GRAND FORKS -- One Norwegian family is seeking help identifying long-lost relatives in North Dakota and Minnesota.
Lillian Glomsas of Harstad, Norway, a small town in the northern part of the country, is hoping to reconnect with extended family members who have ties to Finley, N.D., her son Just Borre Glomsas said.
The family traveled to Grand Forks this week for Just Borre's son's graduation from the University of North Dakota and thought they would reach out to the public while they were here, he said.
For the past month, he's been trying to reach relatives through Facebook and other means but hasn't had much luck. His mother wants to regain contact with relatives she hasn't talked to since the '60s, he said.
"She would very much like to get in touch with them," Just Borre said.
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Glomsas is related to Inga Iverson, who was also born in northern Norway and moved with her mother to Finley in 1910, according to the family. Inga Iverson later married Norman Rood, who also had Norwegian parents, and they lived in the Finley area on a farm owned by Marvin Iverson of Crookston.
Moving to the United States was likely an appealing option because the agricultural land in northern Norway was poor, so people struggled, he said.
"I can't imagine what it was like," he said.
The couple eventually had three children--Orlin, Bruce and Loual--and stayed in the area until a fire destroyed the home and farm buildings in 1959, when they moved to East Grand Forks. Norman Rood worked for Western Auto in Grand Forks. Their children and grandchildren have settled in Crookston, the Wahpeton, N.D., area, Minneapolis, Georgia and Texas.
If you can identify anyone in the photos, contact Just Borre Glomsas at just.glomsas@harstad.kommune.no .
