Visit to Dragland - Summer 2023

By Roald Petter Årbekk

Don (Donald Dragland) visited northern Norway and the village of Dragland in the Summer of 2023 with his family. Don is a second-generation immigrant to America from Norway. He is the youngest son of Kristian (Chris) Dragland who emigrated to America with his father (Lars Olai), mother, and family in 1892. My grandmother (Lars`s sister), grandfather, and aunt also emigrated on the same journey.

(See "The Great Voyage to America 1892")

Don and his family had a great stay here in the North with the finest summer days you can experience. A whole day was visiting Dragland where the Dragland story started.

Don's daughter, Joy Dragland Lund, has moved to Norway with her family, so she has a very special relationship with Norway, in Norway Tjeldsundet and Dragland. We also visited Trondenes Historical Center and Trondenes church from the year 1250 (which dates back to the Viking Age. A visit to "Nordheim Gårdsmuseum, Facebook" which is a private museum in Tjeldsundet. Garden parties here at our home were also part of the program. 

It was very nice to have a close but distant family visit.

My mother was very concerned about relatives, especially those who traveled to America. It was her aunts and uncles who traveled. She used to say that we were supposed to be Americans, but Grandpa Petter wanted to go home. He was a fisherman.

We have also previously had visitors from America.

See the photos (below) from the nice days last summer.

Thank you, for I am a real "Draglanding"

Roald Petter Årbekk

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