The School House

The building was not safe. Either for a schoolroom or as a residence. The first time it rained, it was obvious that repairs had to be performed. Nils went to the Board and told them what occurred the first time it rained. There were buckets everywhere and depending on the strength of the storm some buckets had to be emptied during the night. The Schoolboard which consisted of old farmers who were of the opinion that this school was there to keep their sons from being available for help on the farm, gave Nils a sum that was rediculously small, and said, You fix the roof. Nils said 'I was hired to teach your children, not to become a roofer.

Nils called on a man he had seen repairing a roof on a farmhouse nearby. This man came and investigated the roof in question. Nils showed him the amount he had been given and asked how far this would go. The man laughed and said 'That's the amount I would charge for putting up a ladder. And so the family went along with pails pinging day and night with the raindrops, and the teacher suffered interruptions from his daily task of keeping the young ones attention during the school day.

In the residence another baby was born. Her name was Karin. When she was a toddler the roof fell down. Everything was sopping wet, the bedding, the clothes, the rugs. And something had to be arranged so the school could function and the family would be safe. It was horrible for the teacher and for the family. Karin had lifelong effects of the collapse and the world would suffer a loss for Karin had the voice of an angel and aspired to sing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. A scar would prohibit this.
Only a few people beside her family would ever hear this beautiful voice.

Nils thought 1900 was time to retire and then he moved his family to Viken, a coastal village bout an hours walk from Alrum. He lived until 1933 And often voiced his disgust with the fact that he has made more money for doing nothing than the years he had worked hard to educate those farmers children.