<p>As a young child in Norway, Anna Olson begins dreaming about leaving the beautiful but confining hills that surround her family's farm in the scenic Halling Valley of Norway. As a young woman, she becomes a teacher there but never forgets her dream. After an unwanted marriage proposal, she makes the decision to leave her homeland. In 1905, Anna arrives in America to join three of her siblings who came ten years earlier. She arrives and works in New York for a time and then travels to the Midwest to visit her two brothers. She remains there and is eventually able to teach school in various country schools. Anna finds love, loses it, and finds it once again. Through all the trials and tragedies in her life, her unfailing faith in her Lord, sustains her. This story spans ninety years of one remarkable woman's life. She and her family, along with her new country, experience two world wars, flu epidemics, the Great Depression, droughts, and other quirks of Mother Nature and, the Viet Nam War. A secret that Anna has kept since her first year in this country, is fully revealed only at the end of her life.</p>

First the Dream

Swenson, Elaine Ulness

Swenson

<p>"Home Front" is the continuing story of Carrie Amundson, whose life in North Dakota began in "Bonanza Belle." She is now Carrie Johnson and this is the story of her family, now faced with the challenges, sacrifices and hardships of World War II. Everything changed after the Pearl Harbor attack, and ordinary folk all across America, on the home front, are pitching in to help in the war effort. The Johnsons and other families like them have now become "soldiers of the soil--America's land army." Carrie, who doesn't like change, worries that her son and other loved ones may be called upon to serve in the armed forces. Her adopted daughter, Livvie, has her own inner struggle to fight and vows someday, after the war, she will try to find her real father. Even years after the war's end the effects of it are still evident in many of the men and women who where called to serve their country-alcoholism, nightmares, anxiety, restlessness and the like. Many lament the fact that nothing will ever be the same again. Only the faith, strength and incredible resiliency of the American spirit endure.</p>

Home Front

McCleery & Sons

In 1908, Carrie Amundson left her home and family in Spring Grove, MN, to follow her brother to North Dakota, where they both became employed on a bonanza farm. Carrie was in awe of the immensity of not only the farm itself, but the huge amount of machinery and manpower required to reap a harvest on these endless acres of wheat. She was also amazed at the amount of food and preparation it took to feed this horde of laborers. After several years of toiling in the bonanza farm's kitchen, Carrie married and moved to town. One tragedy after the other befell her and altered her life considerably. Eventually she found herself back on the farm, where her family lived and toiled during the Great Depression. Carrie was witness to many life-changing happenings, such as the coming of the telephone, the automobile, and rural electrification, which occurred in the first half of the century. Carrie changed from a carefree young girl to a grown woman of great depth and stamina. Her strong faith in God was evident in the way she reacted to happenings outside her control and how she lived each day of her life.

Bonanza Belle

Elaine Ulness Swenson

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Swenson, Elaine Ulness. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Swenson, Elaine Ulness

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Swenson, Elaine Ulness. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

First the Dream

Home Front

Bonanza Belle