The reason we came: ToloNation

It was the very event that we came for, and five days at Fort Worden, outside of Port Townsend, Washington, USA, yielded substantial dividends in every way. It was a time that'll survive in our family conversations and scrapbooks. And it's all because of the Tolos.

In the late 1880s another son of Norheimsund in the Hardanger region of Norway moved house from his native soil to find rich, new farmland in the state of Minnesota. He wasn't alone in leaving. Whatever it was that prompted Thor O. Tolo to emigrate, it was in all likelihood, at least partially, the highly vexing shortage of tillable land. In Norway the strides in medical science in the 19'th centuryhad produced a population explotion. Cities were generally too small to absorb the ensuing surplus labour force, and farms were too few in order to offer a sustaining livelihood to multiple sons in a single family. The first Norwegians had left in the 1820s. Some 800 000 more followed suit before emigration finally came to a virtual halt in the 1930s.

TOLOS FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA

Thor O. Tolos descendants today number in their hundreds, and because they're true Americans, they simply refuse to cluster around their ancestral homesteads. Instead, you'll find Tolo's at either geographical extreme of the North American continent. They hug the Western shores of Washington and California and proliferate in the hot deserts of Arizona, but Tolo offspring are also to be spotted in the hot and humid Florida urban areas, as well as in the seasonally more diverse Connecticut. And, yes, some have even begun to resettle old traditional family turf in Minneapolis, Minnesota, intent on spreading the good news there.

Our close encounter of the third degree with 21'st century Tolos unfolded at the now defunct military complex called Fort Worden, that has been turned into a State Park recreational area. We managed to get there through a three-legged journey from Seattle. First we crossed the Puget Sound by ferry to Bainbdridge, then grabbed the country bus service to Poulsbo, a juncture on the Olympic Island peninsula - only to reach our destination by yet another country bus.

All through we found ourselves surrounded by outgoing, friendly and likeable people, who were always willing to lend a helping hand, or even donate a dollar to finance the bus fare. They made a huge impression on us, stalwarting our budding resolve to resiprocate this friendliness next time we come across bewildered tourists in our native Norway.

REACHING THE FORT

Our friend, the recently retired University of Hartford music professor, Leland Tolo, had already arrived earlier in the day, and was present to escort us to our highly temporary dwelling. In its heyday, Fort Worden was home to a respectable tally of officers and their respective families. Although military etiquette obviously dictated that the relative gulf between officer and common soldier be reflected also as far as accomodation was concerned, the interior of the officer's houses never bespoke of ostentatiousness in any way. Modestly upgraded to meet the requirements of modern vagabonds, we found our rented Fort Worden 'home' more than agreable. This could, after all, have been the house where 'An officer and a gentleman' was shot in the late 1970s. But Richard Gere was nowhere to be found.

Some 60 plus American citizens and nine Norwegians spent our waking hours in the converted Fort dining, barbecuing, beach-walking, talking, enquiring, singing (by the campfire), bathing, listening (to informal talks regarding Grandpa' or Grandma' Tolo (Thor O. Tolo and his wife), or playing (mostly the kids). We were initiated into cultural idiosyncracies like 'Foursquare' and were offered 'Smores' more times than two. We enjoyed the summer extravaganza of outdoor shared meals, prepared a fruit salad serving almost 70 people, sniffed the seaside air from the Pacific Ocean, and witnessed the daunting spectacle of sunset.

NOTHING BETTER THAN A TOLO

But, again, the natural beauty of the variuous North American landscapes aside, the undisputable supreme bonus of our stay was getting to know the Tolos in all their ethnical and cultural diversity. We fellowshipped with David and John as new creatures in Christ, we shared stories of joy and sadness with Ann and Connie, we satisfied our hunger in the splendid company of Heidi, Bill, Paul and Jenny, and we spent some quality time in quality surroundings in the senior company of Luther and Kay.

And then there were Shelly and Thor, who we'd already popped by in their condo in Seattle; there were Chris, Ben, Shabby, Susan, Jen, Maria, and all the children. And Leland, sadly this time without Nancy. And Rachel with her grandpa, Robert.

It was a time to remember. And remember it we will.