As our last post closed, Matt Hemmingsen was mourning the death of his young wife of two years, the lovely Caroline Dybedal.1 The couple had made their way to Chemainus on Vancouver Island by June 1906, to relocate and for Matt to apply his technical expertise to an intractable logging debacle. But an emerging illness … Continue reading Matt Hemmingsen (1876-1967) Memoirs: Family Leave circa 1907 and Epic Tsolum River Logjam
Tag: Vancouver Island
Matt Hemmingsen (1876-1967) Memoirs: Logging; Sleigh Roads, Decking Riverbanks, Humbird and Weyerhaeuser
PART III: SLEIGH ROADS, DECKING RIVERBANKS, HUMBIRD and WEYERHAEUSER This continues the memoirs of pioneer lumberman Matt Hemmingsen. It is now the final decade of the 19th Century with our grandfather at the family homestead in northwestern Wisconsin. Part II ended in the drought stricken summer of 1894, a time of economic depression with raging … Continue reading Matt Hemmingsen (1876-1967) Memoirs: Logging; Sleigh Roads, Decking Riverbanks, Humbird and Weyerhaeuser
Hemmingson Homestead Photos: 1880s WI US vs. 1914 BC CA
As a result of pursuing great grandfather genealogically, we are given a glimpse of what Ole Hemmingson (1851-1903) built! As well, his son, Matt Hemmingsen (1876-1967). Ole married twice and had a number of children with each wife. Matt was born in 1876 to Ole's first; Berith. Mildred followed in 1897, to his second; Alette. … Continue reading Hemmingson Homestead Photos: 1880s WI US vs. 1914 BC CA
If Only November Had Been August: What Came Next
In our last post, we lamented the heartbreaking emigration from Norway to Wisconsin of Mathias Olson, and his sister, Henriette. It was late 1887. She was about to celebrate her 13th birthday and he was months beyond eleven. We have no account of their first sight of a father not seen in six years, or … Continue reading If Only November Had Been August: What Came Next
From the logging camps (6)
"Port Renfrew 50 Years Later" completes the scrapbook made for me, by my father, John Oliver Hemmingsen. He called it "Forest Regeneration".1 Previous posts covered much of the book. This part accounts for a trip Dad made to the area with Uncle Bob, with my older brother John, in 1990. For some time by then, there … Continue reading From the logging camps (6)