Signe fell in love with Arthur right at the beginning when she picked him up at the boat in New York! Neither of them knew what the other felt and at the time they never discussed it. They had both lived through World War I and were convinced of the necessity of what Buchman was pioneering, the way he did it and wanted more than anything else to contribute fully to it. They felt that this was a God-given opportunity that would never occur again if they didn’t grasp the moment.
Marriage would have meant the need for alternatives which they individually were unable or unwilling to visualize at the time. It would either have involved a home, children and a job to finance – or family life on the road with the team! Both were impossible to visualize at the time and they individually accepted the present challenge for what it was. They chose a celibate life, not knowing where it would lead.
Arthur had longed for the moment to propose to Signe. He never lost his conviction that they were meant for each other. But when Arthur asked Signe to marry him, soon after the end of the war and shortly before leaving for Europe, she said no! She had begun to feel that they were too different and she was not all keen on becoming English. She had been out of Norway for most of her life and her family were there now. They had lived through the German occupation and had no contact during the war. One sister had married, one had become mentally ill as a result of the challenges she faced during the war and her little sister had been twelve when she left and was now seventeen. Signe wanted to get back to her roots and was simply homesick and no longer in love.
After he had proposed, they met every day to talk, share their thoughts, fears, hopes and visions. After 3 days, when Signe was resting a thought shot through her! “You are chasing a rainbow: compatibility. When I put people together, I fit them together!” And from that moment she knew that all would be well. She realized that it wouldn’t always be easy but her values would undergo a natural and necessary change. Arthur had invited her to the opera the evening of April 13th 1946 and in the interval Signe said yes to his proposal! It was lilac time in Washington DC and next day Arthur gave her a big corsage of lilacs to wear when they drove out to Mt Vernon together. After that it was lilac-time everywhere they went, place after place which gave them both a great sense of hope for the future!
Soon after this they left for England where they spent time with Arthur’s family one by one. Nothing was said about the past and all were relieved that Arthur would marry and settle down! This was followed by a trip to Norway, lilac-time again, where they received an equally warm welcome. They were invited for a week at Åsgårdsstrand with Signe’s parents. Signe shared a room with her mother and Arthur with Signe’s father! A challenge for Arthur as Signe’s father didn’t say a word to Arthur!
While they were in Norway they decided with Signe’s family that the wedding should be at the newly furbished conference center in Caux that autumn.
In a world without TV, internet or social media their skills as press photographer and graphic artist were continually needed to spread the positive news that was growing, and they focused on spreading news of the work to create lasting peace after two world wars. Signe and Arthur were to become my parents. As the years passed several of the families in the task force settled down and created homes or centers of their own in different parts of the world. My parents helped many others to create homes but didn’t get a home of their own until they had been married for nearly 30 years!
The team travelled to England on the ???? In the spring of 1946. Arthur proudly introduced his fiancé to his family in England and then Signe and Arthur travelled to Norway to meet the Lunds. This was the first time Signe’s family had been together for over 7 years. They had all had traumatic experiences and there was a lot to catch up on. It hadn’t been easy for the family that Signe had been so far away during the war.
Meanwhile Kjell and Aagot Lund had watched as occupying soldiers marched into Oslo in 193?. Kjell soon realized he needed to be in Sulitljelma to manage the strategic coppermine, so he arranged for Lillan and her mother to flee by train, taxi and a horse-driven sleigh to Sweden until they figured it all out. Eventually Aagot, Kjell and Lillan settled in Sulitjelma during the first part of the war, though Lillan eventually had to travel to Lillehammar and Oslo in order to get her education.
Signe had spent the whole war in America without knowing how her family was surviving apart from censored red cross letters and what she heard on the radio.
Nussa (Anne Karine) had struggled at university during the war years, had a nervous breakdown, a broken engagement and schizophrenia which she struggled with all her life.
Inger had finished her schooling in Oslo and studied to become a photographer in Stockholm where she married exiled Norwegian Marine Officer Carl August Høy-Petersen.
Lillan (Aagot jr) had just graduated from high school in Oslo after studying in Stockholm, Sulitjelma, Lillehammar and Oslo often travelling from north to south on her own despite the occupation, changing schools to get the best education despite the restrictions of the occupation, first in Sulitjelma, then in Lillehammar. She was finally able to graduate in Oslo.
After 5 months engagement Signe and Arthur were married in Caux.
These times were a far cry from the 21st century. The role of the family unit had not been defined in the same way as it is today. It certainly hadn’t been defined within the task force as Signe and Arthur were one of the first couples to get married and start a family. They had just emerged from two world wars during which families were split up across the globe.
During this time husbands and sons had left home to fight in the wars. Mothers and their children were if at all possible moved to a safe place in order to survive. Many children were sent way from home to stay with “new” parents. Women worked as nurses, in industry, in the armed forces, or as land girls producing food.
So life on the road continued inspite of Signe’s health challenges, though with some modifications. During her pregnancy Signe travelled with Arthur through the coal fields of Britain and beyond. But when the added strain of pregnancy meant that she was no longer able to carry on in the bustle of the London work, Signe was offered to come to Tirley Garth, a stately home on an estate in Cheshire owned by Irene Prestwich, and donated to the work of MRA.
It wasn’t easy for Signe to be away from Arthur, her family and her friends, but there was no question in Signe’s mind that Arthur was where he was meant to be. The situation in Europe was still precarious. Hatred, despair, poverty and depravity poisoned the post was years and leaders of all nationalities were looking to Caux and MRA to supply the missing factors needed to create peace. Signe said, “I was glad to have a part in the effort to build up a new Europe.”
A midwife, Jean McBain, who had worked with MRA throughout the war offered to be with Signe during the months before the birth. Dr Oliver Bark, the local GP joined Jean throughout the birth, putting Arthur and Signe’s family’s concerns to rest as the birth was difficult and long drawn out!
I was born in the guest room of Tirley Garth, a huge stately home near Cheshire in England. The bathroom was almost as big as the guest room, with dark brown natural paned wood walls and a huge bathtub at its center.
Arthur was in Switzerland photographing a conference at the time. Signe’s friend Jean McBain was a midwife and she stayed with Signe at Tirley Garth while Dr Bark helped Jean to bring me into this world and untangled the umbilical cord twice from round my neck. It turns out that Irene and I were the only two people to be born at her family home.
The birth was announced by a proud father at the 7.30 am meeting in Caux!
When I was 5 weeks old I took the first of many travels with my mother. Jean came with us. We flew to Switzerland to meet my father where we stayed for a month in a picture postcard chalet in Caux. The view was amazing but they only had cold running water! This village was to become our home base until I was in my teens.
After the conference that my father was covering was over, it was time to meet my relatives. We went to England to meet the Strongs and then Signe took me by boat to Norway where Arthur met us. We spent our first family Christmas with my grandparents, aunts and cousins Kristin and her sister Tove who was born a week after me. Arthur then flew to Washington DC where we joined him 2 months later.
Later in life I loved seeing how they created the lay-outs of magazines or graphic information boards for an exhibition. They would work as a team meticulously planning the lay-out on paper usually on the floor. My father would suggest relevant photos and my mother would work on the design and headings. Others of their colleagues produced the texts. And finally it was all packed together and taken to the printers a job I also enjoyed being part of. I sometimes think that it must have got into my genes! Later in life I had the opportunity to do similar work and managed a small publishing company.
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