However, working in the town where we grew up, let alone where we were born, sadly remains a quickly fading statistic. Thora Nielsen Andersen, on the other hand, is a proud statistic buster in our midst. She defies all modern social trends by having the distinct bragging rights of not only working where she grew up, Solvang, but working on the piece of land where she took her first breath on ­­­­­­Nov. 1, 1936.

Where Scandia Court fronts Alisal Road in Solvang, “the Home Connection,” owned by Thora Nieslen Andersen and her daughter Donna Andersen Beehler, stands where Thora’s childhood home was built by her father in the early 1920’s.

“I think mother’s bedroom was right about here, and right about here is where I was born,” Thora said, while standing in the back, half of her store surrounded by the warm-wood glow of authentic, Amish rockers.

Thora’s maternal grandparents, John and Thora Roth came from Denmark to America, started their family and were farmers in Northern California before joining the early settlers in what was to become the township of Solvang. The new colonists saw the Santa Ynez Valley as a perfect place for dairy farms, and subsequently established themselves, building a folk school known as Atterdag College, where they taught trades and English skills to the new immigrants.

Thora’s father, C.V. Nielsen was a contractor, who learned his trade in Denmark, and after marrying Anna Roth, began to build the house where their daughter Thora was born. It took two years to complete the house that stood in downtown Solvang for nearly 70 years. In the late ’80s when construction of Scandia Court began, the Nielsen home was carefully dissembled and moved to the Dunn School campus where it’s in use today, as one of the teacher’s quarters.

It was the house construction that spurred Thora’s father to open Nielsen’s Building Materials. Some decades later, when Thora was a young woman, a strapping Dane, Andy Andersen, came to town from Chicago, Ill. Thora and Andy realized they had more than just a language and lineage in common, they discovered both their fathers had come to America as young men and both made their way to Solvang at the age of 18. When they were married, Andy joined Thora’s two brothers in running the family business and their marriage solidified Solvang’s next generation of full-blooded Danes.

Although the Andersen’s raised their two children, Ken and Donna, to be respectful and proud of their town and heritage, they also encouraged them to leave, get an education, and explore their potential. Both attended Cal Poly, Ken studied construction management and Donna interior design. Eventually the two realized their roots ran too deep to ignore. Thora will never forget the day Ken called from San Jose and said “Dad, I’m ready to come home.” Ken did move home and has managed Nielsen’s Building Materials ever since.

For Donna, her flair for design and eye for presentation was the catalyst for what she and Thora would discover as a shared dream: to own a quality home store for the local trade. The idea was further fostered by the construction of Scandia Court, owned by Nielsen’s Building Materials. Both Thora and Donna were hands-on in the design of the new building that would replace the space where the Nielsen home once stood. At some point during construction, it occurred to them that no better place existed for their mother-daughter dream of a home store than in the place Thora was born.  

It’s been 17 years since that trip to the L.A. Mart, when the pair decided on the name “Home Connection” and began to design a store that would bring together all the elements of an ideal shopping experience.  It started out small, with the thrust of being a bridal registry store, but with a single vision for quality and variety. Now they have extended the back and expanded their merchandise to include much sought, after collectable lines such as Spode, Portmeirion, Peggy Karr Glass, Woof and Poof and the Polish stoneware, Boleslawiec.

“We really have something for everyone,” said Donna, recounting a story where one customer easily bought gifts for family members ranging greatly in age.

A trip around the store is a compelling experience — whimsical, humorous, and practical. One can get lost in the kitchen section just as easily as the china section, or the kids’ area where children are welcome to play with the toys and feel comfortable amusing themselves while parents shop or rest. As the case may be with weary dads and husbands, who find refuge and comfort among the “Simply Amish” rockers and gliders.

“Because of our location we get the obvious benefit of tourism, but we really strive for this to be a community store,” Thora said.

Donna added that they make a point to give back to the local community by donating to many silent auctions and other fundraisers for churches and non-profit organizations. They’ve also installed video games in the store, the proceeds of which benefit the local schools.  

And just in case this wasn’t enough of a family experience, Thora’s husband has worked his way into the mix in recent years.  Motivated by retirement and a gift certificate from daughter Donna, Andy Andersen enrolled in an art workshop and discovered he has real talent. His water color paintings of windmills, vibrant flowers, and depictions of Danish life are displayed all around the store, but Andy’s paintings do more than add a splash of color. They bring full circle what has always been true of the Nielsen and the Andersen families; there is nothing more important than the collaboration of family and community. The “Home Connection” is a prime example; the well spring of pride and heritage fostered through generations of family connection.