A birthday wish comes true
The Ledger would like to wish Beverly Anderson a happy 90th birthday and we are glad that you got your wish!
By Bill Lee
Contributing Writer
9 Sept. 2025
Published Digitally 24 Sept. 2025
Beverly Anderson, of Lowell, turned 90 years old on September 18, and her birthday wish just came true: her host son, Harald Storvik, will be returning to Lowell to visit her. Harald was an exchange student from Norway, at Lowell High School during the 1976-77 school year, and lived with Beverly and Carlen (now deceased three years ago) Anderson during that time. “I asked her what she wanted for her birthday and she said for me to come home, which I will be doing on September 15 and staying for a week,” said Storvik.
The relationship between Storvik and the Andersons has been a strong lifelong bond, as Storvik has been back to visit the Anderson family almost every year since his graduation. The special bond has seen both families visiting each other over the years for weddings, funerals, anniversaries, and just plain old visits. “Carlen and Bev came to see us in Norway when my biological father passed away, at the age of 49, in 1980, by a heart stroke,” said Storvik. “This made Carlen become my ‘dad’ in a special way. We would have late night discussion about every topic that fathers and sons have. Also, my biological mother bought an apartment in Florida in 1983 and spent a lot of time with Carlen and Bev. They also came together, with my sister Karen and brother Craig and their families, for me and my wife’s wedding. Carlen and Bev also celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with family, from all over the world, at our cabin in Oppdal (Norway).”
All of this would never have happened, of course, if Harald did not decide to take the risk of leaving home and going to school in the United States. “I was born into a rich family in Norway and was a spoiled brat,” said Storvik. “A teacher encouraged me to seek a year as an exchange student at the age of 16, after nine years of public school in Norway.” When he first arrived, he was placed with a family that lived out in the country. As a city boy, Harald felt immediately out of place. The irony was that the Andersons were trying to find Harald a host family nearer to the city, at Harald’s request. When that didn’t happen, Carlen and Bev gave him an alternative: he could stay with them. “The alternative was that I could move into Craig’s room (their son) with one restriction, I had to share a bathroom with their daughter Karen, a senior classmate at LHS, with dad’s clear statement of ‘No hanky-pankying around.’ I agreed and promised right away, and Karen has been like my biological sister ever since.”
When Storvik first arrived in the United States and Lowell itself, it would be a bit of an adjustment for him. “I was met with a cultural shock I didn’t expect,” said Storvik. “I skipped some years of school by going from ninth grade straight to senior and 12th grade. Math was the hardest, but I managed to graduate with a decent average. Also, I disliked the fast food but loved the attitude of the people and the freedom-thinking of life.”
Even with all the new experiences he had that year of 1976-77 – new food, new school, and new culture – the most important part for Harald Storvik was the relationships he made and would keep for the rest of his life. “Living in the US influenced the rest of my life,” said Storvik. “The most valuable thing was the life-lasting friendships. To me it was a life-changing experience I wouldn’t have been without.
The Ledger would like to wish Beverly Anderson a happy 90th birthday and we are glad that you got your wish!
