Oh my!  Yes indeed, there were many Hauge Lutherans who settled around here.  In fact, my parents are buried in an old Hauge churchyard.  

These were interesting folks--at a distance.  They were so theologically conservative that they believed, for example, that the music of J.S. Bach was too flamboyant for church!!  On the other hand, they were almost Social Democrats when it came to economics--public ownership of railways, utilities, etc.

The Veblens were not Hauges.  The church they attended was served by a preacher sent with official blessings of the Lutheran church in Norway (Denmark).  The folks at Valley Grove (Veblen's church) were not actually anti-Hauge like some in the neighborhood, however.  Some of the other rural churches refused burial to Hauge folks and only allowed them burial outside the churchyard fence.

For more information on the church Thorstein Veblen tried to escape as quickly as possible, go to:
http://www.valleygrovemn.com/
Confession.  I am so impressed by the story of TBV's parents that I now serve on the Valley Grove Preservation Society because that is where they were buried.


"Remember the I35W bridge--who needs terrorists when there are Republicans"