On the day he left Norway in 1901, John planted a birch sapling beside his home. With family and friends looking on, he carefully tamped down the soil, then grabbed the tree by the neck and shook it hard. Speaking directly to the young tree, he vowed to do the same thing when he came back. Sixty-six years later, he returned to Hugla for the first and only time. The tree was patiently waiting.
Newly married and stationed with the American Air Force in England, my bride and I had the pleasure of accompanying him on that memorable homecoming. What follows are my recollections of the journey.
*I found my grandfather’s name spelled many different ways in family documents. The wedding ring he gave my grandmother was engraved with the words “Din Jahn” (Your Jahn). Mikael (my son) and Lavelle were unaware of this spelling when they named our young- est granddaughter Ivy Jahn Jacobson. She will wear the ring one day. In other places, I found my grandfather’s first name spelled Johann. On his naturalization papers, his middle name was spelled Neckoli. I prefer the spelling that he himself used when he signed that document on the thirteenth day of June, 1912: John Nickoli Jacobson.