Seventh Post

To finish off the quarter I decided to read one more article about Norwegian-Americans. The article I read was called “Snowshoe” Thompson: Fact and Legend by Kenneth Bjork. This comes from the 19th Volume of Norwegian-American Studies and Records.

I thought that this article was definitely one of the best that I have read for this quarter. The article is about the life of a man named “Snowshoe” Thompson. Thompson lived in the mid-1800’s and he lived in the area that is now Utah and Nevada. He had emigrated from Norway when he was 10 and moved around until he ended up in Nevada in the 1840’s. This area of the country was completely shut off from contact during the winter months due to the snow. Fortunately, Thompson had grown up in Telemark, Norway and knew how to make skis. He made himself a pair of skis and began transporting mail across the mountains to the cities shut off from the world by the snow. He became a legend for is strength and I see him as a true Norwegian. He was honest and lived a clean life. He also was good to his word. One especially Norwegian characteristic that he possessed was in great storms; he would go up on a rock and dance his native dance! This action was compared by some writers to the snow trolls of Norway and it is very fitting. Thompson was so strong and dependable that he became a legend and I am truly proud to share a Norwegian heritage with him. I think that he is a great man and he is almost my ultimate hero because he could conquer almost anything and had no ego about himself. Those are some values that are so important to me. I just loved this article!