Anderson, Aage

2 file folders
1 sound cassette

This interview was conducted with A.V. (Aage Valdemar) Andersen on April 1, 1982 in Poulsbo, Washington. It provides information on family background, emigration, employment, marriage, and Danish heritage. The interview was conducted in English. Also see Ellen Andersen.

Folder Contents

Box 7, File 13 Personal and Family History
Tape Archive Sheet, Family Background, and Tape Index

Box 7, File 13A Correspondence and Forms
Checklist and Release Form
Letter from Janet Rasmussen to Mr. and Mrs. Andersen regarding their participation.
Handwritten Tape Archive Sheet and Family Background

Interviewed by Donna Mallonee
Transcribed by Mary Sue Gee, Julie Peterson and Becky Husby
Encoded by Kerstin Ringdahl & Amity Smetzler
Recording Quality: Good

Ellen Andersen (wife) oral history interview

Biographical Note

Aage Valdemar Andersen was born on August 24, 1902 in Hornbæk, Denmark to Ernst Andersen and Louise Jensen. Ernst owned a shoe store but spent most of his time as a Lutheran missionary. There were four other children in the family: Dan, Skjøld, Else, and Frede. Aage finished high school in Denmark and then became an apprentice in the hardware business for four years.

Aage obtained a good job after his apprenticeship but wanted to travel, which led him to immigrate to the United States in 1924. He stayed in New York City for about one year and then went to Detroit, where he worked for General Motors. Aage then went to British Columbia, where his brothers had immigrated in the meantime. He did harvest work with them for a couple of months before moving to Seattle, Washington, where he got back into the hardware business.

In Seattle, Aage also met his wife, Ellen Hoch, and was married in 1928. Ellen was from Fredericia, Denmark, and they had two children, Elsie and Carl. Aage worked as an electrician at Sand Point Naval Station during WWII, after which he and Ellen bought their own store, where they sold gifts and hardware. Aage also became a storekeeper in Alaska for ten seasons, during which time Ellen managed the store at home. After the store, Aage made another business venture and built a motel in Moses Lake, Washington with a friend named Sigmund Tetten. Aage sold the motel after eleven years, retiring at the age of sixty-six.

After retirement, Aage and Ellen settled in Poulsbo, Washington and bought a motor home. They have visited all fifty states and have also visited Denmark several times. Aage has belonged to the Danish Brotherhood and the Sons of Norway and is proud of his heritage. However, he also feels he is 'as good of a citizen [American] as anybody is going to be.'

Lineage

Full Name: Alfred (Aage) Valdemar Andersen
Father: Ernst Andersen
Mother: Louise Jensen
Paternal Grandfather: Jens Christian Andersen
Paternal Grandmother: Stine Tipperup
Maternal Grandfather: Lars Jensen
Maternal Grandmother: Else Jensen
Brothers and Sisters: Dan Andersen, Skjøld Andersen, Else Andersen, Frede Andersen
Spouse: Ellen Hoch Andersen. Children: Elsie Andersen, Carl Andersen