September 2002 marked the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first Norwegians to Potter County, Pennsylvania. The driving force behind this colony was violinist Ole Bull.

Greatness. It's a word everyone knows, uses and often overuses--a word that finds its way into many quotations. "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm," American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote. Before Emerson, German philosopher G.W.F. Hegel observed that "Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion."

Then there's the darker side of greatness. Winston Churchill warned "the price of greatness is responsibility," and 400 years before the birth of Christ, Herodotus cautioned that "great deeds are usually wrought at great risks."

Enthusiasm. Passion. Responsibility. Risk. Weave all four qualitites of greatness together and you have the blueprint for Oleana--the Potter County colony founded in 1852 by famous Norwegian violinist Ole Bull. The settlement is the subject of a newly released book, "Oleana: The Ole Bull Colony," by lifelong Coudersport resident Paul W. Heimel...

Published Sunday, August 25, 2002
Focus Magazine
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
For the entire article, visit the archives of Focus or contact Sandra Miller-Louden, author of this article.