Norblad, Albin Walter, L. L. D., attorney, city lawyer — Astoria — born in Malmö March 19, 1881. He came to America at age two. He went to school in Grand Rapids, Michigan. When he was thirteen years old he was employed by Grand Rapids School Furniture Company. From the age of nine until he turned twelve, he spent mornings and evenings carrying and selling newspapers. When he was nine he became a member of the Grand Rapids Paper Boys Band consisting of 42 members that had an average age of eleven. The band’s musical training was paid for by the town’s evening paper and Norblad participated in a concert tour of the South. Later on Norblad received a gold medal from Sousa for his advancements in music.
The furniture company, in which Norblad was employed, later sent him to Chicago where the company also had an office. At the same time as he carried on with his work, he worked as a newspaper reporter and was seriously involved in studying. In April 1905 he received his legal degree and gained permission to practice law in Michigan, and in June the same year he became the president of the graduating class from the Chicago Law School and received his L. L. D. degree as well. While studying he had also taken special courses at Northwestern University and Harvey Medical College.
Norblad was a practicing lawyer in Grand Rapids from April to December of 1905 and from January 1906 in Escanaba with attorney Yelland. During the years of 1906 to 1909 he was the public prosecutor for Delta County, Michigan. In July 1909 he moved to Astoria and, together with G. A. Hemple, ran a law office until 1910 when the firm was dissolved. During 1909 Norblad received the right to practice law in the Oregon courts, the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington and also in the circuit and district courts. On December 14, 1910 he was elected city lawyer in Astoria. In December 1909 Norblad was appointed by the governor of Oregon as Astoria representative at the flood and harbor congress in Washington D. C. He delivered a speech to the flood and harbor committee of the House of Representatives, which was critically acclaimed in the press both in the East and West.
Norblad has served in the city militia in Michigan and Illinois and has been appointed Lieutenant in the Michigan Brigade. He is a member of the Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, Knights of Pythias, Elks, Odd Fellows, the Scandinavian Benevolence Brotherhood and the Irvington Club. He is a Freemason of the 32nd degree, Shriners, and in 1910 he was the president of the Astoria Chamber of Commerce. On September 26, 1906, he married Edna Lyle Cates from Escanaba, Michigan, and they have a son.
