forces of the Allies and especially the British Commonwealth needed to become familiar with American weaponry. Britain had saved its army and much of the French forces, but lost valuable vehicles, equipment, and supplies in the Dunkirk debacle of May and June, 1940. New weapons, large and small, would have to come from the US and Canada.
In the wake of that debacle, the British needed American help to re-arm for what was clearly going to be the long haul of World War II. Pete was posted by the US Army to Great Britain in spring of 1941. He was an ideal candidate for a secret assignment, as an orphaned and unmarried man. So Pete was out of communication for nearly a year with his extended family back home. when he wrote to say he was in Great Britain, where he had been for some time, doing Army-related work. Thus, between the summer of 1941 and January of 1942, Pete's whereabouts and well-being were mysteries to his siblings.
[2b] Habberstad, The Kamrud Tree, p.42.
[3a] Habberstad, The Kamrud Tree, p. 36.
[3b] Valborg (Xavier) Houghtelin, Our Wedding (Chicago: Gibson & Co., 1951), no pagination. (Self-journaling record of wedding, guests, gifts, etc., 1951). Found among the wedding guest signers were names then subject to immediate recognition, some of which are now fading in that regard: Aal, Hippe, Spangrud, and more.
End of Notes to Introduction
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The Narvestads were productive and devoted in the finest traditions of Valdres Samband founder Andrew Veblen, who authored the first of the Valdres Samband references, The Valdris Book. Andrew Veblen (1848-1932), a prominent professor and lecturer, was the brother of world renowned economist and social thinker, Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929).
[1c] Hugh McIver and Bena [sic.] C Kamrud, "Souvenir School District No. 74 " (New Prairie, Pope Co., MN: School District No. 74, 1898). Among Bina's students were her Kamrud siblings Julius and Klara; Hippe cousins Sophie, Ida, Julia, and Anton, as well as another Kamrud cousin, Mabel Holtan. Mabel went on to a long career in the teaching of music, in New Jersey. Other names from the pupil list which were familiar as neighbors and friends included several from the Spangrud families.
Beyond the obvious family relationship of Klara with her older sister, Bina, Klara would soon have known Bina's husband, Rev. Karl Xavier. Bina (Kamrud) Xavier taught several years in the public and parochial schools before enrolling in 1903 for more education at the Lutheran Normal School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. There she met Rev. Karl Xavier, who had multiple roles at "The Normal," also known simply as LNS.
At The Normal, Rev. Xavier's main roles included: professor of religion and Norwegian; national chair of the Norwegian-language parochial teachers' association; and editor of the parochial school Norwegian-language periodical Skoleblad. However, Karl's first wife Henrietta Elizabeth (Larsen) Xavier had long been in ill health, and Karl soon became a widower, upon her death in 1904. In 1906, following Bina's graduation at age 26, Karl and Bina were married at St. John's Lutheran Church, in rural Starbuck. Klara would have attended the wedding.
[1d] Olaf Morgan Norlie, School Calendar: Who's Who in Norwegian Lutheran Education (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing, 1936), several pages.
[1e] Sivert A. Jordahl, Memorial History: Lutheran Normal School Sioux Falls, South Dakota 1889-1918 (No Location: Sivert A. Jordahl, 1953), pp. 59-62, 80, 109. See also, Lynwood E. Oyos, A Noble Calling: Teacher Education ath Lutheran Normal School and Augustana College, 1889-1989 (Sioux Falls, SD: Center For Western Studies, Augustana College, 1990), 19-22.
The many connections of the Lutheran Normal School (known as The Normal or LNS) to the Xaviers are too numerous to list here. I choose to note only four prominent connections.
First, several Turmo family members were involved in various roles at LNS during Karl Xavier's seven years on faculty, 1903-1910. The Turmos were for decades involved with Karl's later parish in Bradish (Neuman Grove), Nebraska, an area known for a strong presence of Valdres Norwegians. Second, the future foster mother of Karl Astrup Xavier, Rina (Berg) Strand, was a student at LNS during Karl Xavier's first year on faculty there. Third, Magdalene ("Mag") Xavier, eldest child of Karl and Henrietta, attended LNS for one year, 1912-1913 during Karl Xavier's tenure as pastor near Bradish (Newman Grove), Nebraska. Mag finished her B.A. at St. Olaf College, in Northfield, MN, and entered her lifelong work as a teacher. Mag was married in 1926, and thereafter known as Magdalene X. Visovatti. Fourth, Karl Xavier's sister-in-law from his deceased first wife, Karen Larsen, was a faculty member at The Normal during the later years of his time there.
[2a] Karl Astrup Xavier (Karl Astrup) Personal discussion, over several years, notes in possession of editor. Karl Astrup experienced much of New York City, including a baseball game at Yankee Stadium pitting his beloved Red Sox and his favorite player, Ted Williams, "Teddy Ballgame," against the ever-powerful Yankee team. In that last pre-war summer before the U.S. entered World War II, the 1941 Red Sox showcased the slugging Williams, whose batting average finished at .406, a mark unqualled in the next 72 years.
In their own Bronx Bomber traditon, the Yankees featured "The Yankee Clipper," Joe Dimaggio, and a supporting cast that made short work of most opponents. As Karl Astrup Xavier recounted, that reality of "short work"applied to the game he attended, for the Red Sox were defeated. This was the year where Dimaggio piled up his own impressive statistics, and added to his normal Hall of Fame play by his streak of base hits in consecutive games (56), another record that still stands after 72 years; Dimaggio was named Most Valuable Player of the American League. However interesting and entertaining the 1941 trip was, it was clouded by a little-known event of Karl Astrup's attempt to visit half-brother, Sgt. Peter Laurentius Xavier at West Point. Karl Astrup had an open invitation to visit Pete, in form of a letter from him, assuring him no appointment was needed, and that Karl Astrup could simply show up as he saw fit.
However, even a small military grinds its mighty wheels slowly, especially if in secret. Thus, once arrived at the West Point gate, Karl Astrup was denied any and all information about Pete; all inquiries he made that day, including as to whether Pete was even alive, were met with a terse,"That's classified." Karl Astrup was quickly placed in a guarded room. He was held there until his own story and Pete's letter of invitation could be verified by West Point officials via telephone calls to Minneapolis. Once cleared of any suspicion, Karl Astrup was given a perfunctory tour of the West Point facilities and escorted to the rail stop where he had arrived, and told to return to New York. Of course, it became clear to Karl Astrup that there was a major question of military nature at stake.
Yet Karl Astrup's questions would not be answered soon, for it was only after war was declared by Congress on December 8, 1941, that Pete's whereabouts were revealed his own correspondence in January of 1942. Pete had been secretly posted to Great Britain in his role as a small arms expert and trainer, as the armed forces of the Allies and especially the British Commonwealth needed to become familiar with American weaponry. Britain had saved its army and much of the French forces, but lost valuable vehicles, equipment, and supplies in the Dunkirk debacle of May and June, 1940. New weapons, large and small, would have to come from the US and Canada.
In the wake of that debacle, the British needed American help to re-arm for what was clearly going to be the long haul of World War II. Pete was posted by the US Army to Great Britain in spring of 1941. He was an ideal candidate for a secret assignment, as an orphaned and unmarried man. So Pete was out of communication for nearly a year with his extended family back home. when he wrote to say he was in Great Britain, where he had been for some time, doing Army-related work. Thus, between the summer of 1941 and January of 1942, Pete's whereabouts and well-being were mysteries to his siblings.
[2b] Habberstad, The Kamrud Tree, p.42.
[3a] Habberstad, The Kamrud Tree, p. 36.
[3b] Valborg (Xavier) Houghtelin, Our Wedding (Chicago: Gibson & Co., 1951), no pagination. (Self-journaling record of wedding, guests, gifts, etc., 1951). Found among the wedding guest signers were names then subject to immediate recognition, some of which are now fading in that regard: Aal, Hippe, Spangrud, and more.
End of Notes to Introduction
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My Summer of 1936
Klara Kammerud
This is December and I have not yet written about our European trip, which ended when our boat docked in New York harbor on August 16. Perhaps it is just as well that I have not written about it before because I would then have been so enthusiastic about it all that this write-up would have been full of adjectives. I shall try to refrain from that.
Everything went according to schedule and the American Express representative failed us only once - in Stockholm early one morning when he had expected us on another train, a later train. He met us at the boat in Southampton, England, to direct us to the boat train for London, and in London he met us at the train to accompany us to the hotel and when we were due to leave London for Edinburgh he promptly arrived at our hotel to take us to our train. This was the regular routing during our whole trip abroad. I am in a position to recommend the American Express Travel Service to any one who desires to travel that way. The representative in each place was courteous and considerate and patient, barring the one in Berlin who was excited and impatient due to the very large crowd in the city at that time. We arrived in Berlin the evening before the opening of the Olympic Games; bands were playing , the Danish flag flying - evidently our train had carried a number of Danish athletes who were to be contestants in the Olympics.[1]
Emma, Virginia and I left Washington on the early evening train on June 26, arriving in New York City within four hours. We stayed overnight with my niece (Mabel Holtan) in her spacious apartment. [2] After a late breakfast we all taxied to the dock to embark on the "[RMS] Britannic", which sailed at noon that day. The "Britannic" is not a very large boat, and not to be compared with the "Berengaria" or the "Queen Mary". It took us only a short time to unpack our clothes and hang them up in our stateroom. Then we made arrangements with the deck steward for our deck chairs and rugs; with the dining room steward for our guests at table; and the other preliminaries usual on a boat trip lasting for several days. The weather was all that was to be desired for the first two or three days, and we found our cabins too warm for comfortable sleeping. As we sailed northward it turned cooler and we had rain showers, more than we cared for because they drove us all inside and on a sea voyage it is preferable to sit on deck. The food was good, but of the course the menus, after a few days, began to have a sameness, even though the names of the desserts and salads were different each day, but different in name only. The service on the boat could not have been better. The British have pride and do not want anything uncomplimentary, said about them in any way. The "Britannic" is of the Cunard Line, which is British. As customary on almost all boats, there was held the Captain's Night Party, when talent discovered among the passengers was in evidence. The progress was very good and the collection taken went to charitable purposes. The last night before landing is a very busy time for the stewards, meaning the cabin stewards. All the luggage must be out of each cabin before a certain time, and the gangways and every other available space are filled with trunks, suitcases and luggage of every kind, all labeled. That is the time when we must begin to think of the different tips to pay, to the deck steward who has cared for our deck chair and rug, the dining steward who was so faithful and efficient, and the cabin steward and stewardess. [3]
This was our first crossing of the Atlantic, but I found the sea voyage much the same as any other boat trip along the Atlantic Coast or on the Great Lakes, except that it lasted a couple of days longer. We sighted Ireland and for several hours sailed along to the shore. The island is rightly called Emerald Isle as it looked green as far as eye could see, except in the places where the rocky coast looked white, the chalk cliffs. There were few trees to be seen, which does not mean that there are no trees in Ireland. Our boat anchored at [illegible] (Queenstown) for a couple of hours and since the water there is not deep, a tender came out to our boat for passengers who were bound for Ireland. We heard Irish spoken at this place by the usual venders of Irish laces and other Irish articles. [4]
[End of p. 1 in Klara's manuscript and beginning of Notes to p. 1
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[1] Habberstad, The Kamrud Tree, p. 42.
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[1] Habberstad, The Kamrud Tree, p. 42.
[2] Habberstad,The Kamrud Tree, p. 20. Mabel Holtan (1891-1947) was a niece of Klara and Bina, the only daughter of their sister Anne Marie (Kamrud) Holtan (1868-1893) and Peter Holtan. When Anne Marie died at about age 25, she became one of five children of Iver and Marit Kamrud to die at age 30 or younger. Peter seems to have been unable to raise Mabel and so she was treated more or less as an orphan. She was raised in the most part by her grandparents, although she came to stay at several homes of the Kamrud and Xavier extended families during her childhood years. Among those families was that of Karl and Bina Xavier in Bradish, Nebraska. Mabel was highly regarded by the children of Karl and Bina. Her musical gifts led her to study at the Lutheran Normal School in Sioux Falls, SD. She also moved out east, to become a teacher of music in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
[3] Klara and her friends apparently had plenty of money, in the midst of the Great Depression. They are described in Klara's narrative as traveling by what is most often known as an "escorted tour," whereby someone such as American Express provides a very closely supported arrangements of hotels, travel, and sometimes even restaurant packages. Such travel then, as now, was quite expensive. I think it fair to say that Klara's narrative gives the impression that she and her friends were all equally single and without dependents.
As for the [RMS] Britannic, their ship for crossing the Atlantic to Europe, she was not a sister ship of the Titanic. The original Britannic was indeed a sister ship of the Titanic but was sunk during World War I, while in service as a hospital ship. The RMS Britannic boarded by Klara and her friends in 1936 was a Cunard Lines ship launched in 1929. Note the obvious reference to pre-air conditioning travel. This Britannic was a passenger ship both in time of peace and war, carrying about 180,000 troops to Europe during World War II, 3,000 at a time. By 1960 it was removed from Transatlantic service and was scrapped. See http://www.cunard.com/ (site accessed January 20, 2012).
As for the [RMS] Britannic, their ship for crossing the Atlantic to Europe, she was not a sister ship of the Titanic. The original Britannic was indeed a sister ship of the Titanic but was sunk during World War I, while in service as a hospital ship. The RMS Britannic boarded by Klara and her friends in 1936 was a Cunard Lines ship launched in 1929. Note the obvious reference to pre-air conditioning travel. This Britannic was a passenger ship both in time of peace and war, carrying about 180,000 troops to Europe during World War II, 3,000 at a time. By 1960 it was removed from Transatlantic service and was scrapped. See http://www.cunard.com/ (site accessed January 20, 2012).
[RMS] Berengaria was originally of German registry, as SS Imperator, one of the largest passenger ships (if not the largest) in the world. It was, however, turned over by Germany to the U.S. and later the U.K. as part of war reparations in the wake of World War I. In a noteworthy encounter with history, according to Michael L. Grace: "The RMS Berengaria...was sailing from England to New York when the 1929 Wall Street Crash hit - passengers went from millionaires to paupers while at sea." (This intriguing bit of history was recounted by F. Scott Fitzgerald in his novel The Beautiful and the Damned.)
More interesting history would follow this ship, again according to Michael L. Grace: "In later years, she was used for for cheap prohibition-dodging cruises [just outside U.S. territorial waters] which earned her the unfortunate nickname 'Bargain-area.'" Finally, of note was the extensive World War II service of the Berengaria when she served to transport about "25,000 troops, nurses and civilians" back to the U.S. See http://www.cruiselineshistory.com/ (site accessed January 20, 2012).
More interesting history would follow this ship, again according to Michael L. Grace: "In later years, she was used for for cheap prohibition-dodging cruises [just outside U.S. territorial waters] which earned her the unfortunate nickname 'Bargain-area.'" Finally, of note was the extensive World War II service of the Berengaria when she served to transport about "25,000 troops, nurses and civilians" back to the U.S. See http://www.cruiselineshistory.com/ (site accessed January 20, 2012).
RMS Queen Mary was the ship of pride in the Cunard fleet, and was generally recognized as the best of the luxury passenger liners in the world. Named for Queen Mary, wife of British King George V, The "QM" served later as a troop carrier in World War II, from 1939-1946, when war camouflage of grey paint earned her the nickname of "Grey Ghost". The "QM" can be visited now in Los Angeles. See http://www.cunard.com/ (site accessed January 20, 2012).
[4] Tuscania site; Klara omits any historical reference to the Irish coast as being near to the site of the World War I torpedoing of the troop ship Tuscania. It was on that ship in January of 1918 that U.S. Army Private Gothard (Garth) Xavier (1889-1961) was a passenger, destined for France as part of the famed 20th Engineers. Garth survived the torpedo attack, which sank the Tuscania. He was the youngest son of Nils Paul and Amanda (Norum) Xavier. There seems to be no way to know the reason(s) for Klara's omission.
[4a] Johan U. Xavier, List of Nils Paul Xavier's Descendents (Parkland, WA: J.U.Xavier, 1960), pp. 1-2. Klara omits any historical reference to the Irish coast as being near to the site of the World War I torpedoing in January of 1918 of the troop ship Tuscania, aboard which was U.S. Army Private Gothard (Garth) Xavier (1889-1961), Garth was destined for France as part of the famed 20th Engineers, and survived the torpedo attack, which sank the Tuscania. He was the youngest son of Rev. Nils Paul and Amanda (Norum) Xavier. There seems to be no way to know the reason(s) for Klara's omission. On the sinking of the Tuscania, see: http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~carmita/index.htm . Also, visit YouTube "Tuscania Legend of the Deep" for view of diver searches and recovery of the ship's bell. Video also has excellent still shots of the memorials and gravesites from lost soldiers and sailors.
Prior to World War II, it was common to refer to the Gaelic tongue as "Irish."
[4c] New York Times, 1980. An odd fact arises from the Tuscania debacle, as late as 1980: Garth's shipmate, one Harry Truman, achieved notoriety in 1980 for refusing to evacuate his mountain resort on the side of Mount. St. Helen's. Truman remained in his beloved cabin and did not survive the historic eruption of Mount St. Helen's.
[4] Tuscania site; Klara omits any historical reference to the Irish coast as being near to the site of the World War I torpedoing of the troop ship Tuscania. It was on that ship in January of 1918 that U.S. Army Private Gothard (Garth) Xavier (1889-1961) was a passenger, destined for France as part of the famed 20th Engineers. Garth survived the torpedo attack, which sank the Tuscania. He was the youngest son of Nils Paul and Amanda (Norum) Xavier. There seems to be no way to know the reason(s) for Klara's omission.
[4a] Johan U. Xavier, List of Nils Paul Xavier's Descendents (Parkland, WA: J.U.Xavier, 1960), pp. 1-2. Klara omits any historical reference to the Irish coast as being near to the site of the World War I torpedoing in January of 1918 of the troop ship Tuscania, aboard which was U.S. Army Private Gothard (Garth) Xavier (1889-1961), Garth was destined for France as part of the famed 20th Engineers, and survived the torpedo attack, which sank the Tuscania. He was the youngest son of Rev. Nils Paul and Amanda (Norum) Xavier. There seems to be no way to know the reason(s) for Klara's omission. On the sinking of the Tuscania, see: http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~carmita/index.htm . Also, visit YouTube "Tuscania Legend of the Deep" for view of diver searches and recovery of the ship's bell. Video also has excellent still shots of the memorials and gravesites from lost soldiers and sailors.
Prior to World War II, it was common to refer to the Gaelic tongue as "Irish."
[4c] New York Times, 1980. An odd fact arises from the Tuscania debacle, as late as 1980: Garth's shipmate, one Harry Truman, achieved notoriety in 1980 for refusing to evacuate his mountain resort on the side of Mount. St. Helen's. Truman remained in his beloved cabin and did not survive the historic eruption of Mount St. Helen's.
[End of notes to p. 1]
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[Begining of p. 2 of Klara's manuscript]
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[Begining of p. 2 of Klara's manuscript]
On Sunday morning, July 5, we neared Southampton, and after bidding farewell to those with whom we had become acquainted on the boat, and after an endless wait in line and out of line, for the checking of our papers, the gang plank was put up, and we left the boat and put foot on soil again, but FOREIGN soil. Either because we would not take advantage or because we are Americans, we were let through without much inspection of our baggage; in fact, only by opening our suitcases and their giving a glance at the surface of the contents. This we found to be the case in every country. We had two suitcases each, which is the easiest way to travel in Europe since we are permitted to take that number with us on the trains without checking and their checking service is not good.
The American Express representative who met us at this place, Southampton, directed us to our train for London. The trains here, and on the Continent also, are most of them different form the trains in our country. The coach is divided into compartments along one side of the coach, with a hallway extending along the other side, for the length of the coach. There is a large window in each compartment and there are windows, and in some cases also doors, all along the hallway. The door leading from each compartment to the hallway may be closed and in this way the compartment which usually seats from six to eight people, is private. There is a small table near the window in the compartment, and large racks for the luggage, directly over each of the two seats, which seats face each other. Children may run along the hallway without molesting anybody with their play, or passengers who become tired of sitting still in a small compartment may stand in the hallway at the window, and in that way get an outlook of the country also from the other side of the train. We found the train service good, especially in Norway where the trains were very comfortable, but we did not find them so good in France where the trains rocked and moaned and groaned and shrieked so that it was difficult to hear, and conversation became a task. [1]
Leaving Southampton we had a couple of hours' ride ahead of us to London. this part of the country in England is not as attractive as it is around London and northward, since it is rather low, but even here all the farm places seemed to be kept up with all houses painted. The fields and pastures are enclosed with hedges, which vary in height, some low, others almost like trees. In places we saw a hedge that recently planted a the foot of those tall hedges. Evidently the old hedge was about to be cut down. These hedges make the countryside look very pretty, in the valleys and on the hills, and we did not see prairies, without trees or hedges, in any place in England. Flowers were seen everywhere and their rose "bushes" here, as on the Continent, were trimmed along the stemlike trees, with a tuft of foliage and flowers at the top. Their roads do not run in a straight line, but curve and wind. When we arrives at Waterloo Railroad Station in London the young lady who had sat in our compartment on the train adjusted her monocle and peered around among the crowd. This was the only time we saw a monocle in use. Our faithful American Express friend was right there and accompanied us to our hotel, the Thackeray Hotel, across the street from the British Museum. In every place visited the American Express placed us in hotels in the heart of the city, conveniently located for taking sightseeing buses, etc. This particular hotel has very large rooms and we had more space than we needed, by far. Our meals at this hotel were very good and not much different from meals served in our country. They seem to specialize in meats and at the Lyons Corner house and other eating places we were generous portions of tastily prepared meats and their fresh peas were the larges that I have seen. the Englishmen takes his time about eating, as well as with everything else, by using his knife, held in his right hand, then to press the food well onto the fork, held upside down in his left hand, and the proceeding to "out with his for." We did see some menus with foods listed which were prepared and served differently from ours, such as Croute a la Maryland, which was corn on toast, served as dessert. Corn is scarce in England, as well as in every other country which we visited. We did not see any cornfields while we were away. Undoubtedly, the climate is too cool. [2]
[End of p. 2 in Klara's manuscript; page 2 footnotes follow]
Leaving Southampton we had a couple of hours' ride ahead of us to London. this part of the country in England is not as attractive as it is around London and northward, since it is rather low, but even here all the farm places seemed to be kept up with all houses painted. The fields and pastures are enclosed with hedges, which vary in height, some low, others almost like trees. In places we saw a hedge that recently planted a the foot of those tall hedges. Evidently the old hedge was about to be cut down. These hedges make the countryside look very pretty, in the valleys and on the hills, and we did not see prairies, without trees or hedges, in any place in England. Flowers were seen everywhere and their rose "bushes" here, as on the Continent, were trimmed along the stemlike trees, with a tuft of foliage and flowers at the top. Their roads do not run in a straight line, but curve and wind. When we arrives at Waterloo Railroad Station in London the young lady who had sat in our compartment on the train adjusted her monocle and peered around among the crowd. This was the only time we saw a monocle in use. Our faithful American Express friend was right there and accompanied us to our hotel, the Thackeray Hotel, across the street from the British Museum. In every place visited the American Express placed us in hotels in the heart of the city, conveniently located for taking sightseeing buses, etc. This particular hotel has very large rooms and we had more space than we needed, by far. Our meals at this hotel were very good and not much different from meals served in our country. They seem to specialize in meats and at the Lyons Corner house and other eating places we were generous portions of tastily prepared meats and their fresh peas were the larges that I have seen. the Englishmen takes his time about eating, as well as with everything else, by using his knife, held in his right hand, then to press the food well onto the fork, held upside down in his left hand, and the proceeding to "out with his for." We did see some menus with foods listed which were prepared and served differently from ours, such as Croute a la Maryland, which was corn on toast, served as dessert. Corn is scarce in England, as well as in every other country which we visited. We did not see any cornfields while we were away. Undoubtedly, the climate is too cool. [2]
[End of p. 2 in Klara's manuscript; page 2 footnotes follow]
[1] French railroads in 1936 were still fragmented into several different companies, yet to be organized on a unified national scale. The national program of railroads began when the government of Prime Minister Leon Blum acted in 1937 to form the rail company now known as the SNCF (Societe Nationale de Chemins de Fer). The system became complete after World War II, under the French Fourth Republic. The SNCF is widely regarded as one of the most efficient and innovative transportation companies in the world. See http://www.sncfhighspeedrail.com/heritage/earlyhistory/ (site accessed January 21, 2012).
[2] At the time of Karla's trip to Europe, little corn was grown for human consumption. Also, British English usage was different than North American. The British Isles referred to what we call "wheat" as "corn", and what we call "corn" as "maize." When World War II came, this resulted in a very embarassing convoy of corn-carrying ship being sent to Britain for food, when the real need was for wheat. The mistake happened only once.
End of footnotes to page 2 of Klara's manuscript
England is not a foggy place in summer, and the climate seemed agreeable. We had occasion to see some of their heavy squalls, which come suddenly and hard. The evenings were very long and this we began to notice on the boast as we sailed northward. We were often fooled, thinking that this was early evening when in fact it was eleven or so. Those long evenings were very beautiful in Norway and I shall never forget such an evening with with its lovely sunset, in Trondhjem, which as you know is far in the north. [NOTE re latitude - to be inserted later]
The traffic in England, and Scotland, too, is left-hand traffic and it is at first confusing to see a car driven down the left side of the street and coming back on the right. In Norway they use the right-hand traffic, but in Sweden we had to again accustom ourselves to the left-hand traffic in that country even the pedestrians walking on the left-hand side of the sidewalk. London has no street cars in the city proper. There were a few electric trains called trams in the suburban areas. They have subways which they call underground railways. They use two-story buses on which are paid two-pence (tuppence), equal to four cents in our money, for riding rather a long distance. The rate varies and for a still longer distance are paid three pence, and so on up to about 35 cents in our money. The streets are curved, running in all kinds of ways and this makes for no blocks as we know them, because the two streets do not always cross. When we asked how many blocks to such and such a place we received a blank stare, but if we asked where to go to a certain place we were told to follow a certain "road" for about two minutes, then turn to the left and walk for another two minutes, and so on. We found the English obliging and in more than one instance they would go out of their way to point out the way for us. One day a man in a small jewelry story left his partner, who was waiting on a customer, and accompanied us, against our remonstrations, up the street to the next corner from where he could point out the way to us. The policemen in London look handsome in their good looking uniforms and they are very courteous. We found that the Englishmen, on the whole are very courteous and cultured, and they are proud of their country and demand respect by their attitude. NOTE re left in Sweden; underground is THE UNDERGROUND of THE TUBE
In regard to dress and customs there seemed to be nothing outstandingly different. The women wear tams or felt hats for the reason, I presume, that rain squalls come on suddenly. They do not wear bright colors, which we found to be the case in the other European countries also, in Paris the women wearing mostly black with black, cocky hats. The stores in London reminded me some of the stores in Canada. Their elevators are referred to as lifts and their drug stores are chemist shops.
The Tower of London was one of the first places that we went to see. This has been, in turn, a fort, a prison, a palace, and now a museum. The most interesting room in the tower is the room where are kept the crown jewels, the Queen's crown, the King's crown, sceptre, mace, etc. In other rooms we saw swords, sabres, and coast of arms, worn by men of note of former times. We saw the axe and stone, with a hollow for fitting the head, which were used for beheading human beings, even of prestige, as Mary, Queen of Scots. Then there are dungeons where prisoners lay. All of this is of the past and it surprised me a little that the British would show all of this to foreigners, for it is certainly not complimentary to their forefathers. Outside the Tower we saw the changing of the guards - not the Royal Guard of which I shall relate later--and here are stationed the "beef eaters" (boeufetoures), a picture of one of whom I wish I could show you at this point. they are an old "custom" and not of much "use" as far as I can see. Their fancy uniforms with gilded buttons, and their many badges of honor, are interesting to look at. Our guide arranged it so that we also heard the chimes of the old clock in the Tower.
Westminster Abbey is shown to all tourists. It was built during the Roman supremacy, about 800 A.D. It is almost black on the outside from dust and grime, but the interior has retained its beauty although ancient looking. We saw there the different chapels, and the room in which will be crowned King George. This room seats only a few hundred which will include the nobility, and ll the others who will journey to London for the coronation will have to be satisfied with viewing the process on outside. We saw also the chair in which the King will sit when
End of p. 3
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Notes to p. 3
Beginning of p. 4
crowned, a chair dating far back in time. The famous scone stone originally from Scotland, is directly underneath the seat of this chair the back of this chair is marred and many names are carved and scratched on it. A covering will be thrown over the back. In Westminster Abbey are buried men of note: Alfred Lord Tennyson, the Brownings, Handel, Dickens, Isaac Newton, Livingston and Ben Johnson, who said he needed only two square feet. (He was buried standing upright.)
One morning we saw the changing of the Royal Guard at Buckingham Palace, one of the royal residences, the others being St. James Palace (Whitehall), only a few minutes' walk distant[;] Windsor Castle some forty miles out from London and Hampton Courts, still farther away. This last-named place does not look attractive in any respect. Looking at the map of the City of London, one would see in the immediate vicinity of Buckingham Palace the St. James Park, the Green Park, Hyde Park, and Kensington Gardens, all in line. The changing of the Royal Guards is an unusual sight, and it takes place every morning from 11 to 12. The uniforms are very elaborate, in different colors, with braids, buttons, and such, and the hoods of fur look warm on a summer day. I have good pictures which we took here. The band was stationed at one side and played music from the classics almost continually while the groups went though their maneuvers in front of Buckingham Palace. There is always a large crown looking on during this hour.
One day we had dinner at the Chesire Cheese, where Samuel Johnson and Charles Dickens used to sit and chat, white eating their delicious meat pudding. We had a taste of the same kind of meat pudding. I sat in the place where Samuel Johnson used to sit, at the end of the table, and Em sat in Dicken's place. This was built as a monastery ages ago and we were permitted to visit the wine cellars, now also replete with bottles of wine.
Our visit to Windsor Castle and to Eton College, lying out of London some forty miles, was a pleasant one. Windso Castle is built along the streets, facing each other, curved like the streets of the cities of England are, and built in varying heights. King George's Chapel is in the center of one of these. In this chapel we saw the beauty of the curved work on the interior of old buildings. The ceiling had recently been cleaned, due to some repair work which had been done which left marks showing up too conspicuously before the cleaning of the whole ceiling. In this chapel lies buried King George V, and here will be buried Queen Mary. The stained glass window s in this room are very beautiful. We also saw the reception room at Windsor Castle, with its beautiful paintings, the room of the Royal Garter (highest order)in garter blue, rooms with walls lined with silk, etc. [note]
Eton College--who has not heard of Eton College?--consists of several buildings with spacious grounds surrounding. The test for admission to this boys' college is very strict. Other requirements are many, such as social standing of the family. Many are registered at this college before birth, and there are hundreds on the waiting lists. The ages of the boys range from about 12 to 19, some under 12. The course is a high school course, but includes much more than an ordinary high school course. If the boy has not passed his required subjects at 19, he is dismissed. There is not allowed any smoking, swearing, lying, etc. and if the boy has committed any of these crimes he is punished in a very humble way, that is, whipped with a "scourge" of birch twigs. We saw this "scourge." The uniforms of the boy depend on the he is in: the first-year boys wear eton jackets (hence the name "eton jacket"), the second-year boys wear long "tails," then come the gowns, like a college graduate's gown. Here we saw also the room with walnut walls which are carved, in all kinds of way, hundreds of names. The student aims to carve his name near the name of his father or other relative who formerly was a student at the same college. [note needed re Eton]
888
One day we took the train to Shakespeare's house, Stratford-on-Avon, which is a beautiful as any part of England. Shakespeare's house, which was considered a mansion in his day, is small, and now so rickety that there is a trembling when one walk up the stairs or heavily on the floor. Shakespear was born in a room on the second flor, which has whitewashed walls and ceilings. There are many documents
End of p. 4
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Notes to p. 4.
King George V, on the throne during World War I, died in 1936. He and Queen Mary were very popular among the British people, among the most beloved of all the British monarchs. This high stature also held true for the British Empire and Commonwealth.
This stature is not far removed from our times, as in Canada today, many vestiges remain of the British Empire days. By way of example, I point to the separate life-size portraits of George V and Mary which grace the two stairwells of the Legislative Building of the Province of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. George and Mary were the reigning monarchs when Alberta entered Canadian confederation in 1905. In a 1990 visit to the Alberta "Lege," I noted that the guide was visibly and vocally proud of the association of Alberta and of Canada with George V and Mary. The guide further noted that legally, the legislature of Alberta is convened by the Lieutenant Governor, a appointive direct representative of the British King or Queen (or sovreign), under the Governor General ("GG") of Canada, the representative of the British sovreign. The Lieutenant Governor (pronounced "Left-enant Governor") must present a "mace" to the Speaker for the provincial legislature to legally commence its legislative session.
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Beginning of p. 5
in cabinets in this house, many in Shakespeare's handwriting. We went to see the church where Shakespeare was christened, saw the font, and saw where he was buried. Not far away is Anne Hathaway's cottage, where Shakespeare went a-courting. This little cottage has rooms so small and ceilings so low that we were warned by a girl guide - in her quaint old English - to "mind your hayd" when we passed through each door in the place. The flower garden is kept as it is supposed to have been in Shakespeare's day.
We visited Peke Stoges Church and here we saw the yew tree under which sat Gray when we wrote his "Elegy" - "written in a country churchyard." Kenilworth, which Sir Walter Scott chose for one of his novels, is enchanting especially on an ideal summer day such as we had on that Sunday when we saw it. I have a lovely Kodak picture of parts of the ruins of this castle. This is where Queen Elizabeth chose to spend some of her time, and here she was entertained by the Earl of Leicester, all of which story the old white-haired guide told us in his droll, slow, way, with his old-English accent. The same day we saw Warwick Castle - pronounce Wayrick. Those last-named places are some 40-50 miles out from London. the Earl of Warwick lives in one end of this large castle, and we were permitted to see the family chapel and other rooms in the other part of the castle.
The English complained of high taxes, about 40 per cent of her husband's income going to taxes, one lady told me, but a gentleman on the train one day told us that there is very lttle of unemployment now. We saw comparatively few automobiles in England, which seemed to be the case in all the other coutnries which we visited; that is, in the country, out on the farms.
Even though we liked London and its people, and its happy-looking children who looked so well cared for, we were obliged to follow our itinerary. On our way to Edinburgh we stopped off between trains at York to the the Cathedral at that place. This reminded me some of St. John's Cathedral in New York. The windows are unusually beautiful. This cathedral dates back to about 1400.
The country in the northern part of England, as we saw it, is more hilly. Our train took us along the eastern shore, near the North Sea. As we neared Scotland, the hills soon grew to big crags, with deep gorges between. In many place we would see a high hill or crag with the surrounding country level. In places the fields were cultivated so close to the edges of a crag overhanging the sea that it gave me a scared feeling to think of horses and men working there. This is a meager description of Scotland as we saw it.
Soon we arrived in Edinburgh,and the air seemed considerably colder. The only real Scotch we heard in Edinburgh was the answer a taxi driver gave us upon inquiry for our American Express man, whom we expected to see upon our arrival. Our friend soon appeared, and took us to our hotel, which was a large house, with large rooms, with high ceilings, which surely must take a lot of heating on cold, wintry days. We were at times uncomfortably cold, and wished for a lit fireplace - in July.
The most outstanding and most visited place in Edinburgh is Edinburgh Castle, which stands on a very high hill, in the city proper. This was built as a fort by the Romans when they were in power, and rebuilt later. It is now mostly a museum. We saw the room where Queen Margaret was born and St. Margaret's Chapel, now used for christenings when requested by military officials and other notables. Near the castle is the recently built World War Memorial, a separate building, and the rooms are beautiful, with inscriptions carved on its walls. In one room there is the large green marble slab on which lies the silver-encased book with the names of all the men from Scotland who fought in the World War.
Holyrood Palace (Holy Crown), built for King James, stands in line with the Edinburgh Castle, n the other side of the city. Down this road, or street, between the Castle and the Palace, the parades took place in olden times. In this palace lieve Mary Queen of Scots, and here was killed Rizzlo, the court musician, of whom the King was jealous. We saw several of the rooms, furnished as they were
End of p. 5
Footnotes for p. 5
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Beginning of p. 6
when occupied. Holyrood Abbey adjoins the Palace, of which abbey only a wall remains.
The Knox House was interesting to visit. John Knox was an interesting figure at the time of the dissension between the Presbyterian Church and the Episcopalian Church. The Presbyterian Church is the church of Scotland today and the Episcopalian the church of England. The St. Giles Cathedral, still used as a church, was an important place during the dissension between the above-mentioned denominations of the church. [1]
We saw several signs of thrift, for which the Scotch people are noted, and which seems very necessary for them to practice in a country like Scotland. However, Scotland did not seem to be the only country we visited which practiced thrift.
I liked the Scotch people very much, in every respect. Their young folks seemed clean looking and honest and the people who waited on us in the stores were kindly and obliging. They are fair-haired, hair of a sandy color, and it is seemed that most of them are inclined to be thin. In England we noticed many with hair of a light red color.
On a Sunday, with the weather perfect, we drove out into the country, for some fifty miles, where we visited Melrose Abbey, and after on of the most delicious dinners during our whole trip, visited Dryburgh Abbey, where lies buried Sir Walter Scott. We also saw the home of Scott, a palace indeed where now lives his grandson. I have a very good Kodak picture which we took of this place. The country around Endinburgh in this direction is very pretty, with rolling hills, and in places the abrupt rising of a high hill at the top of a rolling slope.
Unwillingly, here in Edinburgh as in London, we had to leave and went by train to Newcastle, England, from which place we sailed on the Venus for Bergen, Norway, across the North Sea. This is a neat, clean, little boat, and we were served a real feast that evening, consisting of "smorgaasbord," which included everything from hors d'oeuvres to vegetables and fish and meats. The North Sea which is usually rough was calm, but we felt the shaking and trembling of this boat, and felt just a little seasick.
(To be continued)
End of Part One of Klara's Narrative, End of p. 6
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Notes to p. 6
[1] Klara makes a minor error of incorrect reference to the church denominations. The Church of England is properly referred to as the Anglican, as is the case in Canada; its sibling denomination in the USA is the Episcopalian. The name difference arises from the aftermath of the Revolution of 1776, when the Anglican name lost favor. This fall from grace was due to the actions of the Anglican community, formerly of the Tory persuasion, favoring the British Crown against the Colonists (Revolutionaries). A new name was needed, and Episcopalian became the new "brand."
Klara uses the common English or European term for religious strife in the post-Reformation era of controversies and even outright wars: "dissension." The long duration of religious strife and wars generally involved the question of the power of the church, established or given a dominant role, in government (the state). In what was to become the United State of America, and in the forming of the current U.S. Constitution, the searing memories of those religious wars and dissension were crucial in the wording of the First Amendment. Let no one be mistaken: the First Amendment is worded just as much to keep churches from exercising power over government as it was to keep government from exercising power over churches. From the late 1780s on, failure to understand the dual purpose of the First Amendment has led to much ill-informed public dialogue in America.
Appendix I. Lifespan Years of Prominent Persons Mentioned in Klara Kammerud's Narrative
Persons are listed alphabetical by birth name.
Sources are too many to name here, but appear in the Bibliography
Marit Hippe 1845-1921
Adolf Hitler 1886-1944
Mabel Holtan 1886-1947
Valborg H. Houghtelin see Valborg Henrieta Xavier
Klara Kammerud 1886-1958
Bina Kamrud, or Kammerud 1880-1931
Iver ("Starbuck Iver") Kamrud 1839-1912
Marit (Hippe) Kamrud. See Marit Hippe
Mary X. LaBelle. See Mary E. Xavier
Andrew Veblen 1848-1932
Thorstein Bunge Veblen 1857-1929
Magdalene X. Visovatti. See (Karen) Magdalene Xavier
(Karen) Magdalene Xavier 1897-1988
(Rev.) Karl Xavier 1869-1924
(Rev.) Karl Astrup Xavier 1912-1990
Mary E. Xavier, b. 1949
Paul Neuberg Xavier 1899-1983
Peter Laurentius Xavier 1901-1981
Valborg Henrietta Xavier 1907-2002
Valdemar U.A. H. Xavier 1914-2001
[2] At the time of Karla's trip to Europe, little corn was grown for human consumption. Also, British English usage was different than North American. The British Isles referred to what we call "wheat" as "corn", and what we call "corn" as "maize." When World War II came, this resulted in a very embarassing convoy of corn-carrying ship being sent to Britain for food, when the real need was for wheat. The mistake happened only once.
End of footnotes to page 2 of Klara's manuscript
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[Begining of p. 3 of Klara's manuscript]
[Begining of p. 3 of Klara's manuscript]
England is not a foggy place in summer, and the climate seemed agreeable. We had occasion to see some of their heavy squalls, which come suddenly and hard. The evenings were very long and this we began to notice on the boast as we sailed northward. We were often fooled, thinking that this was early evening when in fact it was eleven or so. Those long evenings were very beautiful in Norway and I shall never forget such an evening with with its lovely sunset, in Trondhjem, which as you know is far in the north. [NOTE re latitude - to be inserted later]
The traffic in England, and Scotland, too, is left-hand traffic and it is at first confusing to see a car driven down the left side of the street and coming back on the right. In Norway they use the right-hand traffic, but in Sweden we had to again accustom ourselves to the left-hand traffic in that country even the pedestrians walking on the left-hand side of the sidewalk. London has no street cars in the city proper. There were a few electric trains called trams in the suburban areas. They have subways which they call underground railways. They use two-story buses on which are paid two-pence (tuppence), equal to four cents in our money, for riding rather a long distance. The rate varies and for a still longer distance are paid three pence, and so on up to about 35 cents in our money. The streets are curved, running in all kinds of ways and this makes for no blocks as we know them, because the two streets do not always cross. When we asked how many blocks to such and such a place we received a blank stare, but if we asked where to go to a certain place we were told to follow a certain "road" for about two minutes, then turn to the left and walk for another two minutes, and so on. We found the English obliging and in more than one instance they would go out of their way to point out the way for us. One day a man in a small jewelry story left his partner, who was waiting on a customer, and accompanied us, against our remonstrations, up the street to the next corner from where he could point out the way to us. The policemen in London look handsome in their good looking uniforms and they are very courteous. We found that the Englishmen, on the whole are very courteous and cultured, and they are proud of their country and demand respect by their attitude. NOTE re left in Sweden; underground is THE UNDERGROUND of THE TUBE
In regard to dress and customs there seemed to be nothing outstandingly different. The women wear tams or felt hats for the reason, I presume, that rain squalls come on suddenly. They do not wear bright colors, which we found to be the case in the other European countries also, in Paris the women wearing mostly black with black, cocky hats. The stores in London reminded me some of the stores in Canada. Their elevators are referred to as lifts and their drug stores are chemist shops.
The Tower of London was one of the first places that we went to see. This has been, in turn, a fort, a prison, a palace, and now a museum. The most interesting room in the tower is the room where are kept the crown jewels, the Queen's crown, the King's crown, sceptre, mace, etc. In other rooms we saw swords, sabres, and coast of arms, worn by men of note of former times. We saw the axe and stone, with a hollow for fitting the head, which were used for beheading human beings, even of prestige, as Mary, Queen of Scots. Then there are dungeons where prisoners lay. All of this is of the past and it surprised me a little that the British would show all of this to foreigners, for it is certainly not complimentary to their forefathers. Outside the Tower we saw the changing of the guards - not the Royal Guard of which I shall relate later--and here are stationed the "beef eaters" (boeufetoures), a picture of one of whom I wish I could show you at this point. they are an old "custom" and not of much "use" as far as I can see. Their fancy uniforms with gilded buttons, and their many badges of honor, are interesting to look at. Our guide arranged it so that we also heard the chimes of the old clock in the Tower.
Westminster Abbey is shown to all tourists. It was built during the Roman supremacy, about 800 A.D. It is almost black on the outside from dust and grime, but the interior has retained its beauty although ancient looking. We saw there the different chapels, and the room in which will be crowned King George. This room seats only a few hundred which will include the nobility, and ll the others who will journey to London for the coronation will have to be satisfied with viewing the process on outside. We saw also the chair in which the King will sit when
End of p. 3
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Notes to p. 3
Beginning of p. 4
crowned, a chair dating far back in time. The famous scone stone originally from Scotland, is directly underneath the seat of this chair the back of this chair is marred and many names are carved and scratched on it. A covering will be thrown over the back. In Westminster Abbey are buried men of note: Alfred Lord Tennyson, the Brownings, Handel, Dickens, Isaac Newton, Livingston and Ben Johnson, who said he needed only two square feet. (He was buried standing upright.)
One morning we saw the changing of the Royal Guard at Buckingham Palace, one of the royal residences, the others being St. James Palace (Whitehall), only a few minutes' walk distant[;] Windsor Castle some forty miles out from London and Hampton Courts, still farther away. This last-named place does not look attractive in any respect. Looking at the map of the City of London, one would see in the immediate vicinity of Buckingham Palace the St. James Park, the Green Park, Hyde Park, and Kensington Gardens, all in line. The changing of the Royal Guards is an unusual sight, and it takes place every morning from 11 to 12. The uniforms are very elaborate, in different colors, with braids, buttons, and such, and the hoods of fur look warm on a summer day. I have good pictures which we took here. The band was stationed at one side and played music from the classics almost continually while the groups went though their maneuvers in front of Buckingham Palace. There is always a large crown looking on during this hour.
One day we had dinner at the Chesire Cheese, where Samuel Johnson and Charles Dickens used to sit and chat, white eating their delicious meat pudding. We had a taste of the same kind of meat pudding. I sat in the place where Samuel Johnson used to sit, at the end of the table, and Em sat in Dicken's place. This was built as a monastery ages ago and we were permitted to visit the wine cellars, now also replete with bottles of wine.
Our visit to Windsor Castle and to Eton College, lying out of London some forty miles, was a pleasant one. Windso Castle is built along the streets, facing each other, curved like the streets of the cities of England are, and built in varying heights. King George's Chapel is in the center of one of these. In this chapel we saw the beauty of the curved work on the interior of old buildings. The ceiling had recently been cleaned, due to some repair work which had been done which left marks showing up too conspicuously before the cleaning of the whole ceiling. In this chapel lies buried King George V, and here will be buried Queen Mary. The stained glass window s in this room are very beautiful. We also saw the reception room at Windsor Castle, with its beautiful paintings, the room of the Royal Garter (highest order)in garter blue, rooms with walls lined with silk, etc. [note]
Eton College--who has not heard of Eton College?--consists of several buildings with spacious grounds surrounding. The test for admission to this boys' college is very strict. Other requirements are many, such as social standing of the family. Many are registered at this college before birth, and there are hundreds on the waiting lists. The ages of the boys range from about 12 to 19, some under 12. The course is a high school course, but includes much more than an ordinary high school course. If the boy has not passed his required subjects at 19, he is dismissed. There is not allowed any smoking, swearing, lying, etc. and if the boy has committed any of these crimes he is punished in a very humble way, that is, whipped with a "scourge" of birch twigs. We saw this "scourge." The uniforms of the boy depend on the he is in: the first-year boys wear eton jackets (hence the name "eton jacket"), the second-year boys wear long "tails," then come the gowns, like a college graduate's gown. Here we saw also the room with walnut walls which are carved, in all kinds of way, hundreds of names. The student aims to carve his name near the name of his father or other relative who formerly was a student at the same college. [note needed re Eton]
888
One day we took the train to Shakespeare's house, Stratford-on-Avon, which is a beautiful as any part of England. Shakespeare's house, which was considered a mansion in his day, is small, and now so rickety that there is a trembling when one walk up the stairs or heavily on the floor. Shakespear was born in a room on the second flor, which has whitewashed walls and ceilings. There are many documents
End of p. 4
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Notes to p. 4.
King George V, on the throne during World War I, died in 1936. He and Queen Mary were very popular among the British people, among the most beloved of all the British monarchs. This high stature also held true for the British Empire and Commonwealth.
This stature is not far removed from our times, as in Canada today, many vestiges remain of the British Empire days. By way of example, I point to the separate life-size portraits of George V and Mary which grace the two stairwells of the Legislative Building of the Province of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. George and Mary were the reigning monarchs when Alberta entered Canadian confederation in 1905. In a 1990 visit to the Alberta "Lege," I noted that the guide was visibly and vocally proud of the association of Alberta and of Canada with George V and Mary. The guide further noted that legally, the legislature of Alberta is convened by the Lieutenant Governor, a appointive direct representative of the British King or Queen (or sovreign), under the Governor General ("GG") of Canada, the representative of the British sovreign. The Lieutenant Governor (pronounced "Left-enant Governor") must present a "mace" to the Speaker for the provincial legislature to legally commence its legislative session.
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Beginning of p. 5
in cabinets in this house, many in Shakespeare's handwriting. We went to see the church where Shakespeare was christened, saw the font, and saw where he was buried. Not far away is Anne Hathaway's cottage, where Shakespeare went a-courting. This little cottage has rooms so small and ceilings so low that we were warned by a girl guide - in her quaint old English - to "mind your hayd" when we passed through each door in the place. The flower garden is kept as it is supposed to have been in Shakespeare's day.
We visited Peke Stoges Church and here we saw the yew tree under which sat Gray when we wrote his "Elegy" - "written in a country churchyard." Kenilworth, which Sir Walter Scott chose for one of his novels, is enchanting especially on an ideal summer day such as we had on that Sunday when we saw it. I have a lovely Kodak picture of parts of the ruins of this castle. This is where Queen Elizabeth chose to spend some of her time, and here she was entertained by the Earl of Leicester, all of which story the old white-haired guide told us in his droll, slow, way, with his old-English accent. The same day we saw Warwick Castle - pronounce Wayrick. Those last-named places are some 40-50 miles out from London. the Earl of Warwick lives in one end of this large castle, and we were permitted to see the family chapel and other rooms in the other part of the castle.
The English complained of high taxes, about 40 per cent of her husband's income going to taxes, one lady told me, but a gentleman on the train one day told us that there is very lttle of unemployment now. We saw comparatively few automobiles in England, which seemed to be the case in all the other coutnries which we visited; that is, in the country, out on the farms.
Even though we liked London and its people, and its happy-looking children who looked so well cared for, we were obliged to follow our itinerary. On our way to Edinburgh we stopped off between trains at York to the the Cathedral at that place. This reminded me some of St. John's Cathedral in New York. The windows are unusually beautiful. This cathedral dates back to about 1400.
The country in the northern part of England, as we saw it, is more hilly. Our train took us along the eastern shore, near the North Sea. As we neared Scotland, the hills soon grew to big crags, with deep gorges between. In many place we would see a high hill or crag with the surrounding country level. In places the fields were cultivated so close to the edges of a crag overhanging the sea that it gave me a scared feeling to think of horses and men working there. This is a meager description of Scotland as we saw it.
Soon we arrived in Edinburgh,and the air seemed considerably colder. The only real Scotch we heard in Edinburgh was the answer a taxi driver gave us upon inquiry for our American Express man, whom we expected to see upon our arrival. Our friend soon appeared, and took us to our hotel, which was a large house, with large rooms, with high ceilings, which surely must take a lot of heating on cold, wintry days. We were at times uncomfortably cold, and wished for a lit fireplace - in July.
The most outstanding and most visited place in Edinburgh is Edinburgh Castle, which stands on a very high hill, in the city proper. This was built as a fort by the Romans when they were in power, and rebuilt later. It is now mostly a museum. We saw the room where Queen Margaret was born and St. Margaret's Chapel, now used for christenings when requested by military officials and other notables. Near the castle is the recently built World War Memorial, a separate building, and the rooms are beautiful, with inscriptions carved on its walls. In one room there is the large green marble slab on which lies the silver-encased book with the names of all the men from Scotland who fought in the World War.
Holyrood Palace (Holy Crown), built for King James, stands in line with the Edinburgh Castle, n the other side of the city. Down this road, or street, between the Castle and the Palace, the parades took place in olden times. In this palace lieve Mary Queen of Scots, and here was killed Rizzlo, the court musician, of whom the King was jealous. We saw several of the rooms, furnished as they were
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Footnotes for p. 5
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Beginning of p. 6
when occupied. Holyrood Abbey adjoins the Palace, of which abbey only a wall remains.
The Knox House was interesting to visit. John Knox was an interesting figure at the time of the dissension between the Presbyterian Church and the Episcopalian Church. The Presbyterian Church is the church of Scotland today and the Episcopalian the church of England. The St. Giles Cathedral, still used as a church, was an important place during the dissension between the above-mentioned denominations of the church. [1]
We saw several signs of thrift, for which the Scotch people are noted, and which seems very necessary for them to practice in a country like Scotland. However, Scotland did not seem to be the only country we visited which practiced thrift.
I liked the Scotch people very much, in every respect. Their young folks seemed clean looking and honest and the people who waited on us in the stores were kindly and obliging. They are fair-haired, hair of a sandy color, and it is seemed that most of them are inclined to be thin. In England we noticed many with hair of a light red color.
On a Sunday, with the weather perfect, we drove out into the country, for some fifty miles, where we visited Melrose Abbey, and after on of the most delicious dinners during our whole trip, visited Dryburgh Abbey, where lies buried Sir Walter Scott. We also saw the home of Scott, a palace indeed where now lives his grandson. I have a very good Kodak picture which we took of this place. The country around Endinburgh in this direction is very pretty, with rolling hills, and in places the abrupt rising of a high hill at the top of a rolling slope.
Unwillingly, here in Edinburgh as in London, we had to leave and went by train to Newcastle, England, from which place we sailed on the Venus for Bergen, Norway, across the North Sea. This is a neat, clean, little boat, and we were served a real feast that evening, consisting of "smorgaasbord," which included everything from hors d'oeuvres to vegetables and fish and meats. The North Sea which is usually rough was calm, but we felt the shaking and trembling of this boat, and felt just a little seasick.
(To be continued)
End of Part One of Klara's Narrative, End of p. 6
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Notes to p. 6
[1] Klara makes a minor error of incorrect reference to the church denominations. The Church of England is properly referred to as the Anglican, as is the case in Canada; its sibling denomination in the USA is the Episcopalian. The name difference arises from the aftermath of the Revolution of 1776, when the Anglican name lost favor. This fall from grace was due to the actions of the Anglican community, formerly of the Tory persuasion, favoring the British Crown against the Colonists (Revolutionaries). A new name was needed, and Episcopalian became the new "brand."
Klara uses the common English or European term for religious strife in the post-Reformation era of controversies and even outright wars: "dissension." The long duration of religious strife and wars generally involved the question of the power of the church, established or given a dominant role, in government (the state). In what was to become the United State of America, and in the forming of the current U.S. Constitution, the searing memories of those religious wars and dissension were crucial in the wording of the First Amendment. Let no one be mistaken: the First Amendment is worded just as much to keep churches from exercising power over government as it was to keep government from exercising power over churches. From the late 1780s on, failure to understand the dual purpose of the First Amendment has led to much ill-informed public dialogue in America.
Appendix I. Lifespan Years of Prominent Persons Mentioned in Klara Kammerud's Narrative
Persons are listed alphabetical by birth name.
Sources are too many to name here, but appear in the Bibliography
Marit Hippe 1845-1921
Adolf Hitler 1886-1944
Mabel Holtan 1886-1947
Valborg H. Houghtelin see Valborg Henrieta Xavier
Klara Kammerud 1886-1958
Bina Kamrud, or Kammerud 1880-1931
Iver ("Starbuck Iver") Kamrud 1839-1912
Marit (Hippe) Kamrud. See Marit Hippe
Mary X. LaBelle. See Mary E. Xavier
Andrew Veblen 1848-1932
Thorstein Bunge Veblen 1857-1929
Magdalene X. Visovatti. See (Karen) Magdalene Xavier
(Karen) Magdalene Xavier 1897-1988
(Rev.) Karl Xavier 1869-1924
(Rev.) Karl Astrup Xavier 1912-1990
Mary E. Xavier, b. 1949
Paul Neuberg Xavier 1899-1983
Peter Laurentius Xavier 1901-1981
Valborg Henrietta Xavier 1907-2002
Valdemar U.A. H. Xavier 1914-2001
