Scandinavian American

From A Trip To
Norway & Sweden
(Several months ago the Scan- dinavian-American received the following letter from an old friend in Yakima, Wash. The letter was mislaid and found just the other day. Even if it's getting a little old, we like to print it with our apologies to Mr. Hegland for the delay.-Ed.)
Scandinavian American,
Seattle, Wash.
Dear Sir:
I herewith pay for a year's sub- scription.
I did not read your paper but very little last year. In- stead I drove from here in my car. Leaving on Feb. 3, '47, drove to New York and on Feb. 28 started for Norway and Sweden. We landed in Gothenburg on March 10, stayed there 3 days and on to Saeterdalen, Norway.
We drove to Oslo the first day. There was plenty of snow, but the roads were kept in good shape.
The second day we drove to Kris- tiansand. There we met my broth- er whom I had not seen since 1902. It was a grand reunion.
I stayed in Kristiansand from Friday evening until Monday, March 17, then we drove up Saet- erdalen to the place of my birth. The roads were good but narrow and owing to the fact that I drove so far, I put the car away till about the last of April. Then spring came from all directions. Just like it came out of a sack.
I took along not only a new car but also a new 5 hp. Johnson out- board motor and did I have fun. Although my sister, who is now 76 years old and who has to cross a wide fjord every time she has to go shopping, would not go with me in the boat "with that wild thing on the back of the boat." I told her that I would make the boat go slower than she could row, but nothing doing, she said "I can't trust you." We traveled about 11,000 miles in Norway and so I have really got something to look at. The whole trip was, when we got about the biggest headache on into Stockholm about 5 o'clock in the evening. Everybody came from work and it was like going through an ant hill and being that you must drive on the left side, is no fun. Everybody has the right-of- way. The man in a car, gets the hind most. After reading so much about helping people in the old world, if Truman would only get people from the Scandinavian Countries to go to those countries that are always fighting, and tell them to quit fighting and go to work, America would not have to send millions of dollars to them. Everywhere we went in Norway everybody was working and no fighting. We saw plenty of signs of what the "Huns" did to Norway, but you don't see any "Norsk" standing there with his hand out. Sure there was a lot of things they cannot buy, but I never saw so many happy people in my life, as I saw in Norway. I will never forget my wonder- ful trip, if I live to be 1,000 years old.
Respectfully,
A. T. Hegland,
1014 East Lenox Ave.
Yakima, Washington.