They Sang for Norway: Olaf Oleson's Immigrant Choir

They were brothers from Norway's "Red County." One was a guerrilla leader, the other a president of a singing association. One emigrated to America, the other stayed home to fight for Norwegian independence. Both had an impact on their nation's history. This is the story of the one who left.

Olaf Martin Oleson was among the hundreds of thousands of Norwegians who emigrated to the United States during the nineteenth century. With strongly rooted connections to the homeland, Oleson settled in ...