[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 133 (Monday, October 23, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S10888]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO THE MIDGARDEN FAMILY

 Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I pay tribute today to a North 
Dakota family whose heritage not only spans the history of our state--
and then some--but which also exemplifies the spirit of rural life and 
all that it contributes to our Nation.
  Nils and Inger Midgarden started their family as homesteaders in 
North Dakota in 1874. That was 15 years before North Dakota become a 
state. They raised seven children, built a successful family farm, and 
just like thousands of other North Dakotans at that time, did the hard 
work that carved hardy communities and, eventually, a state from the 
prairie.
  I have a letter I would like to share with my colleagues, written by 
one of Nils and Inger's great-grandchildren. It tells us a great deal 
about the founders of this family. It says:

       Nils was a successful farmer and his sons greatly expanded 
     the farming operation. When his children married, they built 
     farms within sight of the homestead. Each one of those farms 
     are today owned and occupied by the grandchildren and great-
     grandchildren of Nils and Inger Midgarden.

  Let me tell you, that's quite an accomplishment. As anyone who knows 
much about it will tell you, farming is hard work. When you consider 
that this family managed to survive everything from the Great 
Depression to droughts, floods and grasshoppers over the span of more 
than a hundred years--while raising a family that has remained across 
the generations a close knit one--you understand why their's is such a 
remarkable accomplishment.
  The letter goes on:

       The farm, while a potent symbol of the pioneer spirit my 
     great-grandparents embodied, is not the greatest legacy they 
     left behind, ``Nils' and Inger's great grandchild writes. 
     ``Nearly everyone who know me and my family remarks on our 
     closeness and old-fashioned values, characteristics fewer and 
     fewer families seem to share these days. What Nils and Inger 
     gave to their children--to us--was the gift of family. 
     Through bountiful harvests and times of drought, through 
     births, deaths, and marriages, joy and sorrow, the Midgardens 
     have always stood together. Older cousins taught younger ones 
     to swim, uncles pulled wayward nieces and nephews out of 
     snowy ditches, and Sundays brought the family together in 
     worship, meal, and play. Once during a tornado sighting, all 
     the Midgardens in Walsh County drove out to the homestead to 
     stand on the road, as if sheer will power and their bodies 
     alone would protect the place Nils and Inger made home.

  Today, Midgardens still live on those family farms, and while not all 
family members remain on the farm, those who moved away to pursue other 
livelihoods continue to draw on the basic strength that came from the 
farm: they remain a close knit family, wherever they are, wherever they 
go.
  Those who moved away contribute to our state, regional and national 
life in a variety of ways. They became veterinarians, lawyers, 
advertising executives, architects, doctors, teachers, nurses, and even 
congressional staffers.
  Families like the Midgardens demonstrate the importance of preserving 
family farmers and the rural communities they make strong. through the 
generations, the Midgarden family makes clear what those of us who grew 
up and live in rural areas know so well: family farms produce much more 
than the food that feeds this nation and much of the world. They also 
produce strong, solid families.
  In closing, I ask that a tribute to the Midgarden family, written by 
another descendent of Nils and Inger for a family reunion earlier this 
year, be printed in the Record.
  The material follows:

                               Our Legacy

       The Laurel Wreath of Wheat is the symbol of two souls 
     entwined a symbol of victory and triumph; a symbol of Inger & 
     Nels. The Seedling in the center has seven leaves for seven 
     living children--now gone, but very much alive in us all.
       Amund, with his quiet contemplation, peace and vision; 
     Alfred, with his forbearance and stoicism; Dewey, for his 
     sparkle skillfully hidden behind the stolid Midgarden work 
     ethic; Marion, for her elegance and grace; Gunder, for his 
     mercurial spirit and sense of humor; Joann, for her boundless 
     energy and endless creativity; and Chris--coming around the 
     corners of life on two wheels; radiating a zest for living, 
     affecting us all.
       Inger & Nels and their seven children, eventually fourteen, 
     as each found his or her irreplaceable mate: Bessie, Beulah, 
     Clara, Olaf, Florence, Oscar and Evelyn, whose love and 
     courage and enduring presence we are still blessed with on 
     this day.
       Fourteen children, seven couples, seven families forming 
     the foundation of this Midgarden Millennium Celebration, 
     counting over 200 family members gathered here today.
       We remember the love, the closeness, the pioneer spirit, 
     the dedication of these parents, and their embracing of not 
     only their own--but us all.
       Our memories are many and golden . . . oceans of flax 
     fields in spring; the scent of alfalfa in early summer the 
     heading of wheat in July; the way the grain felt on our skin 
     when we rode in the hopper at harvest; haying time and the 
     Tarzan ropes in Gunder's barn; burning fields in August; 
     oiled wood floors of the Fedje store tracing aisles of 
     supplies and stacks of wonder; the excitement of the first 
     day of school in a one room country school house or a little 
     brick school in Hoople.
       Rows of potato sacks stretching endlessly on the autumn 
     horizon; anticipation and humor in the air; Lena Olinger 
     holding court in the cookcar; harvest tables and blue tin 
     mugs; excitement when it was our Mom's turn to take lunch to 
     the fields and we could tag along.
       Then mercury dipping to unbelievable lows--but our spirits 
     high as the massive snowdrifts; Julebukken and Grandma's 
     Christmas Eve; Uncle Oscar dancing in with potato sacks full 
     of dime store treasures; then months of winter white only to 
     turn once again to Spring.
       Seasons of our family--seasons of our lives. Those who 
     stayed here close to this earth, preserving the legacy of 
     this land; and those of us who spread our wings to the four 
     corners now span this wonderful family from coast to coast. 
     Seeking and finding our way; sharing memories with our 
     children and grandchildren; always knowing our roots are here 
     in this blessed place where it all began.
       Inger and Nels, their incredible children and the indelible 
     people they found to marry . . . our parents, your 
     grandparents and great grandparents . . . and each and every 
     one of you share in this legacy of love and excellence.
       And that is why there is a Laurel Wreath of Wheat with a 
     Seedling in the center. It is our beginnings, our present, 
     our future.
       It is the gift that keeps on giving.




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