Norwegian relatives visit McCleereys
LaVonne McCleerey gets surprise visit LaVonne McCleerey’s relatives from Norway were recently in Sisseton visiting. They surprised LaVonne at Rosalies. Pictured above are (standing) Inger Kronvold and Geir Loeng from Norway, (seated) Steve McCleerey, Candy Anderson, LaVonne Mc- Cleerey. LaVonne’s grandfather came over from Norway and settled in Lien Town- ship. In 1997 LaVonne’s grandfather’s family in Norway came to South Dakota to meet LaVonne and they have been friends every since. ~ Courier Photo
by Mimi Larsen Courier Staff Writer
So many families from the readership area descend from immigrants who settled here in the late 1800s or early 1900s. Sometimes, European or Scandinavian relatives find their way to their South Dakota relatives. This happened with the Bill and LaVonne McCleerey family in the late 1990s when Geir Loeng from Norway discovered that LaVonne’s grandfather was from Beito and they were, in fact, relatives. Geir and his partner Inger Kronvold were at the McCleerey farm two weeks ago for a visit.
Geir is a world traveler as a result of his profession as an Olympic-level ski jump judge. He also attended, the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse in the 1990s, so speaks English well. He used all his experience to try to find, as he says, “our American family.” For more on this story and many more please purchase a copy of the Sisseton Courier on news stands now or purchase a copy of the E-edtion on this website.
Category:
E-Edition
117 East Oak Street | PO Box 169 | Sisseton, SD 57262 | 605-698-7642
