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| Hans Kristian Åvendal
My grandfather, Hans Kristian Åvendal, emigrated to the US on April 4th 1911 as a 17-year old. Like his older brother Jakob he stayed with his sister Gina and her family the first years after he arrived. Most of his years in the US he worked in heavy constructions, building dams and bridges along the Mississippi River.He would use his brother Jakob's farm as a base, working on the farm, when he was off from his other jobs. The two of them were great friends. Both he and brother Jakob served in the US forces during the Great War. Jakob stayed in the reserves in the US, while Hans Kristian was sent to France where he served at the front-line. Although he rarely told about his experiences in France, it was clear to those who knew him that the hard life as a soldier had put his mark on him for life. Among other things he got furious when other people complained about food, because he told that his best ever meal was a leaf of bread covered in horse-excrements he had found in the mud in France after going days without eating. When he left for Norway in 1937(38?) it was with a return ticket, but he was never to see his beloved America again. Through his sister Gunda he met Klara Augusta Rosland whom he married in October 1938. By then he had already purchased the land close to Egersund town where he built up a new farm. Some suggest that the main-reason he never returned to the US, even on holiday, was that he thought he could not bear the thought about going back to Norway again, as he was American at heart until the day he died, even though he got back his Norwegian citizenship after WW 2. Hans Kristian was a hard act to follow. Often ruthless with himself, he once had tooth-pains and to save money to the dentist he tried to pull out the tooth himself. He suceeded, only to discover he had got the wrong tooth. Mandius Golf told me that when he was building his new barn in Egersund he stayed at Åvendal and covered the 20 mile return trip on bike every day. When they expected him at Åvendal in the evenings Johanna made ready a large towel because he wore himself so hard out that his nose was bleeding. Hans Kristian died in August 1978, while Klara lived as long as until 1991. |
