Olga Kristine (Brodahl) Hemmestad was born in Tretten, Gudbrandsdalen, Norway on March 5, 1893. She was the youngest of seven children by Frederik and Gina Brodahl, and she had a younger foster sister who was a second cousin. Her father ran a country store until Olga was little and had three small farms. She had a private tutor to teach her to read when she was young, but only completed her grade school education before the family emigrated. They left Norway on May 18, 1907, traveled through England, and arrived in Quebec, Canada. They visited a family friend who lived in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, but decided to move to Thief River Falls, Minnesota, where Olga's brother Albert was living. She was confirmed in a Thief River Falls church one month after arriving in the U.S., and the family moved to Kerkhoven, Minnesota after living in Thief River for a year. They rented a farm in Kerkhoven for three years, but grew tired of the weather and moved to Washington State. They visited friends in Everett, WA and Parkland, WA, where she saw Pacific Lutheran Academy, and settled in Ferndale, WA. Her father died in 1912, and in 1918, her mother sold the farm and moved to Bellingham, WA, where Olga obtained her citizenship.
From the description of Olga Kristin Brodahl Hemmestad Oral History Interview 1983. (Eugene Public Library). WorldCat record id: 184843739
