It was Christmas of 1909 just before my dad was to come home [from his two-year mission.] We were down to board floors and paper curtains [having sold the furniture piece by piece.] We had large five-gallon lard cans to sit on; a stove, table, and a bed that we all slept in. We sat in bed and sang Christmas carols until…it was time to go to sleep. We only had a bowl of rice that night for our dinner… We went to sleep hoping…for Santa to come. I woke up to the sound of crying. I went into the other room and found Mama crying. I asked what the matter was. She said…she was so grateful and happy to her Heavenly Father, and told me to go back to bed so Santa could come. I…was wakened again by her sobs. I went to sleep the third time and woke up at 7:30 am with mother still crying. As we all came out of the bedroom she made us kneel in prayer before we could see our toys. I will never forget the prayer my mother offered, thanking the Lord for his goodness to us. We then went out on the porch; there was a doll and dishes for the girls, a tool box for the boys and a small decorated Christmas Tree and a basket of food… We danced around the tree and sang and went to bed that night with our hearts full of happiness and our stomachs full of good food. Brother Alma Winn was our Santa and he had eight children of his own… My mother had cried and prayed all that night. Her prayers were answered… How grateful I am for the faith of my mother and grateful…that we five little ones weren’t forgotten by a “Santa” who had been inspired to come and help us in time of need.
(By Lillian Gulbrandsen Carlisle, edited by Kenneth R. Hardman, Source: The Hansen & Gulbrandsen Family History – Ancestors & Descendants of Edna Violet Gulbrandsen & Harvey Ralph Hansen, Compiled by: Jana Greenhalgh, Dona Losee, Ray Hansen, pg. 85-87, photo from family files) #AncestorClips
With all hopes of emigration from Norway to Zion, Ole’s father died leaving a widow and nine children. Fighting despair with faith, the whole family was gathered in the Rocky Mountains within six years. During his youth in Utah, Ole worked as a laborer, miner, hotel mechanic, then railroad foreman. In 1899, he married Halvorine Halvorsen, also of Norway. Nine years later, on a Saturday night, a knock came at their home. Ole excused himself from the dinner table, then returned and invited Halvorine to join the conversation with the Bishop. “All children listened at the door.” Ole had received a call to serve a mission in Norway. “After some discussion, Halvorine said, ‘Ole, accept this calling. I am sure the Lord will provide. If it hadn’t been for the missionaries, we wouldn’t be here today…’ Ole quit his job [and] mortgaged the home,” but funds were scarce. How could he go, an associate asked? Ole said, “The call has come to me… God will open up ways…” Ole fulfilled his mission, returned as a fine leader. In numerous church positions he enjoyed a “rich portion of the Holy Spirit of God.” He and his counselors “awakened and brought into activity many of the men who had become inactive.” As a mechanic, he could “fix anything.” Ole became Temple foreman, and chief engineer for church buildings in Salt Lake City. The Presiding Bishopric of the church said, “Ole was the ‘guardian angel’ of all the Church buildings…” “As you look at the Temple, as you go through the ins and outs of these buildings, you see [Ole’s] fingerprints everywhere…I glory in the steadfastness of this man…”
“In the spring of 1908, Dad was called on a mission to Norway. Mother and five children were left home. In the spring of 1909, Edna was stricken with pneumonia, so the doctors thought. It later was diagnosed as spinal meningitis. One cold wintry night, Mrs. Williams, a neighbor, came over to help mother as Edna was so ill. It was almost midnight when Mrs. Williams said, ‘I am afraid she is gone.’ Mother put her head under the mattress and cried ‘No Dear God, no!’ I had been taught about prayer and about the elders of the Church. So I ran a half a block up the street to Bro. George R. Emery with bare feet and snow up to my knees, and asked if he would come and bless my sister. He put his coat over his long night shirt and carried me home. As he put his hands on Edna’s head and started to pray, I stood by and watched her little white face so still. All of a sudden, little red streaks started up from her mouth and then a gasp. She relaxed into a sleep for the first time in weeks. This was my first testimony and answer to prayer and I knew God heard and answered prayers … Edna was always very precious to me from then on. My interests were always for her.”
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