“That's one thing my grandmother talked about, was how hard it was to say goodbye to her father,” Rude said. “But he knew that was the only way for her to have any opportunity.”
It wasn't long before Ingaberg Johansen settled in, with a little help from her Norwegian brethren. On her way to meet her two brothers in Valley City, N.D., Johansen - speaking no English - misunderstood the train conductor and got off at the wrong station.
These were the beginnings of one Norwegian family in America. Now, their grandson lives in Missoula and values this heritage so much he has risen through the ranks of the largest Norwegian cultural organization outside Norway to become the international president of the Sons of Norway.
For the past 40 years, Rude has been a teacher in Missoula, working for 12 of those years at Franklin School, and 28 at Prescott School. After retiring, the 65-year-old Rude got more involved in Sons of Norway and now receives a stipend for his work as international president, a mantle he assumed last month.
The Sons of Norway began in 1895 in Minneapolis as a financial and social safety net for Norwegian immigrants. The United States was in a recession, so 18 men banded together to provide support to one another's families, should trouble befall them.
“They were putting money aside for their family in times of need,” Rude said, “basically insurance.”
Trouble did befall Rude's great-grandparents on his grandfather's side. When they first came to the United States in 1881, like most immigrants they headed first to Ellis Island. But being unaccustomed to the dangers of the big city, they left their trunk unlocked - and had all their money stolen.
“They didn't lock their trunk. They trusted everyone,” Rude said. “It would have been great if they had something like (the Sons of Norway) when my great-grandparents had their money stolen.”
Since its founding, the organization has grown to about 70,000 members, with 400 lodges in the United States, Canada and Norway, split into eight districts. Montana is in District 4.
The insurance policies are now more formal. Sons of Norway provides life insurance to about 20 percent of its members, and the organization has been expanded to include investment plans, grants and scholarships through its foundation, and cultural heritage centers.
Missoula has two lodges - Normanden, to which Rude belongs, with 250 members, and Hilsen with 16 members. In Hamilton there is the Bitterrootdalen, which just won the award for international Lodge of the Year. The award was presented at the Sept. 1 biennial conference in San Diego, the same conference where Rude was elected international president.
Activities at these lodges include folk dancing, Norwegian dinners, book clubs, language classes and celebrations of Norwegian holidays, such as Leif Eriksson day on Oct. 19 and Syttende Mai - Norway's Independence Day - on May 17.
These activities help the members maintain a connection to their homeland, and to the past.
As Rude leafed through a family history, he came across a passage about his great-grandparents heading west from Ellis Island.
“Somehow, without funds, the Rude family settled in a dugout in the hills of North Dakota,” Rude read.
His great-grandfather, Kanut Rudd, was originally named Kanut Hansro, which they couldn't pronounce at Ellis Island and so was assigned the name Rudd that later morphed into Rude. Kanut Rudd was a skilled craftsman and probably worked his way across the country.
“Being a violin player and a carpenter and cabinet maker, he made it to Catherine in North Dakota,” Rude said.
Rude is now concerned with the future of Norwegians in the United States as well as their past. His priority for the Sons of Norway is to increase membership at these lodges, particularly the membership of families.
“People are usually joining after they raise their families,” he said. “You're competing for that time.”
He said Sons of Norway is researching ways to retain members.
His own involvement in the group began in 1972. Rude and his father wanted to go to Norway, and the organization had a great travel program at the time.
“It was the cheapest way to get to Norway,” Rude said. “My father retired from the railroad and wanted to get to Norway.”
After the trip, his wife Betty - who he claims has Viking blood in her because her family is Irish and the Vikings conquered Ireland - suggested he get more involved in the historic preservation aspect of the group.
Thus began a long climb to the top of the ranks. Eventually, Rude became youth director, something he called a natural fit, being a teacher, and went on to be elected vice president two years ago.
As the last international president resigned after one term, Rude was encouraged to run for the position. He ran for the two-year office unopposed. He can be elected to one more term.
“He's dedicated to Sons of Norway. He's been a member for so long; he's a leader. He's been a teacher, and he likes dealing with people and interacting with people,” said District 4 President Sharon Tandberg, who is also a Missoula resident and encouraged Rude to run for the position. “Dan is very committed to the organizations he belongs to, like Sons of Norway and Habitat for Humanity.”
Now he coordinates with other Sons of Norway executives, who are scattered across the country, to help run the Minneapolis-based organization from his home.
“We do a lot by e-mail and we have two board meetings a year,” he said. “We do have teleconferences when issues come up.”
Since his involvement with Sons of Norway began 36 years ago, Rude has made five trips to Norway. His first visit with his father was to explore the family heritage. The others have been on Sons of Norway business and for two square-dance tours of the country.
On that first trip to Norway, Rude and his father visited the old family homestead. The buildings are no longer there, but they did find a painting. A replica now hangs in the Rude family living room.
The picture shows that behind the old Hansro farm there was a mountain. Rude told about how his great-grandfather had come across that mountain to marry the farmer's daughter. Well, Kanut married, and took on the family name, but eventually sold the farm to start his new life across the Atlantic. The family finally made it back there after 100 years, with the help of Sons of Norway.
Now, with a Sons of Norway District president, an international president and a Lodge of the Year, the Norwegian community in western Montana is flourishing.
“Normanden's always been a strong and thriving lodge,” Tandberg said. “There's always been, and still is, a large Norwegian community here.”
Missoulian intern Mark Page can be reached at 523-5259 or at mark.page@missoulian.com.
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Tom Bernardin wrote on Oct 28, 2008 4:02 AM:
What an interesting story! However I feel compelled to correct a couple of points. Ellis Island did not open until 1892. Anybody arriving at the port of New York between 1855 and 1890 would have been processed at Castle Clinton in Battery Park in Manhattan (www.castlegarden.org). And, contrary to popular belief, names were not changed at Ellis Island. A Google search of Name Changes at Ellis Island will come up with scholarly articles about that myth.
In any event, I very much enjoyed reading about the Sons of Norway and their remarkable story.
Tom Bernardin
www.EllisIslandTours.com "