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Henning Thorkildsen tells us about his time in America

Anette Thorkildsen from Lista Junior High School has interviewed Henning Thorkildsen, her grandfather, about the time he spent in America:

Henning went to America on 9 March 1949, just a few years after the end of the Second World War. The voyage was from Kristiansand to Brooklyn. There were 64 others from Lista traveling on the same day. When he arrived in Brooklyn his sister had got him a room with a married couple from Kristiansand. He rented the room for seven dollars a week and began to work straightaway at an auto repair shop where he earned 87 cents an hour – a reasonably well paid job. Altogether he made 35 dollars a week, and when all his expenses had been paid he had 3 dollars 60 cents for himself.

After two months at the auto repair shop he started work as a carpenter for T & G on Long Island where he helped to build houses. After two years he was elected as foreman in the company. In 1953 he and three others started their own carpentry company that they called Ace Carpen Contracter, which employed several men. They lived in Brooklyn and took some large jobs near the Canadian border – a long way to drive.

      One of Henning’s payslips

     Henning had a girlfriend, Olaug, who came to America one year after him. They got 
     married in Brooklyn the following year, and in 1958 they had their first child, Roy. They
     came to Norway on holiday in 1955, but when they arrived Henning received a message
     from Long Island to say that he had got a big job building around 5,000 houses. He had
     to go back to America while his wife and child stayed in Norway visiting family and friends.

     In 1960 Henning broke his leg, and the family decided to return to Norway for good.
     Henning sold his share in the company, and when he came home he took over the farm at
     Solheim and built the house he and Olaug still live in.

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