Ole A. Olson was born on November 26, 1878 in Tvedestrand, Norway.  In 1882, Mr. Olson and his mother and brother came to the United States and joined his father at his homestead in Redfield, South Dakota.  After moving to Morris, Minnesota due to drought and poor farm prices, the family homestead again at Big Sandy, Montana in 1913.  Mr. Olson worked as a farm manager and insurance salesman until his retirement in 1947.

Mr. Olson and his wife were bothe known for their poetry and other writings.  The papers consist of Mr. Olson's autobiography and severval poems by himself and others.  Mr. Olson's biography begins with his parents in Norway and ends in 1968.  It is the original typescript copy and runs about 230 pages and is missing pages 52-61.  The autobiography is a very good account of life in Norway, pioneer life, homesteading in Montana, his employment history, travelogues, and the illness and death of his wife.
 

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