Aagot Raaen: Difference between revisions
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Aagot Raaen (December 3, 1873 - January 7, 1957) was an American author and educator.
Background
Aagot Raaen was born in Iowa, the daughter of Norwegian immigrants, Thomas and Ragnhild (Rodningen) Raaen. Before she turned one, her Norwegian immigrant parents moved to Dakota Territory to homestead near present day Hatton, North Dakota. Aagot attended the local schools and in 1903 was graduated from the Mayville (North Dakota) State Normal School, now Mayville State University. In 1913, she graduated from the University of Minnesota. [1]
Educator
Raaen taught rural schools in the area and also at the Oak Grove Lutheran Ladies Seminary, (now Oak Grove Lutheran School) in Fargo. From 1917 to 1922, Raaen was Steele County, North Dakota Superintendent of Schools. In 1922 she began teaching at a number of post-secondary institutions in Hawaii. She later worked at the Honolulu Teachers College. She was the author of several books, and wrote a series of historical articles for local newspapers. [2]
Author
Aagot Raaen is most associated with her 1950 biography titled Grass of the Earth: The Story of a Norwegian Immigrant Family in Dakota. This is an engaging and detailed biography of her family of Norwegian immigrant homesteaders in eastern North Dakota in the late 1800s. Grass of the Earth deals frankly with a darker side of pioneer life on the prairie. It is a tale combining both tragedy and triumphant. The tragedy includes the inability of the immigrant parents to succeed on the Dakota frontier, tragedy in the illnesses and other misfortunes that beset them all. However the book also tells of the triumphant in the accomplishments of the survivors. The book tells of the happy relationship of the children with nature, an intimate relationship with a beneficent land. The troubles of the family stem from basic human weaknesses. [3]
After recounting her origins in Grass of the Earth, she wrote of her adult life in Measure of My Days. A world traveler, Raaen wrote this reminiscence late in her life. She documented her life and travels to Germany, Canada, Japan, Italy, Norway, Sweden and Russia.
Selected Works
- Grass of the Earth (1950)
- Measure of My Days (1952)
- Hamarsbön-Raaen Genealogy (1955)
Papers
The papers of Aagot Raaen are contained within the North Dakota State University Institute for Regional Studies:
- Aagot Raaen Photograph Collection
- Aagot Raaen Papers, 1798-1957 (bulk 1890-1957)
- Aagot Raaen Papers, 1915-1953
- Institute for Regional Studies records, 1950-present