Randine Gundersdatter
1848-1906
We imagine that Randine will never forget the Christmas she turned 5 years old. Her father had died a month before and her little brother was only 10 days old. But the smell and delight of Scandinavian Christmas Sanbuckle Cookies made everything seem alright. Randine helped her mother make the cookies and she and her 3 older brothers savored every bite.
It was hard working the farm without a father. Randine helped with the work and made homemade rag rugs to sell.
Randine was baptized into the LDS church.(Nov. of 1862). She was 14 and had a sure knowledge of the truth. She tried to help her mother and brothers believe. They were finally baptized in 1864, except her brother Mathias he was the most stubborn of them all.
Randine was born and raised on the farm “Gielthelteie” in Nez, Hedmark. Norway.
She was born September 6, 1848 to her parents, Gunder Larsen and Tonetta Poulsdatter. (Females in Norway are listed as (father’s first name -dotter).
Randine enjoyed her society with the saints. She especially was impressed with the young branch president Lars Larson. When she grew up she wanted to marry a man just like him.
Randine and Lars became close. The family all loved Lars and looked up to him and relied on his help. Lars and Randine both wanted to go with the saints to Utah. When Randine was 17 they made a plan to emigrate.
They set out with Randine’s mother and Aunt Johanne. Lars and Randine were married May 9, 1866 in Christina, or Oslo Norway as they made their way to Germany and then they boarded a ship and sailed to America.
They were with other Scandinavian saints who were also emigrating to Utah.
Lars and Randine lived a year and a half in Provo before they moved down to Santaquin where many fellow Norwegians were living. When Randine was 19, their first child, Lauritz, was born in Provo on November 30, 1867. He died at 6 months of age.
Shortly after his death Randine and her husband Lars had the privilege of being sealed in the endowment house in SLC. (30 Nov 1868).What a blessing to be endowed and sealed as a family for time and all eternity.
Lars and Randine made their permanent home in Santaquin, UT.
The rest of their 11 children were born in Santaquin. They all lived to adulthood except Dena Louisa, who died at age 14.
Exciting things were happening in the church. The Relief Society was reorganized by Brigham Young in 1867, the Young Ladies retrenchment was organized in 1869.
Each of Randine’s children were baptized as they turned 8 years old.
The first of Randine’s children to be endowed and married was Thea, in the Manti, Utah temple at age 18, in 1989. Randine was 41 and Lars was in his late 50’s.
The year 1895 was a hard year. Randine lost her mother, Tonette and also lost Dena her 14 year old daughter.
Randine kept busy with births, baptisms, marriages, and all the chores of keeping a large family clothed and fed. Randine was a very industrious woman, up at 4:00 A.M. each morning to care for her family and home, do chores and weave. She was a faithful Relief Society worker all her life and was called on many times to sew clothes for the dead.
Randine supplemented the family income by weaving rag carpets which were colorful in design. She always had standing orders. The women in the neighborhood always enjoyed and looked forward to the weekly “rag bees”
Randine made potato flour and starch to sell. This was an art that she taught to many and handed down to her daughters. There was no leavening to be bought, so they walked eight miles to scrape saluratus, a chemical leavening agent similar to baking soda,from the ground near Goshen. It was then washed and strained many times to purify it before it was usable as soda or lye. Bread was baked every day and the cookie jar was always full. There was always plenty of butter, whipping cream, and eggs, along with dried fruit of every kind and yummy preserves. Preserves, pickles, and mincemeat were put up in stone jars and kept in underground cellars along with vegetables and fruits for the winter.
They were a strict, religious and exemplary family, and three of their sons returned to the Scandinavian countries to serve missions. Lars had once pledged a certain amount of corn for tithing. Their corn got blight during the summer and he was unable to fulfill his tithing commitment, so he took the family cow to Salt Lake City for his tithing. Randine was shocked when she heard of this because they had ten children who needed the milk. Arrangements were made with their neighbor, Brother Byland, to get milk for their family in exchange for the poor corn to feed his cows.
A granddaughter, Thora Christiansen Holliday, remembers Randine, “Christmas at Grandpa and Grandma’s was the highlight of the year and affords many fond memories. Lee, my older brother, and I vividly remember the excitement and fairy tale fantasy created by the big Christmas tree with its real candles. The cedar or pinion was brought down from the canyon. Uncle Dave dressed up and played Santa for all the grandchildren. We all went to sleep on the floor, which was covered with one of Grandma’s lovely handmade carpets with lots of straw underneath to make it a soft, heavenly bed. As morning arrived we opened our gifts, and then went home where our own Christmas tree awaited with more gifts in its boughs. Christmas was celebrated for a week, and when all the families were together, the air was filled with music. Aunt Clara was our music teacher and many of the Olsons were musically inclined. Of course, the table was filled with the many choice foods of the season.”
Charlene Putnam told her memories of Randine: “…The Gundersen home was open to social gatherings and a festive table was always set with freshly baked bread, with homemade soup, and the cookie jar that was never empty. Randine's potato flour and starch was well-known as were her Scandinavian Christmas Sandbuckle Cookies.”
In the spring of 1906, Randine was caught in a rain storm while doing her Visiting Teaching. That evening after doing her visiting teaching in the rain, and while rethreading her loom, she took a chill. was put to bed. Within a day or two her lungs were filled with pneumonia.Her son, Olof, went to Provo for the nearest doctor but pneumonia had already congested her lungs and there was very little he could do. She died four days later, 4 June 1906 at the age of 58. Much shock and grief were felt within the family. Six of the children were still unmarried. Olof, who was about 28, not yet married was so upset and angry he took an axe into the summer house and chopped the loom into little pieces. Her youngest daughter, Pearl, who was 16 said she had watched her mother work herself to death with very little happiness in her life. Her mother’s death had a great effect upon Pearl’s life. She left Utah soon after and never returned. The youngest son David was 15.
This was a hard time for the family. Hopefully someone was able to supply the family with Scandinavian Sandbuckle Cookies to make everything alright.
When the going gets tough we always have Scandinavian Christmas Sandbuckle Cookies and just like life we can choose to fill them with good stuff.
RECIPE
1 cup sugar (white or brown)
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 tsp almond extract
Bake at 350 degrees in sandbakkel tins placed on a cookie sheet for 12-15 minutes. Eat sandbakkels plain, or as a bowl for puddings, fruit or cream.
No comments:
Post a Comment