There's One In Every Family...COG's 100th Edition! The "One" in my Family


Here is Jasia's topic announcement for the 100th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy~

And the topic for the 100th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is… “There’s one in every family!” Bring your stories of colorful characters, unique heirlooms, mouth-watering recipes, most dearly beloved pets, whatever! Interpret as you like. Every family has “special” individuals, you know, the ones with a green thumb, the black sheep, the lone wolf, the blue-ribbon cook, the story-teller, the geek! I know you have treasured recipes and amazing heirlooms you’ve yet to share! Tell us about them and become a part of history in the 100th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy! The deadline for submissions is December 1st. 
(Jasia's full announcement for the 100th COG is listed below my post) 

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My 100th COG Edition entry post

THERE IS ONE IN EVERY FAMILY...COG'S 100TH EDITION! THE "ONE" IN MY FAMILY


Who is the "one" in my family? My post is about a man who was born February 10, 1929 in Norway. This man is Hallgeir Brenden and happens to be my second cousin once removed. My second great grandparents, Halvor Jonson Sjøli and Kirsty Pedersdatter Bakken were Hallgeir's great grandparents. I chose Hallgeir because he is the most famous family member that I am aware of at this point and time in my research. I learned about Hallgeir last year via e-mail correspondence with a very special cousin from Montana. 

Now you know who I chose, but why did I choose to post about this cousin? What makes Hallgeir the "one" in my family? Well, he was a Norwegian cross country skier from Tørberget in Trysil.



Now, Hallgeir wasn't just any ordinary skier, he was an Olympic cross country skier! Hallgeir won Olympic gold medals in the 1952 (18km event) and 1956 (15km event) winter Olympics. The 1952 winter Olympics, also made Hallgeir a silver medalist in the 4 x 10km relay.

After his Olympic gold medal win in Italy, Hallgeir was photographed with Sophia Loren. Being photographed with Sophia Loren would be another reason to qualify as "one in every family" in my books.


Hallgeir also won at the Holmenkollen Ski Festival in Norway three times. This festival is partly ski jumping, that is the event that he won in, ski jumping that is not the event he won in ~ he won as a cross country skier in the 18 km: in 1952 and  15 km: in 1956 and 1963, and, this is not all he won!

Hallgeir was the only one to win the Olympic, FIS Nordic World Ski Championships and Holmenkollen events at 18 km and 15 km. In 1955 he was  awarded another medal. This time he received the Holmenkollen medal.

This cousin of mine was apparently very athletic. In 1953 and 1954 he competed at the national level in athletics and won the 3000 metre Norwegian Steeplechase!

In 1952 he had also received the Egebergs Ærespris. This is a prize (a bronze statuette) that is awarded to Norwegian atheletes who excel in more than one sport.

In 1960 Hallgeir again won a silver medal at the winter Olympics in Squaw Valley. The picture below is of Hallgeir later in life photographed with his trophies. I still find it hard to believe this is a relative of mine!



           In Norway, a statue was placed in his honor. "OL-GULL" means "awards won".




Hallgier passed away in September 2007. Even though I never knew him, I am proud to say he is a cousin!



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I would like to congratulate Jasia from Creative Gene for the 5th Anniversary of her blog and the upcoming 100th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy! Jasia is one of the major bloggers who has inspired many of the GeneaBloggers you see posting today, myself included. Jasia, congratulations to you on this wonderful event, your 100th COG! I am really pulling for your dream to come true! I apologize for being so late posting mine, life since summer has been very much in the way of my blogging, but I HAD to make SURE to do this post!

 Time is closing in on the deadline of this special edition. If you haven't yet posted to this carnival, won't you please take a few minutes and help make Jasia's dream come true by writing a post,
 "There's One in Every Family"? 

                                                                          
Jasia's original 100th Edition announcement:
Call for Submissions! As I mentioned in a previous post, I am asking all who have participated in past editions of the COG to participate in the 100th edition. It’s a FAMILY REUNION! There will not be the usual cap of 30 submissions for this edition. Instead there will be a floor of 100! I will not attempt to write comments nor choose a featured author this time around. I’m asking all of you to help me out here and make my dream come true. I would like to have 100 or more submissions from my friends, my COG family members, for this 100th edition. It’s a tall order, yes. It hasn’t been done before and therein lies the challenge. Can it be done? Only your time and efforts will determine that. I know there are many more than 100 authors who have participated in the previous 99 editions of the COG. I need at least 100 of you to step up and write a blog post to submit to the COG to make my day, my week, my month, and my blogging career. I don’t know how many past participants are reading this edition so I’m hoping you’ll help me get the word out. Please share this info on FaceBook, Twitter, GeneaBloggers, Second Life, your own blogs, mainstream media, the 4 major TV networks, genealogy conferences, and wherever past COG participants may gather!

And the topic for the 100th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is… “There’s one in every family!” Bring your stories of colorful characters, unique heirlooms, mouth-watering recipes, most dearly beloved pets, whatever! Interpret as you like. Every family has “special” individuals, you know, the ones with a green thumb, the black sheep, the lone wolf, the blue-ribbon cook, the story-teller, the geek! I know you have treasured recipes and amazing heirlooms you’ve yet to share! Tell us about them and become a part of history in the 100th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy! The deadline for submissions is December 1st.

Submit your blog article to the 100th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy using our carnival submission form. Please use a descriptive phrase in the title of any articles you plan to submit and/or write a brief description/introduction to your articles in the “comment” box of the blog carnival submission form. This will give readers an idea of what you’ve written about and hopefully interest them in clicking on your link. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.


Thanks for stopping by!

Wishing you success in all of your genealogical treasure hunts!




Copyright © 2010 Cheryl Palmer            


Sources: Special cousin in Montana, Google, Wikipedia

Comments

  1. Hallgeir is definitely The One! What a terrific story, Cheryl. Hallgeir is certainly a relative to be proud of. Thank you for being a part of the COG family reunion and for promoting the COG. I truly appreciate it!

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  2. How fun to have someone famous in your family! You did a nice job with his bio for this post. Thanks.

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  3. I'm so envious! The closest thing I have to a famous athlete relative I am aware of was a distant cousin who was what is known as a "cup of coffee" player in major league baseball - that is, he was in the major leagues just about long enough to have a cup of coffee!

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  4. Hello Cheryl
    I stumbled upon your blog almost by coincidence, and I enjoyed reading about your famous Norwegian relative.
    I was born and raised in Oslo, and I’d like to share with you a little more about Holmenkollen ski festival is. It’s a traditional annual ski event in Holmenkollen, and it takes place in March each year. (I’m sure you know this already, though.)
    The athletes compete in cross country 50 kilometers (men) and 30 kilometers (women), in biathlon, Nordic combined and in ski jumping. Previously, the festival also included men’s 15 and 18 kilometers and women’s 5, 10 and 20 kilometers.
    Hallgeir Brenden was a cross country skier, and he won in skiing, not jumping. So, in 1952 he won the 18 kilometers cross country competition (race?), and the 15 kilometers competition in 1956 and 1963.
    He was a great man, and I understand why you are proud to be related to him. :)

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  5. Hi Jasia ~ You are very welcome, I am proud to be a part of this reunion!

    Hi Nancy ~ Thank you! I am proud to have Hallgeir as a cousin!

    Hi Greta ~ I love it! "Cup of coffee" player! I actually come close to that one also, but can't quite get that cup of coffee in!

    Hi Kerry ~ It is pretty cool, thank you!

    Hi Marianne ~ Thank you so much for stopping by and leaving a message! I wish I knew Norwegian, it would certainly help in order to follow your blogs! Thank you so much for the correction that Hallgeir was "NOT" a ski jumper! I fixed that and clarified it better. I guess that is what I get for doing the post so late at night, but I needed to get it done for the COG reunion! ;-)
    I wish I had met Hallgeir, but wasn't meant to be. Are you still in Norway?

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  6. This is a great post, Cheryl! Thanks for introducing him to us.

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  7. Hi Judith,

    Glad you enjoyed! Thank you for commenting!

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  8. How neat to have a famous family member. You have inspired me to write about my husbands simi-famous uncle. He worked for Cypress Gardens as a stunt skier and performer. He also did many of the skiing stunts you see in 60s action movies. Thank you so much for sharing and the inspiration.

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  9. What a great story and post! Gotta admit that photo with Sophia Loren took my breath away. No wonder he was smiling! Thanks for sharing this.

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  10. Hi Tammy, can't wait to read your post! Glad to hear I can inspire someone! Go for it!

    Hi Nolichucky Roots, Thank you for commenting! That is an awesome photo isn't it?

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  11. A little late posting, but what a fascinating story! We never know what we'll turn up in our past -- the good, the bad, and the ugly. But now always the famous! I've just gotten into the world of blogging this past month and so missed the COG prompt -- which sounds like an awesome regular event.

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  12. Hi Linda,

    Thank you for the comment! There is always the next COG prompt you can participate in! Welcome to our world, the wonderful world of blogging!

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  13. Hi Cheryl,
    I also claim Hallgeir as my number one famous relative. I'd like to nominate Ingrid Olsdatter Vestby (Westby) for your #2 spot. She was your 1st cousin 3 times removed. Read the following:
    Ingrid left quite a reputation as likely being Norway's first female competition ski jumper. This happened in the Nordbyhill in Trysil in 1863, and was written up in the National Olso Newspaper Morgenbladet on the 3rd of Feb it translates as follows: "A girl, Ingrid Olsdatter Vestby, took part. She applied in writing for permission to do so, giving as reason that in her "bygd" (county), the ability to handle skiis was as important for women as for men, and that perhaps people would like to become more aware of this. The spectators noticed a girl who quickly made her way to the top of the hill. She made a brief stop at the take-off point, and the spectators wondered if she was going to dare to set off. She did, with "lightning speed", to the jump, over, landed with confidence and skiied away. Many a boy has lost his balance in the hill." This story about Inri was picked up by the American ski magazine "Powder" in their Sep. 1997 issue.
    Ken Westby

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