Mountain Farm History in a New Book

On Friday, November 22, the book Stølar og buer i Kvenne-, Veig- og Kinsevassdraga will be launched at Hardanger Folk Museum. Authors Johannes Sekse and Reidar Borgstrøm will present stories from the book, which shares the background of the 48 mountain farms (stølar) established in these areas. It also covers many of the cabins built in the early 1900s, along with hunting cabins and tourist huts in Ullensvang municipality. The book captures everyday stories linked to these mountain farms and cabins, recounting events from seasonal migrations, life on the mountain farms, the work of milkmaids, altar dedications and accidents. Also heroic deeds, and a bit about wild reindeer and fishing.

The Authors

Reidar Borgstrøm (born 1942), from Odda, holds a cand. real. from the University of Oslo, a dr. agric. from the Norwegian College of Agriculture (NLH), and is professor emeritus at what is now the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. Reidar has authored hundreds of scientific and popular science articles and various research reports. He has been an editor and co-author of scientific books and textbooks. Part of his research has focused on Hardangervidda, especially the Litlos area, where he has also supervised many master’s students. In recent decades, he has been involved in wild reindeer management and has written articles for newspapers and journals on the subject. He lives in Ås, where he has long served on the board of Ås Mållag.

Johannes H. Sekse (born 1949) trained as a teacher in Stord and Notodden, specializing in science and Norwegian. He taught at Rimbareid School in Fitjar and Hauso School for a total of 11 years. Later, he began freelancing for the newspaper Sunnhordland, was editor of Marsteinen in Austevoll, and Hardanger, before joining Hardanger Folkeblad from 1984 to 2011. Johannes was actively involved in the 1970s movement to protect the Veig valley, writing many opinion pieces. This led him to begin a book on Veigdalen, which he hopes to complete now that the mountain farm book is published. He also ran his family farm at Sekse with sheep and fruit from 2008 to 2022 and has held many positions. Currently, he serves as a board member of Hardanger Folkeminnelag and as a board member and later chair of Ullensvang Mållag over the past ten to twelve years.

The café will be open, and after the talk, there will be an opportunity to purchase signed copies of the book.

Everyone is warmly welcome!