Building community through volunteering
Elsa and Mons enjoyed meeting other people through the Sons of Norway meetings in New Westminster. Mons had long conversations with Bert Braeten, a visitor from Prince George who attended meetings while on business trips to Vancouver. He told Mons about the wonderful cold and snowy winters in Prince George as compared to all the rain at the coast. Mons was intrigued and in 1957 they took a one-week vacation and traveled to Prince George. They left the next day because they were told that there was no work in Prince George for an accountant.
They spent the rest of their vacation hunting in the Cariboo.
In 1959 a fellow that Mons knew told him that Art Bell of WM Tire in Prince George was looking for an accountant.
Mons caught the morning Greyhound bus and left for Prince George, was interviewed and hired and then took the night bus back to Vancouver to get ready for the move to Prince George. Mons, Elsa and their eight-month-old baby arrived one month later in November.
Mons said, “We were coming down the hill on the old road which was above where the prison is now located. It was minus 20, our baby was asleep in the back seat of the car in a laundry basket and we pulled over to take in the view of the beauty of the winter frost.
“We thought this was paradise on earth and it reminded us of our homes back in Norway. We looked at one another and said ‘let’s go down and conquer’ and we did. We never looked back and we have been here ever since.”
They checked into a motel on Queensway and later moved into a duplex owned by Mr. and Mrs. Fichtner on Ewert Street and proceeded to sub rent three rooms. This rental arrangement is what really helped the young family get a start in Prince George.
During this time, they built a cabin on Bobtail Lake. Two other Norwegian families liked this idea and also built their cabins near by. The cabin turned out to be a wonderful holiday place for family and friends both locally and from Norway.
Time went by and they made a contract with Erwin Homes to build them a new house. Once again, they rented out three rooms in their basement which helped them pay their mortgage.
They purchased a 152-acre farm out at Buckhorn in 1970. They moved to the farm in 1977 when they finished building their house and continue to love their life in the country.
Mons worked for WM Tire for nine years and slowly (making monthly payments) he bought into the company as a shareholder. He eventually sold his shares and started Mons Aase APR Ltd. in 1968. Years went by and the company changed from Accredited Public Accountant to Certified General Accountant. He retired in 2017.
Elsa, who managed the office all those years, retired as well.
Mons said, “There were about 10,000 people in Prince George in 1959 when we moved here. The pulp mills arrived and brought more people to the city and that in turn provided more work and our company grew. Now we have this wonderful university and that will be great for our great-grandchildren.”
Mons and Elsa have always been active members of the Sons of Norway.
Elsa attended her first Sons of Norway meeting the same evening that she arrived in Canada. She is currently holding the position of president and in fact Elsa started the ladies part of the Prince George Sons of Norway in 1961.
Mons has been active in the Yellowhead Rotary club for many years. He is a past president and was named the Paul Harris Fellow to receive the Service Above Self Award, the highest award an individual Rotarian can receive.
They had three children; Christine (Bill) Sullivan, Mons Jr. and Erik (Heather) who in turn gave them nine grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
Elsa fondly said, “Every year on the anniversary of our meeting on the ship to Canada Mons gives me a bouquet of carnations. This year my bouquet consisted of 63 carnations. Mons is so romantic and always has been.”
Mons explained, “Over the years my parents, siblings, nieces and nephews traveled to Canada many times to visit. With no exception they all loved it here.
“My mother came here about nine times and on her first visit she stayed for one year. Elsa’s parents came about seven times and stayed five months on each of their first three visits. Later on, as they grew older it was just a six-week stay.
“I left Norway to see the world. I used to love to read the wild west books and I learned that fishing and hunting was widely available in Canada. That was my dream when I left Norway. All of that left my head when I met Elsa on that ship in 1955. That was the day that changed my life the most. I was so happy when Elsa told me that it changed her life as well. I celebrate that day every year by giving Elsa carnations. Every year I add one more carnation for every year since the day I met her and Elsa really seems to like that idea.
“My parents always said, in their language, ‘like barn leker best’ which translated means that children that came from the same background usually play well together and I believe it.”