My parents-in-law ran a smalltown department store for close to 40 years before having to close down last year. These photos document the Kragseth family’s final days as merchants in Nordfjordeid, Norway.
Kala #1. This sale is final
The combined toys and glass- and kitchenware store known as “Kala” would have celebrated its 40th anniversary on the fifth of November last year. Only they had to close down just half a year shy of that landmark occasion. A combination of age, health and economic issues meant that the days leading up to Easter last year were chosen to be the final ones for the store that had been built by my girlfriend’s parents – Mrs. Aud and Mr. Agnar Kragseth – four decades earlier.
Kala #2. The department store. Brand new
Kala #3. Mrs. Aud (left) and Mr. Agnar Kragseth had some of their busiest days ever during the days of the final sale. My girlfriend Linda (centre) moved home for a few weeks to help them out
Kala #4. Aud and Agnar met at a gathering for western expats in the Norwegian capital of Oslo in the early 1970s
Kala #5. Best store in the district, 1989
Kala #6. The toy store cleaned out. Only a basket of christmas hats remain
Kala #7. Agnar in the office
Kala #8. Cheap toys, pure happiness
Kala #9. Nordfjordeid is a small town (population 2,772) in western Norway
Kala #10. The shop – and its merchants – in their youth. Aud at left, her sister-in-law, Liv, at right
Kala #11. Some 30 years on, Aud’s brilliant 70s blouse is replaced by a Transformers hoodie
Kala #12. Young Agnar in the store
Kala #13. Agnar in the store
Kala #14. The building period. Health and safety. Total lack thereof
Kala #15. The store, yesteryear
Kala #16. Linda sorting through the farewell flower gifts
Kala #17. Empty glassware boxes
Kala #18. Agnar closing the doors
Kala #19. Counting crowns
Kala #20. Stairway to retirement
Kala #21. One last set of locks
Kala #22. The toast
Epilogue – The Bears Say Goodbye
The toy store teddybear mascots make one final appearance for a farewell ad in the local paper.
Kala #23
Kala #24
Kala #25
Kala #26. Ad reads “Kala is now closed”
