Arthur Tukua, Fergus Falls, Minn. er født den 10de novem-ber, 1886, i Freeborn County, Minn. av forældre Ole Tukua og Gundhild Eriksdatter Velstadeie.

Hans far var født i Skinneleie i Krødsherred, hans mor i Sigdal, saaledes er det godt dølablod i ham.

Forældrene er begge døde og hviler paa Vestre Freeborn kirkegaard, Minn.

Arthur Tukua er baade døpt og konfirmeret i Vestre Free-born kirke av Pastor J. J. Strand.

Senere arbeidet han rundt i nabolaget til han blev gift, rigtignok ikke med en fra Sigdal, men hun var like bra for det.

Han blev viet av samme prest til Lillie Strand, født i Portland, Oregon, av forældre Ole Utstran og hustru Louise Nøkleby i Freeborn County.

Arthur O. Tukua

Arthur Tukua var sønn av Ole Olsen Tukua fra Skinneseie i Krødsherad og Gunhild Eriksdtr. fra Nymoen u. Velstad.

Som guttonger var både Ole og Even Olsen, sammen med foreldra, på vei til Amerika.

I Drammen døde faren og familien vendte tilbake til Krødsherad.

Even Olsen reiste ikke til Amerika, og det er ei stor slekt etter han i Krødsherad og Sigdal.

Allikevel er slekta etter Ole O. Tukua, "The Tukua family enda større.

På et lydbandopptak som Arthurs sønn, Vern Bjørn Tukua tok opp for noen år sia forteller Arthur om ting han har opplevd på rein og fin kryllingdialekt enda han er født i USA og aldri har satt sine bein i "gamlelandet ".

Efter sit giftermaal flyttede de til byen Waseca, hvor han arbeidet paa en mølle i to aar, men begyndte saa at farme og holdt paa dermed indtil 1916.

Da reiste de til Washington, hvor de opholdt sig et aar, men lengtet tilbake og kom igjen til Freeborn County og begyndte at farme igjen.

I 1927 flyttet de til Otter Tail County og farmet der i 9 aar, men opgav nu dette og flyttet til Fergus Fall., hvor de kjøpte sig hus og trives godt i denne vakre by.

Han har sit arbeid paa statshospitalet.

I deres egteskab har de 5 barn, nemlig Gladis Luella gift med Helmer Grotsund, farmer i Freeborn County; Olivia Bernice, gift med Ed. Bakke, som arbeider for Case Co. i Austro, Minn.

Selma Alvina, gift med Lynden Bergerud, som arbeider for Skogmo Gamble i Fergus Falls, Minn.

Irwin Arthur, arbeider for North-western Public Service Co. og Vernon Elsworth, assistent manager hos Red Owl og bor hjemme.

Indsendt ved Gunder Jacobson, Wendel, Minn.

tilbake til 2001-1- startside

tilbake til Under Norefjell`s startside.

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Photo by Donna Ellsworth, Fergus Falls

The first white men to enter the county were French and British fur traders.

Efforts were made to set up trading posts on the Leaf Lakes and Otter Tail Lake.

In the late 1800’s, most of the towns were built along the railroad lines.

Lumber and agriculture were the major industries in the county at that time

The pine and hardwood forests, transportation system, and markets were instrumental in the development of Fergus Falls into a lumber center.

In 1870, the population of the county was about 2,000.

At that time the principal languages spoken in the county were Norwegian, Swedish, German, and English (Mason, 1916).

Otter Tail County was established in March 1858 by a legislative act.

It was organized in 1868. The original county seat was Ottertail City.

The people of Fergus Falls organized a new county named Holcomb.

In 1872, a legislative act abolished Holcomb County, added additional townships to the west, and established Fergus Falls as the county seat of Otter Tail County.

There are 62 townships in the county.

The county is named for Otter Tail Lake and the Otter Tail River.

In the early years, wheat was the dominant crop grown.

At several times throughout Otter Tail County’s farming history, the grasshopper infestations were so terrible that bounties on grasshoppers were enacted.

The production of corn and other crops did not begin until about 1905. The Food Security Act of 1985 included the Conservation Reserve Program.

This program involved taking selected cropland acres out of commodity crop production for 10 years and planting those areas to trees or other vegetative cover for the purpose of controlling erosion.

From October 1985 to the present, Otter Tail County has had approximately 80,000 acres in the Conservation Reserve Program.

Former cropland could be brought back into crop production starting in October 1995, as the Conservation Reserve Program contracts started to expire.

Threshing in Otter Tail County 1910

Otter Tail County holds an impressive agricultural standing in Minnesota.

In 1994, the county ranked first in production of hay, oats, and dry edible beans and ranked second in stock sheep and lambs, milk cows and milk production, cattle and calves, and total livestock in the State of Minnesota.

It ranked third in overall cash receipts.

In 1994, there were about 2,950 farms in Otter Tail County and the average farm size was about 335 acres.

Approximately 550,000 acres in the county is used for the production of crops.

During the 1994 growing season, 148,100 acres was planted to corn for grain; 37,700 acres was used for corn silage; 130,600 acres was used for hay, of which 107,300 acres was alfalfa hay; 45,100 acres was used for oats; 62,500 acres was used for spring wheat; 72,700 acres was used for soybeans; 20,100 acres was used for barley; 14,900 acres was used for dry edible beans; 11,500 acres was used for sunflowers; and 2,600 acres was used for sugarbeets.

Minor acreages of other crops included potatoes, buckwheat, and rye (USDA and others, 1995).