Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2021/Fall/Section009/Hal H. Nerbovig

Hal H. Nerbovig, Watchmaker, Asheville NC, 1939

Biography

Early Life

Hal H. Nerbovig was born in 1876 to Norwegian immigrant parents in Winona Minnesota. While he always considered this to be his home, Hal did not live there for most of his life, moving to Iowa before settling in Asheville, North Carolina. Growing up, Hal learned the trade of watchmaking from his father, who had operated a shop in Norway (Carter, 1939).

Family

In 1902, Hal married an English woman with whom he had three daughters. The oldest was the first in the family to go to college, graduating from the University of Minnesota before settling in New Jersey. The younger two, Buff and Helen, worked for the Disney studio in California as animators. Mr. Nerbovig had not seen his daughters for years at the time of his interview.

Career

Hal began his working life by operating a picture theatre in Iowa before opening a "chain of ten wholesale grocery stores" (Carter, 1939). He soon lost interest in these ventures and became a traveling auctioneer of jewelry, returning to “the first business he knew” (Carter, 1939). Soon, however, he began struggling with health problems from which he never fully recovered, and promptly decided to move to the better climate of Asheville, North Carolina. There he opened his watch repair shop on Lexington Avenue, over which a sign reading: “Halver Halverson, Expert Watchmaker” (Carter, 1939) hung beckoning customers to make use of his talents. The shop was quaint and attractive, featuring glass showcases and a small workbench at the window through which passersby could observe the master at work. He did not make a profit when the store first opened, “but he was his own boss again, so he managed to keep going" (Carter, 1939). Hal valued his tools and equipment highly, as many of them had “been in his possession for 45 years, including the first small set given to him by his father” (Carter, 1939). He sold hardly any merchandise, making the bulk of his profits from repair work. Perhaps this is how he was able to keep his business afloat through the trying times of the 1930’s.

Life in Asheville

Hal lived alone in the Langren hotel (Calder, 2018). He was a rare successful small businessman surrounded by the harsh realities of the Great Depression in Asheville. Hal’s favorite pastime was, of course, going to the movies, where he commonly watched Disney films to keep up with what his daughters were working on.

Social Context/Issues

Norwegian Immigration

Before Hal Nerbovig was born, his parents emigrated from Norway and settled in Minnesota along with the hundreds of thousands of Norwegians that came there between 1851 and 1920, “making the Twin Cities the unofficial capital of Norwegian America” (Meshbesher, 2018). This mass exodus from Scandinavia was due to technological advances in farming that “doubled the country’s population between 1750 and 1850” (Meshbesher, 2018). This growth was unsustainable and provided the motivation for seeking a new life in America. Minnesota was a desirable destination because many Norwegians from Chicago had created agricultural settlements there in response to fears that their culture would be lost in the diverse, growing city. This budding community began to take shape, and a distinct cultural identity was established in Minnesota. Eventually, work opportunities outside of farming became prevalent, and “many would find well-paying work inland at iron mines and in logging camps” (Meshbesher, 2018). The Lutheran church was an important source of community for these people, and interestingly “played a central part” (Zahl, 2003) in contributing to the social welfare system being established in Minnesota at the time. This community ensured that a young Hal grew up surrounded by his native culture.

Small Business in the Depression

One of the most striking holes in Nerbovig’s story as told by the Federal Writer’s Project, is how exactly his small watch repair shop managed to stay profitable during the great depression. While there are some examples of small businesses thriving while the banks and large corporations crumbled, it seems unlikely that the trade of watch repair would be unaffected by the extensive poverty in Asheville during this time. As an example, in the American steel industry, through controlled by big businesses, “the small businesses that were providing secondary light steel products increased” (Ryuji, 2017). This, however, is not necessarily representative of the rest of the economy, as small-scale steel production increases could be accredited to “the transition of the demand structure” (Ryuji, 2017) resulting from the depression. In the case of Nerbovig’s product, it has often been argued that the luxury retail market is not as affected by economic turmoil compared with other industries After the recession of the 2000’s, “luxury retailers were some of the first to bounce back in the US, with brands like Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent boasting a 23 percent increase in sales” (Roos, 2009). Even still, it is not clear if Nerbovig’s shop qualifies as luxury retail. Thus, it is difficult to speculate as to how he managed to stay afloat, and this part of his story will likely remail a mystery.

Asheville, NC Financial Crisis

In 1930, Asheville went completely bankrupt due to problems “generated by a land boom and compounded by the Depression” (Special, 1975). During this time, the city’s budget was cut in half, newly constructed buildings were abandoned, and the city government was left lacking in leadership when “the mayor and two bank officials committed suicide” (Special, 1975). Beulah Hoffman, a high school teacher at the time, said “‘we lost every penny we had.’… Her salary, which had been $3,000 a year, was cut to $270, and the city could not pay that. Most of the teachers quit and students simply dropped out” (Special, 1975). As late as the 1970’s, the city continued to allocate “more than 17 per cent of its budget for debt service” (Special, 1975). Due to a “successful transition of Asheville’s downtown from desolate to vibrant” (Strom, 2015), the city is now known widely as a pleasant destination. The miraculous work to escape the

Bibliography

Hal H. Nervovig, Asheville NC, Watchmaker in the Federal Writers' Project papers #3709, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Meshbesher, Samuel. “Norwegian Immigration in Minnesota.” MNopedia, 2018. https://www.mnopedia.org/norwegian-immigration-minnesota.

Calder, Thomas. “Asheville Archives: The Langren Hotel Brings the Latest Amenities to the City, 1912.” Mountain Xpress, January 16, 2018. https://mountainx.com/news/asheville-archives-the-langren-hotel-brings-the-latest-amenities-to-the-city-1912/.

Special, Wayne King. “For Asheville, '30 BANKRUPTCY Meant Ruin.” The New York Times. The New York Times, October 18, 1975. https://www.nytimes.com/1975/10/18/archives/for-asheville-30-bankruptcy-meant-ruin.html.

Zahl, Mari-Anne, and Janice Andrews. “Traces of Norwegian Influence in the Development of Social Services in Minnesota, Usa, 1890-1920.” International Journal of Social Welfare 12, no. 2 (2003): 154–64. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2397.00253.

Strom, Elizabeth, and Robert Kerstein. “The Homegrown Downtown: Redevelopment in Asheville, North Carolina.” Urban Affairs Review 53, no. 3 (2015): 495–521. https://doi.org/10.1177/1078087415620305.

Ryuji, Ikuta. “American Steel Industry and Small Business during the Great Recession of the 1930s: In Relation to Changes in Demand Structure.” Land System History. Land System History Society (currently Political Economy / Economic History Society) December 30, 2017. https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/tochiseido/42/1/42_KJ00005121812/_article/-char/en.

Roos, Dave. “10 Recession-Proof Businesses.” HowStuffWorks. HowStuffWorks, April 20, 2009. https://money.howstuffworks.com/10-recession-proof-businesses.htm#pt2.