Who was this man that hardly anyone knew? Oh, the farmers who were his neighbors knew him. They were the Jenkins, Buckleys and Edlings who lived on Lake Drive, Robbinsdale. And the traders at Farmer’s Market downtown knew him, because he went to market every day in the summer with a truckload of fresh vegetables. And the fellows who made up the Park Board back in the ‘20s surely must have known him, because it was from him that they bought the property on which to build the Victory Flagpole. The name of this man was Albert Hanson Nordby, and so you will know him better, I am going to tell you a little about his background.
First of all, his parents: His father, Johanes Hanson Nordby, born October 14, 1834, and his mother, Martha Binnengstrope, were born in Kongsvinger, Norway. In 1867 they emigrated to America on a sailing ship and settled in Decorah, Winnishiek County, Iowa, where Albert was born on November 20, 1869.
In 1870 they moved to Sacred Heart Township, Renville County, Minnesota. There were eight children altogether, the first one, Carrie, born in Norway, Berger was born aboard the ship coming over, Albert born in Iowa, and the other five, Inger, Hans, Edward, Minnie and Carl were born in Sacred Heart.
Johanes was both a farmer and a carpenter. He broke up the prairie to farm and began to establish a home. He built a sod house which had windows, a gable roof and a chimney. It was later replaced with a modern frame home, which became known as a “Centennial Home.”
One could appreciate these early pioneers because they were people of many talents. Not only could they construct homes and barns and work the fields, but the women could spin, knit and tailor their own garments. Martha died in 1900 and Johanes remarried.
His second wife was Christine Oberg of Sacred Heart Township, who passed away in 1904. Johanes continued to live on the homestead until his death in 1920, and the farm was passed on to son, Edward Nordby, who later passed it on to his son, John Nordby. In 1976 John received the “Centennial Award” for the farm being under one family’s ownership for 100 years.
Now as all children do, they eventually move away from home and get married. Most of Johanes’ children stayed in the Renville area, but Albert moved to Minneapolis in 1890 and became a carpenter and a coachman. In 1894, he married Margaret Freed of Wilmington, Delaware and they made their home at 2618 Grand Ave. in New Brighton. Here he worked at the New Brighton pole yard and they raised three children, Warren, Lulu and Herman.
Somehow, these new occupations were not as satisfying as working on the farm in Renville, so Albert decided he wanted to get back to his “roots.” He purchased an 80-acre tract of land at 3210 Lake Drive in Robbinsdale, which extended to Ryan Lake on the north, Xerxes on the east, to the end of Lake Drive on the south and to Jensen’s farm on the west. Here, he raised crops of all sorts; tomatoes, melons, potatoes, squash, turnips, com, etc. His house is still there.
In 1911 the Minneapolis Park Board approached him to sell a portion of his land on which to build a WWI Memorial. He went along with the plan and sold a corner of the south-east side of his property to them. You all know the rest of the story. A stately flagpole was built, the roads were put in and we had something beautiful that has gone down over the ages for all to enjoy. Though it has been changed several times and is ready to change again, the main idea is there.
Albert would have liked to see all those changes, but he died of a stroke at age 61 in September 1931 and Margaret died in May 1950 after breaking a hip at age 77. Like I said before— not many people knew Albert Nordby—but just the fact that he provided the grounds for the Victory Flagpole—he should be known for that!
Note: Aside from his work on the farm, Albert Nordby was the one who raised and lowered the flag every day until his death, when his son, Herman took over.
Another note: Would you like to be a guest writer? Contact me at wharrisonS@cox.net.