A personal story by David Olson

The Work We Carry Forward

Gustaf Nordquist, my family’s beginnings in Little Falls, and the work I carry forward.

In January 1906, my great-great-grandfather put his two daughters’ future on paper. He left his property to them equally and named a friend to be their guardian. Eight months later, he was gone.

The names in that will are part of my family: Gustaf, his daughter Adina, and the people who would help raise her. Adina’s son Bernie became my grandfather. I learned beside him. Today, I build homes.

This is the family story behind my work.

Gustaf: A father’s responsibility

Our family’s account begins with Gustaf Nordquist coming from Sweden in 1884 and later working at Pine Tree Lumber Company in Little Falls, Minnesota. Wood was a livelihood. The mill was part of the town around him. Working there was the opportunity that brought him to America.

Forest · River · Mill

Historical industry context around Little Falls. These images show the work and landscape of the era; below are workers of the Pine Tree Company. We don't know which one is Gustaf.

The records also preserve another part of his life. Translated minutes from the Scandinavian Christian Mission Church of Little Falls name him as chairman and trustee in 1896 and 1897. Alongside earning a living, he took responsibility in his church community. Those ordinary meeting records give us something lasting: evidence of a man showing up to serve.

His family’s life was harder than those minutes alone can tell us. A newspaper clipping describes him as a widower with two young daughters. His will, signed January 8, 1906, names them: Adina and Nora Adora. He directed that his property be “divided between them equally” and chose his friend Arthur Robert Holmstrom as their guardian during their childhood.

Gustaf died on September 10, 1906. The words he had put on paper remained.

Our family remembers Adina being taken in and raised by the Holmstroms. Adina grew up and became a mother. Her son was Bernie.

Bernie: The example I knew

Adina’s son Bernie, my grandfather, spent his working life finishing hardwood floors. I learned beside him. He was kind and lighthearted, honest and principled, a hardworking man of faith who earned people’s respect.

A family photograph shows him holding his wife, Ethel, in the snow, both smiling. It is a warm glimpse of the man behind the craftsmanship.

His example connected good work with the way we treat people. The floor mattered, and so did the family who would live with it. That connection between labor, craft, and relationships stayed with me.

David: Building with that history

Now my work is building homes. There is labor in every stage, skill in the details, and a relationship behind every project. Materials become a home through the people who work with them.

That is why this history belongs here, alongside the story of Timberline’s work today. It puts people behind the name: Gustaf serving his community and providing for his daughters; Adina growing up in another family’s care; Bernie making a living with his hands and leaving an example for his grandson.

Our family remembers Gustaf at the mill. I remember Bernie finishing floors. Today, I build homes.

Wood runs through the story. So do work, faith, and care for other people. That is the line I carry forward in Timberline.

Photo sources: Family and project photographs supplied by David Olson. Pine Tree mill slide: Morrison County Historical Society, Little Falls Mississippi River Industrial Complex (2003), p. 19. Logjam panorama, 1894: matching photograph held by the Minnesota Historical Society, HD5.44 pan 1. Other historical copies supplied by David Olson; original photographers unconfirmed.