St Olaf College - Viking Yearbook (Northfield, MN)

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Consul Halle Sl166l'lSl8I'lCl TN N dedicating this .volume of UTI-IE VIKINGH to Consul Halle S Steensland the editors do honor to aggreat benefactor of St. Glaf QM College, a staunch, pillar of the United Church, and one of the A L foremost representatives of the Norsemen in America. He is by vocation a business man, and in the great Northwest his name is synonymous with stability and business integrity. But through his zeal for the cause of the church and its educational institutions, he has become widely and favorably known far beyond the boundaries of the financial interests with which he has been allied. Consul Steenslancl is one of the patriarchs among the Norwegians in America, not only by virtue of age and conspicuous participation in the work of pioneer days, but also by virtue of character and achievement. He has at- tained distinguished success in his vocation, and in this respect has reflected honor upon his countrymeng but he has done greater honor to both himself and his countrymen by the interest he has manifested in their religious and educa- tional welfare. His business success has made it possible for him to make this interest effective and far-reaching, and his long and varied experience has made him a wise counsellor, conservative advocate, and a discriminating dispenser of gifts. 4 A characteristic figure in the Norwegian folk-lore stories is Aslfeladden, the man whom heaven helps, because he can help himself. At first his home is a hut, his throne the hearthstone, but when the opportune moment comes, he starts out into the world, gives heed to the little and seemingly unimportant things that his older brothers have overlooked, and ends by making Dame For- tune smile on him,-wins the princess and half the kingdomf' Norway has sent a number of Uashiepattlesu to America in search of adventure, and Halle Steensland is one of them, as the following will show: Born of peasant parents near the city of Stavanger on June 4, l832, he began at the age of twelve to shift for himself. He did not relish life in the country, and soon found employment with a Stavanger merchant. Here he heard of the great republic across the sea, and in 1854 he set out for it. His 6

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Lis Hp. '11 p. -K 111 l 1 'G x K Q 5 . N 1,-'fam r., ew., M.. rg wh V114 gif- L4 4 Jar.: . 5 -1, 'I T2 E z ro 'EP ed rm 6 it VT I 'V . :wr-f. . . , , V ' f , 1 '7 :lf 1 r - - ' - K Y 'D , - ' ' H ' K 1 E :fi A 'f ' , r r ' 1 'fe - ,,. . rs E3 ' -if te' YH 'W ' Q at 4? iwiimmqi--5211515-1 1-11 42: .-:df-1,-'1 ' 1 fl Short is the while since scattered wide We lfnew no thought of theeg Still less we lfnew or thought or dreamed What thou to us wouldst be. Life seemed to us a narrow round, We felt dissatisfiedg The regions where great thoughts abound We had not yet espied. Thy call St. Olaf soon us brought To thee from far and near, To train our minds to higher thought, Our lives in truth to rear. We came to draw from thy vast store Of knowledge, wisdom, love And in those years thou hast us taught The path which leads above. Wesve learned while here to love thy name rWhat thou dost represent To be more zealous of thy fame Each year we here have spent. We wish this boolf then to express The thanlfs we owe to thee The class '09 in gratefulness Holds dear thy memory. -I-I. L. 5 , K A f f' ,S 'fi 'ftiitu sgf .4 , fi nL g L' .if 1 6 I Y ,I i wg: F' I Ar 12' we A J r 'I' .p L, if 'EW 4 Y, ,L r 9y1'6X 'P ff' ,I .. X.,.r' -ff: 2-'f -SQ-3

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destination was Chicago, where he worked for some weeks, but left for Wis- consin duringthe same autumn, and in the spring of IS55 located in Madison. Here he found work as a clerk in a store, where he soon became a partner, and later sole owner. He remained in the mercantile business until 1871, when with a number of prominent countrymen he organized the I-lekla F ire Insurance Co. This company he served faithfully and successfully in various capacities until STEENSLAND LIBRARY, ST. OLAF COLLEGE. l890, when he established The Savings Loan and Trust Co. of Madison, of which he has, from the beginning, been president and treasurer. This institution is the oldest trust company in Wisconsin, and enjoys a reputation for stability in keeping with its seniority. In l872 Mr. Steensland was made vice-consul in Wisconsin for Sweden and Norway, and continued in that capacity until the political separation of the two countries in l905, since which time he has served as vice-consul for Sweden, the vice consulate for Norway having been removed to Milwaukee. Distinguished honors have come to Consul Steensland in the course of time. Some years ago Oscar II bestowed upon him the Order of Vasa, and in l906 the Order of St. Olaf was conferred upon him by l-laakon VII. These honors are marks of recognition for services in promoting the welfare of Nor- wegians in America. Consul Steensland has exhibited a spirit of service, not . 7 A