DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Ole Canuteson — and friend, this is one worth hearing. Ole Knudson came into the world in 1832, born to Knud and Anna Knudson in Norstrokke, on Norway's Karmoy Island. Now right there you've got a man with his whole story ahead of him, and not a word of it pointing toward Texas.
Not yet. In 1850, the family packed up and crossed the Atlantic, landing in Illinois — and when they did, they shed the old name like a winter coat. Knudson became Canuteson.
A new country, a new name. Ole, for his part, found something else in Illinois too: a wife. He wed Ellen Maline Gunderson, who happened to be from Norstrokke herself.
You travel that far and find someone from home — life has a sense of humor. Now here's where the story takes a turn, and the name responsible for that turn is Cleng Peerson. An immigration promoter, and apparently a persuasive one.
At Peerson's urging, the Canutesons moved to Texas, settling first near Dallas. But they didn't stop there. They moved again, this time with other Norwegian families, to establish what became known as the Norse Community in Bosque County, northwest of Waco.
Out there, Ole Canuteson was not a man who sat idle. He worked as a blacksmith and mechanic, making farm implements — the kind of practical, necessary work that holds a frontier community together. He also served as postmaster and community leader.
The man wore a lot of hats, and wore them well. Then in 1868, Ole and his family moved to Waco, where he operated a successful machine shop and metal foundry. A blacksmith who started hammering out farm tools on the edge of a new settlement — and ended up running a machine shop and foundry in a growing Texas city.
That's not just a life well lived. That's a life well built.
What the marker says
Ole Knudson was born in 1832 to Knud and Anna Knudson in Norstrokke on Norway's Karmoy Island. In 1850, the family, changing their name to Canuteson, moved to Illinois, where Ole wed Ellen Maline Gunderson, also of Nordstokke. At the urging of immigration promoter Cleng Peerson, the family moved to Texas, settling near Dallas. They then moved with other Norwegian families to establish Norse Community in Bosque County (northwest of Waco). There, Ole was a blacksmith and mechanic, making farm implements. He also served as postmaster and community leader. In 1868, he and his family moved to Waco, where he operated a successful machine shop and metal foundry. (2005)