Peder Hidle Hill was born in the coastal city of Stavanger, its windswept waters a world away from the rich farmland he would one day call home. Engeborg Hoversten hailed from a nearby island in Rogaland, one named for a striking “head-stone” landmark—an actual rocky outcrop so central to the place that it became part of her family’s name. Though they traveled to America separately, fate led them to Rochelle, Illinois, where they married in 1880. From there they journeyed to Iowa, where Peder had already purchased land for $10/acre. There, together, they planted both roots and family, their shared courage and devotion growing a legacy that would endure.