My cousin Olin Rusti, (on my mother's side) did alot of the hand carvings on a building in the Little Norway Settlement, in Wisconsin.
My sister has spent years doing extensive reserch in our family history dating back into the 1300's. Way back (I could get the dates, names etc. and post later), on my mother's side in Norway she found several dukes, earls, and a King.
I always thought that my mother would have been famous but with family obligations wasn't able to further her singing. But way back many, many years ago.. (before I was even born!) she and her brothers formed a country band called the Cliffnotes. (there last name was Cliff). They use to sing all the time at dances. She use to also write a lot of the songs. A well known radio station out of Chicago, WLS, wanted to give them a contract to travel but she was married at the time and couldn't travel.
She did become a piano teacher and taught for over 50 years and was in the Music Hall of Fame for having so many Piano Graduates.
My mother's oldest brother use to hand crave beautiful violins and sell them. A few I believe may be in a museum.
The elderly cousin that taught him to make violins also made beautiful violins and has one on display in a museum near Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin.
