[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 32 (Tuesday, March 21, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1508-S1509]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                INGVALD BERNARD JACOBSEN'S 90TH BIRTHDAY

 Mr. ASHCROFT. Mr. President, I rise today to give honor to 
Ingvald Bernard

[[Page S1509]]

Jacobsen, Uncle Barney, who will be celebrating his 90th birthday on 
March 25th. He is the first born of Gina Brathen Fyhrie Jacobsen and 
Peder Jacobsen.
  Although Mr. Jacobsen was born in Racine, Wisconsin, due to the death 
of his grandmother, he and his family moved to Norway. While a young 
boy in Norway, Ingvald learned the value system he has maintained for 
the past 90 years through a strong belief in the Bible by which his 
mother and grandfather lived. He became a Christian at his mother's 
knee before starting school and has been a walking example of what it 
is to be Christian all his life: never the preacher, always the doer of 
kind deeds for others, expecting nothing in return for those kind acts.
  Mr. Jacobsen's early years were lean on material things and long on 
the hard work of a farm and a life on the seas helping to earn the 
family living. He attended school three days a week and completed his 
education by age 14. He was confirmed in the small Lutheran church on a 
Norwegian island, and still uses the New Testament he was presented 
with that day in 1924.
  After returning to the United States in 1928, Mr. Jacobsen's first 
job was landscaping the new golf course in Forest Hills, New Jersey, 
where he worked with his father. When that job was completed, he moved 
to Chicago. Thereafter, he had many jobs that led to a position at 
Northwestern University lasting 25 years.
  In 1935, Mr. Jacobsen joined a fraternal order called Sons of Norway, 
a group of Norwegian immigrants that got together for fellowship. This 
fellowship grew by leaps and bounds all around the world and has become 
a vehicle for keeping the old traditions of Norway alive, as well as 
the language. He has held every office possible in his local lodge and 
district and served as an international director for eight years, a 
great honor for him. Because of his faithfulness and hard work 
throughout the Norwegian community in the Midwest, King Olav V awarded 
him the King Olav medal in 1973.
  Throughout his years in the Chicago area, Mr. Jacobsen gave of 
himself above and beyond the call of duty. At Trinity Lutheran Church, 
he sang in the choir, greeted people at the door with a warm welcome, 
and was in charge of the coffee hour and Easter breakfast for years. He 
picked up countless children for Sunday School and led the Boy Scout 
troop in the church. Every year near Christmas time, he saw to it that 
the residents of the Norwegian home for the elderly in Chicago had a 
traditional cod-fish dinner. He chose the fish, picked it up, peeled 
the potatoes, and than poached the fish and saw that it was served to 
every person. His reward came in the form of tins of fresh, Norwegian 
homemade cookies baked by the ladies auxiliaries of these homes.
  Mr. Jacobsen was asked to serve on the Tall Ship committee when in 
1976 the Norwegian Tall Ship Christian Radich came to Chicago to 
celebrate the 200-year anniversary of our country's birth. He was also 
a member of the select few who greeted King Olav V in Chicago in 1975, 
when the 150th anniversary of a sailing vessel finally made it to 
Chicago from Norway. He was honored by traveling the city with King 
Olav V, spending many days and hours in his company including a large 
dinner attended by dignitaries from around the world.
  After the death of his wife, Bernie Lars, Mr. Jacobsen sold his home 
and built a beautiful addition to his daughter's home. Since 1997, 
following a successful battle with cancer, he has resided with his 
granddaughter, Solveig, in Illinois part of the year and with his 
oldest daughter, Carolyn, and her husband in the mountains of North 
Carolina during the remainder of the year.
  Mr. Jacobsen will be celebrating his 90th birthday with countless 
friends and relatives, including five who will come from Norway. 
Grateful people filled with joy and happy memories of this gentle 
giant--he still stands tall at 6 feet 3 inches--will gather to honor 
and thank him. I join those many friends and relatives in wishing him a 
joyous and rich celebration.

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