Apalseth, Ida

2 file folders
1 sound cassette

This interview was conducted with Ida Apalseth on July 26, 1982 in Tacoma, Washington. It contains information on family background, emigration, settling in, marriage and family life, church, and community activities. The interview was conducted in English.

Also see Ida's interview on the Daughters of Norway.

Folder Contents

Box 8, File 14 Personal and Family History
Tape Archive Sheet, Family Background and Tape Index

Box 8, File 14A Correspondence and Forms
Checklist and Release Form
Letters from Janet Rasmussen regarding Mrs. Apalseth’s participation.
Handwritten Tape Archive Sheet and Family Background

Interviewed by Morrene Nesvig
Transcribed by Mary Sue Gee, Julie Peterson and Becky Husby
Encoded by Kerstin Ringdahl & Amity Smetzler
Recording Quality: Good (some road noise in background)

Ida's oral history interview on the Daughters of Norway

Biographical Note

Ida Apalseth was born on December 18, 1896 in Litløy, Norway to Ole Pedersen and Herborg Johnsen. Litløy is on an island in northern Norway. Ole owned a bakery in addition to selling fish and working as a mailman, and Herborg was a homemaker. Ida had three sisters-Aslaug, Dagmar, and Herborg-and two brothers-Martin and Halfdan. Ida was the eldest and Herborg the youngest. Herborg and their mother died a week after Herborg's birth; Ida was only six. When Ida was twelve, her father remarried and had eight more children. The family was fairly well off and had several workers; at times, there would be eighteen people at the dinner table.

After Ida was confirmed, she and her sister moved to Trondheim, where Ida got a babysitting job. Not fully satisfied in Trondheim, Ida decided to immigrate to Petersburg, Alaska, where her older half-sister from her father's first marriage lived. Ida left Norway in November 1916; she was nineteen years old. From Ellis Island, New York, Ida took the train to Seattle, Washington, where she was supposed to meet a woman, Molly, who would help her get to Alaska. When Ida and Molly contacted Ida's sister in Alaska, she told them that the weather there was awful and Ida should just stay in Seattle if she could obtain employment. Ida followed her advice and found a housekeeping job with the family of a retired Navy officer within a week.

Ida was very fond of Seattle and joined a mixed Norwegian group that met at the Norway Hall. She continued to work for this family for nine months and then got a cleaning job at the Potter Hotel on James Street. A boy from Ida's hometown had immigrated as well and joined the U.S. Navy. He was stationed in Bremerton, Washington, and Ida met her husband, Andrew Apalseth, through him. Andrew was also born in Norway. He and Ida were married on April 1920 at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Seattle and then moved to Tacoma. They had one daughter, Olive (Rudsil). Once in Tacoma, Ida joined the Daughters of Norway and attended Bethlehem Lutheran Church. She returned to Norway once in 1973.

Lineage

Full Name: Ida Pauline Pedersen Apalseth
Maiden Name: Ida Pauline Pedersen
Father: Ole B. Pedersen
Mother: Herborg Johnsen
Paternal Grandfather: Peder Kristian Olsen
Paternal Grandmother: Maria Inbjør Olsen
Maternal Grandfather: Albrigt Johnsen
Maternal Grandmother: Laura Johnsen
Brothers and Sisters: Aslaug Marie Pedersen, Dagmar Pedersen, Halfdan Pedersen, Herborg Pedersen, Martin Pedersen
Half Brothers and Sisters: Ole Pedersen, Solvieg Pedersen, Vilhelm Pedersen, Edgar Pedersen, Margot Pedersen, Kristofer Pedersen, Olive Pedersen
Spouse: Andrew Apalseth
Children: Olive Apalseth Rudsil