SKAVLAN, Lewis John age 81, born February 15, 1926 and passed away September 23, 2007. He is survived by his two sons daughter and brother, Alan Skavlan. He was preceded in death by his wife, Alice Skavlan. Interment will be held prior to the Memorial Service at 10:30 a.m., DFW National Cemetery, Lane A. A Memorial Service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 27, 2007 at St. Barnabas Presbyterian Church; 1220 W Beltline Rd. Richardson, Tx. The family will receive friends Wednesday from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Williams Funeral Directors.

Lewis Skavlan in his retirement years documented his ancestry available at
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/s/k/a/Lewis-Skavlan/index.html

1930 US CENSUS
Schafer, McKenzie, North Dakota, United States
Head John Skanlan M 47 Norway
Wife Ellen E Skanlan F 39 Delaware
Son Julius A Skanlan M 7 North Dakota
Son Alan V Skanlan M 6 North Dakota
Son Lewis J Skanlan M 4 North Dakota
Son Martin Skanlan M 1 North Dakota
Roomer Lavella Aasen F 23 Minnesota
Roomer Helen Helseth F 23 Minnesota
Roomer Bernard Barrett M 46 Iowa

1940 US CENSUS
Ward 2, Grand Forks, Grand Forks City, Grand Forks, North Dakota, United
Head Ellen Skavlan F 49 Delaware
Son Julius A Skavlan M 18 North Dakota
Son Alan V Skavlan M 16 North Dakota
Son Lewis J Skavlan M 14 North Dakota
Son Martin Skavlan M 11 North Dakota

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lewis Skavlan's parents were John and Ellen
John and Ellen were married on August 4 (9-?) 1920
Below is John's diary account of the wedding and honeymoon.

OUR WEDDING TRIP AND HONEY MOON
Wednesday the fourth day of August, 1920, the day of all days, our wedding day, was a clear sunshiny day just as we had ordered it for our special benefit.
The decorations and other preparations were completed the day before, I was too excited to sleep much the night before, so I got up early to dress and get ready. Gilbert, the best man, arrived in due time and kept me with company. I had quite a time tying my necktie In proper shape and finally had to appeal to Gilbert for help. He tied it for me, added a little touch here and a brush there, and finally announced my toilete complete with the pert remark "if she don't want you now she can go without."I had made up my mind that I would have to take a lot of such stuff on this occasion so I let it go at that.
We went over to Ellens' house where most of the guests were gathered, and someone greeted me with the cheerful remark that I was late, but I tried my best to appear calm, and in fact I felt quite calm considering the occasion. After waiting, for what to me seemed an age, someone gave the sign and Mendelsohns wedding march was started on the phonograph. I was all impatience and did not care for the music. I had my eyes glued on that stairway from which Ellen was to descend, she was all that realy mattered any to me, the rest was only boring formalities with which I would gladly dispence. At last she came, smiling sweetly according to my previous instructions.I knew that dear smile well enough, but for a moment I wondered if I realy was so excited that I had become colorblind, Ellen had told me that her bridal gown was a blue georgette dress, black shoes and no veil. The bride that now approached the altar wore a white satin dress white stockings and shoes and a veil. An altar, which was erected across one corner of the room, was made of trailing green cedar in front of which was placed large boquets of pink gladiolas and roses. The room was decorated with sprays of cedar boughs and sweet pea blossoms.
I took my place besides Ellen in front of the altar, apperently calm and composed; but looking at Ellen I noticed that she trembled slightly and for a moment I was not so sure of my own composure either. As the minister solemnly read the wedding ritual I forgot the guests and everything else but my dear Ellen and how happy I wanted to make her. After the ceremony was over and all the kissing hand- shaking, congratulations and all that was formaly gone through with, we were invited to take seats on what was suposed to be the places of honor.Two chairs were arranged directly underneath one of the white paper wedding bells suspended from the ceiling and the moment we were seated, Mollie, one of the bridesmaids, pulled a string and a veritable shower of rice which was hidden in the bell, poured down upon us. This was a part of the programme of which we had not been previously informed.
Miss Randles, my office deputy, had brought her camera along to take pictures of the party and this was next on the programme.The party was arranged in a group outside of the house and - snap - we were caught. Next came the conventional throwing of the bride's boquet. All the girls lined up to be ready, But Willard Smith streched out his long arm and caught it before any of the girls had a chance to join in the scramble, but Willard finally consented to divide his spoils with the girls.
We were to start on our wedding trip as soon as the dinner was over. I had not been able to eat much breakfast, but would gladly have dispensed with the dinner too in order to get away before someone started something. It was previously arranged that we were to slip away quitly as soon as the dinner was over in order to avoid the usual charivari and nonsense of that kind, and so intent was I upon this plan being carried cut without any hitch that I simply had to force myself to eat. I almost envied Ellen's appearent calmness and appetite. She looked as if this was only a commonplace daily occurence with her, but she told me frankly afterwards that she realy had to try her best in order not to betray herself. After dinner mother invited the guests to come upstairs and view the wedding presents, to which all readily consented, not being aware of there being any other meaning to it. I followed the crowd upstairs where the presents were displayed on a table in Ellen's room, so as not to arrouse suspicion. As soon as all were rapturously admiring the beautiful presents we had received, I slipped quietly away downstairs grabbed my hat and started for the front door. Someone grabbed me by the arm and made wild gestures that I had to go cut the back way so as not to be seen. I thot for a moment that I had been lured into another senenade but followed meekly. Seeing the kitchen door was open I bolted through it as if my very life was at stake.In the meantime Ellen had hurriedly discarded her veil, grabbed her hat, and a package and got out in the backyard where I found her meditating upon scaling a five foot fence. I gave her a boost and scrambled over the fence myself without considering that it was a rather undignified departure for newlyweds; but we were so bent on getting away before any more rice, old shoes and things of that sort followed us that dignity and proper ceremonies had to be dispensed with for the time being. We ran, as of there was a fire somewhere, over to my garage were Gilbert was waiting to help us get the car started.The car was put in readiness, the suitcases and everything we wanted for the trip put in it the day before. We climbed into the car all the time keeping an eye on the house to see if we were followed.
Gilbert finally got the car started and I drew the first easy breath that day. Ellen thot sure they would all be out and after us before Gilbert got the car started. Everyone in town told us afterwards how they saw us run and how easily they could have stopped us, if they had only thot of it; but lucky for us no one appeared to be thinking along that line just then. We drove up the road leading east out of town and as we turned the last corner we saw the guests come out on the steps. We waived them a gay farewel and were soon "far from the maddening crowd".
We had started out in a direction were no one expected us to go and for some time the guests discussed were we really were going. In the first place we had intended to go to the Glacier National Park for our honeymoon, but changed the plan and decided to go to Duluth by car. From Schafer we drove out past Kurtz’s farm and tock the old rancher's road over the divide, We stopped at my sisters' place to change from our wedding clothes into our traveling togs. We also stopped at Skavangers' farm by Clear Creek and at P.F. Doyle's by Charlson to exchange greetings with these folks. We crossed the Missouri river at Sanish passed right on by several towns along the Soo railroad east from Sanish and intended to reach Minot that evening. The day was quite warm with bright sunshine without any wind, only occasionally a light breeze. Along the route we traveled the harvest was in fall swing. The crops Iooked fine with large fields of
fine looking golden wheat. At Makoti we stopped to replenish the car with gas and oil, had some refreshments at a drug store and started out across the hills towards Minot. A few mile out of Makoti it began to get dark. We were not aquinted with the road and got too far west.We could see a thunderstorm coming up in the northwest and was hoping to get in to Minot before it started to rain. About nine o'clock in the evening we came to Des Lacs just as it started to rain. We thot that we could still reach Minot, but just as we were leaving the town the storm broke loose. We tried to put up the side curtains of the car and go on, but in the storm and darkness we could not find the right curtains, and it rained so hard that it would hare been impossible to travel anyway, so we decided to turn back and stay over night in Des Lacs. Just as we drove up to a garage a freight train pulled in to town and blocked the street so we had to wait at the garage for about fifteen minutes before the train started up again so we could ,go over to the hotel across the track. There was no restaurant near the hotel where we could get supper and it was raining too hard to go out just then, so we bought some crackers, dried beef and fruit in a store in connection with the hotel and had a lunch in the room we had got at hotel.The water we got was not fit to drink, but we made our supper the best we could and being then quite tired we "let the rest of the world go by".
The next morning we started out to explore the town in search of a restaurant where we could get some breakfast. We found a place that appeared to be a combination of every kind of business usually found in a small town. It was a short order restaurant, ice cream and soft drinks, cigars and tobaco, groceries, notions, Ford repairs and maybe it had a livery barn in connection.
We drove to Minot and proceeded to take in the town. We went over to Riverside Park where for the first time in our lives we had a chance to see a real live buffalo and a caribo, besides several other animals that were kept in the zoo there. In a place built of rocks and cement to resemble the ruins of an old castle, three large, brown bears had their home and looked quite docile as they stretched out full length in the shade of the wall. We had a fine dinner at one of the cafeterias and after doing some small shopping and visiting some aquintances at the First Farmers Bank of Minot we started out for Bottineau which was our next destination. The roads north of Minot were fine and we took turns driving the car. We arrived in Bottineau about seven o'clock in the evening and just as we turned into town we had our first tire trouble, one of the rear tires refused to stay with us any longer so I had to take it in as baggage and run in on the rim. Sister Anna gave us a hearty welcome but little niece Selma thot we were getting off too cheap without any charivary so she arranged with some of the neighboring children for a litle serenade, which appearently was enjoyed more by the children than by us. Some of the neighbors called up on the telephone and wanted to know what the racket was all about.
The next day we made an outing to lake Metigoshe in the Turtle Mountains. Lake Metigoshe is the largest body of fresh water in North Dakota. It has a shore line of 72 miles and several beatiful wooded islands. A good road wound up and among the hills from Bottineau up to the lake, a distance of about fifteen miles to the first summer resort by the lake. Here we had a picnic lunch prepared by sister Anna who accompanied us. Selma was also with us and a little adopted girl of three, Dorthy. After lunch we hired a boat and went out on the lake. Reaching a place called Steven's Point we donned our bathing suits and took a swim. We went over to an island called Masonic Island and landed for the purpose of exploring.The island was thickly covered with timber, mostly oak and some poplar. The ground was covered with a dense growth of brush and wines, almost like a jungle, which made it very difficult to get thru. It appeared that neither axe nor fire had ever visited the place. We found an oak tree so large that we could barely reach each others hands by reaching around from oposite sides of the tree. At the edge of the timber by the shore we found a clump of raspberry bushes. We made baskets of birch bark to pick the berries in and after picking what we wanted we rowed across to the summer resort again. We found that some more tire trouble had developed in our absence and after fixing two or three times on the way, we finally reached town; tired but satisfied that we had a very nice trip. The Turtle Mountains are indeed a wonderful change from the level stretches of prairies surrounding them. We saw some very fine crops and good hay meadows.This appears to be a very fine farming country, but rather hard to work up from the dense growths of oak and poplars.
After supper that evening we all drove over to where my nephew, Teddy, was working. He went along with us to visit Olaf Vinje's folks. They made us very welcome. We were treated to ice cream and visited with them until nearly midnight. After reaching town that evening, we had to go over to another place after Selma and it was after midnight before we finally were ready to retire.
We had intended to drive on east the next day, but we decided to stay over at my sisters place another day in order to get a chance to see some of my relatives who had just returned from a trip to Norway. Therefore, we spent Saturday quietly at home with my sister. It was a very hot day, so traveling would not be very comfortable anyway. I fixed the car and Ellen helped sister Anna with her work and also worked on an embroidered tablecloth, which was to be a wedding present for our friend Mollie Heffron. In the evening we all went over to visit Mrs. Odegard, who had just returned from a trip to Norway. We were invited to stay for supper. Had a very nice visit and got back to town about ten o'clock in the evening.
Sunday morning we started out on the road again and intended to reach Grand Forks that evening. We took turns about driving the car and made fairly good time. We stopped in Rugby to see the green house from which we had bought the flowers for the wedding.The proprietor, Mr. Lindberg, took us around through the hothouses and gardens. Here we saw the largest tomato plants that ever could be grown anywhere. They had ripe tomatoes on them by the first of June. We also saw a lot of beatiful flowers and some small potted orange trees with fruits on them about the size of an egg. Before leaving the place we bought some carnations to take along which the proprietor packed very neatly in a box and he presented Ellen with a large, beautiful, dark red dahlia. A few miles from Rugby we had some tire trouble and had to stop to repair. We had dinner at Knox, got some oil and gas and drove on. Near Pleasant Lake we passed through a fine natural park of large oak trees. Here were several picnic parties. They had spread their lunch and were either eating our lounging about in the shade of trees and appeared to enjoy themselves to the fullest extent. On the east edge of the park several parties were picking berries. There were an abundance of chokecherries in the bushes along the road. The crops in the vicinity were we traveled were fair to good and in places we saw some very fine fields.The harvest was about half completed. We stopped for supper at Lakota and decided to drive on as far as we could in the evening, since it was then quite cool and more pleasant for traveling. We reached Larimore about ten o'clock in the evening, got a room at one of the hotels and got the car put away in a garage. It was a cool pleasant evening after a hot sultry day. We unpacked our flowers and made ourselves at home in the room although we were quite tired after the hot strenous day.
Monday morning we got up and had a light breakfast. I went over to the garage to get the car while Ellen packed and got ready.I found that someone had exchanged front seat cushions with me. They had left me an old broken down one which caused quite a lot of inconvenience. We arrived at Grand Forks about noon did some shoping and had some tire repairing done. Had a fine dinner at the Knudson caffeteria, and after a short visit with Professor Thacker at the Union Commercial College, where I attended school several years before, we drove on. Between Grand Forks and Fisher one of the rear tires blew out so we had to run in on the rim. Had a new tire put on in Fisher and drove on to Crockston.We passed through the Agricultural College grounds at Croockston. Here we saw some very fine buildings and beatiful grounds surrounding them .East from Croockston for several miles, a new highway was in the process of construction. The road was traveled some, but in most places it was soft and rather rough. We tried to make a detour, as we thought there would be other roads further south leading in the same direction as we were going. The further we traveled on the new route we had choosen, the poorer and more rough the road got and finally it ran out into a soft meadow, so we had to run back to the new road where we started out from, and continue along the new road. This delayed us about two hours. We drove along this road for about ten miles before we struck good hard roads again. On the return trip we learned that we had been directed on the wrong road altogether. We stopped for supper at Erakine and drove on to Lengby, where we stopped over night. Since the evenings were always cool and calm, we traveled as far as we could each evening. Lengby is a small town with not the best of accomodations. There was no garage where I could put away the car, so I left it in the street, The man at the hotel assured me, however, that it would be as safe there as anywhere else, and I gues he was right. We got a room at the hotel, and after a hot day on dusty roads, a person usually have no trouble with insomnia.
Tuesday morning we had a fine breakfast at the hotel. Got a lunch put up for our dinner and started out on the road again. Between Lengby and Bagley the evergreen trees first begin to appear among the other trees. They are mostly jackpines, with here and there a spruce. The country is quite rooling. Here we had good graveled roads, fine scenery and pleasant traveling in the cool morning, About ten miles from Bemidji we overtook a young man who was walking towards that town, and we gave him a ride in to town. Although I was a total stranger in Bemidji, I thought I would try to get a check cashed, since the new tire had taken more of my ready cash than I had expected to part with before we got to Duluth. I, therefore, walked into the first and finest looking bank i could see, presented my card and told them what I wanted. After a few moments hesitation I was told to go over to the teller's window and get the money.I was quite pleased at this, since I had expected to encounter some difficulties with cashing checks where I was not known. We drove on to Cass Lake and stopped for dinner in a little grove on the lake shore,We partook of our lunch, rested a little while and started out over the Cass Lake indian reservation following the TR trail. Here the roads were rather poor, in fact, in most places it was only a crooked trail among the trees. A few miles east of Cass Lake we drove through some fine pine woods, with tall slender pine trees, in places almost resembling a giantic wheat field. In places the road was so loose and sandy that we had difficulty in getting through, We passed several cars that had been stalled and was abandoned, About five miles out from Cass Lake we passed a large Buick car which was stuck in the sand. The men in the car wanted to go along with us to some garage for tire repairs, so we gave them a ride. From their talk, and they were sure
great talkers, we learned that they were stock promoters for a new invention in a resciliant automobile wheel, but their invention appearentry was a success only in their imagination. At least, the invention has never been heard of since. We rambled along over the rough roads for several miles, met several cars going in the oposite direction and once in while we passed one of the road signs informing the traveling public about the distance to Bena, the next town, but Bena allways appeared to be in the mysterious distance. One of the men remarked that he thought it would have Been-a good town to keep away from' and for his part I think he was right, for after traveling a few miles further we met another car and inquired about the road to Bena. The men in the car informed us that it was quite a distance left and that as far as getting any tire repairing done there, the men would be out of luck since Bena was only a small one-horse town without a garage.The men who were with us then engaged passage in the car traveling in the oposite Direction and we wended our weary way on towards the metropolis in the woods, Bena. We passed by two Indian cemeteries in the woods by the road-side, which in the distance looked almost like a bunch of chicken coops.
Each grave was covered with a small narrow wooden structure and about them sticks and branches were stuck in the ground to which was attached strips of cloth and paper, undoubtedIy their way of decoration and expression of mourning. At the end of each coop was a small platform above which was a small opening. Near Bena we passed through a gypsy camp. Here were several roads in different directions. Just as we slowed down to look for the TR road sign, we were accosted by some of the gypsy girls, who insisted upon telling our fortunes. They were so persistent that we had some difficulty in getting away from them again without causing a sensation. After crossing Winebegoshia dam, at the end of the lake by that name, we took the wrong road, because there was no roadsign in that vicinity and had to make a detour about two miles. The road from there on was still poorer, if such is possible. We passed several indian farms on the reservation and at one place we saw an indian bathhouse, a low framework built of boughs which was to be covered with blankets when in use. A good fire is built on the ground and several stones are heated.The framework is then covered with the blankets and water is poured over the hot stone The bathers stay in the steamfilled enclosure as long as they can stand it, after which they take a plunge
in cold water, the colder the better.
We finally reached a small trading post near the railroad, struck some fairly good roads and got into the white man's country again. This road, however, was newly graveled and was not all that could be desired in the line of a good road. About nine o'clock in the evening we arrived in Deer River.Here a carnival was in full swing. We secured a room at the hotel, had supper and went out to look at themerrymaking in the street. It had been a strenous day so we were quite tired. Therefore we soon had to retire and leave the crowd to
enjoy themselves as best they could.
Wednesday morning when we got up it was raining quite hard, and it was still raining when we left Deer River. For about five or six miles we had to travel over some more newly graveled roads, which now were a good deal worse on account of the rain. After passing the town of Swan River we had good roads and the rain had ceased. From there on we had the best roads on the whole trip, but a broken rear tire gave us much annoyance. I had to stop and repair it several times. Near the Island Farm we passed a road sign which conveyed the glad tidings that it was only fifty miles left to Duluth. We passed the Island Dayry Farm with its large fine buildings and herds of Guernsy cattle. We stopped at Floodwood for dinner, · From here we telephoned to Duluth to let the folks know that we were coming. There were rainshowers at intervals during the afternoon, but out from Floodwood for several miles we had excellent roads. The road crossed some large swamps,. 0n each side of the road were deep ditches, but the road was as level and almost as smooth as a floor. About twenty miles from Duluth I had to give up patching the tire, and since there was no town along the road where I could get a new tire, I had to run on the rim.In order to protect the rim to some extent I put the bursted tire on, but it refused to stay on for any lenght of time and finally I had to wire it on with barbed wire which I secured from a nearby fence. Ontside of this tire trouble we had fine traveling that day with the exception of one place few miles out of Duluth where the road was in the process of reconstruction. Here it was quite difficult to pass in places and we passed several large cars that was stuck in the mud. One thing we noticed in the whole trip was thathardly ever saw a Ford car that was stuck or abandoned along the road, although we passed several larger cars that looked as if they needed assistance. We arrived at Quigley’s place in Duluth about four o'clock in the afternoon, Wednesday, one week after the wedding day. Here we were met and welcomed by sister Julia and the children. Chester got home about supper time. After supper we had a pleasant visit with the folks during the evening. Finally are retired quite happy over the fact that we had reached the destination of our journey for the present. Outside of a little tire trouble and being quite tired each evening from the long strenous drives, we had a very pleasant trip.
Thursday morning we awoke with the happy feeling; that we would not have to start out on the road that day. We rested most of the forenoon. Ellen had several telephone calls from her old friends during the day. I went down town with Chester in the afternoon and after supper, accompanied by sister Julia, we went over to west Duluth to call on Ellen's cousin, Dorthy Sundeen. During the afternoon a former teacher companion of Ellen, Mrs. Pinneo, called. She said she had heard that Ellen was back to Duluth, "Yes", sister Julia said, "Ellen and her husband came here yesterday". I overheard the conversation from an adjoining room and it was quite amusing to hear Mrs. Pinneo's surprised exclamation, her husband!" We visited with Mrs. Pinneo at her home, one half block from Quigleys. They had a nice cozy home, quite elegantly furnished.
Friday morning after breakfast we, took the children out for a ride around in the residence district and out past the lettuce and dairy farms, which we as well as the children enjoyed very much. In the afternoon we went down town shopping. Called at uncle Fred Gordon’s place of business but did not find him in. We spent the evening quietly at home.