Danes immigrated to the New Land mainly because of the large increase in Denmark’s population created by immunizations, the loss of the right to live in its 2 southern counties: Schleswig-Holstein, and for religious reasons. They brought with them their centuries old byre-dwelling lifestyle, humans and animals living together under one roof, albeit in separate rooms. And because of that, they brought with them the natural immunity to
animal diseases that occurred within Europe, an immunity unknown to Native Americans. These buildings were called “haubargs” (a name borrowed by the Hauberg family that has changed our area’s winter color of grey to green with their Pilchuck Tree Farm); both this writer’s grandparents and the Haubergs’ grandparents immigrated from 2 contested Danish/German counties. This haubarg, originally found 3 miles north of the Farm, was disassembled and moved to our site in 2018 after being discovered when tearing down a house for a remodel. Its architecture represents a way of life now gone from America (but still found in rural areas of eastern Europe). We are awaiting a permit to put a roof over this structure, as well as continue developing the Farm; both permits are pending with Snohomish County. And this writer is happy to be an American, not looking back 120 years ago when his grandparents were ethnically cleansed from their part of Europe. We all, whether 120 or 22,000 years ago, honor ancestors from someplace else.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schleswig%E2%80%93Holstein_question
https://www.danishmuseum.org/explore/danish-american-culture/immigration
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_Americans
https://www.plc215.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Danish-Farm-Haubarg.pdf
https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/immigration/scandinavian/the-danes/
The Europeans’ resistance to diseases is thought to have been greatly increased by the propensity (even today) of animals and humans:
sharing the same water
staying far apart
living in the same shelter
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