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The founder of Pacific Lutheran University, Bjug Aanondson, was born on December 17, 1848 on a farm named Harstad in Valle, Setesdal, Norway to father Aanond Tellefson Aakre and mother Torbjør Kittilsdatter Harstad. He was one of ten children in the very poor family. Young Bjug took care of the cattle at the family farm called Gangshei above Harstad during the winter months and in the mountains during the summer months.

Bjug and his family emigrated to America in 1861 where they settled in Illinois and Minnesota. He continued his education in the US and was accepted as a student at Luther College in 1865 where he changed his last name to Harstad upon a suggestion of the president of the college. He studied theology at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis from 1871 to 1874. It was his experiences there that became the model for the rest of Bjug's scholarly and religious life. After seminary, he traveled as a pastor to remote places in Minnesota where he built schools and churches.

Bjug Harstad was married February 14, 1877 to Guro Omlid in Minnesota. She was a native of Valle and was born September 29, 1858. In 1889, the church sent Bjug Harstad to the Pacific Coast where he visited Portland, Seattle and Tacoma. He returned to Minnesota and it was decided that Brookdale (as Parkland was called then) should be the important Lutheran education center of the Northwest.

The Pacific Lutheran University Association was incorporated December 11, 1890 with Bjug Harstad as president. The cornerstone for the first building, Old Main, was laid October 4, 1891. The occasion of the cornerstone was a grand event photo of the event. Several Lutheran pastors spoke both in Norwegian and in English and the president of the Norwegian Synod sent greetings with his hope that the undertaking would succeed.

In 1917 the Norwegian Synod that Pacific Lutheran University was founded under, merged with the United Church and the Hauge Synod to celebrate the four hundredth anniversary of the Reformation. Harstad refused to join the new Norwegian Lutheran Church, thus formally separating himself from the school he had founded. Bjug Aanondson Harstad died on 20 June 1933 at age 84. His wife Guro, eight of his children, and eleven grandchildren survived him. Old Main was renamed Harstad Hall in 1960 in honor of Bjug Harstad. A granite monument in Valle Norway was dedicated to him on June 26, 1983.

The Daughters of Norway Grand Lodge was founded as the "Daughters of Norway of the Pacific Coast" (DNPC) on February 20, 1908. It was created by the three independent lodges that existed in Washington State at the time, including Valkyrien Lodge #1 of Seattle (1905-), Embla Lodge #2 of Tacoma (1907-), and Freya Lodge #3 of Spokane (1907-1923) to hold conventions and conduct administrative business. At the 1930 convention, membership was opened to women married to men of Norwegian ancestry, and a proposal to allow translation of installation ceremonies into English in cases where the candidate did not understand Norwegian was passed. In 1936, the first issue of the Daughters of Norway's Døtre av Norge was published, transitioning from Norwegian to English during the 1950s. The DNPC officially changed its name to the Daughters of Norway in 1956, which correspondes with when the organization stopped providing death benefits to older members, making the group strictly cultural and social. The Grand Lodge is still active, hosting conventions and publishing issues of Døtre av Norge as of 2024.

This congregation was organized on October 26, 1890 under the direction of missionary pastor A. Woestenberger with five members present. On January 16, 1891 a loan was received from the Iowa Synod with which a lot on Kentucky Street was purchased, and construction of the church began. Dedication followed the following summer. Several Lutheran congregations were organized in the area beginning in 1895, depleting the membership at St. John’s. In 1924 Rev. H. Mau became resident pastor. The parsonage which had been built in 1904 was remodeled and the struggling mission took on new spiritual life.

In the fall of 1938 the deed was acquired to a lot adjoining the old property. In the summer of 1947 the parsonage was completely remodeled, modernized and enlarged. In 1951 the present site was purchased. The cornerstone was laid June 11, 1955 and the new sanctuary was dedicated on March 11, 1956. A new parsonage was also purchased and dedicated during Rev. Butenshon’s ministry. A new educational wing was added to the church and dedicated in 1967. On February 10, 1963 the Ebenezer Congregation of Bellingham merged with St.John’s. This congregation was a member of the Lutheran Free Church.

Following a period of declining membership the congregation closed in 2020.

Spokane College was incorporated in Spokane, Washington in August 1905, by representatives from various localities in Washington and the surrounding states. Until that time, there were no Prostestant affiliated colleges in the immediate area. In 1929, Spokane College closed and the records sent to Pacific Lutheran College.

Campus Photographer, Pacific Lutheran University, 2010-

Director of Photography Services, Pacific Lutheran University: 1995-2003

University Photographer, Pacific Lutheran University: 1966-1995

University Photographer, Pacific Lutheran University: 2002-2009

The Normanna Male Chorus of Tacoma formed on 15 October 1888 when a group of eight young businessmen in Parkland, Washington got together to begin a double quartet. They originally named the group Quartetten Luren, which was a common name in Norway for a quartet. “Luren” indicates the horn used by the Chalet girls in the mountains similar to the Alpine horn. The group’s purpose was to continue the tradition of male chorus singing of Norway, which is still an important cultural group in many Norwegian communities. As the chorus grew, the group moved to Normanna Hall in Tacoma, located at 15th and K Street, and adopted the name of the hall. On 27 October 1924, ten men signed the “Agreement to Form a Corporation of Musical Purposes.” One week later, they had their first official meeting as the Normanna Male Chorus.
The chorus is a member of the Pacific Coast Norwegian Singers Association which includes choruses from British Columbia, Oregon, California as well as four choruses in the State of Washington.
Every year since 1903 the association meets for its annual Sangerfest, in which the business of the association is transacted, and singers gather for a Grand Concert with more than 180 singers in attendance. In 1988, the Normanna Male Chorus celebrated the 100th Anniversary of its founding by holding the Sangerfest in Tacoma at the Pantages Theater.

Harold J. Leraas was born in Barrett, Minnesota on December 30, 1908. He attended Barrett High School in the mid-1920’s. In 1930 he graduated from Luther College, Decorah, Iowa. He later attended the University of Michigan in 1932 and 1935, where he received his master’s degree and doctorate, respectively. The same year that he earned his doctorate, he married Helen Stein and joined the Pacific Lutheran University faculty as a biology professor. He is credited for establishing the strong reputation of the university’s pre-med and pre-dental programs. In the 1940’s he began practicing dentistry and maintained a practice in Parkland until 1960. He also served in the U.S. Army during the Second World War. He worked at Pacific Lutheran University for 39 years, retiring in 1974. Before his retirement he was presented with an Outstanding Teacher Award by the campus chapter of Blue Key. He died on Tuesday May 7, 1985 at the age of 76. Many of his former students contributed funds to the establishment of the Leraas Lecture Hall in his honor.