We’re having an extended Family Reunion this summer for the Holtans, Tweetens, Kinglands and Loviks. The focus is Hans and Margit Holtan, who migrated from Norway to Iowa in the 1860s and brought some nieces and nephews with them, who became the Tweeten, Kingland and Lovik families, but many of us are still neighbors and friends today.
So, we’re celebrating each other, and learning more about where we came from. We so hope you can join us and we ask you to register for the event, for just Sunday, or for all three days, with a registration form. The registration cost goes up after April 1.
Sunday, July 5th, 10:30 am, is historic worship and music at Winnebago Lutheran Church and then in the afternoon, a big gathering, picnic and ball game at the Hadacek/Holtan farm in Forest City, IA. No cost for that, just a free-will donation for pizza. Bring a lawn chair.
On Monday and Tuesday, July 6 and 7, at Waldorf University in Forest City, we’ll Dig Deeper into the Holtan Journey, with stories of Hans and Margit Holtan and their Tweeten, Kingland and Lovik relatives —mini-sessions on topics like Writing Family Stories, Travel to Family Sites in Norway, Life in Mt. Valley, Life in Telemark, Norway, Family History 101, etc. —tours of significant family farms and cemeteries, –a banquet, service of remembrance, socials each evening, and lots of family time together ($70 for meals, tours and program for those two days $80, after April 1). See more about the schedule here.
Housing at Waldorf is available for $45/room/day, with private bathroom. You can register for that housing along with your registration for the reunion here. Other housing is available nearby. You’ll find a motel list with discounted prices, and other information on schedule, registration, and program on the HoltanHeritage.com website.
We also have two parallel projects to supplement the reunion. One is the Holtanheritage.com webpage, which you are on right now. It’s just getting started, but it’s already full of Holtan, Tweeten and Kingland stories and photos. If you have stories and photos to share, we’d love to include them. It’s also the place to find more information about the reunion.
Another is a genealogy project to identify all “Holtan Tweeten Kingland” descendants of Mandt- Nordgarden sisters Margit Holtan and Sigrid Tweeten. Jerry Holtan from Ames, IA leads that project and has documented over 6000 descendants and keeps adding more. Thanks for your help on that. As the year goes by, we’ll share more information for your branch of the family.
We’re so looking forward to seeing you this summer. If you have comments or questions, let me know. [email protected]