Norway`s oldest man and the world`s oldest salmon fisherman - Odd Borlaug from Feios in Norway

A translation based on two Norwegian articles.

Sogn Avis - 19.6.2024 - Møte med den siste soldaten (Ola Terje Hådem)

VG - 15.7.2024 - Odd (107) fiskar gratis - æresmedlem lenger enn mange trudde

Foto: Morten Jacobsen (Vik)

From Gol to Leira

A total of 6,000 men in Indre Sogn (Name of the municipalities and land areas around the inner part of the Sognefjord) mobilized a few days after the outbreak of war and were told to meet at Bømoen near Voss. There they were given Kragh Jørgensen rifles (The Krag-Jørgensen rifle is a rifle designed by Captain Ole Krag and gunsmith Erik Jørgensen at Kongsberg Weapons Factory and served as the Norwegian Army rifle from 1894 to 1940.), uniforms and some other effects. Several companies were equipped there, as best they could.

Then 4,500 of them went by train from Voss to Gol.

Some of them continued down Hallingdal, while others went over the mountain to Valdres. They mostly walked all the way from Gol to Leira and further south down the valley. One of the men in this or perhaps in a column earlier in the day, was the then 23-year-old Odd Borlaug from Feios in Indre Sogn.

A gentle man

This happened a full 84 years ago. Now he has become Norway's oldest man. He turned 108 on March 31st this year. I (Ola Terje Hådem) have to visit this guy. (Note: When this article was written in 2024 Odd was 107 years)

He is a gentle man who welcomes me to his care home in Vik i Sogn. He has lived there for about ten years now. He gets dinner delivered to his door a few times a week, but otherwise he manages his other meals and the rest himself. Not bad at all at that age!

I introduce myself as Ola from Valdres. And he immediately comes up with the first line of the Ola song.

He sits in his armchair, dressed in summery trousers. His eyesight is rather poor after a lot of calcification in his eye.

The hardest battle

But he can just about read text messages on his mobile phone when he holds it right up to his face. His hearing is only slightly reduced and it is not difficult to get answers to all the questions I ask.

Some names in Valdres are a bit difficult to find, but then it is also 84 years since he was here. In a chaotic time that he would like to forget for a long time.

The hardest battles in Valdres were fought outside Bagn. Even though the Norwegian forces had little to defend themselves with, the German forces had to give up there and retreat. It was probably the most successful defensive effort the Norwegian forces were responsible for throughout the entire war.

The Germans retreated and all the way down to Hønefoss. In a new attempt to take Valdres, they tried via Dokka. At Randsfjorden, both the German and Norwegian forces lay down for a while. To find out where the Norwegian soldiers had gone into hiding, the Germans tried to set up figures out on the Randsfjord ice, he says.

This was in the hope that the Norwegians would start shooting at these figures and thereby reveal their hiding place.

But the Norwegians were not fooled, he says with a smile.

We are comrades!

Odd belonged to the 2nd battalion of Infantry Regiment No. 10 (IR 10). Parts of it saw action at Kronborg Bridge on 21 and 22 April 1940. And it is probably here that Odd received his baptism of fire. Kronborg Bridge is located a few kilometres east of Odnes, close to Vestrumsbygda.

His entire battalion was also in combat at Høljarast Bridge on 23 and 24 April. They were then in combat in Aurdal on 28 April, some of them through Vestringsbygde and finally west of Ulnes on 30 April. The rest of the Norwegian forces retreated to the east side of the valley, that is, through Leira and Fagernes.

But the German forces were too difficult to stop. At Føsei (Fosheim) in Røn, the Norwegian forces had to surrender. Both the German and Norwegian soldiers became brothers there in a way.

– Then we smoked peace pipes together, says Odd with a big smile. The Norwegians got cigarettes from the Germans who now pat them on the shoulder and say “Wir sind Kameraden!” (We are comrades!)

17th May 1940

It was during the heavy fighting somewhere in Vestre Slidre that one of the Norwegian soldiers shouted out: “The captain should have really been here!” They probably didn't think that the captain himself was with them in the middle of the hail of bullets. Captain Riiber Mohm heard this. He stood up from his position and shouted in a clear and distinct voice: "The captain is with us!”

After this, the Norwegian soldiers were driven down to Fagernes and gathered there. On May 1, 1940, soldier life was over for Odd and the rest of the battalion. But they gradually made their way home and were back in Sogn by May 17.

Odd was very lucky: he was not wounded, like many of his fellow soldiers. In total, about 46 Norwegians and around 240 were wounded in the fighting in Valdres. The regiment that formed the main force on the German side had 157 killed and around 360 wounded. In addition to this, there were also several civilians who were wounded or killed.

Exactly on the day 83 years after the fighting in Vestringsbygde, on April 28 last year, he was presented with the Army Medal of Merit by the Armed Forces.

He is definitely the very last surviving Norwegian soldier during the Second World War. For those who had the honor of awarding him this well-deserved distinction, it was also a strong wink.

A 16 kilo salmon

I ask Odd if he has had many nightmares after these experiences.

– Yes, it probably happened in the first years after the war, but not much later, he says.

I also wonder if he killed anyone in all the battles he was in. But he knows nothing about that.

– There was so much shooting that no one could know who was shooting at whom. So it’s not so clear, he thinks. And actually, it’s good not to know.

He got his driver’s license for a car in 1943 and drove until he was 93. At that time, it was his poor eyesight that made it difficult to drive any longer. But with his electric mobility device he still drives around the local area and not least down to the quay to fish for salmon. 

At 99 years old, he bought new fishing equipment for 10,000 kroner. He was asked if he didn’t think this was expensive for him.

– No, this is an investment for the future, the keen salmon fisherman answered gently. And his record is a big one weighing almost 16 kilos!

After the war, it was a normal working life: first many years of construction work, especially in Årdal, and then 25 years with his own taxi license in Vik in Sogn.

Odd became a widower six years ago. In addition to his two children, he had five grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren.

I wonder what has given him such good health and such a long life.

Yes, it must be Gamalost (a protein-rich, Norwegian sour milk cheese with roots dating back to the Viking Age), he says with a broad smile.

Appropriate answers and a smile are easy for Odd. He lives in the village of Norway's only Gamalost production facility. And Gamalost: He eats it every day. A special variation, he says, is spreading the cheese slices with a little syrup (instead of jam).

He still follows sports, especially biathlon and soccer. When I ask him how the soccer team in Sogndal is doing, he's completely up to date. He explains where they were in the standings after the first and second rounds of this year's series and their current position.

As a thank you for meeting Odd, I give him a bottle of red wine.

– Yes, I think I'll save this one for a special occasion, he says.

– Oh, you'll probably have an opportunity tomorrow. Today or tomorrow is a big enough occasion when you're 107 years old, I think.

And he agrees and lights up with another big smile.

Thanks for your effort, Odd, and thanks for the chat!

And cheers to your long and rich life!

Odd Borlaug (107) is the veteran of all veterans in the sport fishing community. Actually, he likes talking to the youth as much as getting a nap.

Both Sunday and Monday afternoon he was out and about with the casting rod again. At the permanent place by the river mouth in the river "Vikja" in Vik i Sogn, it is easy to notice Odd with the electric wheelchair.

There Norway's oldest man pulls himself up. Before he actually throws the lure out into the river. The dream is to pull up something similar to six years ago.

- That`s it.

On July 31, 2018 - in the middle of the bright morning, Borlaug (then 101) landed a 15.8 kilo salmon.

But neither Sunday, Monday or earlier this summer - has there been any sign of a nap for Odd.

– The most important thing is the social aspect. That’s it, Borlaug says in his broad Sogn dialect.

The 108-year-old comes from Feios in Sogn.

"But for the past few years, I've lived in a retirement home in Vik's town center."

From there, he easily manages the kilometer-long walk down to the fishing village and the Vikja River in his electric wheelchair.

The honorary member

He got a free fishing license which lasts forever - as part of his honorary membership at the age of 85.

- This year it costs a total of 4,000 kroner for a full-year fishing license. So it's clear that Odd has saved a few kroner. But that's completely fair. He's the best ambassador we could wish for, grins Morten Jacobsen, leader of the Vik hunting and fishing association.

He reminds us that the 107-year-old actually started fishing late - at the age of 73. But Odd has really been a "late bloomer" as a fisherman.

- It's absolutely crazy. We have the world's oldest salmon fishermen. He put Vik and the salmon fishing in Vikja on the map, says Jacobsen enthusiastically.

Invest in the future

He believes that the late arrival of salmon from the fjord is the reason why Odd Borlaug and other fishermen in Vikja have been slow to catch fish this summer.

– But now the salmon are here, says Jacobsen, who was responsible for smoking Odd Borlaug's record salmon in 2018.

– How did it taste, Odd?

– It was absolutely great, replies Borlaug - eager to drive down to Osen to cast a little after the weather looks set to clear up on Monday afternoon.

After the big catch in 2018, Borlaug bought himself new fishing equipment so he could practice his hobby a little more often. And he wanted to invest a little in the future, he said - then 101 years old.

Borlaug vs. Beckham

A little further into the Sognefjord - not too far from Vikja - lies the far more widely known salmon river Lærdalselva.

There, the famous former football player David Beckham was given permission to fish earlier in summer 2024 - to great media attention.

– Couldn't Beckham have just as well fished in Vikja?

– Beckham?! We have him, Odd. That's what we are more proud of , replies the leader of the hunting and fishing team.