Oral History Program Onda Valiere Thorstensen Interviewed by Corrie Gomez 17 April 2008 i Oral History Program Weber State University Stewart Library Ogden, Utah Onda Valiere Thorstensen Interviewed by Corrie Gomez 17 April 2008 Copyright © 2014 by Weber State University, Stewart Library ii Mission Statement The Oral History Program of the Stewart Library was created to preserve the institutional history of Weber State University and the Davis, Ogden and Weber County communities. By conducting carefully researched, recorded, and transcribed interviews, the Oral History Program creates archival oral histories intended for the widest possible use. Interviews are conducted with the goal of eliciting from each participant a full and accurate account of events. The interviews are transcribed, edited for accuracy and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewees (as available), who are encouraged to augment or correct their spoken words. 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It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Thorstensen, Onda, an oral history by Corrie Gomez, 17 April 2008, WSU Stewart Library Oral History Program, University Archives, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, UT. iii Abstract: The following is an oral history interview with Onda Valiere Thorstensen. The interview was conducted on April 17, 2008, by Corrie Gomez. Onda discusses the Thorstensen family, the Ogden Utah Knitting Company, The Emporium which was owned by the Thorstensen’s, and the Thorstensen Building. OT: You can turn that on that's all right - because it happened in the early 1930s, as nearly as I can kind of figure out. And then, the Thorstensen family started that and they started out - how they got into business they made LDS Garments. That was their knitting business. So they did a real big business with that naturally all over the western state and they had salesmen that went out. So then when President Lee, I can't remember his first name, of the Mormon Church, came in, they decided the garments should be made by the Latter Day Saint Company and not just a business company. So they took them and Ogden Knit had the copy right or the patent - the copyright isn't it, yep it was that. They had the copyright on the garments that they made and so I don't know whether the church bought the copyright or whether the Thorstensen's just turned it over to them. And so that ended their business making the LDS Garments. So then from there on, then they had to pick up and make something else. So they started making sweaters and knit wear - a lot of knit wear. And then when Nylon came in or synthetic fabrics anyway they did a lot of ladies PJs and, oh, they were pretty. And then, men's sweaters and women's sweaters and then they even went into ladies kind of ready to wear; they made house coats and, umm, aprons. And let's see there was a railroad behind that big building, was one reason they built it there I think, where it is. Because the railroad was close and they could ship their merchandise out. And on the back of the 1 building, well I guess I haven't' been down to look in a long time. But on the back of the building it had the Ogden Utah Knitting Company. And then the part on the front, up at the top someone had started to chisel it off. I guess the people who bought the building didn't want Ogden Utah Knitting Company up there on the building CG: When did they buy that, when did that happen? OT: Umm, I don't know. I think in the fifties, but I'm not sure. And it's, do you know where it is? You know where it is. CG: I do, I actually have pictures of what's left. Of where it says Utah Knitter the knit maid goods and it says Ogden, it says umm, Home of Utah knit maid goods and then it says “Ogd” and it stops at the "d." OT: Oh. CG: Because of the addition that they put onto the building. OT: I don't remember that. CG: It was later, it was later. They put a second piece on to the building. It's kind of just attached to the side of it. But they have some of the original sign on the side, it's really nice. OT: I'll have to have my daughter drive me down there, she'll be interested too. And I'm sure if you want more information, I surely have it in one of those books. But I couldn't find it. Labeled it's just the Factory, it would probably but it would - that's what we called it, down at the factory. So after they had been in there a short time, then they had the opportunity to buy this building. And I'm not sure from whom they bought it. I have a little article, I think I tucked it up here that told about someone buying a building from the Wright brothers WRIGHT, Wright brothers - and then making the Emporium out of that. But that wasn't the 2 name that I remember that they bought it from right at first. So they opened that up and that was it, three level department store. And it was Ogden's really nicest home-owned department store. There was JC Penny's you know, there was bigger. And it was down later on the corner. But this was a nice building, and then in about 1930- no when did I say they bought the building and started out in business. It was umm, I'd say the early thirties. I had two close friends, that's how I got acquainted with my husband. I had two close friends and they worked at the emporium for fifteen cents an hour. And so, then after my husband, he graduated from the University of Utah, and he didn't especially want to work, and follow his dad's footsteps. He wasn't that interest in it, but his dad had a stroke at 54.He was old and then he couldn't carry on the business. So George kind of took over for him. And then there was, but my husband didn't have much to do with Ogden Utah Knitting, he worked down there as a kid and that. But it was the Ogden Utah knit was mostly, well it was his dad, George M. Thorstensen and then this Roy that you talked about, he was the very youngest one of them. And he worked down there. And then, I think he was one of their salesmen. That would go out around and so when he was in ... He died. While he was on the road as a salesman and he was the youngest of them. Then he had three boys and that's what you were saying about, what did you day about his three boys that didn't say much about them. CG: It didn't say much about them in the book that I found. OT: Oh, no, the oldest one, who is Carl, he's still alive. CG: He is. I spoke to him briefly. OT: And he, I'm sure he was kind of involved down there in fact, No, he wasn't the secretary but he worked in that business. 3 CG: He said he was the production manager. OT: Oh was he. CG: Yeah. OT: Production Manager. Um then, but Lowe I don't think ever worked there, unless just as a kid because he went on to college and came back. And I think was a financial adviser. Nice Fella. And they had the nicest mother, Roy had the nicest wife. CG: What was her name? OT: Anne Woods. CG: Anne Woods OT: Anne Woods Thorstensen... and she married Roy and had the three boys. And the boys were like - The boys would now be, oh how old would they be? They were five years apart and they were born like in, the middle one was born in 1938. And five years apart would make 1933 for the oldest boy, Carl. And No then the middle one would have been '33, and then the youngest one, Roy. Now, I'm getting confused. CG: Um, Carl said he was born in 1928. So that would be right. It would be 1928,1933, 1938. OT: Yeah about that. Yes I do remember they were five years apart. And now, But the second one, now wait. It was the second one that was born in '38 because my daughter, I have a daughter, who was born in '38. And this boy was just two weeks younger than Cheryl. So the middle boy was born in '38. And '33 for the, for Carl. CG: So did you work at the Emporium at all? OT: Oh, just kind of... Um, after we married I worked there just kind of for fun to get away from the house a little bit. But my two friends worked there and that's how I got acquainted with my husband. They set me up with a blind date, I didn't like him. 4 CG: Oh no. OT: So I didn't go with him again for quite a while. And he belonged to a group of fellows that were all pretty close. They all, you know drove to ball games together, and skiing together and all of this together. And um, so I got going with him because I went with one of his friends but we'd all just go as a gang and not especially date. So the more I was with him and the more I got to know him, I like him. So that was how we ended up going. And then I married him in 1937. It will be seventy-one years come June 25th since we married. CG: That's lovely. OT: And we went to Niagara Falls, oh it was kind of fun. But this was the factory and see I don't know who bought it. And I don't know what. CG: Do you remember about when that was that someone bought it from the Thorstensen's? OT: Well, I'd imagine, maybe um, I can't remember. The Emporium closed in 1957, I think, the fall of 1957. And they didn't own the building; did I say they owned the building? CG: No, just that they owned the Thorsten, the factory. OT: And they just rented the building. A lady in California owned the building. So um, but I think it was, if they closed in '57. I'd imagine the factory closed around '50.I think it closed before the Emporium, but I don't know for sure. It would be interesting to know how many employees they had. There were a lot of them. Because- CG: The Factory. OT: Up on the main floor, up on the, I was only in there a couple times. They had these big, big bolts of knitting, of knit fabric and they would roll them all out back and forth, and back and forth like that on a big wide long table and then they had some odd scissors would, it was 5 a machine about like that and they would kind of move it around. They'd have a pattern and then they would move it around that pattern and it would cut out a big stack. CG: So the stack was like almost a foot tall. OT: No it wasn't that but it was a half a foot more or less. So they would all be uniform because if they cut it too deep it would slide it and then they wouldn't be, on one part the shoulder would be different. So and that I remember was interesting to watch. And then one floor was all machines. Oh and they had so many sewing machines and it kind of like in rows and women came and worked there and sewed. And then the main floor was their business offices for Carl and there was a fella where we used to live in another house over on 29th street Ben Layman and he was a secretary and treasurer and for years and years and years he worked for the company, and he was a nice man, and then there was a Carl Edward Thorstensen and he had three sons Charlie Charles Thorstensen, George Martin who was my... CG: Father in Law. OT: Father in Law. And then there was Roy. That was the three sons. And um, Charles Thorstensen just had the one son and he kind of was important because of his dad. Being one of the Stock holders, But he was in the Second World War, he was a lieutenant colonel or something. He loved the army; he didn't like the business down there. So, he didn't have too much to do with it. And he didn't have any children so that ended that part of it. This was that one boy. I mean, he did live right up 29th street we lived on the corner and he lived up the street from us. So there weren't very many left, in fact we were getting concerned that we weren't going to have any Thorstensen’s to carry on the name. 6 Because we had a lot of little girls, granddaughters and great granddaughters but two of the Thorstensen’s now are going to have a boy. CG: Yeah. OT: One of them has three girls and their going to have a boy and the other has two girls and they're going to have a boy. CG: That's great. OT: So the name can be carried on. CG: Well that's important. How many children did you have? OT: Four. CG: You had Four. OT: I had four, two girls and the oldest one is the one that helps me out all the time. And she will be, this fall she will be 70. I can't believe that! I still think of her as just my little daughter and then the youngest one John comes in to help me and he is 58. And my two middle children, Greg, daughter Sue. There was Cheryl and Sue and Greg and John. And Sue died at age fifty four of cancer, no at fifty-three of cancer. And Greg was three and a half years and then Greg was three and a half years younger that she was but a year and a half later he died of cancer. So, I lost my two middle children. I still have the other children and thank goodness they live here in Utah and not somewhere else. John lives in North Ogden and Cheryl lives in South Ogden. And um, John has a son Ryan and Greg had a son Mike. And they are nice boys I'd say. CG: I see, that's great. 7 OT: But they didn't ever have anything to do, they were too young to know or be affiliated in any way. Cheryl remembers the Emporium, fact she ran the elevator for them. The old fashion elevator that had to be wire and framework, you know so you could see in and out. CG: Uh-hum. OT: No automatic buttons you had to stop it the best you could at the right place. So she remembers working there when she was just a... but the factory, see I get going about the store because I knew more about the store but the factory was Charles Jr. he was down there but not an active member because his heart was with the army. CG: Onda, when's your birthday? OT: April 5th, I just had a birthday. CG: Oh. OT: And I just turned 93. CG: Oh! Can you spell your name? OT: What, Onda? CG: Yeah. OT: O.N.D.A. CG: Oh, it's just Onda. OT: Just Onda, I don't know where, my mother was so sick when she was, had me. Um , I guess she wanted me to have a name before she died. So her sister next to her gave me both my names and their both horrible. CG: Oh. OT: So I have a cleaning lady that comes from Paraguay and she calls me Onda, Onda that the way they say it in Paraguay. Onda. 8 CG: Well I don't think your name is silly, I think it's wonderful. OT: Thank you, I never did. I thought my second name was as bad but it's kind of pretty. It's Valiere. CG: Valiere? OT: It's spelled a little like Valerie but it has iere on the end, Valiere. Then I thought well maybe I would have kind of liked that. CG: I think that's lovely. OT: But they’re both kind of like, my nephew said, not very long ago, "where did they ever find your two names?" CG: I think they’re lovely. OT: I wish I could tell you more about the factory. CG: You know what though, that's great, that is wonderful. I really appreciate that. OT: I don't think any of the Thorstensen’s ever went back into business down there, cause when they closed it, I think they just- CG: They were done. 9