Elaine in her West Telemark bunad

Born on June 16, 1854 on the Gausta farm in Vestfjørddalen, Telemark, Norway, Herbjørn Nilsen Gausta immigrated with his family to America at age twelve. He settled with his parents and four sisters on a farm near Harmony, Minnesota. Gausta entered a training program for parochial school teachers at Luther College in 1872, but left for Norway three years later on a stipend provided by the Decorah community under the leadership of U.V. Koren. Throughout the late 1800s, Gausta traveled between Norway and the Upper Midwest, painting portraits of prominent Norwegian-American individuals, religious works, and genre scenes depicting life in the two regions.

Our speaker, Elaine Nordlie, is a long- time member of Telelag, an organization for those whose ancestors immigrated from Telemark. She has researched this artist and will tell the audience more about his life and career. She was born Lanesboro, Minnesota and some of her ancestors were the first settlers to come to this area of southeastern Minnesota.  She attended Winona State University and graduated with a B.S. degree in music in 1969. During her senior year, she was an exchange student at the Oslo Læreskole (Teachers College). During her stay in Norway, she became busy with college activities which included playing in a small orchestra, singing in the college choir, and learning Norwegian folk dancing. The first evening of folk dance practice at the læreskoleshe, she met a tall Norwegian who later became her husband. After living in Norway for 14 years they returned to the USA. Back in Minnesota she taught music in the Dassel-Cokato School District for seventeen years, retiring in 2003. She now teaches piano privately.