From Norway to Iowa (and back again)

Wright County has a strong history of immigration. From the German and Norwegian families who arrived 100 or more years ago to the Latin American families who’ve arrived more recently, there are many stories of families coming to America to make a new life. More rare, however, is a story of a family moving back to the old country.      

Tom and Jan Watne, who farm near Galt, have three children. Twenty-four years ago, their oldest, Inger, married a Norwegian man, and a few years later moved with him back to Norway.

“After marring Jens in 1993 we spent four years in the Midwest before heading over the Pond to the Old Country, in 1997,” Inger said over email. “There we presently reside, with our six children, on the same farm that great-grandpa Oscar grew up on!”

Since then, Jan and Tom have been to Norway seven times, and Jens and Inger have visited back several times as well. And over the past five years, three of Inger’s children have come to Iowa, studied for a year and graduated from Clarion-Goldfield-Dows High School.

So far, Sebastian (2012), Filip (2014) and Siri (2016) Vatne have all graduated from C-G-D, and Peter, the fourth-oldest, has visited, though he wasn’t able to take a year of classes in the U.S. due to his school requirements. Leif Erik, the next sibling in line, arrived about two weeks ago to stay for a year.

For the full story, see the August 23 edition of the Monitor.