An Opheim Family Album

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Most photographs of the Opheim family in the United States have, over the years, been scattered widely and, although the images are likely still in the possession of Nick and Connie Opheim's many descendants, they are almost certainly buried in albums that are stored away in cupboards, cardboard boxes, or chests. Many images were undoubtedly lost during one of the two floods that inundated the town of Enderlin, North Dakota, in the late twentieth century. During those calamities Connie Opheim's house was deluged, condemned, and then knocked down with many others to make way for a brutal U.S. Army Corps of Engineers "flood water diversion project."

       Originals of photographs in this web album were made available for scanning by several individuals, but primarily by two of Nick and Connie's daughters, Bette Opheim Hazzard of Fort Meyers, Florida, and Alma Opheim Bohm of Enderlin, North Dakota. In addition, Bertina Opheim Larson's daughter Norann Larson Carter of Lisbon, North Dakota, Connie Opheim Russell, of DeWitt, Michigan, Pat Wilson Fay of Flint, Michigan, and Janet Wilson Skutt, of Fort Myers, Florida have shared a number of images that are critical to Opheim family history. Connie is Henry Opheim's daughter; Pat and Janet are Thelma Opheim Wilson's daughters. All three are Nick's and Connie's granddaughters. Their thoughtfulness and willingness to share has made it possible for you to view these wonderful images from the past.

Fishermen near Tromso a view taken from the  Atlas Pittoresque Voyages en Scandinavie, en Laponie, au Spitzberg, et Feröé pendant les aneés 1838,1839,1840 Publié par ordre du gouvernement sous le direction de M. Paul Gaimard, Paris Arthus-Bertrand [1840]. This image of fishing in northern Norway in the nineteenth century illustrates an area near where Konstans Skog grew up on Rolla Island, 125 miles north of the Arctic Circle.

Ibestead Church on Rolla Island is a congregation that dates back to early modern times. The present structure dates from 1881. Two years later, in August of 1883, four-month-old Konstans Skog was baptized in the building. This photograph of Ibestad Church was taken in 2002; it was included originally  a book titled Arkitekturguide for Nord-Norge og Svalbard, published by the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education, Department of Culture and Literature Academic Responsibility: Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education, Department of Culture and Literature and the University Library of Tromsø.

Here, some members of the extended Opheim family are photographed in front of their farm near Skatvald, Norway, sometime in the 1890s. Nick Opheim's father, tenant farmer Magnus Johanneson Ryggvold, is standing in the back row (second from the left). Nick's mother, Beret Anna Nilsdatter, is also standing in the back row and is holding a small child. Nick, who was the oldest child in the family, is likely kneeling on the ground to the far left. The others in this photograph cannot be identified. (The original from which this image was scanned is in the possession of Norann Larson Carter of Lisbon, North Dakota. Norann's mother, Bertina Opheim Larson, from whom she obtained the original, was Nick Opheim's sister.)

Nick Opheim's "home church," Skatval Kirke, is situated in the Municipality of Stjørdal, a few miles north of  Trondheim. Skatval Church has existed since the late middle ages, and over the centuries, has been reconstructed on several occasions. The present wooden structure pictured above dates from 1901, three years before Nick Opheim left Norway for the United States. (This photograph was taken in July 2007 by I. Mahlum and is part of the Wikimedia Commons collection of public domain images.)

Constanse Opheim in 1900, when she was seventeen years old and known as Konstanse Skog. This pastel work by a Flint, Michigan, artist artist in the early 1960s, was rendered from an original photograph taken in June of 1900 while Konstans was still in Norway. This copy of the photograph was commissioned by Henry Opheim, Connie's son. The whereabouts of the original photograph is not known. (Connie Russell Opheim photograph.)Nick Opheim in 1901 or 1902, at about nineteen or twenty years of age. The photograph was likely taken in Trondheim. The original image was reproduced on a piece of photosensitive fabric, likely linen, hence the interesting texture. (Pat Wilson Fay and Janet Wilson Skutt photograph.)The SS Celtic, the ship on which Nikolaus Opheim and Konstanse Skog sailed from Liverpool to

New York in early May 1904. It is likely that they met on this voyage across the Atlantic.

On the left, Nick Opheim several years before his coming to the United States. The photograph was probably taken about 1904. On the Right, Nick Opheim sporting a moustache poses with a friend, Manly Petersen, in about 1907. Nick would have been 25 years old at the time. (Connie Opheim Russell photographs.)

Nick Opheim's family farm in Norway sometime around 1910.  It is possible that the picture was taken when Nick and Connie returned to Norway in that year.  What you see here is a "scanned image of a copy of the original," which Bette Opheim Hazard discovered in one of the upstairs bedrooms of the Opheim house in Enderlin, North Dakota in the late 1930s. Bette made her copy using a hand-held "box camera" of the era. Notwithstanding all of the copying, the detail in the photo is reasonably good. Notice the Norwegian flag flying above the small group of people standing in the lower left. (Bette Opheim Hazzard photograph.)

Nick Opheim and his oldest son, Ole, in the early 1920s. The photograph was purportedly taken on Ole's confirmation day. Notice his feet; Ole appears to be wearing a pair of his father's dress shoes that were too large. (Bette Opheim Hazzard photograph.)

The earliest known photograph of Alma Opheim Bohm (left). It was probably taken in the Opheim family's back yard sometime during the summer of 1926 when she was about 18 months old. The photograph on the right is a closeup made from the original. (Alma Opheim Bohm photograph.) 

This 1928 photograph of the Opheim family's four youngest children shows six-year-old Bette (left),

eight-year-old Thelma (back), four-year-old Alma (right), and one-year-old Kenneth known

as Buddy (front). The photograph was taken in Enderlin. (Bette Opheim Hazzard photograph.)

The 1929 Enderlin High School girls' basketball team as featured in the the school year book. Mabelle Opheim, a fine athlete and the team's star that year, is seated in the center  of the group holding the ball. (From the collection of the Enderlin Historical Society.)

Mabelle Opheim's 1929 Enderlin High School graduation photo-portrait. This version was colorized by a

Michigan photographer to commemorate her 80th birthday and presented to her by her son, David Johnson

Enderlin's 1932 Soo Line Baseball Club. Ole Opheim, front row second from left, was one of the teams finest players. Ole was, in fact, recruited to play major league baseball in Chicago at one point. Notice the two African Americans in the back row, "Emory" the Catcher and "Vivian" the pitcher. These men were likely porters who worked on Soo Line passenger trains as there were no African Americans living in Enderlin at the time. Sadly, the creators of the promotional photograph, did not do them the courtesy of including their last names--this practice would have been typical for the time. What does seem remarkable is that Enderlin had a baseball team in 1932 that was, at least in a technical sense, "integrated."  (Enderlin Historical Society photograph.)

This photograph of Connie and Nick Opheim was taken sometime after 1936, the year when Nick moved the family from their Enderlin house to the farm he purchased near Leonard. Connie would have been about 54 years old at the time and Nick about 55. (Alma Opheim Bohm photograph.)On September 14, 1938, Eddy, Buddy, John, Connie, and Alma Opheim set out from Enderlin, bound for Flint, Michigan. Many years later, Alma, who can be seen in the back seat, recalled that the car was rear-ended by another driver somewhere in Wisconsin.  She remembered that "the man got out and talked to Eddy and then paid him some money and drove off." Eight or nine months later, in the spring of 1939, Nick brought his family back to Enderlin after his quest to find a job in the auto industry had not worked out. (Alma Opheim Bohm photograph)

Alma Opheim in 1940 (left). She would have been 15 1/2 years old at the time.  Bette Opheim (right).

This photograph was also taken about 1940. Bette would have been 18. (Alma Opheim Bohm and

Bette Opheim Hazzard photographs.)

Four of Nick and Connie's five sons served in the military during World War II. From the left, Henry, Eddy,

and Johnny all served in the U. S. Army. Kenneth, or Buddy as he was known, joined the U. S. Navy late

in the war. Of the four, only Hank saw combat. Beginning in 1942, his unit was shipped to North Africa.

From there, he participated in the campaign in Sicily and in the invasion of Italy, including the landing

at Anzio Beach. Note that Hank's photograph is inscribed to his mother. "With Love, your son Hank."

(Alma Opheim Bohm and Connie Opheim Russell photographs.)

Sergeant Edsel Hazzard has lunch at a U.S. military hospital in Australia with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

At the time, Edsel was recuperating from a bout of malaria contracted during fighting in New Guinea. Edsel

served with Michigan's famed Red Arrow Division, which was deployed to the South Pacific early in 1942.

Mrs. Roosevelt was on her highly acclaimed tour of the South Pacific, visiting with military personnel

engaged in the war with Japan. (Bette Opheim Hazzard photograph.)

The Opheim children gathered in Enderlin in late June 1947 for their father's funeral. Nick was killed while

walking down Railway Street in Enderlin when he was struck by a car driven by Frank Gray on the morning of

June 19th. In the back row: Thelma, Mabelle, Hank, Alma, and Bette. In the front row: Ole, Buddy, Eddy, and Johnny. This somber event would be the last time that all of the Opheim daughters and sons would be together. Behind them stands the house in which Connie would live until the 1970s. (Alma Opheim Bohm photograph.)

Constance Opheim in about 1949. This formal portrait

photograph was probably taken in Lisbon, North Dakota.

The four Opheim daughters: Thelma Wilson, Bette Hazzard, Alma Bohm, and Mabelle Johnson.

The photograph was taken in June 1957 in Flint, Michigan. Alma, her husband Fred, and their

family had traveled from Seattle to Flint on their summer vacation that year.