Sören Backe seems to have been a man whose generosity was as remarkable as his lack of business ability. His father, a man of considerable wealth, had supplied his son generously with funds upon his departure for America. Sören Backe evidently loaned money very liberally to those of his countrymen who were in need, and there were many of these here as in all pioneer communities. It is said that when his funds were used up he made a journey to Norway for more money. With this he purchased land, which he let out on easy terms to new comers from Norway. It was Johannesen who had charge of these transactions in which it seems Even Heg was a partner with Backe. Johannesen is described as a devout christian, a zealous adherent of the Haugian tendency, and in every way a noble character. As we have seen, the settlement developed rapidly, and it continued to grow for many years. Backe and Johannesen then joined partnership and started a store; for this purpose an Indian mound was excavated, the walls were sided with boards, and this structure, which was partly underground, served as store, living room and kitchen combined. Their stock of goods was shipped from Milwaukee, itself then only a village of one or two stores, a hotel and half a dozen pioneer cabins. Backe and Johannesen continued their business together for about three years when Johannesen fell ill and died (in 1845). That same year Backe returned to Norway and settled on his father's farm Valle, in Lier, near Drammen. Even Heg was a leading spirit in the settlement in Norway and surrounding townships during his life-time. Much has been written about him and I shall not here repeat the eulogies elsewhere voiced in his honor. After Johannesen's death it was Heg upon whom the settlers in the early days of the colony leaned for advice and it was Even Heg to whom every new arrival from Norway to the colony came for help and counsel. His hospitality and his resourcefulness in the aid of his compatriots was boundless. Heg's barn, where large parties of immigrants were received every summer, and in which they were permitted freely to make their home during the first weeks after the long and arduous journey, is famed throughout many an early settlement in Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. The log cabins of the settlers were too small to afford the necessary quarters for the numbers that continuously flocked in, and the large barn was a boon for which they were truly grateful. For a time Racine County became the objective point of most of the immigrants from Norway, a distinction which however it was soon to share with the still more famous Koshkonong Prairie in Dane County, Wisconsin.