Photos: Ruth And Carl -- 1940s, 1950s -- Newell, South Dakota

These photos were given to me by Jan at the "Cousin Reunion" in Rapid City, September, 2025, hosted by Charlotte Wilson. 

Mom always looked so excited when photographed with her kids, and the kids always looked so happy. There is nothing to suggest the family had nothing but a wonderful life despite incredible hardship compared to what the grandchildren and great-children of Ruth and Carl. 

Williston
Bruce, Yvonne, Karla, Craig

July, 1954, Williston
Bruce, 3 years old; Yvonne, 2 years old; Karla, a few months old. 

October 30, 1954, Newell, SD
Bruce, Yvonne, Karla and parents Ruth and Carl

Yvonne is saying, "I want some gum."

 

Ruth
Lavonne

Fonda home, South Main.

Russell and Myrtle's wedding?
John Wilson born in 1945
Wedding likely in 1944?
Carl: far left
Oscar: far right
Christine just to Oscar's right
Paul just behind Christine and Eddie
Is that Clara behind and between Eddie and Russell?
Maid of honor to Myrtle's right
Parents of Russell behind and to Carl's left?

 

 

1965
Craig, Bruce, Yvonne, Kathy, Karla

1965
Perhaps the most well-known photo 

of the Carl and Ruth Oksol family.
Jan: 1 1/2 years old.

December 1, 1941
Sport -- very shy -- was this Carl's dog?
handwriting on reverse appears to be Carl's

The two boys; which of the three is missing?
Clara

Christine (mom)
Myrtle

Paul (dad)

Unidentified.
These two look like part of the family unidentified in a photo farther down.

September, 1953
Oksol farm south of Newell, SD.
Russell, Eddie (in front of Russell)
John Paul
Who is that to the Eddie's left, in between Eddie and Ruth -- is that Carl (who took the photo?)
Ruth holding Yvonne
Sy holding Bruce
Charlotte to the immediate left of John Paul
Gradma Oksol (Christine)

Beverly in front of Christine
Grandpa Oksol (Paul) behind Christine
Myrtle

Nothing on reverse.
Definitely Carl.
Possibly 1941?
Location unknown.

Farm south of Newell
Undated: 1941, 1953?

Nothing on reverse.
Carl with Sport?
Oscar?
Paul Oksol?

Nothing inscribed on reverse.
Grandpa Paul and Grandma Christine
(2nd and 4th from left in back row)
Unidentified mother and father
1st and 5th from left in back row
if so, unidentified family with two boys and four girls

December 1941
Oksol House, Newell, South Dakota

Nothing inscribed on reverse.

Anne Tangvald Viseth, sister of Christine
Lived in Mayville, ND
Sons Jerome and George

Inscribed on reverse:

 

 

Norwegian note on back a single word and not able to interpret.

Photos: Second Generation -- September 16, 2025

 

The five children of Paul and Christine Tangvald Oksol:

Myrtle, Carl
Edward, Clara, Oscar

 

a

Anne Tangvald -- Christine's Sister -- Posted September 15, 2025

I just found her Ellis Island entry (link here: https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result. I didn't have her first name so I only typed in Tangvald and lo and behold, this "Anne" from 1913 came from the very same village / town / location as Christine (Kristine): Stjordalen, near Trondheim.

In the graphic below, "Oscar II" is the name of the ship she sailed on.

Link here.

Russell Wilson's Sister Lavina Catherine Wilson Roske -- June 15, 1917 - October, 2021

Link here.

Lavina Roske returned to her heavenly home October 8, 2021, at the age of 104 after surviving the 1918 pandemic and Covid-19.  Lavina always attributed her longevity to “good genes”. 

     Lavina Catherine Roske was born June 15, 1917, to John Peter and Hattie L. (Halverson) Wilson, in Newell SD.  She attended school in Newell and obtained a 2-year teaching certificate from Augustana College in 1937. She taught for 6 years in rural South Dakota schools from 1937-1943.

     On June 8, 1943 she enlisted in the U.S. Navy, Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) during WWII.  She served until July 12, 1946, and retired as Chief Yeoman. Following her military service, she worked for 29 years with the Navy Relief Society.

     On April 15, 1954, she married Charles Roske.  She resided in California from 1943 until moving to Sandstone Assisted Living in Spearfish, SD, in 2018.  She was very active in the Lutheran Church throughout her life. 

     Lavina was preceded in death by her grandparents, parents, husband, her only brother, Russell Wilson and his wife Myrtle (Oksol) Wilson, as well as all of her first cousins.  

She is survived by her stepson David Roske, San Mateo, CA, her nephew John Wilson and his wife Marlene, Charlotte NC, her niece Charlotte Wilson, Sturgis SD, and many second cousins.

     Inurnment will be in Black Hills National Cemetery, Sturgis, South Dakota, at a later date.  Memorials may be made in her memory to the charity of your choice.

 

Memories

 

I would rather spend four or five days in Los Angeles showing Judah and Levi around rather than visiting Disneyland.

Kristine Or Christine?

By the way, a huge "thank you" to Richard Oksol for alerting me to Kristine Tangvald's name in the Ellis Island archives. In the big scheme of things, this is truly amazing.

Ellis Island, log in: link here for "Tangvald."

Ship manifest, link here:

Text passenger list, link here:

And it gets more interesting. From the manifest, we learn that Kristine's home of record, in Norway is: Stjørdshalsen. Wiki here. Stjørd: wiki here.

Where is Stjørdshalsen in Norway and where is it located in reference to where Paul was from?

It turns out both Paul and Kristine lived in the same "county" or certainly very close to each other -- Kristine was just a mile or so north of Trondheim, while Paul was a few miles farther north, across the fjiord from Trondheim. They very easily could have passed each other on the street if they ever visited Trondheim on market day. Isn't that a hoot?

In 1997, the municipal council declared Stjørdalshalsen to have town status. Stjørdal is one of the fastest-growing municipalities in Trøndelag due to its proximity to the city of Trondheim and also to Statoil's presence (it controls a large part of the petroleum activity in the Norwegian Sea from Stjørdal). 

On our trip up to visit Paul's homestead, we would have driven right through the Stjørd municipality!

Now, back to Kristine / Christine: 

In the United States data banks, the United States records Kristie Tangvald as Christine Tangvald.

That appears in Paul Oksol's obituary when it is clearly stated Paul married Christine Tangvald.

In addition, the Paul Oksol - Christine Oksol gravestone is clearly Christine.

The ship manifest is very, very clear, and there are no "strange" Norwegian letters in Kristine's name, so it is unlikely that the bureaucrat at Ellis Island changed the spelling of her name.

The question now becomes, how / when did this change?

Records suggest that after Paul emigrated to America, at a later date, he submitted his information to the United States State Department (?) to request US citizenship, which was granted. Somewhere on the blog I have a copy of that typewritten document.

One can assume Kristine followed a similar process shortly after arriving in the states when she went to work as a house-servant in Minnesota. At that time, it is very likely, she, her employer, or the bureaucrat completing the form, "Americanized" Kristine to Christine.

Oil activity:

Equinor has an office in Stjørdal that serves as a key operational hub for its activities in the Norwegian Sea . The office focuses on managing fields and projects in the region, including the important Åsgard field. 

• Key aspects of Equinor's presence in Stjørdal: 
• Operational hub: Since the 2007 merger that created StatoilHydro (now Equinor), the company has maintained its "Operations North" division in Stjørdal.
• Åsgard field management: The Stjørdal office is central to managing the Åsgard field, including its Smørbukk North satellite. This operation helps extend the field's lifespan and ensures continued profitable production.
• Wessels veg office: The office is located at Wessels veg 41 in Stjørdal.
• Local activity: By managing key offshore fields from Stjørdal, Equinor and its partners ensure ongoing operational activity in the region. The company's presence also supports the local energy industry through collaborations with other firms, such as Aibel, which also has a Stjørdal office and works on Equinor projects.