(Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV)
The last day of October, 1894, just before the winter set in in earnest, 120 settlers arrived in the Bella Coola Valley, from Norway, via Minnesota. A difficult time of year to start homesteading; residents have spent the summer building up their stores of food and firewood and now they are hunkering down to withstand the winds storming down from the icy slopes. But these newcomers were determined. And tough.
Their leader was a Lutheran pastor, Christian Saugstad. They intended to set up a "little Norway", where they could follow their beliefs without the controversy raging back in Minnesota.
That first winter, they cleared land and built their log cabins, tiny shelters from the cold. Soon they were building in the traditional Norwegian style: solid, squared-off logs, neatly joined with dovetailed joints, built to last. Which they have; we can still see some as we drive up the valley.
By 1904, they had built their church, which they named after the one they had left at home; Augsburg. It is still in use today.
Our hostess is a granddaughter of the first pastor, Christian Saugstad, and lives a stone's throw from the church. She lent us the keys and we walked over.
An old photo from my album, 1980s. Slightly faded.
Simple, unpadded pews, and the original altar at the front.
One window: there are three on each side.
From inside, in the summer, the windows, with their view of the mountain ash covered in berries, almost look like stained glass.
Looking inwards: mountain ash and reflected trees.
Moody reflections.
Apples in my hostess' field; a far cry from those first days.
Vines.
I enjoyed your story on Bella Coola as I always wanted to go there.
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