ANUNDSEN, B. 1844 -

ANUNDSEN, HOFSTROM, HADDORPH, HEGG, HOUG

Posted By: Bill Waters (email)
Date: 2/18/2014 at 10:51:12

B. ANUNDSEN.

It is a trite saying that all the world loves a lover, but its fundamental idea is true. The world loves a lover—an enthusiast of something that he places high above the humdrum of mere material attainment. The world loves a man of an ideal who fights for the realization of a sublime inspiration vehemently and unselfishly, and it is this strong sympathy that men extend to lofty and noble characters which made the late B. Anundsen of Decorah beloved by all who knew him and kept him in the hearts of his Norseland countrymen. A man who had but meager advantages of education, he became by self-study— not of books as much as of human nature—one of the well informed men of his day, a man who foremost understood the folk-character of his Norseland friends and who upon coming to this country set out to found for them a paper to their liking, a medium which would keep alive in them the noble and strong spirit of the Vikings, which would make for truer, stronger and better manhood, which would foster the family spirit, which would be entertainer, instructor and guiding friend. That he succeeded, thereof stands in proof the Decorah Posten, a publication ideal in its perception, of powerful influence on mind and character, a true family paper, its circulation far extending over Winneshiek county, over the state, over the United States, even into other parts of the world. The Decorah Posten, of which Mr. Anundsen was the publisher and sole owner, has the largest circulation of any Scandinavian publication on the face of the earth, and it is remarkable that it attained its foremost position by the inspiration and ambition of a youth.

Mr. Anundsen was born in Skien, Norway, on December 29, 1844, of poor, honest parentage, and what little education he enjoyed in his youth was secured in the common schools of his native country. The spirit of the Vikings stirred his soul and when twenty years of age his ambition led him to start out to conquer new fields. Naturally he turned to the land where he perceived the greatest opportunity—America,—first coming to Canada, leaving his native country on March 22, 1864, and arriving in Quebec on April 7th of the same year. The same month marks his arrival in Milwaukee, but he finally located in La Crosse, Wisconsin, on Monday, the first day of August, 1864. There, in 1866, he conceived the idea of publishing a literary magazine for his countrymen in America, and the Ved Arnen (By the Fireside) had its birth. This was the seed from which the Decorah Posten has sprung. In its beginning.

The magazine had sixty subscribers and with its publication began the first of many years of hardship for Mr. Anundsen, in trying to keep alive a worthy literary journal. His able wife devotedly helped him not only in his struggles in La Crosse but even after Mr. Anundsen located in Decorah, and much credit is due her for the great success which was to be his. On Friday, December 13, 1867, he and his wife loaded their printing press, type and household goods in two wagons and left La Crosse for Decorah, reaching this city on December 15, 1867. The country was still deeply suffering from the wounds of the Civil war and years of struggle ensued, which in 1870 compelled Mr. Anundsen on account of poor support to cease publication, although he had at that time fourteen hundred subscribers, of whom many, however, were unable to pay their subscriptions. On September 18, 1874, the first number of the Decorah Posten made its appearance. In its infancy more obstacles had to be overcome, more years of struggle had to be lived through, but the natural ability of Mr. Anundsen won the day and he finally guided his publication to a position beyond the danger point. Today two and a half tons of papers leave the office per week for all parts of the world, and the plant of the Decorah Posten is considered a model of its kind and one of the best equipped in Iowa. Mr. Anundsen entered upon newspaper publication at a period when the purpose of journalism had its educational feature in addition to the dissemination of general news and had not yet been tinged with the commercial spirit of the age, which seeks through sensationalism to stimulate the curiosity of the public without regard to wrong impressions. He never deviated from the high principles which he set up or lowered standards because he considered it expedient or profitable to do so, and his policy was ever in keeping with the high standard which has ever been maintained by the paper. In November, 1910, Mr. Anundsen suffered a severe attack of illness which forced him to give up his editorial duties and he was confined to the house until his death on March 25, 1913, although his directing hand yet touched during that time here and there upon the policies and management of his publication.

On October 26, 1865, Mr. Anundsen was married in La Crosse, Wisconsin, to Esther Mathilde Charlotte Hofstrom, a native of Sweden. Through years of business struggles and straitened circumstances she was his help and inspiration. She was born May 28, 1838, and lived to see their joint work grow to success. She died in Decorah, January 2, 1899. Their children were five, of whom but one is living, Frederick Haddorph, born December 9, 1872, who married Miss Emma C. Hegg, of Decorah and is advertising manager of the Decorah Posten. The deceased members of the family are: Ludwig Nathaniel, born December 30, 1866; Arthur Fernando, born January 12, 1868; Louise Mathilde, born September 13, 1870, and Emily Sophie, born December 18, 1874. On September 10, 1901, Mr. Anundsen married Miss Helma Beatha Hegg, of Decorah, a daughter of Hans and Johanna (Houg) Hegg, natives of Norway. The father was a harness-maker by trade, the parents coming to Decorah early in the history of the city. Here the father for many years was engaged in the harness business, being highly esteemed and respected in commercial and social circles.

He died in Decorah in 1878, his wife surviving him until November 6, 1907. To B. and Helma Beatha (Hegg) Anundsen was born, on June 16, 1902, one son, Brynjulf Bjorkholt, a student in the Decorah public schools. Mrs. Anundsen presides with loving care over her household, being a devoted mother and finding her greatest happiness with those dear to her.

Public-spirited and progressive, Mr. Anundsen as readily conceived the true American spirit of citizenship as he understood the spirit of his native country. While active in life he could always be found in the front rank of those who seek moral and material betterment for their fellowmen and has perhaps done more along these lines than any one man in Winneshiek county. He gave his adherence to the Republican Party, upholding the principles and policies which made possible the rapid rise of the republic. He was a member of the United Lutheran church of Decorah, in the work of which he always took helpful interest, which is continued by his wife. For years he was a member of the Decorah school board, always exerting his influence in the cause of education. Among his countrymen in the United States Mr. Anundsen was very popular. This is especially true in his relation to his colleagues in the Scandinavian-American press. When, in 1895, the Norwegian-Danish Press Association of the United States was organized he was unanimously chosen president, a position he held for a number of years, and would have held for a number of years more, had he not insisted on being relieved from its duties. Mr. Anundsen was one of the organizers of the national Norwegian society, Det Norske Selskab i Amerika, founded for the purpose of perpetuating among the Norwegian-Americans the interest in Norwegian culture and literature. He was its first president, and was reelected to that position until he finally declined. He continued one of its directors until his death, being one of its stanch supporters, also, when funds were needed in order to carry out its aims. For many years he was also a prominent figure in the Symra and Luren Norwegian societies, where are fostered those stalwart characteristics peculiar to the people of the northern kingdom and where is kept alive the spirit of brotherhood between the Norwegian residents of this section, he being among the foremost to preach devotion and veneration of native land and loyalty to the newly found home. In 1899 the Decorah Posten had its twenty-fifth anniversary. On this occasion Mr. Anundsen was honored by citizens of Decorah and non-residents alike, speeches at a banquet being made in his honor by some of the most prominent men of his nationality in the country. In 1906 Mr. Anundsen visited his native land, being the object of marked attention while there. Upon his return he was made a knight of the Order of St. Olaf by Norway's elected king, Haakon. Mr. Anundsen always manifested the most distinguished public spirit in supporting worthy enterprises, contributing liberally to any good cause of a public or charitable nature. Especially was he interested in young men, and youths trying to obtain an education without the necessary means always found a responding heart in him. Mr. Anundsen's name is deeply engraved in the annals of Decorah and Winneshiek county, where he was beloved and venerated by old and young, high and low, and no death in many years has caused a greater sorrow throughout this county and state than his.

Source: History of Winneshiek County, Iowa Vol. II Chicago the S. J. Clark publishing Company 1913

Winneshiek Biographies maintained by Bruce Kuennen.
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