Addendum

May 4, 2008


We spent the weekend in Lacrosse. It was kind of a "last chapter" and it offered me some closure to the trip. We had hoped to make Lacrosse the last stop in late March but snow and icy weather prevented us from getting there. So we drove over this weekend.


As I walked about the Selbu cemetery, it made so much more sense, the names, the dates, and the family connections. Also, the trip had brought me to a new understanding of sacrifice.


Grandpa Aune (GG) has always been a giant in my eyes. My dad died when I was 12 and Grandpa was always the patriarch to me. His iconic portrait hung in our livingroom and, I think, every livingroom in the Aune clan. It even hung in the main room at the Aune home in Selbu, Norway. He was a great man. I am proud to be his grandson and I will respect him always. I feel fortunate that he lived long enough for me, as an adult, to get to know him.


I didn't get to know Grandma Aune (Karie is the spelling on her grave stone). She died in 1927 at 49 years old. I remember seeing few pictures of her. In my conversations with Grandpa he talked so warmly of her. I didn't hesitate to name our daughter Kari and when I called Grandpa to ask permission, his response was, "Sure, and I hope she is as beautiful as my Karie was."


I have always marveled at the sacrifices that Grandpa and Grandma made. Grandpa, however, saw the realization of those sacrifices. Grandma was taken early during those hard days of labor and never saw the fruition.


I wrote the poem below the night we were parked in Ryder. My respect for her is equal to Grandpa's. I am very proud to be her grandson.


TO GRANDMOTHER KARIE WHOM I NEVER KNEW

A young wife, a younger babe in your arms,
You followed your mate’s dream of a farm.
To embark on a journey, and leave everything known,
To leave your clan and travel alone.
To board the ship like cattle to the car,
To arrive in the promised land oh so far.
Then to a cold place, relative to home,
To give birth, build, birth again, then to roam.
Only to find Lacrosse was not the place,
That he had hoped so another move to face.
And then that farm didn’t please his will,
You left your child buried on a hill.
To travel back to Lacrosse once again,
Because he said it would work so again you began.
And it did, you flourished, under sheer will,
But you never did live in the house on the hill.
More births and work, the years came and went,
You had given so much and your energy spent.
Prematurely you passed to the next stage,
But what you had given remains to this age.
First, his love of you apparent to his death,
As he mentioned you often til his last breath.
And second, the offspring, generations following,
Recognize the gift, the energy, your memory hallowing.
That you gave, you submitted, you worked, and you teamed,
But your contributions gave rise to more than you dreamed.
As you gave us promise, a future and a life of opportunity,
Your hardships, your life’s work, for this offer of gratuity.
As I complete the tour of this great nation,
I offer simple thanks through this small notion.
I bring one red rose and place on your grave,
In respect for the great sacrifice that you gave.
Today, I climbed up Selbu Washington’s hill,
Thanking you Grandmother Karie for you commitment, your will.