After he became ill with rheumatic fever, he was forced to give up activities at sea and became a fish buyer and merchant. Halldis Hansen from Vasstrand, 5 km further out in the fjord, became the storekeeper and married Håkon. They lived over the «old store», which is now the reception. Later, they built a separate house, a jetty and extended the barn.
Fire
At the end of the 1940s, a new store (large white house) and a warehouse were built. In the 1950s the entire building burned to the ground. This was, naturally, a major blow and a huge financial loss, as the insurance did not cover the value of the house and stored goods.
Håkon and Halldis travelled to Oslo and considered relocating to the south. However, Halldis felt uneasy and eventually the building which is now the main house was rebuilt.
Fishing
There has been good fishing for cod, coalfish and herring in the areas south-west of Kvaløya. The herring came into the fjord in the autumn, and huge catches were made by local boats and those that came to fish from other districts.
During certain periods there could be several hundred fishermen – and all of them needed supplies and equipment. This led to a good turnover at the store and access to raw materials for salting herring and cod and for drying cod and coalfish.
New standards
During the season, up to 30-40 persons were working at the quayside and in the store at Lauklines. In the 1960s, new standards were introduced for production halls and equipment, freezers and filleting machines. This led to a need for major investment and a constant supply of raw materials all year round.
The decision was taken to close down the fish landing stage, and in 1968, the store closed down. In a period in the 1970s the main building was rebuilt to start the production of caviar. However, the massive increased toll charges on finished fish products because of the EU enlargement in 1973 with England, Denmark and Irland made it impossible to compete with countries within the EU. And so the era of fish catches and the sale of processed products came to an end for the business at Lauklines.
However, the final chapter was still not over…
At the end of the 1990s, Lauklines was taken over by Andreas Nilsen. The old quayside and buildings were restored and new cabins built. Andreas started Lauklines Kystferie in 1999. Along with his wife Hanna Nilsen, they are now the owners and hosts of a new business that they are steadily renovating and developing.
