Gjertrud Johnsdatter Skulborstad

Stjordal, Nord Trondelag Norway

Mrs. Julia Bakke, Area's Oldest Resident, Dies at Garden Farm Home

The oldest resident of this area died Sunday at her home in Garden township. She was Mrs. Julia Bakke, who would have been 101 next April.

 

Funeral services will be held at the Little Norway Lutheran Church tomorrow (Friday) afternoon at 2 PM, with the Rev. Thomas Gabrielsen officiating.

 

Pallbearers will be six grandson's: Leonard, Walter, Melvin and Orton Bakke, Oscar Bakke and Raymond Simonson.

 

Mrs. Bakke was born April 27, 1853 at Stordalen, Tronhjem, Norway and came to this county at the age of 18. She was married to Ole Bakke in 1872 and they lived at Minot, North Dakota before coming to Garden township in 1890. Mr. Bakke died in 1910.

 

Surviving are ten sons and daughters, Ole Bakke of Fertile, Mrs. Lizzie Whiting of Grand Forks, North Dakota, Carl Bakke of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, Oscar Bakke of Fargo, North Dakota, Mrs. George Simonson of Detroit, Michigan, Julius Bakke of Northwood, North Dakota, and Emma, Selmer, Gilbert and Martin Bakke of Fertile, Minnesota.

Mrs. Julia Bakke 100 Years Old Today

If Mrs. Julia Bakke of rural Fertile manages to blow out all the candles on her birthday cake today she will no doubt be granted any wish she had in mind as there will be 100 candles on it.

Mrs. Bakke's health is fair and she is able to be about the house doing some of her own work every day. She knows she is pretty old but isn't quite sure if she is 100 or not. Her children have been keeping track of her birthdays for her.

Despite her age, she is up and around everyday. Mrs. Bakke speaks mostly Norwegian and answers questions through her children most of whom also  speak Norwegian.

One hundred years ago today, Julia Gertrude Skulborstad Bakke was born at Stjordalen near Trondheim, Norway. She lived there until she was 17 years old and left for America, April 10, 1871 on the Stavangerfjord ship celebrating her 18th birthday on board ship before she landed in Quebec, Canada on May 1.

From Quebec, she traveled by train and boat to Zumbrota, Minnesota. where she lived about one year. In 1872, she married Ole Bakke who died in 1910 in Polk County, Minnesota. They farmed in the Kenyon area until 1887, when they filed a claim on a homestead in Minot, ND, where they lived until 1890 when they moved to Garden township near Fertile. Mrs. Bakke has made her home on that farm ever since.

A mother of 14 children, ten which are still living. Mrs. Bakke has been a member of the Little Norway Lutheran Church since 1892 and also a member of the Ladies Aid of the church since that time.

Contributed by Margit Bakke [email protected]