An advertisement from 1923 promoting the Norwegian America Line. 1923 is the year my grandfather passed through Ellis Island on his way to becoming an American. He, and my grandmother in 1924, both arrived on the "Bergensfjord". It was a much nicer trip than the trip that the Norwegian immigrants of the 19th century took. What many don't realize is that many Norwegians, lonesome for their homeland and family often traveled back for a visit or more. The Norwegian Bureau of Statistics has estimated that about 25% of immigrants to North American in the years between 1881 and 1930 resettled back in Norway for good. My grandparents returned with their children 3 times on the Bergenfjord's sister ship, the S.S. "Stavangerfjord". My mother remembered "the ship was lovely but on one voyage the seas were rough and I spent most of the trip vomiting over the rail."
