Feb 082016
Apr 122015
The red barn has undergone many modifications, and it is now suitable for a small party to sit down and have a meal.
The construction took place in March 2015, with the exceptional help from our Norwegian friends. We are very satisfied with the result. Later this will also be used for preparing Norwegian traditional food.
Apr 122015
During the winter of 2015, a smokehouse was constructed at CP Farm, with the work being completed in March 2015. Adolfo Garcia Construction did a great job. We tested it by smoking some meat in it.
CP Farm looks forward to showing Texans how Norwegians traditionally s
moke fish and meat. This cold smoke process means that the food is not cooked after it is smoked.
The smokehouse is built in the old style of stone walls and cedar shingle roof.
Sep 022014
Blue skies and fluffy white clouds cannot adequately convey the feeling of digging post-holes in 96 degree heat. But J.C. Jones of Hamilton was a brave soul, and he wanted to see the project to its finish. After Diana Ani Stokely of GRAFIX to go designed the information signs, and they were printed and laminated and mounted on metal sheets, Mr. Jones welded frames to display them to their best advantage. On Tuesday, September 2, 2014, all three signs were installed at the Cleng Peerson Farm.
Even before you enter the property, you can see the Velkommen sign just beyond the gate. It is placed there so that people may inform themselves about the property and find contact data as well. The informational sign briefly describes the property and its significance to the local history of the Norse Community.
The sign at right is installed on the west side of the Cleng Peerson cabin, out of sight if you are photographing the cabin from the front. It is easily seen as you enter the property, and tells a brief history of the cabin, and plans for its preservation.
The third information sign is placed on the east side of the site where the rock house once stood. On the sign itself is a photograph taken of the rock house, and the Colwick family can be seen standing on the long porch which runs north and south. As you read the sign, and look ahead, you can see the remains of that porch, approximately in the same position as is shown in the old photograph. It is hoped that the information sign will help visitors to imagine the rock house as it was when Cleng Peerson made his final days there, in comfort and in company of his friends, the Colwicks.
Jul 102014
New flagpoles at CP Farm
We have had a wonderful time in Texas this summer and ,once more, a lot of things are going on.
This time we started in Duluth, Minnesota, where Thomas held a keynote presentation, and a cultural presentation at the Sons of Norway District 1 Convention. This was a good opportunity to tell more than 300 delegates, representing 10 states in the mid-West, about all the exciting things that happen in Norse and Bosque County.
At the CP Farm several activities are ongoing, and of those most visible this time we can mention:
Now we have installed 2 flagpoles, and raised the Tysvær and Texas flags on them.
Archeologists from Texas Historical Commission
Archeologists from Texas Historical Commission have come two times to the property to survey and to document buildings and artifacts.
We have now received a cost estimate to build a smoke house. Before we start to build this, we must remove an old shed which is in poor condition.
In the red barn, one of the walls has been covered with plywood, and further work will be done with this in the future.
Interior in the red barn
This web page has been finalized.
The information boards for the property are printed, but some work remains on the construction of the frames. They will be installed in the near future.
This time we have met a lot of our friends here, and in addition we have met a lot of new, wonderful people. We really enjoy our visits here in Bosque, and look forward to our next visit.
May 072014
Thomas Mannes and Eldbjørg Djønne-Stuve (from Tysvær, Norway) came to the Norse Community near Clifton, Texas in April 2014 and were able to meet with many people from the area and to make some plans for the Cleng Peerson cabin and the property where it stands.
A copy of the Petition to the State of Texas written by Cleng Peerson in 1855 was obtained, and is posted here for you to read. And interesting point in the Petition states that Cleng Peerson lived at the property from about 1854 and cultivated it after the former owner, Andris Broten, died. It has been suggested that the former owner could be the same as “Andreas Bretta,” the first Norwegian who died in Norse; and several people in the area have supported this theory.
At present, designs are underway for information plaques to be placed at the property to provide a short historical overview of Cleng Peerson’s role, the original cabin on the land, and the remains of the Colwick home where Cleng spent his final days.
The old log cabin has been cleaned and temporary coverings placed on the floor. Because the cabin itself is unstable, and potentially unsafe, as well as home to snakes, visitors are not allowed entrance in the cabin at this time.
Some interior modifications are planned for the “new” red barn to facilitate future activities, such as the preparation and serving of traditional Norwegian food.
The Bosque County Chapter of the Norwegian Society of Texas invited Thomas Mannes to the St.Olav’s Kirke (Old Rock Church) Gathering Place to give a short presentation about these plans. The enthusiastic and positive response by so many in this “Norwegian Capital of Texas” is quite encouraging.
