One hundred years ago, in a quest as eternal today as it was then, my grandparents emigrated from Norway to United States and then to Canada. In search of economic security, a home and a suitable society in which to raise their children, they encountered the problems common to many of the immigrants who settled this country. From their small part of Canadian history comes From Sailing Ships to Spitfires, a universal story.

The Roseland family story is woven into descriptions of the political and social circumstances they encountered when leaving Norway to establish a new home in North America, early in the last century. Quotations from their letters, dated from the late 19th century through the Second World War, give a vivid description of their experiences and of the changing society that they encountered through the era.

All chapter titles are quotations taken from family members.

Three weeks after D-Day in 1944, Flight Lieutenant Roseland wrote home from Normandy, "I have had enough travel and adventure to last a lifetime."

Forty years earlier his father had written home to his sister in Norway, "I don't care if this ship takes me to Siberia; I will find my way home." At age twenty-eight, each had a woman waiting for his return.

F/L Arnold W. Roseland, Europe, 1944

Gustav Roseland, Bunbury, Australia, 1902

While on a bus tour in Norway in 1999, I overheard a fellow passenger state, "I would love to read more about this history, but I don't want to read a history book. I want to read a story."

From Sailing Ships to Spitfires is such a story, about Norway and immigration to the United States and Canada in the early 20th century.

The ship image in the logo is from NorwayHeritage.com. The Spitfire image is from the painting Comox Y2K MkIX Spitfire by David P. Miller.

The background image is from NorwayHeritage.com