I Remember Mama

Norwegian-American nostalgia John Smistad Olympia, Wash. Synopsis: A young writer recalls her ups and downs growing up as one of four children to Norwegian immigrant parents in 1910s San Francisco. My paternal grandfather, Ingebrigt Smistad, left Norway for the United States during the heart of the Great Depression, leaving behind the only home he had ever known, his family’s farm in the tiny fishing village of Øksendal. Also not accompanying him on this intrepid journey were a wife and two children, one of whom is my dad, Olav. Ingebrigt did not have a job and did not speak English. When he found work in Washington state with the help of Norwegian relatives who had  already immigrated to the United States, he brought his family overseas and then across the country to reunite with him. The nationwide economic disaster was only just beginning to show signs of endin