Martin Sorensen, a founder of the craft in America
My maternal grandfather, Martin Andreas Sorensen, was born in Thisted, Denmark in 1900. His family were hard working farm folk. Martin learned how to make these balls from his mother when he was a boy. (Way to keep those boys busy during long winter months, mother!) Martin emigrated to America when he was about 20, leaving a poor European economy to find work and prosperity in a new land. He had an Aunt Elvina who emigrated before him; she was married and living on a farm near Minden, Nebraska. She sent him the money so that he could make the trip, and get his start working on their farm. When he arrived, however, Nebraska was beset with locust and the dust bowl, and the farmers had to give up the land. Martin then moved to the city of Lincoln, Nebraska where he met and married my grandmother, worked as a custodian for the city schools, and raised three daughters through the Great Depression and World War II. In their retirement years, my grandparents moved to Rochester, Minnesota, where they lived across the street from the world-class St. Mary's Hospital (a partner of the Mayo Clinic). They ran their house as a short-term residence for people who came from far and wide for medical treatment there. Grandpa made balls with their guest's names on them as well-wishing gifts. Throughout the years, he must have made hundreds. When I was about 12, I asked Grandpa to teach me how to make them, and I've been making them ever since. Grandpa made every member of our extended family a ball, many with their names on them. He gave them as wedding gifts to his grandchildren when they married, and to the great grandchildren when they were born. After Grandpa died in 1996, I took on the making of name balls for new members of the Sorensen tribe. |
Singlade balls in the family of Martin Sorensen
Ruth Wilson Martha Sterner Ruthann Baker Anne Hanson John Steinlicht Marty Sterner Kate Sterner Do you recognize this craft? I'd love to meet anyone else beyond my relations who knows this rare folk art. It's one of those traditional crafts that are dying out, and I want to document what I know, and inspire other makers. If you have photos of singlade balls that you have made, or perhaps made by a family member or friend, please email me! I'd like to document your artifact and your stories, too. |