The Ole I. Faldet Family Back row, left to right: Ingebergt Faldet,

Mary (Faldet) Larson, Martin Faldet, Julia (Faldet) Finholt and Nels Faldet. Seated, left to right:

Ole Ingebergt Faldet and Cecilia Nilsdatter (Spilde) Faldet.

baptized 22 Feb 1845 in Ulvik. She was 21 years of age when she left for America. She was 27 when she married Ole in 1872. Her sister Guro (Julia) also settled in Pleasant Twp. and in 1872 married John Spilde. Cecilia and her sister were very close neighbors in Pleasant Twp. so they could visit frequently. Guro developed a reputation as a midwife in the Canoe Ridge community and fulfilled that calling frequently.

Ole Faldet (1836-1926) was a stone mason and farmer by trade. He never owned a car. Ole and Cecilia’s first child, Ingebergt ''Bert” (9 Jul 1873-1916) married Helen Grindeland (1875-1945) in Nov 1893. He was a store owner (Canoe), farmer and in his later years a hotel keeper operating the National Hotel (the Springer Hotel in later years). They had three children: Clara (22 Apr 1894), Emma (28 Dec 1895) and Oliver (8 Aug 1901).

The storekeeper profession came about when Ole Faldet built the Canoe Store about the turn of the century so that his family members could take turns operating the store.

The second child of Ole and Cecilia was a son Martin (1875-1958). Martin married Amanda Ellingson (1879-1958) 7 Jun 1899. They had four children: Carl (7 Mar 1900), Palma (6 Nov 1901), Earl (23 May 1903) and Esther (7 Feb 1905). Martin was a store owner (Canoe) and a farmer.

The third child of Ole and Cecilia was Mary (1882-1960). Mary married Edward Larson (1877-1925) in 1899. They became the parents of seven children: Idella, Pearl, Celia, Ella, Corrine, Earnest and Norma Jean.

The fourth child was Nels Olaus (1884-1952). He married Grace Rebecca Musser (1889-1970) in 1912. They had four children: Alphea (21 Nov 1913) married Homer Olson, Arnold (23 Jul 1915) married Irene Kubik, Melbourne (27 Jun 1918) married Virginia Baker, and Dervin (28 Jan 1922) married Phyllis Knutson. Nels owned and operated the Canoe Store along with his family for over 40 years until his death in 1952.

The fifth child of Ole and Cecilia was Julia (1887-1952). She was married in 1907 to Oscar Finholt (1884-1954).

Together they had seven children: Orlando, Cora, Chester, Thelma, Leverne, Eunice and Jenanne. Like his brothers-in-law, Oscar was also a partner in the Canoe Store until 1912 when he began farming.

Ole and Cecilia were very religious and made their religion an important part of their family life. After Ole’s and Cecilia’s marriage he and all his family members would walk or travel all the way to Big Canoe for church (a distance of several miles). There they were baptized, confirmed and married.

In Feb 1906 Ole’s family and neighbors gathered at the Pleasant #7 school house near Canoe to plan the formation of the Canoe Ridge Lutheran Church. Now they had a church nearby after over 30 years of traveling to Big Canoe. They were faithful members and workers in the congregation as long as they lived. The first service was held on 29 Nov 1906. Ole and Cecilia and many of the family members are buried in the Canoe Ridge Cemetery.

Falnes, Christopher and Tomina (Nali)

(Shirley J. Hanson)

The town of Skudesness in western Norway was the birthplace of “Christ" and “Minnie", as they were called. Christopher Johannes Falnes was born 15 Oct 1860 to Johannes Auste and Maria Danielsdtr. Tomina Jacobene Nali was born to Johannes Jacobsen and Katherine Hoiness 10 Sep 1879.

The ancestral home, Auste, built on the rocky coast of Boknafjord in the mid 1700s is still occupied by the family. Christ returned several times and his son Clarence went there to visit in 1985. Granddaughter Shirley Hanson and granddaughter-in-law Christine Kolaas traveled to the old home in 1993.

Minnie came to this country when she was nine years old. Christ was a sailor in the Norwegian Merchant Marine. He came to the United States on the Egyptian Monarch of the Monarch Steamship Company with his brother Hans and a cousin David Beiningen.