Ole, age 16, and his sister, Clara, age 19, emigrated from Skreia, Østre Toten, Oppland, Norge, (Norway) in 1890, sailing on the steamship, NORGE, from Kristiania (Oslo), Norway to New York City and disembarking at CASTLE GARDEN, the reception center there, soon to be replaced by the facility at Ellis Island. They were following in the footsteps of their brothers, Fred and Bernt, who had been sponsored by Even and Johanna Bakke of Valley City, North Dakota, to come to America and work at the Bakkes' farm and mercantile (general store). Clara would eventually move on to work for Peter Hill (may have changed name from Norwegian name, Helle?) in Redlands, California, where she would pass away in 1909 from tuberculosis, an all too common disease of those days. Ole studiously learned to speak and write English and became involved in the mercantile business as did his older brother, Fred. After living a bachelor's life for18-19 years in America, Ole moved to the new town of Nekoma, North Dakota, working for a merchant there and eventually purchasing the business there named the Nekoma Mercantile. He met his wife to be, Nelly Carie Agnes Nelson, there about 1908-1909. She was Danish/Norwegian American and often worked as a milliner or hat maker, as well as seamstress, sometimes going back to her hometown of Neenah, Wisconsin to do so. Ole did well with his store, opening as many as 2 others in local towns and sponsoring his younger brother, Haaken to come over and join him. Haaken opened a store in Adams, nearby, but treasured his days with Ole. They were somewhat adventuresome, at one time using roller skates to get around their stores to help customers faster. Ole even played water-polo in the big pool at Hunter's Hot Springs, Montana, where he went for health reasons on occasion. Ole and Nelly, who married in 1910, had 4 children together; Melvin Orville, May and Alister. Ole had a very nice home built for them in Nekoma and was a leading business and community leader. He was too old to serve during World War I, although he has a draft card on record. Unfortunately, baby Orville died early. Ole and Haaken took a trip back to "the old country" of Norway, in 1923, to see his Mother, Pauline, and brothers Peder (Pete) and Taale and Peder's family, Karin and toddler Magnmild. In 1926, due to failing health, Ole learned from Doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, that he had advanced cancer of the esophagus and could not expect to live much longer. After undergoing treatment in a nearby medical facility purporting to have a cure, Nelly and Melvin came to get him and bring him home. He died on the train before he got there. He, Nelly and Orvilled as well as several members of Nelly's family are buried in the Nekoma Cemetery out on the prairie east of the little town. The Nekoma Mercantile Store location is currently the site of the "Pain Reliever Bar", the old store having burned down years previously. The family home Ole built is also gone. The town itself might have followed except for it's use as the site for America's Anti-ICBM effort, which was shut down after being open for 1 day and having cost many millions of dollars. There are some buildings left from Ole and Nelly's days there but the town is barely hanging on, the fate of many similar small towns in North Dakota faced with changing times and modern technologies. Note: Ole was the second of his family to be so named, an older brother, the first to be named Ole, passed away as an infant. There were thus twelve siblings, not the eleven shown here, no grave for the earlier Ole found as yet. The youngest son was named Taale, which means 12 in Norwegian.