Reminiscences of My Childhood


                       DOCTOR J. E. ENGSTAD

    In "those" days crossing the Atlantic was a strenuous undertaking.
Time and time again I have heard Father and Mother relate the event-
ful trip by steamer from the northern end of Lake Mjosen to the south-
ern end, and from there by rail to Christiania, where they took passage
on a brand-new ship on which passage had been engaged during the
middle of the winter. However, in "those" days there were no cabins,


only the first and second decks, which were divided into the bachelor
quarters, quarters for the married couples and for single women.
     In my Mother's arms, then a tiny baby, I was carried aboard this
sailing vessel, which was to thread its way over the trackless ocean to
the port of Quebec. They had an unprecedentedly quick passage, for
they covered the first half of the distance to Quebec in ten days. But
it took twenty days more, due to adverse winds, before the ship cast
anchor at the fortress of Quebec. I can still recall hearing Mother re-
late with what frightened trepidation she heard the brisk cannonading,
a short time after the ship had cast anchor. At that time talk of war
was in the air. The Crimean War was a live subject. War was therefore
    Note: The author of this paper spent his boyhood in the locality that we
 know as Halfway Creek. He is now at the head of "Doctor Engstad's Clinic", at
 Grand Forks, N. D. He enjoys an extensive practice and is a frequent contribu-
 tor to medical journals. This paper was written in 1933 by request for the La
 Crosse County Historical Society.
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