User talk:Spamhog
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Dori 22:51, Nov 20, 2003 (UTC)
What's with the current text on User:Spamhog? ugen64 21:17, Dec 9, 2003 (UTC)
- Given that it appears to be a perfectly ordinary User: page, I'd guess Spamhog just forgot to log in. Salsa Shark 21:26, 9 Dec 2003 (UTC)
Contents |
[edit] Erik Grant Lea
Thank you!!
--Frode Inge Helland 19:30, 6 June 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Eric Grant Lea 2.
The Author of his biography, Norvald Tveitt, has written a very absorbing book. But it raises perhaps more quesions than it answers. The auhor has thrown all his notes away, so it is impossible to go back and check details. It is also a weakness that the author based his manuscript on face to face interviews with Lea. This raises the question about the objectivity.
Erik Tveterås has written an article about him in in the book "Bergen citizens in thousand years" and has based its content on extensive research in the publich archives. It more or less confirms the biography.
His career lasted from 1914 to 1925 when he had to depart to Gjølanger which he did know nothing about. The top of his wealth was in 1917. His ship owner companies (6) was raided by the management company Bjørnstad & Brækhus and Lea was sacked as a president.This was, as far as I can see later on in 1917. But the 1. of january he had started an insurance company, Lea's Assuranceselskap A/S. It had offices in Kristiania (Oslo) and in several foreign countries. In relatively quick sequence he started the companies Jupiter and National an started a bank, The Lea Bank with a capital stock of 1 mill N.Kr.
He worked day and night and in 1918 he "met the wall". He had been completely worn out, and he began to concern himself with religious questions. A consortium of business men from Bergen offered him a fair sum for all his operations. He accepted and was still a very wealthy man. But he gradually became restless. All he really had needed was a long, good holliday. He then bought back his operations about half a year later. But he did a lousy job studying the companys books and did not consult a lawyer. He was shown the operations fund capital, 350 000 N.kr in cash in the wault of Bergen Kreditbank.. But the owners had been more than dishonest. The next day the wault was empty. It also eventually became clear the the companies had been involved in hazardious speculations and the financial situation was very weak - in fact on the edge of the abyss.
Lea became the sole manager in a depesrate attempt to get his bank back standing on its feet again. In 1921 the bank went bankrupt.
In 1920 an attempt to establish a new shipping company was a failure due to the falling freight market. In 1922 the Bergen Kreditbank sold his residence for half the sum of its estimated value (450 000) - 250 000. The bank needed the money quickly, as they later claimed.
The only propery he had left in 1925 was the property i Gjølanger, a relatively big area. But the wood was meagre, so it was a tremendous labour to make even a little profit. The residence had not been maintained for years. It was cold and very difficult to keep warm. His indian wife had to sleep with an umbrella because the roof leaked everywhere. The first christmas eve he had to row his boat fishing on the fjord in hope of getting something for dinner.
He never made a fortune in Gjølanger, and an attempt to get into the shipping business again i 1936 failed. But compared to his fellow citizens, he did comapartively well. They were all small time farmers in a sparsely populated area without roads. The first road came in the sixties.
His wife never settled, and never learned to speak Norwegian. She has been described as a Butterfly stuck on an ice floe. She was very beautiful and exotic and made no friends among the local population.
She had from time to time visitors from her family in England (Scotland?). Her sister visited her just before the outbrak of the warWWII and was stuck in Gjølanger for five long years. She survived her sister by about 10 years. Mrs. Lea died i 1960. When her sister died, her ashes was brought to the chuchyard i Dale. So Lea, his wife and his sister in law rest side by side, covered with big, identical slabs.
His later wife Hildur, is still alive. When I inteviewed her i 2002 she had passed 90 mand was agile, sharp end clear. But I could not speak freely with, her because som younger couple, relatives of her who interfered all the time. I had an odd feeling they were there to keep her for answering certain question. The only touchy theme I could think of, was the diastrous fire in 1950.
Hildur and Lea had no children. She was half his age when they got married.
Lea and his first wife Hilda had a child, a girl named Sunniva. She is now in her sventies and living in Arna, in the outskirts south of Bergen. It is still more than obvious she has ben an extremely beautiful woman. In the age of seven she was sent to a catholic school in Oslo.
None of his businesses has survived him to my knowledge. But the land area is now full of mature trees ready to be cut to timber. His quay has been substituted by a modern concrete stucture. But Late in the nineties there still were some remains of the old one. One should keep in mind he did everything with his own hands. He knew nothing about construction and had to learn everything by trying and failing. It was not until after the fire, his fellow citizens had some compassion with him, and helped him to rebuild what the flames had consumed.
Until then he was regarded as an unwelcome intruder who did everything his own way.
His athletic achivement were extreme, nearly self tormenting. Even in his younger days he performed feats which were quite unusual in his circles. He did this to keep himself fit and sharp - good for his busieness.
A final indication of his nature: His wife was dependent of her walk every sunday. So, one of the first thing he did in the roadless Gjølanger was to make her a road where she could have her sunday walks. And he grew a hedge on both sides to protect her from the cold winds.
I am familiar with the land he bought and left to the city of Bergen. But I have no idea of their borders. But I will try to find out more - unfortunately I live in the city of Ålesund 400 km north of Bergen, so I will se what I can do next time I go there.
Norway was not a part of the WWI, but the sympathy was on the British side. Some profited on the war in a way that was not to be very proud of. But Lea lead a fairly decent business, which led to a lot of envy. He sold his busines fresh and sound and the bought it back on the edge of bankrupcy. He was smart, but also unsuspecting and naive.
I do not know of links between torpedoes an cargo ships. But I know also Lea made profit on insurance of torpedoed ships. I do not think this was very much at his taste.
Assuranse - Assurance. The later was the corrct spelling around the WWI. The FIRST is the correct spelling today.
From where do you have you your Norwegian knowledge?
--Frode Inge Helland 21:29, 6 June 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Leas -Lea's
Until recently the correct genitive spelling was Lea's. Now the correct form is Leas. I also feel the hairs rise on my neck when seeing it. Assuranseselskap - Assuranceselskab the latter is a danish form in the Norwegian of his time.
--Frode Inge Helland 22:05, 6 June 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Address
My address is
fihellan@online.no
Frode Inge Helland
Vasstrandvegen 61
6011 Ålesund
Norge
--Frode Inge Helland 16:37, 9 June 2006 (UTC)
