(I wrote about 90% of this story of Ben's life in 1982 as his eulogy. I have added some additional information where it helps tell the story.)

Kjerskov Zahl Bendik Bendiksen was born May 8, 1900 in Kjerringøy, Norway. The second child in a family of three boys and four girls, Ben worked hard all during his boyhood, both on his family's small farm and on his schoolwork. Because all the children had to share one school, each of the three grades attended school only one-third of the time, with three weeks on and six weeks off, during which time the students were responsible for their own studies. Ben, excelling in math and reading, enjoyed his studies, and did very well in school.

In 1916, Ben's father died, he graduated from school, and he was confirmed in the Kjerringøy Lutheran Church after many years of study, both in school and then with the minister. Upon confirmation, Ben was considered a man, with adult responsibilities of finding a job and supporting himself, which he immediately undertook. With his father gone and his older brother, Einar, in Oslo earning money, the support of his mother and younger siblings fell to Ben. His first job was as a cook on a sailing ship in far northern Norway. The next two years, he again spent his winters in northern Norway, the first year splitting codfish and the second year salting codfish. Until 1921, he spent his summers working on his family's farm, but his desire to go to America was strong and an opportunity finally arrived to go there.

His grandmother, Pernille Marie Johannesdatter, who lived in North Dakota, sent him a ticket in March of 1921 and Ben set off immediately for Trondheim, catching a ship called the S.S. Bergensfjord from there to New York in April. From New York, he traveled by train to North Dakota, arriving on his 21st birthday on May 8th. After only one year of being landlocked in North Dakota, Ben was growing increasingly lonely for the ocean. He wrote to his mother in Norway for the address of his cousin, Adolph Steen Lorentsen Alsos, who had been living in Astoria, Oregon since he immigrated there in 1911. In 1922, Ben moved west to join his cousin Adolph in Oregon, where he had secured a job for Ben fishing on the Columbia River. Ben remained in Oregon for two years, fishing in the summers and logging in the winters.

In the winter of 1924, Ben drove fifty miles north to South Bend, Washington in his 1916 Chevrolet to visit a boyhood friend from Kjerringøy named Gus Jensen. On his first day there, he was surprised to encounter half a dozen friends from Kjerringøy, one of whom was Sigmund Hansen, his closest neighbor when he lived in Norway. Ben stayed the first night with Sigmund and ended up moving permanently to South Bend. In the spring of 1924, at the request of one of his uncles, Ben paid a visit to his uncle's good friend, Amandus Hansen, who also lived in South Bend. There, Amandus' beautiful seventeen-year-old daughter, Anna Gudvei Hansen, caught his eye. Soon they were going steady and, in December of 1925, Ben and Anna were married.

In the first four years of their marriage, Ben worked in the sawmills of South Bend. During that time, they welcomed two daughters, Adele in 1926 and Grace in 1928. Ben, Anna, and their two children lived next door to Anna's parents, Amandus and Marie Hansen, in a house that Amandus built for them. Ben's strong love and respect for his in-laws, and theirs for him, made the very close association and living arrangements a wonderful experience for the entire family.  

In 1930, their third daughter, Beverly (my mother), was born. That same year, Ben finally persuaded his mother to come to America with his brother, Erling (20), and his two sisters, Gunvor (18) and Brynhild (16). His older brother, Einar, was by then living in Brooklyn, New York with his wife. Ben’s two other sisters, Magda and Oddbjørg, stayed behind in Norway with their husbands. Because of immigration laws, his mother had to make the trip across the Atlantic by ship and across Canada by train all by herself and then send for her three remaining children to follow three months later.

In 1935, Ben and Anna's fourth and last child—and their only son—Ben, was born. The following year, they bought a five acre farm in the neighboring town of Raymond, where they raised pigs, cows, vegetables, and over three hundred laying hens. They stayed in Raymond until 1941, when they moved to Ballard, partly because of the unions gaining strength in the sawmills and partly because of the demand for men to work in the shipyards in support of the war effort.

Ben began fishing in Bristol Bay, Alaska, in the summer of 1929. From 1929 until 1981, Ben missed only one season—in 1942--when the fishing industry did not operate in Bristol Bay. In 1931, his brother Erling began fishing with him and continued to do so until 1934. All the fishing at that time was done in small sailboats; it was not until 1950 that the first powerboats were used. The work was difficult and dangerous, but close friendships were formed among the men who returned each year. Ben also formed friendships with the native children, who ran down the dock to greet him each spring as he pulled into Bristol Bay. They always knew Ben would meet them with a smile and a delicious cookie.

From 1941 until 1980, Ben worked winters in the shipyards of Seattle and summers in Bristol Bay, fishing tuna, shark, and salmon, except for three winters in the early 1950s which he spent fishing tuna in South America, lured away from his important family Christmas gathering by the exceptionally good pay offered to him. Ben did extremely well in his years fishing in the sailboats; for six years in a row he had "high boat", meaning he and his partner caught the most fish. The main reward in being "high boat" was the virtual guarantee of getting a boat the following season.

Ben made three trips back home to Norway over the years, mostly to see his sisters, Magda and Oddbjørg, both of whom were living in Trondheim, about 500 miles south of his hometown of Kjerringøy. The first time he returned was in 1956, traveling with his wife, Anna. The second time was in 1970, traveling with his wife, his daughter, Beverly (my mother), and Beverly's husband, Bud. They went as far north as Trondheim on the trip and visited with Magda and Oddbjørg, but they did not travel to Kjerringøy. In 1976, Ben and Anna traveled all the way to Kjerringøy and visited extended family when they were in Europe to visit their daughter, Adele, when she and her family were living in Germany.

Ben fished five years more after the powerboats came into Bristol Bay, then ran cannery tenders from then on. His brother, Erling, had his own lucrative career in the fishing industry owning and running a fish cannery in Bristol Bay, Alaska and an oyster cannery on the Washington coast. The two brothers found employment for several of our young family members needing summer jobs, including my sister, Debra, who was working at Erling's cannery at the time of Ben's death in 1982. 

In spite of his very busy career, Ben was always a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. I loved his sharp sense of humor--no one could tell a Swedish joke better than my Norwegian grandfather--and his unconditional love for his family and friends. I learned so much from him. One of the things I remember most is him telling me that he never bought anything on credit; if you had to borrow to buy it, he would say, then it meant you couldn't afford it. He never owed a dime to anyone his whole life.