Mathias Lyngby was born October 26, 1884, in Biri, Norway to Karenius and Agnetha Lyngby. He was baptized and confirmed in the Biri Church. He was one of seven children, and there is one surviving brother, still living in Norway. Mathias, or Matt as he was called came to America at the young age of seventeen. He came to Hannaford, and his first job there, was working in the livery stable, which was in connection with the hotel, and I am sure that he did other odd jobs around there, too.
On September 16, 1911, Mathias Lyngby and Karen Thuen (who also worked at the hotel) were married, in Cooperstown, North Dakota. The minister was N. J. Vikingstad, Lutheran Pastor, and witnesses were Ole Forseth, and Valborg Christianson.
Mathias was a jack-of-all-trades. He drove the dray for a number of years, and in the early thirties, he ran the threshing rig at the Ted Stone farm, east of Hannaford. In 1933-34, he operated a meat market located on the north side of Hannaford. In the late 30's and 40's he worked on the Great Northern Railroad, and retired from there, at the age of sixty-two. Farm work was another job that kept him busy, -during the summer months. He worked on the Odney Winningland Farm, in the fields and with farm chores. Karen, his wife, also worked there for a couple of summers, and helped with the cooking and cleaning.
Mathias did much cement work, too, building sidewalks, cisterns, and chimneys. During the time when he was in the dray business, he would also haul tanks of water for the cisterns in Hannaford. The water was hauled from the Bald Hill Creek.
Skiing was also a sport that interested him very much. This was in the 1933-36 years. He did not do any skiing himself, but he would help keep the ski slope in good condition and help measure the distance the skiers would jump. Many tournaments were held in Hannaford, in the early 30's.
Mathias and Karen had five children, all born in Hannaford:
Carl of Grand Forks, North Dakota, married and has two daughters. Amelia (Mrs. Orval Jahr), of Moorhead, Minnesota, married, and has three daughters and four grandchildren. Ingvold, living in Littleton, Colorado, married and has one son and two granddaughters. Reynard, living in Moorhead, Minnesota, married and has five children and two grandsons. Myrtle (Mrs. Melvin Corneliussen), Comstock, Minnesota, has four children and one granddaughter.
In 1971, Reynard and his wife, Marlyn, and their family visited in Norway with many relatives. There, they visited Uncle Olaf Lyngby, (Mathias' brother), and Aunt Kathinka Asp, (Karen's Sister), in Stienkjer, who is 88 years old at this time.
Mathias died July 6, 1960.
Karen Thuen was born in Trondhjem, Norway, March 29, 1890 to Leonard and Amelia Thuen. Her father was a shoemaker, in Norway. She was baptized on the Seventeenth of May, in the Malm Church, that same year. She came to America, at the age of nineteen. Karen found work at the hotel and worked there until she was married to Mathias. Michael later went to Canada to farm.
Karen was very active in the Hannaford Lutheran Ladies Aid. Her favorite pastime was crocheting and she donated many lovely articles to the Ladies Aid bazaars. Her brother, Michael, of Canada is still living at the age of 90. Her sister, Kathinka Asp lives in Stienkjer, Norway and will be 89 years old at her next birthday.
Karen and Mathias had fifteen grandchildren. She died October 24, 1963.