Ken Larsen's web site - Pictures of Utsira, Norway

Ken Larsen’s web site – Pictures of Utsira, Norway

The following pictures were taken while my son Kevin visited the Norwegian island of Utsira during his fall break (October 22-28, 2005). Utsira is the birthplace of my father (Kevin’s grandfather) Thomas Larsen (1907-1995) and his father and grandfather.

During Kevin's visit on Utsira he was hosted by two of my cousins, Magne Klovning and his brother Reidar.

	Map of Utsira Utsira sits in the North Sea 10 miles off the southwest coast of Norway at 59 degrees north latitude. By comparison, Anchorage, Alaska is 61 degrees north latitude. Utsira currently has 212 residents and is 2.4 square miles in area. Aerial photograph of Utsira
	Magne Klovning, my cousin. Magne and his wife Eli live in Porsgrunn, Norway. Magne drove across Norway to pick up Kevin and show him around Utsira.
	Reidar Klovning and his wife Hanne. Reidar is one of Magne's brothers. Reidar was mayor of Utsira for 12 years and deputy mayor for 4. Hanne breeds Persian cats. See her business's award winning web site: http://home.online.no/~r-aklovn/
	Reidar Klovning and my son Kevin.
	The beautiful home of Reidar and Hanne. The roof is made of Dutch glazed tiles. The door is teak.
	Looking northwestward towards the south harbor from the ferry. Reidar's house sits atop the hill on the left.
	Looking eastward from Reidar's house.
	Klovning rock. "Klovning" is a Norwegian word which means "cut into three pieces". This rock is the source of the Klovning surname.
	Kevin atop one of the three pieces of Klovning Rock. Custom asserts that you become a man once you're able to climb the largest of the three rocks (the right one). Kevin wasn't able to climb it. It doesn't look like I could climb it either. The rock in the distance seen between Klovning Rock is "Randy rock". It's four meters (12 feet) high.
	Looking eastward from the center of the island. In the foreground is a soccer field. The large white building in the left center was a school house. The numerous trees abutting the rocky hill were planted by cousin Magne Klovning and his elementary school classmates in 1951. They were the first trees planted on the island.
	Statute of Aasa Helgesen, a relative of ours, who was elected mayor of Utsira in 1925 and served during 1926-1928. She is believed to be the first woman in the world to be elected to the office of mayor.
	Kevin next to the grave site of my father's parents, Kevin's great grandparents: Lars Martin Klovning 1866-1940 Bertha Mathilde Klovning 1871-1938 Lars Martin Klovning's parents were: Svend Michael Larsen 1837-1914 Thala Sophie Pedesdtr 1834-1911 Svend Michael Larsen's parents were: Lars Olsen Skare 1807-1884 Lisbeth Svendsdtr 1809-1889 Lars was the first member of our ancestry to become a resident of Utsira.
	Grave site of one of my father's brothers, Lars Martin Klovning 1905-1988.
	House where my father was raised. He lived on Utsira until 1926 when entered the United States. At that time he shortened his name from Thomas Bernard Larsen Klovning to Thomas Bernard Larsen.
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