Anyone who has tasted the delicious golden-brown sorghum cooked by Erick Evans at his mill in a picturesque site on the banks of Bear Creek will remember the farm 22 miles southwest of Roland. For 106 years the farm was operated by the Eliassen-Evans families.
The first settler on the farm was Haldor Eliassen and his young bride, Mary, who arrived from Norway in 1862. The first house was a log cabin, and the couple planned a long happy life on the farm. Fate intervened, however, as the Civil War broke out and Haldor died of an illness at a military hospital in Columbus, Kentucky.
The young widow and her infant son remained on the farm and were assisted by her husband's cousin, Erick Evans, also a recent immigrant. They were married in 1866 and raised a family of four boys and a girl, Erick, Betsy, Tom, Martin, and Lewis. The children took over operation of the farm after the death of their parents. Henry Eliassen and Lewis Evans eventually left the farm and married, but the remaining sons and daughter never married because their father "had kept them so busy there was no time for courtship".
Each had his special interest. Erick jr. had many fine teams of horses, and was known for his sorghum cooking; Martin had charge of the dairy herd and kept farm equipment in repair; Tom raised the pigs; and Betsy had a thriving poultry business and managed the household, assisted by Inger Winterhus. Mrs. Valinda Walker Thorson was raised in the Evans home and was like a sister to Betsy. Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Hovde were tenants on another Evans farm and were friends and helpers to the family.
Erick Evans sr. assisted in the organization of Bergen Lutheran Church and was treasurer until his death. The stone bulletin board outside the church was erected as a memorial to the family by Martin. After Martin's death in 1968 the family farm was sold, to close the era of a pioneer family.
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