Description

“Letters from Anne” focuses on a series of letters written by Anne Engum to
friends and family in Norway.

Anne Engum was the daughter of Paul and Anne Engum, born in Norway on July
27, 1853. The Engum family immigrated to Coon Valley because the landscape
was similar to that of Norway, with soil that was excellent for farming.
They left Norway on April 12, 1867, on the Steamship “Rhea”. The Engum
House, located at Norskedalen in the Historic Bekkum Homestead, began to be
built in 1868.

Anne’s letters were developed based on examples found in *In Their Own
Words: Letters from Norwegian Immigrants* by Solveig Zempel and
*America-America
Letters: A Norwegian-American Family Correspondence* by Bjorn Gunnar
Ostgard. Some license was taken to adapt these letters to fit the Engum
family and the facilities here at Norskedalen. While Anne was actually 14
when the family left Norway, she is depicted in these letters as a
12-year-old, as it may be easier for your students to relate to a
12-year-old than to a teenager.

Each of Anne’s six letters contains materials to enhance the students’
learning experience. Photos taken inside Anne’s home and on the homestead
are included so the students can see what Anne is talking about in her
letters. Activities based on each letter as well as in-depth materials on
topics such as conservation and Norwegian Folk Arts are included. A
physical journal for each student is included, and contains questions for
written answers as well as additional pages for you to assign work.
*Letters from Anne* has been developed to cover a wide range of academic
standards as found on Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction site.
We’ll send you a list of these standards when you enroll in the program.