Ramselia

July 9th

Or is it "Ramslien?"  The history is unclear.  My grandfather Kristoffer grew up on a farm about 40 miles from Lauvrak.  His father died when he was young.  The family kept the farm for a while.  Another barn was built.  The main house was expanded.  But the location was remote.  It was miles to the church and school, and difficult to conduct business from.  Kristoffer left after finishing high school.  Nobody knows for sure but the best guess is he landed a job at Lauvrak.  There he met Marthe.  And fell in love with the farmer's daughter.  They went to America.  Several of Kristopher's brothers and sisters also left Norway.  The farm was sold after World War One.  It was re-sold a few times after that.  The records are gone.  Today the place is abandoned.  Nobody knows for sure what the original name was.  That side of the family has scattered.

Laila and Gunnar organized the quest.  Find Ramselia!  A "Raiders of the Lost Ark" adventure.  Gunnar wore a "USA" baseball cap instead of the safari hat Harrison Ford used in the movie.  Laila showed her support with a red-white-and-blue tee shirt.  A few months earlier Gunnar and his pal Sven had scouted the area.  They'd been there before, back when my father visited.  That was decades ago.  The property had changed hands again.  A new situation.  A gate blocked the entry road.  The intrepid pair were undeterred.  They tracked down the trolls who owned the key.  Negotiations were conducted.  Arrangements were made.

Our expedition began Saturday morning.  Gail and I rode with Gunnar and his wife Else Gerd.  Sven, Oddvar, Olav Arthur, Gunhild Marie, Laila, and Per Gunnar followed in two cars. We drove down a long dirt road, onto a highway, then down a winding back road.  Until we reached the trolls.  (Actually they are auto mechanics.)  A few words were spoken.  A key changed hands.  Then to the gate.  Which opened.  And led us onto another dirt road.  Gunnar stopped after a few miles where a pair of overgrown tracks led off into the woods.  Gunnar and Sven knew where they went.  "Follow us!"

A half mile in we reached Ramselia.  We first saw the main barn, now in disrepair.  Then the white farm house, which the auto mechanics had plans for.  It had a new roof.  The house was locked.  We were not allowed in.  We could see through the windows.  It resembled the house I grew up in back in America.  Which also had a barn.  Coincidence?  Yes actually.  My family moved there in 1958, 35 years before my father ever saw Ramselia.  (Maybe it's in the genes.)  Another barn stood around back.  A third, smaller one, was built along the trail leading in.  Sven explained how the various fields might have looked a hundred years ago.  The surrounding area sure is beautiful today.

Laila and Else Gerd unveiled a delicious picnic.  Olav Arthur might have been thinking about that night's soccer match between France and Germany.  But he probably was soaking up the history of the place, just like the rest of us.  The trip to the Folk Museum helped Gail and me to appreciate the architecture and the logic behind the way everything was built.  The barn that stored feed was on stilts to keep the critters out.  The cattle stalls were approached by earthen ramps.  Everything made sense.

It had to have been a hard life despite the fertile soil and plentiful forests.  That only became more difficult after Kristoffer's father passed away.  His mother must have been a determined woman.  From what we know she expanded the place and made it more profitable before retiring.  Ramselia remained a working farm until the 1950s.  The trolls bought it only recently.  We can't predict what they're up to.  Work is underway.  Vehicles are on site.  Some scheme is in mind.  Good luck boys!