| Summary: | tion had call connection with the Horace Lutheran Church until the Hemnaes church was dissolved in 1934 when only four families remained and they joined neighboring congregations, notably Wolverton, Comstock, Hickson or Christine. o o e The memory of a stout-hearted missionary, Reverend Bersvend Anderson, will always be associated with the Hemnaes and Fron Congregations on the Red and Sheyenne Rivers, Dakota Territory. Reverend Anderson was born Dec. 7, 1821, in Bardo, Norway. His mother died and her funeral was delayed several hours in the belief that the child would also die. He was adopted by a childless couple living in a wild wooded area. He was denied an education except for an annual five-weeks religious school. His only books were the Lutheran Catechism and Explanation. Later when he was able to borrow books he naturally leaned toward religious literature. He was caught up in the spiritual awakening set off by Hans Nielsen Hauge and at the age of 30 became an ordained missionary in North Norway, spending most of his time among Lofoten's 20,000 fishermen in the winter and farming his acreage in the summer. Traveling through an area rugged with fiords, mountains and valleys he frequently used skis to reach residents of remote areas, and after he emigrated to America in 1876, the year General Custer and his troops were slain, he again found use for skis. He and his family, consisting of his wife and eight children, settled in Polk County near Crookston which became the base of his travels. A burning zeal for the spiritual welfare of the pioneers caused him to throw his every ounce of energy into his work despite handicaps, frustrations and disappointments. He was proof of the saying that storms make a strong tree—sufferings make a strong saint! His first years were devoted to the Red River Valley. The two congregations, Hemnaes and Fron (now Horace Lutheran Church), had heard of his work in Norway 17 Scanned with a Zeutschel Zeta book scanner at 300 dpi. Edited with Multi-Page TIFF Editor.
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