By Tom Hintgen

Otter Tail County Correspondent

On Oct. 8 Otter Tail County lost historian and former Vergas area resident David Asleson. He was a retired U.S. Forest Service employee in Idaho, Montana and the state of Washington who retired to rural Vergas in 2014. In his latter years he resided at an assisted living facility in Moorhead.

Asleson traced success in his adult life to his growing up years, spending weekends at farms owned by his grandparents near Ulen, northeast of Moorhead. Even though he was raised as a city kid in Moorhead, he proudly declared himself “a farm kid.”

He attended what was then Moorhead State College in the late 1960s and early 1970s. That’s where this county correspondent and other members of Phi Sigma Epsilon fraternity began lifelong friendships with David.

David’s nickname “Norge” was based on his Norwegian heritage. The name stuck with him during a career with the U.S. Forest Service and into his retirement years.

He majored in history at Moorhead State and earned a masters degree in geography from the University of Wyoming. Asleson wrote a book about the Upper St. Joe River country in northern Idaho titled, “Up the Swiftwater.”

Several trips to his ancestral Norway brought him great joy while walking the fields of original homesteads. David loved to research family history.

Shortly after his move to rural Vergas in 2014, he shared his love of service to his community by joining the Vergas Lions Club. David had a passion for a meticulous yard and his beloved flower beds. When he wasn’t busy in his yard, you would find him hiking trails in his beloved Minnesota, often at Maplewood State Park. He was 77 when he died.

“David had a passion for life,” said fraternity brother and fellow rural Vergas resident Doug Safar. “His impact on family and friends will be felt for years to come.”