Torkel Oftelie, co-founder of Telelaget and first editor of Telesoga, traveled throughout the Midwest  documenting the lives of emigrants from Telemark.  Most of us with Telemark roots have benefited from his work.  Each of his 53 issues included this purpose statement:  “Telesoga is a quarterly magazine devoted to the history and reminiscences of Telemarkingar in America.”    N. N. Rønning editing Telesoga in the 1950s expressed the purpose slightly differently: “to furnish its members information about their ancestors in this country and to serve as a bond between all persons with more or less Tele-blood in their veins.”    Today we have even less “tele-blood in our veins” and the editor does not travel from place to place collecting stories,  but in the spirit of Torkel, we are intent in keeping the memory of our Telemark ancestry and heritage alive with submissions from our members.  We are especially interested in the stories/history/reminiscences/achievements in the generations that have followed.

            Please feel free to submit your Telemark-related story. It can be long or short, funny or sad, and can include photos.   Your story might help someone with their genealogy probe. For inspiration, check out Chapter 3 in our anniversary book, Telelaget: The First One Hundred Years, which provides a detailed history of Telesoga.  Excerpt*

Basics of Submitting an Article for the Telesoga

• The story can be of any length, but with a Telemark connection

• Submission deadlines:
  

  - Mid-March for the May issue
  - Mid-September for the November issue

• Email the editor with your story or send it through the postal service.  It can be included in the email or submitted as an attached document.  Don't forget pictures! If you have a story to tell, but aren't sure you have the skills to tell it very well, just write it up as best you can, and the editor will help "polish it up."   Once your article is formatted for the journal, you'll receive a final copy to proofread and you can make corrections or additions.

* Pages 143-146

 Telelaget: The First One Hundred Years
  published in 2007 by Telelaget of America
 Anundsen Publishing Company, Decorah IA
 More about this book