A Rivalry over Roots

Mundal (pop. 150) is in the heart of Norway's scenic fjord country, and cruise-ship guides point it out as the place where Walter Mondale has his roots. Although nearly all Mondale's relatives left for the U.S. 130 years ago, the name evokes considerable civic pride. At the Mundal Hotel, where Mondale stayed in 1979, Manager Billie Orheim displays a guest book that reads, "Joan and I were thrilled to return home!"

But across the fjord in Vangsnes (pop. 270) some folks, including Mondale's fourth cousin Gunda Langeteig, have a different view of history. Mondale's great grandfather, Frederick Vangsnes, was a native of Vangsnes, the town, she says. He went across to Mundal, where he married Brita Mundal and for some reason took her name. "If he had not done so, Walter Vangsnes would be the Democratic presidential candidate," she declares. The fjord rivalry has risen along with Mondale's fortunes. "We are not interested in a fight over which place has the thickest Mondale roots," insists a Mundal resident. Even so, one elderly Vangsnes man offers this advice: "The next time Mondale crosses the Atlantic, he had better visit both sides of the fjord."