Kristian Prestgard (29 April 1866 – 25 January 1946) was a Norwegian-born, American journalist and author. He served as the editor of the Norwegian language newspaper ''

Decorah-Posten ''Decorah-Posten'' was a notable Norwegian language newspaper published in Decorah, Iowa. It was founded in 1874 by Brynild Anundsen (publisher), Brynild Anundsen, a native of Skien, Norway, and widely read by Scandinavian immigrants in several s ...

'' in Iowa from 1923 until 1946.

Background

Kristian Prestgard was born on the Harelstad farm in the parish of

Heidal Heidal or Heidalen is a valley in Sel Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The U-shaped valley follows the river Sjoa which begins in the nearby Jotunheimen mountains eastward until it joins the Gudbrandsdalslågen river in the main va ...

Oppland Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The co ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. His parents were Gudbrand Kristensen Harelstad (1829–69) and Marit Prestgard (1841–97). When his father died early, Kristian moved with his mother back to Prestgard, her family neighboring farm.

Career

Prestgard started

folk high school Folk high schools (also ''Adult Education Center'', Danish: ''Folkehøjskole;'' Dutch: ''Volkshogeschool;'' Finnish: ''kansanopisto'' and ''työväenopisto'' or ''kansalaisopisto;'' German: ''Volkshochschule'' and (a few) ''Heimvolkshochschule;'' ...

Gudbrandsdal Gudbrandsdalen (; en, Gudbrand Valley) is a valley and Districts of Norway, traditional district in the Norway, Norwegian county of Innlandet (formerly Oppland). The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer (town), Lille ...

. After two years at the Askov Højskole in

Jutland, Denmark Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

(1886–88), he started teaching at the folk high school operated by Johan Christian Viggo Ullmann in

Seljord Seljord is a municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional regions of Upper Telemark and Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Seljord. The parish ...

. His first year as a teacher at Ullmann's school in Seljord was interrupted by a severe illness followed by two years of recuperation. His second teaching position at the folk high school of Olaus Arvesen at

Hamar Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...

, was canceled before it had begun because of Arvesen's election to the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...

. As consequence, Prestgard was offered a job in Arvesen's newspaper, ''Oplandenes Avis'', which began his career as a journalist. He attended the 1893

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

as a correspondent for Norwegian newspapers. Instead of returning home to Norway, he started working in the

Norwegian-American Norwegian Americans ( nb, Norskamerikanere, nn, Norskamerikanarar) are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the ...

press. In 1897, he married Oline Musum (1873–1919) and took a position with a

Norwegian language Norwegian ( no, norsk, links=no ) is a North Germanic language spoken mainly in Norway, where it is an official language. Along with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a dialect continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regio ...

newspaper company in

La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population as of the 2020 census w ...

. In 1898, he joined the editorial staff of ''Decorah-Posten''. Together with

Johannes B. Wist Johannes B. Wist (6 April 1864 –1 December 1923) was a Norwegian American newspaper editor, journalist and author. Biography Born Johannes Racinus Benjaminsen, he was the son of Benjamin Olaus Johansen Wist (1829–97) and Magdalena Arnoldusdat ...

, he also edited the Norwegian-language periodical ''

Symra ''Symra'' was a Norwegian language periodical published between 1905 and 1914. ''Symra; En Aarbog for Norske Paa Begge Sider Af Havet'' (Symra; an Annual for Norwegians on Both Sides of the Sea) was established to publish the literary works of N ...

'' from 1905 to 1914. He became editor-in-chief of ''Decorah-Posten'' in 1923 following the death of Johannes Wist. Prestgard was also one of the founders of the

Norwegian-American Historical Association Norwegian-American Historical Association is a non-profit, member-supported organization dedicated to locating, collecting, preserving and interpreting the Norwegian-American experience. It publishes scholarly books and maintains a historical arc ...

in 1925. He was appointed a Knight of the Order of St. Olav by the

King of Norway The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingdoms ...

during 1926. Prestgard was also an author, principally of Norwegian-language books. Probably the most widely known of these work was ''En Sommer i Norge'', his account of a journey to Norway with a group of American journalists during 1927. Shortly prior to his death in 1946, he was able to complete his memoirs, ''From My Life as a Newspaperman in America. The Memoirs of Kristian Prestgard''.

Selected works

*''Nansenfærden'' (1896) *''Norske Kvad, 1814–1905'' (1906) *''En Sommer I Norge: I; Fra Den Gamle Heimbygd'' (1928) *''Fjords and Faces'' (1937) *''Streiftog: Stemninger og Skildringer'' (1937)

References

Other sources

* Øverland, Orm (1999) ''The Western Home: A Literary History of Norwegian America'' (Oxford University Press) {{DEFAULTSORT:Prestgard, Kristian 1866 births 1946 deaths People from Gudbrandsdal Norwegian emigrants to the United States 19th-century American writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers American male journalists American magazine editors Women magazine editors American newspaper editors People from Decorah, Iowa Writers from Iowa 19th-century American male writers Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal 20th-century American male writers