Red River Girl Presentation by Jim Skree

Jim Skree, of Houston, Minnesota, presents a visual introduction to the incredible world of Orabel Thortvedt. A voracious researcher and accomplished artist, she was driven to preserve stories passed down to her by cherished grandfather Ole Thortvedt, and numerous relatives and friends. This presentation is in connection with the exhibit Red River Girl: From Telemark to the Buffalo. The Thortvedt family left Fyresdal in Telemark, Norway, for Minnesota in 1861. After only nine years in Houston County, the family move again, traveling more than 400 miles to Clay County near Glyndon in the Red River Valley of the North. Levi Thortvedt (1860-1936) and his daughter Orabel Thortvedt (1896-1983) were two of the first historians in the county. Orabel recorded her community’s history in drawings, paintings, and journals. Red River Girl: From Telemark to the Buffalo is a book published by West Telemark Museum and a new exhibit at Vesterheim. Come discover Orabel’s life-long pursuit of recording and writing family and local history, the result of which is a profusely illustrated account like no other in the Norwegian-American community. Valdres 1-503 Sons of Norway is co-hosting this presentation at 7:30 p.m., which is preceded by a lodge meeting at 7:00 p.m. Everyone is invited to attend. There will be refreshments following this presentation. The exhibit is on view in the Museum Building, which open from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. on the day of the presentation.