Strom, Anne

3 file folders
4 photographs
1 sound cassette

This interview was conducted with Anne Strom on April 6, 1982 in Tacoma, Washington. It provides information on family background, emigration, employment, marriage and family, community involvement, and Norwegian heritage. The interview also contains copies of Anne's emigration papers, Anne's Certificate of Achievement from Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation for passing Test No. 1 for Welder, and photographs. The photographs consist of Anne and her father (taken in Norway), Anne at the North Star restaurant, and Anne and her husband Alfred at the time of the interview. The interview was conducted in English.

Also see Alfred Strom.

Folder Contents

Box 7, File 16 Personal and Family History
Tape Archive Sheet, Family Background, and Tape Index

Box 7, File 16A Correspondence and Forms
Release Form
Letter from Janet Rasmussen regarding Mrs. Strom’s participation.
Handwritten Tape Archive Sheet and Family Background

Box 7, File 16B Photographs and Personal Papers
Four photographs
Copy of her Welder Certificate
Copy of her passport

Interviewed by Anne Kristine Olsen Strom
Transcribed by Mary Sue Gee, Julie Peterson and Becky Husby
Encoded by Kerstin Ringdahl & Amity Smetzler
Recording Quality: Good

Alfred Strom (husband) oral history interview

Biographical Note

Anne Strom was born on February 1897 in Bjørnør, Norway to Josef Olsen Hasen and Karen Jensen. Her father was a fisherman, and the family lived on a small farm. In addition to Anne, there were eight other children in the family: Oline, Kirsten, Lars, Martin, Karen, Josef, Ove, and Karl. Anne's mother passed away when Anne was four and a half, and her father did not remarry. Oline was eighteen at the time, and Anne's grandmother also lived with them, so the younger children were taken care of. After Anne finished school, she obtained a job on a neighbor's farm, where she did housework and later returned home to take her turn helping her father.

When Anne was twenty, she decided to emigrate and wrote to her uncle in Grantsburg, Wisconsin. Her uncle sent her money for a ticket, and Anne left Norway in August 1920 with her friend Karen Tellefson, who had previously been to America. They landed on Ellis Island on the sixteenth and then took the train to Grantsburg. In Grantsburg, Anne went to her uncle's house and obtained a job on a neighbor's farm in the spring. Karen then decided to move to Duluth, Minnesota, and Anne went with her.

In Duluth, Anne found work at a match factory and also met her husband, Alfred Strom. Alfred was from the same community in Norway as Anne, and Anne knew he was in the United States. They were married August 1923 and had two children: Ingvald and Ruth. The family eventually settled in Tacoma, Washington.

In Tacoma, Anne has been very active in the Daughters of Norway. She has served as President and chaplain of the grand lodge. Anne also maintained traditional Norwegian cooking in her household, and her children learned some Norwegian. She has returned to Norway five times.

Lineage

Full Name: Anne Kristine Olsen Strom
Maiden Name: Anne Kristine Olsen
Father: Josef Olsen Hasen
Mother: Karen Jensen
Paternal Grandfather: Ole Olsen Hasen
Paternal Grandmother: Karen Hasen
Maternal Grandmother: Nella Jensen
Brothers and Sisters: Oline Hasen, Kirsten Hasen, Lars Hasen, Martin Hasen, Karen Hasen, Josef Hasen, Ove Hasen, Karl Hasen
Spouse: Alfred Julius Strom
Children: Ingvald Kenneth Strom, Ruth Irene Strom.