Bent Myggen family history

Great Grandfather (Grandmother's side)
Peter Wilhelm Salamonsen
1865 - 1950

Carpenter, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Reportedly he was a very happy man and would sing non-stop, as he was working in his little shop, turning out door-handles and yo-yos.

Each spring he would load his family (wife and four daughters) and all their belongings into a horse-cart, drive to the country and find an apartment where they all lived until Fall, when he would go back to the city and find another home.

My Great Grandmother remembered all the addresses she and Great Grandfather had ever lived at - probably 50 or so. This is her - on in years - Johanne Salomonsen (1870 - 1963). She was said to have had a great singing voice in her youth and sang in many choirs.

Click on the pictures to move forward,

or scroll the page.

My great-grandfather (mother's side)

Anders Madsen

Carpenter/Violin-builder in Denmark.

1869-1950

I never met him, but in this photo I see a gentle, strong man with a passion for music.

Grandfather (mother's side)

Alfred Holger Madsen

1900-1965 Violinist, conductor in Horsens, Denmark.

My Great Grandmother remembered all the addresses she and Great Grandfather had ever lived at - probably 50 or so. This is her - on in years - Johanne Salomonsen (1870 - 1963). She was said to have had a great singing voice in her youth and sang in many choirs.

This is my Grandfather (father's side)

Christian Emil Andre Hansen
Pianist, artist, merchant
in Horsens, Denmark.

1890-1964

Here with me in the early days. He had a sense of humor and a voice that could command a circus audience.

There was a barrel of dried fish in his shop with a sign on it: "Salted Fish, 25 cents each, or 3 for a dollar". One day a man came in a bought three for a dollar. He returned later to complain, but did not get his money back.
"If you are that asleep, I can't help you", my grandfather said.

When I was a baby I used to love to lie under this piano to listen to my mother play. When I could reach, I started to figure out how to make music

.

It was a good time to grow up.

My father,

Arne Myggen (Hansen )

Writer / photographer, later the most popular radio-personality in Denmark EVER

Naturally, I was keen to follow his footsteps, and adopted soon the serious look of concentration.

My father was a newspaperman able to generate his own news. Here he entered a scooter race and was hamming it up with the audience by cornering power-slide style.

Then, to his own surprise and utmost consternation of the more "serious" contestants - he won the race. The story and pictures went
(as usual) in the next day's paper.

The winters are long and hard in Denmark, but we would make the most of it.




				Tracing the music

		Click on the pictures to move forward, or scroll the page.



	My great-grandfather (mother's side) Anders Madsen Carpenter/Violin-builder in Denmark. 1869-1950 I never met him, but in this photo I see a gentle, strong man with a passion for music.


		Grandfather (mother's side) Alfred Holger Madsen 1900-1965 Violinist, conductor in Horsens, Denmark.		He assembled the first symphony orchestra in the region. And a fine one he made it, too.



	This is my Grandfather (father's side) Christian Emil Andre Hansen Pianist, artist, merchant in Horsens, Denmark. 1890-1964 Here with me in the early days. He had a sense of humor and a voice that could command a circus audience. There was a barrel of dried fish in his shop with a sign on it: "Salted Fish, 25 cents each, or 3 for a dollar". One day a man came in a bought three for a dollar. He returned later to complain, but did not get his money back. "If you are that asleep, I can't help you", my grandfather said.


	My mother, Lillian Myggen (Hansen/Salomonsen) Concert Pianist My father met her as a press photographer, covering her performance. A grand piano was the first piece of furniture the newly-married couple bought .

When I was a baby I used to love to lie under this piano to listen to my mother play. When I could reach, I started to figure out how to make music .

Mom, little brother Finn, and I - dad taking pictures.		It was a good time to grow up.


	My father, Arne Myggen (Hansen ) Writer / photographer, later the most popular radio-personality in Denmark EVER .
Naturally, I was keen to follow his footsteps, and adopted soon the serious look of concentration.

		My father was a newspaperman able to generate his own news. Here he entered a scooter race and was hamming it up with the audience by cornering power-slide style. Then, to his own surprise and utmost consternation of the more "serious" contestants - he won the race. The story and pictures went (as usual) in the next day's paper.

			We borrowed a few elephants from a circus to pull up trees at our new home in Søllerød. They were sweet and gentle beings. We fed them carrots and apples.

	The winters are long and hard in Denmark, but we would make the most of it.

		Summer meant going south with friends of our parents, Lise and Halle Sten and their children, Susanne and Niels. We went to Germany, Norway, Spain, France and Italy together in identical VWs.

			Here I am realizing that the road of music is sometimes long and slow. Perhaps I started writing my own stuff because it took so long to learn what others had written.

			I remember all my classmates, but was a bit of an outsider. Our teacher, Mr. Behrend taught us English. One day he entered the classroom walking in on his hands to the podium. He also slapped me good along with 5 other scoolmates over a prank. We probably deserved it. I am the one closest to the tree.