“The Heritage of the past is the seed that brings forth the harvest of the future.”
– Wendell Phillips
As somebody who was born and raised in the cultural melting pot that is the United States of America, I was aware of the mixture of heritages in my own blood from both sides. One side I recently took a deep dive in was my dad’s side. My grandpa’s family immigrated from Norway back in the late 1800’s while my grandma’s family seems to have stronger ties to the Native American Cherokee tribe. Most of my own knowledge of my family’s ancestry came from listening to stories from my grandma so I never had a clear picture of where my roots grew from.
That changed when my family took a road trip to Clifton, Texas which is known as the Norwegian capitol of Texas. I was able to find headstones of my great-grandparents and even great-great grandparents. I finally had names to look up which was eye-opening. My great-great grandfather’s name was actually Thore and he, along with my great-great grandma was born in Norway in the 1800’s. I was actually able to find their birth certificates, which were written in Norwegian, along with their paperwork once they arrived in the states. I was finally able to put names and faces to the stories I have heard throughout my childhood.
This information has been influential in multiple aspects of my life. Due to the availability of death certificates, I have been able to notice certain trends which ended up being correct with even my own father who died from heart disease. I now take my heart health even more seriously after seeing how prevalent heart issues have been in my family.
I have also grown a new appreciation for the Norwegian culture, particularly the food. Norwegian waffles, almond cake, sveler (pancakes) and lefse (potato flatbread) are only some of the recipes that I plan to perfect and customize with my own flare and personality. The fact that my not-so distant ancestors could have eaten the same dishes in our home country, is deep lol
The new knowledge and appreciation I have gained from this rabbit hole jump is priceless. I highly recommend everyone digging into your past just to get a deeper understanding of where you come from and who you are as individuals.
Leave a Reply