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Tag: Kversøy

Point to Paper – Norways most famous ghost once wrote a letter to a psychic priest

Point to Paper – Norways most famous ghost once wrote a letter to a psychic priest

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In today’s post, I will move into the supernatural. I will both have fun and be serious. Again, some really old Norwegian letters have turned up. They have piqued my curiosity. The letters were once sent and received locally in what is now called the village of Sande and the city of Drammen. I systematically hunt for old letters. I think letters written by people that once lived in the same area as myself are particularly worth examining. The letters…

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Point to Paper – Grandpa Shaved with a Straight Razor and wrote with a pencil made of slate

Point to Paper – Grandpa Shaved with a Straight Razor and wrote with a pencil made of slate

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Grandpa Walther grew up in Eastern Norway. He shaved with a straight razor. For him, being able to sharpen a blade that could cut facial hair was the mark of a man. I often wonder about things that once were common in Norway and suddenly became alien. Many things that were in everyday use for decades, generations and centuries have become obsolete and strange. Many things that were common in my grandpa’s childhood and youth in the 1910s and 1920s are…

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Point to Paper – The business that had phone number 1, who did they call?

Point to Paper – The business that had phone number 1, who did they call?

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Imagine that once upon a time there was a company you could call by just dialing one digit. I wonder what made them invest in the new phone technology. Not to mention the company with phone number 1. Who were they to call? What motivated them to get a phone? Believe it or not, I actually know the name of one such company. You might be wondering how I know this. It has to do with pencils. I also think it is a bit strange that…

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Point to Paper – The watchmaker, the linendraper, the poet, the calf and an abundance of people named John

Point to Paper – The watchmaker, the linendraper, the poet, the calf and an abundance of people named John

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In the summer of 1827, John Williamson decided to take a bold leap into the future. He wanted to establish his own business. Williamson was a linendraper. He had found a great property. It was in an ideal location for what he was planning. Another John, the watchmaker John Budgen, had inherited an estate from his recently deceased father. The property was located in Croydon just south of London. The buildings were located on High Street. High Street was central and busy. It was important to maintain good…

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