PLAIN VIEW FARM, RURAL BRYANT,
SD
PAPA'S OWN STORY
ANCESTRY, AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND EPISODES,
INCIDENT TO THE FIFTY YEARS OF MARRIED LIFE
OF ALFRED AND BESSIE STADEM
Papa's Account of His Forebears in Norway and
America, His Marriage and Founding of a New Home and
Family with His Helpmate, and Other Particulars until
the Watershed Year 1946
SEVER (SJUR) AND OLENA (OLINE), NEW AMERICANS
In Sogndal, Norway, another couple were united
in marriage Syver Stadem was married to Olena Madsdatter.
They were both raised to man and womanhood in the
same city. After their marriage they moved to the
city of Bergen, where Mr. Stadem served on the police
force. To this union eight children were born, four
boys and four girls. Just before the close of the
Civil War in America, in 1865 this large family
migrated to America, locating at Northwood, Iowa.
Here they engaged in farming for eighteen years.
THE IMMIGRANTS TACKLED THE FRONTIER
In 1885, they moved into the Dakota Territory, two
miles west of where Bryant is now located, and
homesteaded. Here the ambitious pioneer set about
to invest his savings in building a home. It was a
wooden structure--this was almost unheard of in this
vicinity at that time.
TWISTER! AND A NARROW ESCAPE
As his home was nearing
completion, a cyclone swept through the country
followed by a severe hailstorm. Everything was
wrecked and ruined, including a load of lumber and
plaster, several sacks of flour, and other goods that
had just been hauled into the yard from the distant
railroad city as the storm was approaching. The
family saved their lives by entering into the cellar.
After the house had been blown off its foundation,
they had to stand holding pieces of boards and other
objects over their heads to save their lives in the
terrific hailstorm. Two of the young men, who had
not entered the cellar, were standing in the windows
watching the storm as the unfinished house was hurled
into the air taking them with it. They had the
sensation of their lives as the house was turning and
twisting in the air [exactly like was shown many
years later in the film, "Wizard of Oz," only this
was real and not staged!--Editors].
THE MERRY-GO-ROUND HOUSE!
They were unable
to get out of the house for a considerable distance.
Finally the floor came loose from the wall along
one side big enough for them to slide through. As
they struck the ground, they grabbed for something to
cover their heads from the hail still coming down.
The buildings were so completely destroyed that not
enough lumber was recovered to cover a roof over a
small sod house. According to a daughter of Mr. Stadem's
son, the only surviving item was a family picture found a
long way from the original site of the homestead.
STADEMS MOVE TO TOWN; PIETY STILL STRONG
With everything wrecked, Mr.
Stadem had to let his farm go, and taking his family
he went to live with his son, who resided 4 miles
northwest of Bryant. The Syver Stadem home was
known for its piety. Every Sunday without exception
when there was no service or chance to worship with
the congregation, as was the usual case in pioneer
days, the father would read a sermon from the
"Huspostil" (Devotion Book) by Dr. Walter. They
would sing hymns from Landstads Hymn Bok. It was
said, "Mr. Stadem could start the tune," for as no
one had an organ it was the common way to lead the
hymn singing, "and sing every song in that songbook."
FOUNDING CHURCH PEOPLE
This family were charter members of the Pleasant
Lutheran Congregation, then called the Willow Lake
Congregation, which has long since celebrated its
Golden Jubilee. They later joined the Bryant
Lutheran Congregation and were also the pioneers of
the church work there. Mr. Stadem died in 1909, and
Mrs. S. Stadem died in 1911.
PEDER (PETER) JOHAN STADEM
Syver's Son, Peter (or Peder)
Johan Stadem, was born in Bergen, Norway, June 29,
1861. When less than five years old, in company with
the large family, he migrated to America. He grew
to manhood in the vicinity of Northwood, Iowa; there
he received his religious education, attended the
common school, was confirmed, and was deeply
impressed with the love and freedom obtainable in
Christ.
MAN'S PLANS/GOD'S PLANS
As he came to the conscious relationship
with his Lord, it became his great desire to attend
school and prepare to enter the ministry in God's
Kingdom, but God had other plans. When the large
family moved into the Dakota Territory, he was 22
years of age. He with the many others filed on a
quarter section of land. On June 27, 1884, he was
united in marriage to Marie Karleson, who with her
mother and step-father and family had located on a
homestead near Lake Pointsett, Hamlin County. Now
with the power of love that holds when everything
else fails, those two young people established a home
in Clark County. With very limited means they
toiled, struggled, shared the joy and sorrows as they
looked forward to a brighter future.
A TREASURED PHOTOGRAPH OF PIONEER DAYS
Their son
Alfred has in his possession a highly treasured
photograph taken of this humble home over fifty
years ago. The mother and oldest child, then an
infant, is seated on a blanket outside the sod house
door.
The house was located two miles west and two miles north of where Bryant S. Dakota, is now located. To this sod house was added a wooden structure on the one side [the "structure"
would be called a "lean-to", which in following times
was usually meant for storage or for keeping a few
livestock, not for use for human beings, but still,
what an improvement over living down in a dugout cut
into the ground!--Editors]. This wooden addition was
a very great improvement to a home in those pioneer
days. A part of the sod stable is visible on this
picture, and on the back side we read, "W. C. Frazer,
Photographer, Clark D.T." (Dakota Territory).
DEATHS IN THE FAMILY
To
this union five children were born; two died in
infancy. We are sure the sorrow was keenly felt,
but not far distant came the unspeakable sorrow when
the young mother bid her beloved husband and three
little children the last farewell and closed her eyes
in death. Yet comfort comes from the One who gives
and the One who takes away. He had lovingly planned
a sickbed where the business of life and the
struggles for a future were of unconcern, and only
the preparations for the eternal home, through faith
alone, was the theme and topic of all importance. At
early dawn on May 15, 1892, the summons came. Now
we find a young father with the three motherless
children trying to hold the home together and provide
the necessities of life.
BLIGHTED DREAMS AND HOPES STILL SHINE
He had started building a
living house, a wooden structure, to provide a more
comfortable and healthy atmosphere for his sick and
loving wife. He was in hopes that she could be
restored to health again. Now he set about to
complete the house, and shortly afterwards they moved
into their new abode. Before the death of his wife,
Peter Stadem tried to better the unhealthy conditions
in their sod house. He worked hard to obtain more
comfort and beauty. One day he set out on a journey
to the nearest town some twenty-five miles away; he
carried in a bundle a few furs to market in exchange
for the necessities of life. Before returning home
he went to the small lumber yard with the request to
buy a half bushel of lime. The dealer inquired if
he was plastering something. The purchaser informed
him he wanted it to white-wash the interior of the
sod house, thus brightening it up a little. The
dealer exclaimed in surprise, "White-wash a sod
house! I have never heard of such a thing. If
you are going to use it to brighten up your home, I
will give you a half bushel for nothing!" We
surmise it lightened the load and hastened his steps
as he was on the homeward way with the surprise bag
on his back.
SECOND MARRIAGE; MOVE TO TOWN
In 1894 Peter Stadem married a widowed
mother with five children. Taking his three
children they moved down to Minnehaha County, four
miles west of Baltic, S. Dakota, where the widow was
living. Two children were born to this union.
Here they lived and toiled together to pay off the
obligations incident to, and the circumstances
peculiar to, pioneer life, and the hardships referred
to as well.
FAMILY ROOTS GO DEEP AT BRYANT,
YET AN ACCIDENT INTERVENES
In 1900, this family moved back to
Bryant, So. Dakota. Here they enjoyed the city
life, being free from the strenuous farm life. The
father had a serious accident that made him
incapable of hard manual labor. The neighbor's horse ran
over him and broke his kneecap while he was yet on
the farm. In the fall of 1904 the family, that was
yet under the shelter of this home, moved to Canton,
S. Dakota, with the purpose in mind that one of the
boys, Sever, should get an opportunity to attend
Augustana College. Several happy years were spent
in this city with the many church activities. The
main recreation they had was fishing on the Big Sioux
River.
STADEMS MAKE THE BEST OF CANTON, SD
Mr. and Mrs. Peter Stadem took active
interest in all the activities of the congregations
where they were members. Mr. Stadem was intrusted
with all the offices of the congregation from janitor
to deacon. Yes, he served as Sunday School
Superintendent on all kinds of committees, from the
very insignificant responsibilities to the committee
in calling a new pastor. In spite of poor health
and a very limited physical strength, he found the
strength in the willingness to do all he could and
never refused any assignment because of the
insignificance of it.
AN UNCOMPLAINING MAN IN A COMPLAINING WORLD
With the honor conferred upon
him, it was never intermingled, abused, and
dishonored by him, as is always the case with those
on the Lord's side. Because his body was riddled by
infirmities, he was continually suffering the last
twenty-two years of his life. At the home of his
two youngest sons, Adolph and Melvin, on the old
homestead northwest of Bryant where they lived the
last couple years, he died on November 24, 1920.
His death occurred on his son Sever's birthday and
he as buried on the birthday of his son Alfred. He
was laid to rest in the Lutheran cemetery, which is
one half mile north of Bryant. All think it very
remarkable that he could live his life in such an
uncomplaining way that when the undertaker, whom he
had known since his birth and with whom he had lived
in the same city of Bryant, was summoned, he did not
even know that Mr. Stadem was sick unto death. The
widowed wife is still living on the farm with her two
sons.[She has since passed away--Editors]
ALFRED, FUTURE PATRIARCH OF PLAIN VIEW
FARM
Alfred Jorgen Stadem was born on the
homestead of his father, Peter Stadem, in Clark
County, Dakota Territory, on November 27, 1886. He
has the distinction of being born in a sod house
cabin, and with honor can point to the fact that he
is a pioneer of the great Northwest. He was only
five and one half years old when his mother passed
away. He still recalls the home and some of its
surroundings, even the time before his mother was
laid on her sickbed. The most cherished memory in
his mind is the scene of the family devotion period.
As his father read out of the Book, his two years
younger brother, Sever, was sitting on his mother's
lap; the one and half year older sister, Caroline,
was sitting on a little homemade bench, and he
himself was sitting in the highchair, all cuddled
close together. Then they would all sing Christian
songs.
A SONG STICKETH CLOSER THAN A BROTHER!
The song that was sung the most number of
times was the one in Norwegian, "Ak nu er mit a arme
hjorte, treat of Veerdens sorg og lyst stille stille
lad mig hvile ved min Frelsers vame bryst." ("Alas!
Now my impoverished heart, weary of the world's
sorrow and delight, Quietly, quietly, let me repose
at my Savior's heart.") Yes, even the words in
part were impressed indelibly on the young minds.
LOVE CAN CHASTEN IF NEED BE
He
recalls the time he was standing by his Mama's
sickbed quite helpless. Yet the rod, that is
mentioned in Proverbs 13:24, which seems so
completely ignored even by supposed real Christian
parents, had its place on Mama's bed by the wall.
When the disagreements came up between the three
little children, or perhaps the noise became
unbearable when Papa was out working or perhaps to
town, the hours were long, the patience exhausted,
and the problems could not be settled any other way
then over came the rod; it was so long that it reached
clear across the room. They all three felt the
sting too. Then, the tears flowed in pain, but now
tears again flow in thankfulness to God for the
obedience to His command and the love that was behind
it all. He often praises God for this cherished
memory.
LITTLE CHILDREN LOSE A MOTHER
He also recalls the morning when the
lifeless form was lying there, but not all could he
comprehend of the consequences. He remembers the
preparations for the burial. Of course, there were
no undertaking parlors then. There was no
undertaker either. The hands of the widowed
husband, father of the motherless children, performed
the acts of love. "Dressed in white, with that
quiet sleep on her face, she was so pretty," he says.
He recalls that first memorable day when his Mama
was transported over to Grandma's Place.
EITHER JESUS' BALM, OR RESENTMENT'S GALL
[This event is almost too unbearable to imagine. What
sort of misgivings, self-doubts, reflections of how things
might have gone but did not, not to mention the incrediby
sorrowful contact with his wife's disease-racked body did
this man suffer, and suffer alone, for his children were
entirely too small to share his mental and emotional
dilemmas? Norwegian stock was not known for promiscuously
sharing internal perplexities and pain, yet that must have
compounded the intensity. Though a loving Grandma [Oline Madsdatter Stadem] awaited
the sad funeral cortege of one lumber wagon, she was not
present to relieve Peter Stadem of some of the crushing
weight of his loss, was she? He had to go through it all
alone with his God. Though her death must have appeared
imminent during the period of her declining health, he was
now struck with the finality of what he must have dreaded
day after day, hour after our, out at his work in the
fields. What were his thoughts then? How did he find
strength to carry on? Did he pray for her healing and
never lose hope until he saw signs that told him that God
was going to take her regardless of his urgent prayers and
their urgent need of her? How did he resign himself to
the Divine Will in this matter? Why wasn't he embittered
or resentful toward God? Apparently, God proved enough
for him in his greatest need. He received soothing balm
for his heart-breaking loss of a beloved wife and mother,
and then, toward the end, his own little son, in the
coming portion, ministered solace to him. Yet we cannot
help but wonder whether the bereaved husband questioned his
thrusting his young wife into such hardship that it
apparently proved too much for her health to take. The
pioneering life exacted a high cost in the lives of
child-bearing women. They knew when they set out that life
would be hard for pioneers, but they were willing to
sacrifice, some would say, even their lives, that their
families might inherit the blessings--Editors]
LIFE MUST GO ON, REGARDLESS
There they
all stayed all day, but day soon came to an end when
Papa had to go home to take care the livestock and
belongings for the night; he also had to stay to tend
them in the morning. The children should stay with
Grandma. It was dark now. Papa was hitching up to
the lumber wagon and about to bid them all
good-night. It was a little five year old boy that
spoke, "Papa shall not go home alone. I wa-nt w-ant
to go with him." To his surprise, the plan was
changed subject to his desires. As Grandma in a
mellow tone of voice inquired, "Do you want to go
home with Papa?" "Yes," he said. Into the
darkness drove the young father seated on the lumber
wagon, with the little boy at his side. Forty-five
years have passed; hundreds and thousands of sermons
and lectures has this little boy heard, given by
pastors, bishops, statesmen of great renown,
presidents and governors of this commonwealth,
explorers (as South Pole discoverer, Roald Amundsen of Norway), globe
trotters in
large numbers. They have all been listened to in
the most humble hut, churches of all descriptions,
magnificent auditoriums, hippodromes, and palaces,
but so much has been forgotten; but never could this
most simple conversation, of that night so long ago
be forgotten.
TREASURED MOMENTS RECALLED
Sitting on that hard wooden seat,
riding slowly along the trail homeward, the blackness
of the night upon them, the father and son were
talking about their loved one. "Mama is now with
Jesus." "God loves us and He will take care of us
if we permit Him to." "We must be on our guard as
there is a wicked spirit, called Satan, that would
like to get us too"--such were the remarks and theme
of their conversation. No, those miles of travel,
with that slow locomotion, were not long that night,
and the chill of the night did not bother either.
Was there anyone to desire a change of subject?
The destination was reached; the evening work was
accomplished, at a late hour they retired. O, that
blessed sleep, with its balm, enveloped that little
boy, as to the father's sleep no one on this earth
knows how much he slept. Was this little body,
cuddled up in the father's arms, of any comfort to
that lonely heart that night? God be praised for
the memory.
A MOTHERLESS BOYHOOD; A STEP-MOTHER
Now the years flowed by with big and small events.
Yes, in the little boy's life, there were lonesome hours in
the home. When the father had to be out in the field and
it was too cold to trot along with him, the seemingly
unbearable desire for company came to him. Even the
dropping of table knives on the floor, intentionally,
failed to bring company. Then came the time when the new
mother should care for the motherless children. The two
families were welded together as one. This was a great
event in the little boy's life. New problems came with
joys and sorrows intermingled; the years passed on. He
received only a very limited amount of common school
because of the short terms of school, the long four miles
to school, and the necessity of everyone, according to
ability, to do his part of the seemingly unending amount of
labor. The crop failures caused by the drought of the
Nineties was greatly felt.
HARDSHIP INSTILLED SOLID VALUES FOR LIFE
They were farming the land on the Sioux River bottom,
which was five miles away from their home. They also
farmed the dear old homestead a little less than one
hundred miles away. It was a long journey to drive a
lumber wagon over this distance twice a year. With
camping along the road now and then, the opportunity of
uniting with grandparents, uncles and aunties, the
additional hardships were willingly endured. Many
uncommon jobs were given to this boy, Alfred, to do. The
following are a few of them: gathering cow chips on the
prairie, and twisting hay for fuel; helping thresh grain
with a horsepower-and-tumbling rod machine which had no
self-feeder and no blower; stacking straw by hand under a
carrier and taking the grain away in half bushels, then
"mearusing" the grain by by pulling a tripper that would
register the number of bushels, then he would dump the
grain into sacks.
THE SPIRITUAL UPBRINGING--ESSENTIAL AS
DAILY BREAD
One thing conscientiously observed by the old pioneers
was the opportunity for religious instruction.
Self-sacrifices, physically and financially, were made that
all the children might learn to know God and His plan of
salvation. Bible schools were regularly held with
competent teachers. As there were no school houses, the
homes were opened up; parlors and cook shanties were
converted into school rooms. Even the upstairs of
Stadem's granary was good enough to study the precious
truths in. Alfred had the opportunity of attending Bible
School. He also received the instruction before
Confirmation. Although the meaning of it all was not
really understood and appreciated, dear Pastor Moe brought
Jesus close to the heart of this young boy, and with a firm
desire he vowed to live for Him.
FAMILY MOVES FOR OPPORTUNITIES,
BUT ALFRED'S PUBLIC SCHOOLING CUT
Then came another eventful day of the almost unheard of
category among the old settlers, an "Auction Sale."
[Later, Alfred would become an auctioneer, just one of his
many abilities and trades--Editors]. The days preceding
the sale were very busy; still busier days followed when
the immigrant car had to be loaded with the remaining
belongings and moved to Bryant from Baltic. Yes, they
were going off the farm to enjoy city life. Some building
was done both in town, and on the farm, for the renter;
therefore, in all the rush school was neglected again for
Alfred. The boy's legs were growing long, and the body
took on the dimension beyond proportions to the age, and he
felt he would not fit in any longer with those who
regularly attended school.
ALFRED'S CHOICE: COUNTRY FARMER
City life was not what it was "cracked up" to be, for
the young man. Because he hated the rough element and the
unfairness in play, city life became monotonous. Out into
the country was the solving of the problem, but that meant
work. Although the salary was in proportion to the age and
the work in proportion to the size of the body, the low
wage was often at a point unbearable for the mind to submit
to. But with the gift of resistance and ability to save,
at the end some financial results could be produced and
kept for some future investment.
TOWARD UNDERSTANDING OF ALFRED STADEM:
[The above passage was quoted by his daughter Estelle
when she wrote her account of Papa. It was in God's
leading of young Alfred, she observes. We might add that
it was in his background and family heritage to do
something of this sort too.
SPIRITUAL GOODS PREFERRED ABOVE MATERIALISM
Although his farm exceeded in size any Stadem farm in
Norway, it never grew very big, and was never the owner's
preoccupation. As with his forebears in Norway, material
things mattered less than the priorities, which were mainly
spiritual, as he and his wife labored to raise a godly
family and set a godly example in the community and help to
extend the Gospel and the Kingdom of God. This put the
Stadems on the fringe in an increasingly secular society,
exactly where they aimed to be!
IN THE WORLD, BUT NOT OF IT
Self-indulgent, relatively easy city life was not for
them, and in fact it had never been for the Stadem clan,
even though Stadems lived at times in large, highly
cultured "urban centers" such as Bergen (visitors to the
website are encouraged to see Stadem-descendant Barbara
Benson' account, "Stadem Roots," which shows the Stadem
turf over in Norway and what sort of people they were).
Possessing little in comparison to others, they knew and
practiced the secret of living richly in righteousness.
Mammon and city life, then, were instinctively distrusted,
if not opposed outright. Truly, they resided in the world
but were not of it, and took seriously the Bible when it
spoke of the Christian walk as being that of a stranger and
a pilgrim.
A PILGRIM AT HEART
To attempt to understand Alfred Stadem, there is no
getting around this individualistic Stadem bent and pious
pilgrim worldview--a characteristic trait and a view of the
world that have become nearly incomprehensible to his many
descendants. In this regard, Website visitors, please refer
to "What Forebears Knew," a poetic tribute which deals with
the pioneering immigrant and the great gap that exists
between pioneer vision and our own today as the third or
fourth generation. Unlike some who modernized and
assimilated to the point where they merged with mainstream
society to become typical Americans, Alfred proved
persistent and remained a "true-blue" Stadem in this
sense.
ONE FOOT IN THIS WORLD, ONE IN THE NEXT
Alfred was never philosophically and temperamentally at
ease in the worldly society, though he cultivated a
highly-developed, community-minded role. He loved America
dearly and gladly gave his sons to her defense, but this
was not his kingdom, he knew a "better country". This is
his admirable position, taken at a young age, and it stood
him in good stead, for by it he forged a mold for his life
and the upbringing and nurture of his family that produced
amazingly productive and godly sons and daughters.
WHAT IF OTHERS CAN'T REACH YOUR STANDARDS?
There is a darker side, however. Standing where he
did, he could fall, if tempted too often, into a critical
attitude, even a bitter judgmentalism that would sour and
even poison his relations with the members of the society
around him. Since they could not live up to his code of
pilgrim righteousness, being less committed to his values
and viewpoints, there was bound to be a separation and some
ill feeling. A man less devoted to his high ideals and
high morality might accommodate himself to human frailty,
but for Alfred human fraility, as he identified it, proved
the major stumbling block for his life as the years went
on, producing effects that could be rightly called
tragic.
NOT AN EITHER/OR, TRUTH TELLS
A FULL STORY
This view of him which adds warts to a halo, so to
speak, is controversial, yet let the facts speak for
themselves, facts for which there are more than ample
testimonies by the major participants in his life's drama.
Since the whole Saga of the Stadems, as far as this branch
is concerned, devolves on the makeup and decisions of
Alfred Stadem, we have been so impressed by the importance
of this understanding of him that we dared to interrupt the
narrative for so long, in the hope that light has been shed
on the unfolding life-and-death drama. Note how this family
patriarch uses the third person always in referring to
himself, for Alfred Stadem hated what he called the "big
I."
HE PASSED ON THE GREAT FAMILY HERITAGE!
Some in the family regard him as an irreproachable
saint, while others refuse to overlook or white-wash his
flaws and make him out to be something of a chauvinist
villain (the patriarchal father figure being so out of
favor in contemporary-minded circles today). While not
flawless and certainly not a villain, we would hold he was
a most exceptional man, eminently worthy to contribute to
and then pass on the great heritage of his forebears. How
many men with so little formal schooling would take the
effort to school themselves to write so well, with so few
misspellings? He might have led a humdrum existence as a
farmer with [initially only] a fourth-grade education, but,
no, he challenged himself continually to learn new skills
and take on new tasks and trades, while involving himself
in church and society to help in any way he could.
HE CHOSE THE RIGHT WAY, AND OVERCAME THE WRONG!
He was a pioneer and a son of pioneers and retained his
pioneering spirit into "old age" which for him was no
hindrance because he kept right on plowing virgin sod and
bringing forth abundant harvests until the day he died.
His superabundant strength going back to the Vikings was
maybe his undoing at one point in his seven decades
lifespan, but stopped in his tracks by Almighty God, the
record testifies that he chose the right way and overcame
the wrong, passing the supreme test of his life. Two men
may have died in the process, and there followed many
consequences, like a stone thrown into a placid pond, but
let the record reveal whether or not more good has come out
of Alfred Stadem's stumbling than the opposite--Editors].