“The Stavig Letters, written in Norwegian and translated into English by Bruce and Marta Boyce, are an extensive collection of letters between two brothers, Lars Stavig who immigrated to America in 1876 and his brother Knut who stayed in Norway. Consisting of more than 150 letters spanning more than five decades from 1881 to 1938, the Stavig Letters give voice and reality to the immigrant experience from the perspectives of both countries.

A book compiled, and annotated by Jane Torness Rasmusen and John S. Rasmussen was published in 2013. ‘”The Stavig Letters: The Story of a Norwegian Immigrant” is a dramatic performance of the letters selected, edited and  dramatized by Dr. Wayne S. Knutson, Professor Emeritus at the University of South Dakota. The cast of three includes a narrator and the two half-brothers, Lars Stavig, who comes to the prairie, and Knut Stavik, who remains in Norway.

A one-hour video that covers the years the brothers wrote back and forth has also produced by South Dakota Public television. This  video is available for viewing in the Livsreise auditorium.

Our Speaker: 

Dr. Rasmus Sunde

This is the third visit to Livsreise by Rasmus Sunde, who is guiding a study trip to the U.S.  by Norwegians searching for the landing spots of their immigrants ancestors made in the late 19th and early 20th century. He has a doctorate in emigration history from the University of Bergen. As a visiting professor at Augustana University in Sioux Fall, S.D. in 2005, he became aware of the these letters and began reading them. He decided to write a book about these letters. As part of the preparation process, he consulted with Dr. Wayne Knutson, the playwright.  The collection of original letters which are all at the Romsdal Museum in Molde, Norway, were accepted into UNESCO’s Memory of the World Registry in 2018.

***** Business hours on July 26 will be from 10:00 AM- 5:30 PM CDT to accommodate the time of this presentation*****