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Norman Teigen was born Sept. 28, 1942 to Elna (Tjarnagel) Teigen and Bjorne Wollen "B.W." Teigen in Chicago, Illinois. The family later moved to Mankato. Norman was the third of the Teigens' four children. The eldest, David, is four years older than Norman, while Phillip is one and one-half years older. The youngest, Barbara, is five years younger than Norman.
Norman described his family's ethnic history.
"We are 100% Norwegian -- 4th generation. My great-grandfather on my mother's side, the Tjarnagel's, immigrated and settled in Iowa with a good-sized farm. I was significantly older when I got into my father's side. His great-grandfather immigrated and settled in Blue Earth County near Mankato and then later moved to Jackson County."
He explained how that Norwegian ethnicity heavily influenced the lives of the Teigen children.
"It wasn't so much the ethnic food as a strong religious influence. We were Lutheran and attended Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Mankato. My grandpas got interested in a Lutheran sect and Pa was active as well. It involved Norwegian Lutheranism and was on the campus of Bethany College (in Mankato). My Pa was college president for many years. So, we lived in the President's House and our home yard was the college campus."
Living on a college campus was a big deal for the Teigen kids.
"We loved the summertime because we had a great, big, campus where we could romp around. We all had bikes and went all over. We'd ride bikes to playgrounds. We had ballfields and a skating rink. Most of our friends were Catholic kids and we all got along."
Living on campus also introduced Norman and his siblings to a range of organized activities.
"Of course, there were athletic programs on campus like baseball and basketball. And there were music programs. I grew up with a love of classical music."
Norman described his parents' influence on their home life.
"My parents very much believed in chores. We'd wash dishes. We helped Mom with dusting and washing windows. We also working mowing the yard and clearing snow. My parents were readers and I credit them for my love of reading."
The Teigens also regularly spent time with extended family members.
"We spent time with our paternal grandparents, Martin and Mathilda Teigen. We also had a number of aunts and uncles whom we would see. My favorite was Uncle Rolf Teigen. He was a bachelor who took an interest in us nieces and nephews."
The Teigen kids attended school right there on campus.
"I attended a small, Lutheran school on campus for elementary school. It was a one-room school with kids in grades 1-8. The sect wanted to educate its own people. We had perhaps 20 students, at the most. I have a photo of the students at that school from 1951 or 1952. I am amazed at the accomplishments of some of those kids. One became a colonel in the Air force and another became a captain in the Navy. One boy took a Ph.D. in the history of medicine, while another boy took a Ph.D. in history. My sister has a music ministry degree from a seminary in Chicago. I thought the first four grades in that school were well-taught. I don't think the education was as good after that and only two students were enrolled in my 8th grade."
The Teigen kids' high school was also on campus.
"I attended high school at Bethany, but it was really not very good. Mankato High School would have been better. Science and Math was very weak and I didn't learn anything. We had English, typing, history, geography, and religion. My dad was the college president and got rid of the high school, as he saw it was a drag on the success of the college. Closing the high school was a sensitive subject with the members of the sect. When the high school principal heard of this, he said to my dad, 'If you close it, I'm resigning.' There was always a sense of sect domination and we (Norm and his siblings) resented that."
Norman participated in the school's sports program.
"I played baseball in high school, as a catcher. We played small public schools like Huntley and Cleveland. We also played Henderson, Belle Plaine, Pemberton, and Rapidan. There was also Martin Luther High School in New Ulm."
He also found ways to earn money during his high school years.
"I mowed lawns in the neighborhood. The Saints Peter and Paul Parish grew vegetables. I'm not sure what they were for, but they had a school and a convent. We'd pick tomatoes, peas, and beans and were reimbursed for our work."
Norman graduated from Bethany High School in 1960 and where to attend college was an obvious choice.
"I attended Bethany Lutheran College for two years. The educational level at Bethany College was much better than at the high school. Dad was excellent in his dogmatics class. Many students lived in dorms there, while we lived in the President's Residence. Social activities, such as they were, focused on Bethany sports and music. Mankato State was within walking distance and they had some competitive sports programs, so many of us attended games there. I then continued college at Mankato State where I took more classes in history, education, and English. I took some graduate courses there as well. I graduated with a bachelor of science degree in 1964 and did my student teaching in fall 1964."
Norman's search for a teaching position led him to southwest Minnesota.
©2026 William D. Palmer.