Scandinavians on the Pacific, Puget Sound Part 3

"1st: That whatever the individual produces, belongs to the individual, and whatever the community produces, belongs to the community.

"2d: That the general rise in land value, commonly called ground rents, is caused by the growth of the community and its compet.i.tion for work, and therefore, by right, belongs to the community.

"3d: That, as taxes are needed for the welfare of the community, it is only in accordance with natural and divine law that the community makes use of this common fund before it resorts to the confiscation of what properly belongs to the individual.

"4th: That it is not only unjust in principle, but injurious to the last degree in practice, that one man is taxed more for making land useful and employing labor on it, than another is taxed for holding land idle and keeping labor off it.

"5th: That to tax labor or its products, is to discourage industry.

"6th: That to tax land values to their full amount will compel every individual controlling natural opportunities to either utilize them by the employment of labor, or abandon them to others; that it will thus provide opportunities of work for all men, and secure to each the full reward of his labor."

[Ill.u.s.tration: H. P. RUDE AND FAMILY.]

H. P. Rude, the fearless councilman-at-large, of Seattle, was born in Toten, Norway, March 4, 1861. He graduated from the public school at the age of fifteen, later took a course in higher education at a private inst.i.tution. From boyhood he manifested native pluck which his career plainly reveals. Unlike most boys, he spent his leisure studying and learning the tailoring trade. Seeing that the seat of his birth being too narrow for cosmopolitan development, he planned for the national capital against the will of his father. In a confidential manner he obtained two crowns from his grandfather, and under veil of night walked forty-two miles, arriving at Dahl Station, Eidsvold, at ope of dawn, from whence he took the train to Christiania. Though only a youth of fifteen, he found employment in a leading tailoring establishment, and attended school during evenings. In 1881 he emigrated to America, after making a short stop in Chicago, he proceeded to Redwing, Minnesota, to visit relatives who lived fifteen miles out in the country, in the state of Wisconsin. Unable to articulate an English sentence, "but where there is a will there is a way," crossed the river with an Indian, found the road by means of a guide-post, and stalked the unknown distance. After a pleasant reunion with friends and relatives, he returned to Redwing, worked for some time at his trade, then embarked in business for himself.

His next move was to Minneapolis, where he found employment in a fashionable store. He joined the Tailors' Union, having a membership of 200, and within a year became its president, and subsequently was chosen a delegate to the Trade and Labor a.s.sembly. He resigned from the Union to engage in business of his own which he followed for some time.

After disposing of his interests in Minneapolis, he traveled in the surrounding cities, then crossed the Rocky, arriving in Seattle, 1890, during the transient boom of Anacortes, which attracted him to that place, but returned to Seattle ere long. He worked for awhile as cutter, then started a tailoring establishment of his own.

For years he had been alert to public affairs, and in 1896 was elected councilman from the Sixth Ward, the fusion stronghold, with a large majority. He was renominated by the Republican party, but councilman-at-large, and elected with an increased vote. On resignation of Mayor Wood, he was instrumental in placing Judge Thomas J. Humes into the mayor's chair. To the credit of Mr. Rude it must be said that he has ascended to his political honors unsought, and that his record is emblematic of honesty and ability. He has been opposing the perpetuity of the gambling h.e.l.ls in the lower strata of the city in such a manner that even his political enemies had to commend his course. His famous resolution made the tenderloin district shiver with fear, while honest men and women bowed with grat.i.tude. The following is taken from a leading daily of Seattle:

"H. P. Rude, councilman-at-large, is ent.i.tled to great credit for his endeavor to put a quietus to certain cla.s.ses of crime so often indulged in the various places of resort in the lower part of the city."

Mr. Rude's influence among the members of the city council is made conspicuous by his representation on the several committees. He is chairman of the police license and revenue committee, and a valuable member on the committees of finance, corporation, labor, public buildings and grounds, and harbor and wharf.

He was married, 1881, in Minnesota, to Miss Lina Sophia La.r.s.en, a lady of lofty character, to whom he was betrothed in Norway. She was born in Eidswold, November 24, 1863, of highly respected parents, and emigrated to America a few months subsequent to the arrival of her husband. They have four children, Henry M. Rude, born in Wisconsin, March 14, 1883.

The other three are natives of Minnesota, George A. Rude, born May 3, 1885, Lillie Palma Rude, February 24, 1887, and Morris O. Rude, April 10, 1889.

J. H. Ekstrand, a true son of Sweden, and an ex-minister of the M. E.

Church, is a Seattle pioneer. He came to the United States more than two scores of years ago, and has been influential in both church and political circles.

E. A. Seaburg, a native of Sweden, has likewise given keen vigilance to public affairs, always a stalwart republican. As regards men of scholarly attainment, Rev. M. A. Christensen ranks among the most polished on Puget Sound. He is an accomplished linguist and an eloquent pastor of the Emmanuel Lutheran Church. H. M. Korstad, a graduate of the University of Washington, is also master of several languages and a deep student of ethics and psychology. He was born in the United States, but his parents hail from Valders, Norway. His sister, Bertha Korstad, is a prominent teacher in the public schools of Kitsap county.

[Ill.u.s.tration: N. B. NELSON.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: RIALTO BLOCK.

Occupied by Frederick, Nelson and Munro.]

N. B. Nelson.--Very few have been more successful in business than the personage in question--N. B. Nelson--of the firm, Frederick, Nelson and Munro. He is a man of a lucky mixture--business, integrity, and sociability. Mr. Nelson was born in Kristianstad, Sweden, July 31, 1857, and like most boys in that country received a thorough schooling.

From boyhood he had nursed a liking to see America, and in 1875 landed in Colorado, minus means, a stranger in a new world, and worst of all unable to converse with the general public, but picked up the language with marked rapidity. He bent his energy to farming, following the pursuit for several years in Garfield county, but at the same time gave keen eye to public affairs, and served the people as county commissioner for three years. His attention was engrossed with the progress of the Pacific, and thither he journeyed, 1891, and shortly after embarked in furniture business on Pike street in a store less than twenty by sixty.

At present the firm of Frederick, Nelson and Munro occupies the Rialto Block, in the very heart of the city, covering 105,400 square feet, more than two and a half acres of household goods. The traffic of the firm is immense, exceeding every establishment of its nature north of San Francisco. Mr. Nelson was married, 1895, to an accomplished young lady, Miss Teckla Johnson, born in Ronneby, Blekinge, Sweden. They have two boys, Frederick Creigh Nelson and Chester Munro Nelson.

[Ill.u.s.tration: AXEL H. SOELBERG.]

Axel H. Soelberg, bank cashier and a respected citizen of Seattle, was born at Ness Hedemarken, Norway, on March 2, 1869. He received a common school education, graduating at the age of fourteen. In 1884 he secured a position in the store of Jevanord Brothers in Brumundalen, with whom he remained until in the spring of 1888, when he emigrated for America.

He arrived in Minneapolis on the morning of May 17th. A short time previous, a number of Norwegian-American citizens of Minneapolis had organized the State Sash and Door Manufacturing Company, and Mr.

Soelberg was offered the position as book-keeper a few days after his arrival in the city. He served in this capacity for about two years, then was elected secretary of the firm, and two years later vice-president. In the spring of 1892, when the Scandinavian American Bank of Seattle was organized, he was tendered the position as book-keeper in the bank, and accepting, Mr. Soelberg found himself in Seattle on one of the first days in April of that year. At the annual meeting in 1894, he was elected cashier of the bank, which position he now holds. Mr. Soelberg is a man of literary apt.i.tude as well as of business capacity, has contributed largely to the Seattle Daily Times and other leading papers. He could have won laurels on the field of letters as well as business notice in the world of traffic. In January, 1898, he was married to Miss Olga Wickstrom, an accomplished young lady of Seattle. They have a beautiful home in one of the finest parts of the city.

[Ill.u.s.tration: DR. EILIV JANSON.]

Drs. Ivar and Eiliv Janson.--Every Scandinavian is familiar with the name, Kristofer Janson, the eminent Norwegian poet and novelist.

No less a halo of the minstrel car, Light brave Janson sows afar, At thy torch superst.i.tion weeps, Dogmas wilt in deftly labored heaps.

The G.o.d of nature, Love and truth, Flash on thy wing to Age and Youth, With gilded rod and silver tongue, Thou riftst the creeds of ages long.

From "An Ode to the Land of the Vikings."

The two doctors in question are sons of this n.o.ble author, Ivar being born in Bergen, Norway, March 1, 1865, and Eiliv in Sel, Gudbrandsdalen, May 25, 1870. Both received their early education by private tuition, and in 1882 emigrated with their parents to America, settling in Minneapolis. They took advantage of the splendid school facilities offered by that city as preparation for the state university of Minnesota, where they graduated, 1892, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, M. D. Their collegiate records bespeak scholarly distinction which have been made more emphatic by subsequent years. Immediately after graduation, Dr. Ivar Janson was appointed a.s.sistant professor in the medical department at his alma mater, but resigned the chair to take a move westward, arriving in Seattle, 1895, where he enjoys an enviable practice, being recognized as a leading surgeon on the Pacific. His brother, Dr. Eiliv Janson, steered his fortune to Astoria, Oregon, in the fall following his graduation, and soon rose to be one of the most beloved physicians in the city. His ability invited the attention of the public, and his practice grew immensely, being the largest in that part of the state. The last year he has spent studying at the universities of Europe, in Berlin, Dresden, Munich, Copenhagen and Paris, and will join his brother in Seattle next June. The two doctors have evinced the genius of their father, but in a different direction, the sire a poet, the sons surgeons and physicians. The former has climbed the ladder of fame, the latter are climbing it. They are both married to ladies of rare abilities and accomplishments. Mrs. Ivar Janson is one of Seattle's most gifted vocalists. "Think for yourself" is a soul-inspiring motto, and is applicable to the Janson family. In spite of angry opposition and glittering pelf the rich mind of Kristofer Janson has scattered sunbeams of truth and thought. He has sought to lift his countrymen upon the plane of reason and brotherly love. The sons have imbred their father's soul of thought and sympathy, which the public echo in more eloquent words than my pen.

[Ill.u.s.tration: C. N. SANDAHL.]

C. N. Sandahl.--Washington is dependent on the science of horticulture, fruit is her future. Any man willing to bend his heart to the soil is a valuable exponent in the upbuilding of the country. Few men have done more in this line than the well-known floriculturist and nurseryman, C.

N. Sandahl, of 1123, Second Avenue, Seattle. He was born in Horsens, Denmark, 1857; acquired his education in the public schools of his fatherland, and in the smiling book of nature, where real knowledge teems to an intelligent eye. In 1880 he emigrated to America, spent ten years in Ohio and Minnesota, pursuing his chosen vocation, then journeyed to Washington and located in Seattle. After a careful scrutiny of the country he engaged in floriculture and nursery, which occupation he is following with notable ability. Mr. Sandahl is a man of business capacity as well as of scientific propensity, and honest and honorable.

[Ill.u.s.tration: S. S. LANGLAND.]

Samuel S. Langland.--Quiet of disposition but deep in thought, modest in demeanor but aggressive in argument. The above words unfold Mr.

Langland's characteristic, an able lawyer of Seattle. He was born near Stavanger, Norway, August 13, 1856, and emigrated with his parents to Minnesota in the spring of 1867. His early boyhood experienced the various hardships and vicissitudes incident to pioneer life. At the age of fifteen he launched out for himself, choosing as a means of support the apprenticeship of a tailor in Mancato, in which capacity he labored a year and a half. From whence he went to St. Paul, a stranger in an unwont sphere. English defied his tongue, but soon melted to his grasping intellect. He worked at his trade about two years, but to ascend to a higher stage of culture, he converted his energy to loftier aims, worked for his board and attended private school, paying for his tuition by doing janitor work, sweeping and keeping the schoolhouse in order. After two years of a.s.siduous study in this inst.i.tution, he entered the cla.s.sical course of four years in the St. Paul High School which he completed in three. In the fall of 1881 he was matriculated in the same course at the state university, graduating with honor in June, 1885. At the commencement exercises he distinguished himself by delivering the most thoughtful and eloquent oration of the cla.s.s, his subject being "Is Man Advancing?" for which he received compliments from the faculty and leading men of the state present on that occasion. His struggles at the university with poverty symbolize an indomitable will.

He toiled evenings and Sat.u.r.days sawing wood and doing other manual labor, his vacations were spent canva.s.sing, or in the harvest field.

After darkness comes sunshine, and the year following his graduation he was appointed professor of English Literature in the Augsburg Seminary.

In 1887 he studied law in St. Paul, was admitted to bar, and practiced for some time at Moorhead, Minnesota, where he made rapid progress, being nominated prosecuting attorney on the democratic ticket, but as that party was in the minority he went to defeat with the rest of the candidates. At Moorhead he was married to an estimable lady, Miss Esther Annette Hutchison, and in December of 1890 moved to Puget Sound as an alternative to regain health and vigor. Since 1891 he has been practicing law in Seattle with growing promise, his specialty being real estate litigation.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A. LUNDBERG.]

A. Lundberg.--The person of this sketch, the educated artificial limb manufacturer, A. Lundberg, was born in Kalstad, Sweden, 1847, where he received a good schooling and learned his benefactory profession. At the age of twenty-one he set sail for America, locating in Minneapolis, where he stayed until 1888, working at his trade. From whence he moved to Spokane, Washington, residing in that city eight years. Seattle had attracted notice as an appropriate seat for a man of science and mechanical ingenuity, and thither he migrated in 1896, establishing his headquarters in Sullivan Building, First Avenue. Mr. Lundberg is the only artificial limb manufacturer in the state of Washington; he was educated for this work in early youth and has followed it uninterruptedly. In many instances he has wrought out wondrous results, cured cases that defied medical science. He was married in Minneapolis, January 24, 1877, to a pleasant lady, Miss Anna Dahlgren. They have three children, Evalin, Denalda and Marie.

[Ill.u.s.tration: C. G. W. ANDERSON.]

C. G. W. Anderson.--Men are destined for divers avenues, but a thoughtful man will follow the course of his inclination in the climax upward, and success will smile as he proceeds. Mr. C. G. W. Anderson seems to have incorporated this maxim. He was born in Sweden, September 24, 1856, where he enjoyed the benefit of a good schooling and a healthy course in the curriculum of experience. At the age of twenty-six he left his native soil for the New World, arriving in the United States, April 24, 1880. After ten years of various employment in the eastern states he came to Seattle, engaging in hotel business on the corner of Terrace and Fifth Avenue, where the Anderson looms in emphasis of the proprietor's energy. Mr. Anderson is a man of a genial disposition, social and affable and in all respects an honored citizen.

[Ill.u.s.tration: OSCAR ANDERSON.]

Oscar Anderson.--A man of honor and integrity is a worthy adjunct to any community. Oscar Anderson belongs to this type which his career bespeaks. He was born in Karlskrona, Sweden, January 13, 1859, where he received a thorough education in the public schools. From boyhood he showed talents attributive only to the soul of the genius. In 1872 he entered the hardware business, but abandoned it after two years of experience to pursue the vocation of his forte--jewelry and mechanism.

In 1879 he engaged in business for himself which he continued successfully until 1893. During all these years he was employed by the Swedish navy mending and adjusting the chronometers of the men-of-war.

In 1891 the Russian government engaged his ingenuity, and on one occasion he worked three days and three nights repairing the chronometers of the navy for which he received a remuneration of 297 crowns. In 1892 he spent considerable time traveling in Denmark, partly for pleasure and partly for studying the conditions of the country, Copenhagen being the center of interest where he enjoyed himself for a few months. The following year he sold out his business in Sweden and emigrated for America, locating in Seattle, a stranger in a strange country, but ere long his native "pluck" was manifested, and a fine establishment at 406 Pike street emphasizes his ingenuity and business ability.

[Ill.u.s.tration: P. A. HALLBERG.]

P. A. Hallberg.--Experience is the best teacher, a college course of mere theories gives little knowledge of the world. A course in fighting the billows of the deep, or wrestling with the stumps of the forest, is of more practical worth than a head crammed with deceased tongues, or theoretical airships. P. A. Hallberg corroborates my view with his personal experience. He was born in Skone, Sweden, 1867, and in his early teens sought the waves. He visited China and other oriental climes, faced the angry surges of Cape Horn, and dashed ash.o.r.e at San Pedro, California, from whence he sailed northward, navigated for some time as mate on Puget Sound, also served in the government marine.

After years of sea-faring life he turned his attention to terra firma, located in Seattle and commenced new pursuits. He worked for three years in the Union Bakery, then spent some time in a meat market, and in 1894 bought the Union Bakery, and four years later removed to Second Avenue, between Pike and Union, where he is doing a large business. Mr.

Hallberg is a man who has won the respect of the people of Seattle by his integrity of character and straight business method.

[Ill.u.s.tration: JOHN NOGLEBERG'S STUDIO AND FINE ART STORE.

(Five separate departments.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: JOHN NOGLEBERG.]

John Nogleberg, a gifted artist, portrait, figure and landscape painter, of Seattle, was born in Kongsberg, Norway, February 21, 1861. He received a splendid education in his native country in music, science and art, and in 1881 emigrated to America, locating in Chicago, where he studied at the Academy of Fine Art and at the Art Inst.i.tute. After nine years of close application to his chosen profession, he moved to Seattle, where he has the largest establishment of its kind west of Chicago, engaging constantly a number of employees in the different departments.

At the beginning of 1899 he moved into his elegant building on Second Avenue, near Union Street, but from the present indication of business his beautiful apartments will soon prove too small. He is an athlete and an intense lover of nature. The soul of grandeur and sublimity seems to be a part of his being, which his masterpieces plainly reflect. He is fond of outdoor sport, fishing and hunting give him pleasant hours of recreation. He is an active member of the Y. M. C. A., and a promoter of the Norwegian-Danish M. E. church. In a word, Mr. Nogleberg is a true gentleman as well as an artistic genius, being strictly temperance and of n.o.ble aims and integrity.