Kristiansand municipality – The municipality gets all the Rusletur material

Mayor Mathias Bernander (former), Jan Henrik Munksgaard, Inger Johanne Mæsel, Knut Mæsel and Kristin Eidet Robstad.

And it’s not exactly trifles that have been collected and documented through over 20 years of authorship of 20 local history Stroll books: Texts and a fantastic collection of more than 40,000 photos are collected in 192 binders. Everything scanned and put in a tidy system by Knut Mæsel.

The handover of the unique material was marked in the chairman’s hall in the Town Hall some time ago. The municipality receives the gift, which the Vest-Agder Museum will store, manage and use to disseminate the town’s history in various ways and contexts. The municipality and the museum will, among other things, work together to create various teaching programs for the municipality’s schools.

Unique storytelling

– We are getting a wonderful gift today. It cannot be rated highly enough that children and young people in Kristiansand can get to know the place they come from in such a great way. You have enriched us with stories right from 2002 with a unique story telling with rich image material, historical facts and stories from everyday life. Here you have really been down in the streets and out among people. I feel great joy that we are going to start using this in the school. Thank you very much for all the hours you have put in, and for the work you have done, said education director Kristin Eidet Robstad in her greeting to the couple.

The director also thanked the Vest-Agder museum, which will take care of everything, and former school principal Marie Føreland, who gave the ex-teacher couple the opportunity to work with the historical material.

Mayor Mathias Bernander also expressed gratitude for the magnificent gift.

Out to as many people as possible

– Thank you very much for a wonderful gift. We must manage it with care. You have fantastic communication skills, and have made a great effort for our municipality and city. It is important to build on what has been. We need to understand where we come from. Thank you a lot. We will bring the gift to life, so that the story reaches as many people as possible, said the mayor.

The main characters, who last autumn were awarded the King’s Medal of Merit for their efforts, thanked for the greetings from the mayor and director. They also handed out verbal flowers to the co-author of the Rusletur books, Jan Henrik Munksgaard, and to the local printing house Bjorvand & co, which has printed the local history books.

– Thank you very much for your kind words. When we started fantasizing about making books, we met Jan Henrik. For us, the great communicator and good man has as much credit before the books as we have. It has also been in the spotlight with the collaboration with the local printing company. There have been 20 books and a fantastic collection of pictures, all scanned and systematised by Knut. We have perhaps done 1000-1500 interviews, and received a lot of material from people. This has been Kristiansand’s history told by Kristiansanders. Now we feel that the ring is beginning to be closed. We are approaching 80 years, the time is ripe to deliver from us, said Inger Johanne Mæsel.

For the retired teachers, it is extra great that the Rusletur heritage is being taken care of by a former pupil, Tonje Tjøtta. She is currently a conservator in the Vest-Agder museum, and is thus given the task of looking after the many pictures that have now changed hands.

The war in Kristiansand

Despite the handover, it is not certain that the last word on the course of life in Kristiansand has been written. Knut Mæsel reminded the assembly that they are in contact with Kristiansand’s Bjørn Furuborg and Johnny Haugen from Evje and Hornnes, with a view to telling about the war years in Kristiansand.

– We have reached the summer of 1943 and are holding on as long as we can. We will also provide this, so that the schools can use the material exactly as they want, Knut Mæsel said.

The third man in the Rusletur troika, Jan Henrik Munksgaard, was also present when the agreement was signed. He was director of what was then called the Vest-Agder county museum when they worked on most of the books.

– They asked if I wanted to take part, and it has been an incredibly interesting and nice thing to take part in. I have been lucky, because it is special to write about Kristiansand when you grew up here. Suddenly a little sky opened up over things I only had an idea about, says Jan Henrik Munksgaard.