Norway’s long coastline also made the boat a very useful means of transportation for Jehovah’s Witnesses. Several brothers bought motorboats in the 1930’s and used them in the witness work. In Narvik (where there had been a group of Christians since around 1905) there were eight or ten publishers. During the summertime the brothers went out in motorboats on Sundays. Once a year a small assembly was held for the Narvik Congregation and the brothers from the northern part of Sweden. They rented a fishing boat and used it when they engaged in the service, going to places as far away from Narvik as 125 miles (201 kilometers). Here in the northern part of the country there were very few roads at that time, and many places had no ferries. So a boat was the only means of getting around. In this way the northernmost congregation in the country at that time proclaimed the good news of the Kingdom north of the Arctic Circle.

ALONG THE COAST BY BOAT

Some pioneers traveled along the coast by boat, spreading the good news. In 1928 the Society bought a small pilot boat and remodeled it for two brothers who were doing colporteur work from Oslo and along the coast in the southern part of the country. The brothers started in December and went along the west side of the Oslo Fjord in the small boat “Elihu,” even though the fjord was full of ice. During the first month they visited many cities and densely populated areas and placed around 800 books and booklets. However, on a dark, stormy night in February, “Elihu” was smashed to pieces on the coast. The boat was ruined, but the brothers came ashore safely.

In 1931 the Society bought a new motorboat. It was named “Esther.” It was around 40 feet (12 meters) in length and had room for three pioneers, although it was more practical to have only two. “Esther” was used on the west coast and in north Norway until 1938, when it was replaced by the 32-foot (10-meter) motorboat “Ruth.” “Ruth” also had two brothers on board and was used mostly in north Norway.

The brothers on these boats did very good work along Norway’s coast. In one year they could place as many as 10,000 to 15,000 books and booklets. They visited many small islands and lighthouses where people were living, as well as talking to the Lapps in the north. Carrying their book bags, phonographs and rucksacks, they proclaimed the good news at isolated places in the mountains. They did a lot of traveling, as houses were spread over a great area. On some days these brothers were able to visit only a few homes. They also had some accidents. The boats were wrecked several times. However, the brothers survived, and the boats were repaired.

Once the two brothers on “Esther” visited a place in north Norway where the people were said to ‘live in harmony with Russell’s and Rutherford’s books.’ Over half of the population was interested in the truth. The churches stood empty and about 95 percent of the population had read some of the Society’s publications.

[Picture on page 214]

Pioneer with book bag and phonograph; in the background is the boat “Rut” (Ruth), used in witnessing along the coast