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[Letterhead: Nordfjordlaget i Amerika, Office of Secretary]
Renville, Minn
Oct 20 1949
Proff. J. A. Holvik
Concordia Colledge
Moorhead, Minn
Dear Sir:- We see the Kensington Runne stone is not quiet dead nor burried, according to Minneapolis Star. I have been much intrested in this stone. It comes to pass, 1901-4 I lived at Kensington. Kenw all farmers including Olaf Omen. I was a grain elevator manager. When the stone was found S A Siverts, a cashier in the bank, and somewhat of a Norwegian aristocrat, He was the first man (1898) to copy the stone and sent it to Proff Breda I think and Broff Breda made a poor study of it. The belief of the authency of the stone at that time was mixed, people who could hardly read begin to take sides or had taken sides. Mr Fogelblad they all said he was a crackpot, that a screw loose in his head, -- Tulle-buck. He was opposed boys whistling on sunday, whittle on sunday, play the violin then the devil danced, they gave him up. No, he was not the one, too dumb they said, but Oman it must have been.
Now to me Ohman was sort of an uneducated sweed, he spoke a mixture of Norwegin swedish and lot of english, something like the language of Ole and Per in Decorah posten. It mattered not to anyone they all spoke alike. I saw his son often. He was not of the bright kind that could tell a lie ore keep one.
That Ohman was smart enought to made the Runne stone is impossable, He had never read a book, New no history. If you had now or then a few minutes conversation with him you would have said No, No a thousand times No, you are not of the gang who invented the gun powder, not made the runne stone. He had never heard there were such things or had been such things in the world as Runnes. He was not exited when I talked to him about it it was something they had found and as far as he was concerned it was more or less forgotten. In 1901-4 it had died down much, not intrest was evident in the town. It had stood in the Bank aobut one year. I have visited the spot, the hill and the land three times and have seen the stone plenty.
You have done much to keep the intrest alive, although you say it is a fake you know better. I am convinced it is a authentic stone.
A person often gets more notriety ba being opposed to every theing than following the masses. I ahave read Hollands Books The state Investigation I have them here and the wonderfull report in the Star last winter.
Just keep on putting a little oil on the fire, there are plenty who are itching to boil you in oil. If the stone had been prounounced authentic and no more comments needed it would now have been a dead stone.
Ohman could not have cutt that stone unless his family would have noticed it. It would have taken a present stone inscriber about day and a half with a lot of small chisles. His son would have noticed it an dhe could never have keep quiet. It puzzled me how come did those 22 northmen have chisles ??? But we find man could cutt stone at the building of the pyrimids, Cleopetra's needle in New Yourk has a lot of inscriptioins on it. Are there such Stone slabs aplenty in Kensington region ?? or is it Ortonville stone ???
Dont burry the subject,
Yours truly
Andrew A. Davidson
[MHS: Holvik papers]
[note: many of the errors above are the same as in the original letter, I have correceted a few for readablity reasons]
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