Beginning in 1816, known as "The Year Without a Summer," and ending with the death of a beloved matriarch in 1955, this book follows the lives of one family's Norwegian and Danish ancestors who became some of Freeborn County, Minnesota's original pioneers, and settlers. Their stories tell of tragedies and triumphs as each generation hands the torch of the wisdom gleaned in their lifetimes to the next. And so it goes, in a continuing lineage of salt-of-the-earth people who made their mark and left heart-touching stories in their wake.