Part 1: Names & Places
Names and places mentioned in Part 1, in roughly the order they come up. Dates and spellings have been checked against family documents (a Norwegian family register, a family Bible, and an obituary) where noted.
People
| Name | Relationship to Judy | Key facts |
|---|---|---|
| Judith Ann (Judy) Thompson Anderson Carlson | Herself — subject of the podcast | Maiden name Thompson; later Anderson, then Carlson. Born March 10, 1948 — likely in the Minneapolis area (not Pipestone), while the family lived on Garfield Ave during Herb’s business college years; exact location to be confirmed |
| Herb (Herbert Johannes) Thompson | Father | Born March 19, 1916, a twin (his twin sister was Hulda). Grew up on a farm near Ruthton; later attended Minneapolis Business College; worked at Otter Tail Power in Fergus Falls |
| Eunice (Erstad) Thompson | Mother | Played piano, organ, and accordion, all by ear; worked at the Eagle Café in Pipestone, where she met Herb |
| Theodore Thompson | Paternal grandfather | Born Pipestone County, 1879 — reportedly the first white boy born there; farmer and county commissioner. Died October 27, 1941, after several years of illness (colon cancer, per Judy); buried October 29 |
| Julia Bly Thompson | Paternal grandmother | Daughter of Haldor and Ingeleiv (Sekse) Bly. Died 1944 (same year Herb & Eunice married), age 58. Open question: the episode says she emigrated around age 19, but the Bly family obituary says they came to America in 1888 — if Julia was 58 in 1944 she would have been about 2 at the time. To be confirmed |
| Haldor M. Bly | Paternal great-grandfather (Julia’s father) | Married Ingeleiv Sekse in 1884; emigrated from Norway in 1888 with two children and farmed near Ruthton; retired to St. Anthony Park, St. Paul in 1923. Correction: the episode described him as Julia’s brother and a theology professor; the 1938 obituary shows he was her father, and the professor detail was already flagged as wrong by Uncle Curt |
| Ingeleiv P. (Sekse) Bly | Paternal great-grandmother (Julia’s mother) | Born November 28, 1856 at Sekse, near Borve, Hardanger, Norway; died February 5, 1938 at Fairview Hospital, Minneapolis, age 81. Member of Aetna Lutheran Church, later Wartburg Lutheran Church in St. Paul. Survived by five children — John, Julia, George, Petra, and Herman — and eighteen grandchildren |
| Thelma Jeanette Thompson | Great-aunt (Herb’s sister) | Born January 7, 1914; died May 16, 1918 at age 4 after an 11-day illness of measles pneumonia; buried May 18 |
| Hulda Evelyn Thompson | Great-aunt (Herb’s twin sister) | Born March 19, 1916; a registered nurse; drowned May 22, 1941, age 25 in a boating accident. Note: the episode’s “Calder” (listed here before as a separate twin) is most likely Hulda — the family register shows only one twin sister |
| Robert (Bob) (surname unclear in the handwritten register — possibly Fealstad) | Great-uncle by marriage (Hulda’s husband) | Herb’s best friend; they graduated Ruthton HS together; drowned alongside Hulda in 1941 |
| Selma Luella Thompson | Great-aunt (Herb’s sister) | Born April 8, 1921; also drowned May 22, 1941, age 20 |
| Mabel Jeanette Thompson (later Green) | Great-aunt (Herb’s sister) | Born June 2, 1919. Didn’t go on the boat that day; later raised baby Bobby after the accident; married Marv Green |
| Baby Bobby | Hulda & Bob’s son | Only 5 months old when he lost both parents; raised by Mabel & Marv; later attended the U of MN and stayed in the Twin Cities |
| Norman Erstad | Maternal grandfather | Farmer near Lake Wilson, MN |
| Tilda Serina (Gravley) Erstad (maiden name from her Bible) | Maternal grandmother | Born March 7, 1894; died October 9, 1919 at 10 o’clock, when Eunice was just 9 months old. Her Norwegian Bible was a 1908 gift from her father, John O. Gravley |
| John O. Gravley | Maternal great-grandfather (Tilda’s father) | Inscribed Tilda’s Bible in 1908 — “a remembrance from your father” |
| Grandma Erstad (see Helen Halsney, Part 2) | Eunice’s grandmother, who raised her | Gave young Eunice the choice between a wedding or a bedroom furniture set — Eunice chose the furniture |
| Hannah | Norman’s second wife (Eunice’s stepmother) | Eunice never lived with them |
| Dwayne & Barbara | Half-aunt/uncle (Norman & Hannah’s kids) | Lived in Seattle |
| Norman, Harold, Clifford, Hattie, Ruben, Clara, Joe | Eunice’s aunts/uncles who raised her alongside their own kids | Technically second cousins to Judy’s generation, but felt like first cousins growing up |
| Roger Erstad | Extended Erstad family | Comes up re: family reunions |
| Joyce | Judy’s older sister | Born 1945, Pipestone |
| Curt | Judy’s brother | Born Oct. 1946, Pipestone |
| Mary, Margie, Kathy, Colleen, Ricky | First cousins (Mabel & Marv Green’s kids) | Judy’s only first cousins |
Places
| Place | Relevance |
|---|---|
| Pipestone, MN | Where Eunice worked, where Joyce & Curt were born |
| Spotties Café, Pipestone | Café Herb & Eunice bought after Julia’s death |
| Ruthton, MN | Where Herb grew up; where the Bly family settled in 1888; where Mabel & Marv later settled |
| Lake Wilson, MN | Where Norman Erstad farmed |
| Garfield Ave, Minneapolis | Address while Herb attended business college; where Judy was likely born |
| Minneapolis Business College | Herb’s 3-year program |
| Sekse, near Borve, Hardanger, Norway | Birthplace of Ingeleiv Sekse Bly, Judy’s great-grandmother |
| St. Anthony Park, St. Paul, MN | Where Haldor & Ingeleiv Bly retired in 1923 and Ingeleiv lived until her death |
| Fairview Hospital, Minneapolis | Where Ingeleiv Bly died in 1938 |
| Aetna Lutheran Church | Ingeleiv Bly’s church while farming near Ruthton |
| Wartburg Lutheran Church, St. Paul | Ingeleiv Bly’s church home in St. Paul |
Note: Julia Bly Thompson’s age at emigration, the spelling of Bob’s surname, Tilda’s maiden name (Gravley), and Judy’s exact birthplace are still being confirmed with family.
