March 2015

TAKEONE!

SHAHolds Elections. . . . . . . . 7

‘Apaurak’ in Alaska . . . . . 8-9

Scandinavian SocietyReports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-14

St. Urho’s Day. . . . . . . . . . . 15

WHAT’S INSIDEPresident’s message. . . . . . . 2

Swedish Easter Fun . . . . . . . . 3

Easter Scandinavia . . . . . . . . . 4

RememberingJo Ann Winistorfer. . . . . . . . . 5Geneology Lessons . . . . . . . . . 6

Glad Påsk! (Happy Easter!)

In Sweden, it is common to decorate willow branches with feathers and eggs for Easter.

Page 2 • March 2015 • SCANDINAVIAN HERITAGE NEWS

Don't forget to mark your calen-dars: our annual banquet will beheld on May 2nd at the Holiday Inn.Silent auction will commence at 6pmwith dinner to follow at 7pm. The co-chairs for the banquet are Liz Gjelstadand Doris Slaaten, I am always grate-ful for their hard work. Two more indi-viduals that are always indispensablewhen it comes to SHA duties, GeorgeOffficer and John Sinn, both of whomare honored Director Emeritus. As 95years young, George Officer does somuch with the silent auction. He hasalways worked tirelessly visitingcountless merchants to collect items tobe sold in the auction. Thank youGeorge for all of your hard work overthe years. While George still works re-lentlessly at 95, John Sinn also hasn'tshowed any signs of slowing downwhile he turned 94 this year. As if toprove his endurance, four days aftercelebrating his birthday, John under-went major surgery. The surgeryproved to be no match for John, andfortunately he came through with fly-ing colors. John has worked so hardand accomplished so much in the park

over the years,and he has agreedto retire from hispark duties. Ofcourse, in trueJohn fashion, hewill not com-pletely walkaway from assisting the park: he willsupervise pond improvements, andover see the planting of flowers. Wedefinitely count ourselves blessed tohave had such devoted friends such asGeorge and John.

It is with great sadness that I bringthis letter to a close, for a dear friendwas lost recently. On February 4th, JoAnn Winistorfer passed away afterbattling cancer. She was the editor ofthe SHA newsletter, and for all whowere lucky enough to know Jo Ann,they got to experience her endearingpersonality. She had such an upbeat,positive attitude, that it was infectiousto those around her. I know I can't pos-sibly do her life justice in this short de-scription, however I do know this forcertain: Jo Ann,you will be missed. •

President’s MESSAGE

Gail Peterson

Thanks to Our VolunteersScandinavian Heritage News

Vol. 27, Issue 70 • March 2015Published quarterly by

The Scandinavian Heritage Assn.1020 South Broadway

701/852-9161 • P.O. Box 862Minot, ND 58702

e-mail: scandha@srt.comWebsite: scandinavianheritage.org

Newsletter CommitteeLois Matson, Chair

Al Larson, Duane BrekkeRoxi Mathis, Editor

701/852-5552roxi@creativeprintingusa.com

Al Larson, Publisher – 701/852-5552

SCANDINAVIAN HERITAGEASSOCIATION

1020 South Broadway • P.O. Box 862Minot, North Dakota 58702

Phone 701/852-9161

2015 OFFICERSGail Peterson PresidentVirgil Rude Vice PresidentMarion Anderson SecretarySue Weston Treasurer

BOARD OF DIRECTORSThree-year terms ending January 2018

Myron Anderson Erv JohnsonDoris Slaaten Randy BurckhardEva Goodman Everett OlsonRobert Whetter

Three-year terms ending January 2017Jerome Jorgenson Lois MatsonBob Sando Ernie SellandLes Strege Joan VartyNeil Zimmerman

Three-year terms ending January 2016Marion Anderson Liz GjellstadJana Hennix Terry MattsonGail Peterson Sue WestonVirgil Rude

One-year appointees to January 2016Robert Bruhaug Curt MedalenAdelaide Johnson Marilyn WagnerConnie LowmanEx-Officio Members

Mark Anderson, Past PresidentBruce Christenson, Past PresidentCarroll Erickson, Past PresidentAllen O. Larson, Past PresidentRoald Mattson, Past PresidentGeorge Officer, Past President

Directors EmeritusMarian Bergan, Director EmeritusDoralyn Brown, Director EmeritusHelen Haaland, Director EmeritusJeanne McNea, Director EmeritusJim Maragos, Director EmeritusJohn Sinn, Director Emeritus

CCAALLEENNDDAARR •• SSpprriinngg 22001155• SON Potet Klubb Dinner – First Lutheran Church,

March 16, 6:30 pm

• SON District IV Dance Workshop – Billings, Montana, March 20-21

• Spring bazaar – SON meeting room, Visitors Center,March 28, 9 am to 2 pm

• Swedish Society meets – lower level Visitors Center, April 18

• 2015 SHA Banquet – May 2

• Midsummer Night Festival – June 19

Next newsletter deadline: Copy andpictures May 1; printing, June 1, 2015

SCANDINAVIAN HERITAGE NEWS • March 2015 • Page 3

SATURDAY, MAY 2, 2015

Holiday Inn Riverside, Minot, NDCo-chairs: Doris Slaaten and Liz Gjellstad

Silent AuctionCo-chairs: George Officer, Curt Medalen

Tickets: $30 per person

I would like to attend the 2015 SHA BANQUET/SILENT AUCTION. I am enclosing $_______ ($30 perperson) for ______ ticket(s). Mail tickets to:

NAME______________________________________

ADDRESS__________________________________

CITY_______________________________________

STATE__________ ZIP_________

MAIL TICKET ORDER TO:Scandinavian Heritage Assn.P.O. Box 862 • Minot, ND 58702

OR:Stop by the SHA Office to pick up your ticket(s).

Don’t miss out on thischance to meet and greetyour fellow SHA members!

KOM SPIS • KOMA BORDA • COME ÄTA • TULLA SYÖMÄÄN • KOMMER SPISE

BANQUET SCHEDULE• 5:30 p.m. — Social hour • 5:30 p.m. — Silent Auction • 6:30 p.m. —Dinner(Vegetarian dinner on request)

• Entertainment • Guest speaker

2015 SHA Banquet

• RSVP DATE FOR BANQUET: MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015 •Call 701-852-9161 to request reserved seating for a table of 8.

Easter begins with Palm Sunday andin many countries, it is a commontradition to lay palm fronds at theimage of Christ. As you may expect,Sweden doesn’t have palm trees, sothe practice was modified a little bit,replacing palm fronds with other treebranches, typically willow. Brancheswith buds on them are usually chosenand brought inside so that they sproutleaves in time for the holiday. It hasevolved to be much like our Christmastrees, and many households decoratetheir willow branches with feathersand plastic eggs.

While Swedes share some of ourown Easter traditions, there are a few

other fun ways they celebrate. For in-stance, children dress up as Easterwitches (friendlier looking than thewitches we’re used to), and go door todoor asking for treats. They also don’thave an Easter Bunny, but they dohave their “påskägget” (Easter egg), apaper egg with pictures of chickens onit and candy inside.

Swedish Easter Funby Roxi Mathis

Page 4 • March 2015 • SCANDINAVIAN HERITAGE NEWS

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Norway• A peculiar national pastime during

Easter is the reading of crime novels.Publishers churn out books known as"Easter-rillers" or Påskekrimmen, andNowegian readers spend the long holi-day trying to solve the mysteries.

• Besides dining on roasted lamb onEaster Sunday, Norwegians stuff them-selves with oranges, eating three timesas many on Easter as they do the rest ofthe year.

Denmark• Many homes and shops are decorated

for Easter in green and yellow, especiallywith branches and daffodils.

• e main symbol of Easter is theegg—real, imitation or chocolate. Otherdecorations include small artificial hensand chickens and gradually the Easterhare, formerly exclusively common inthe areas by the German border.

Easter in Scandinavia is a blend ofcustoms and cuisines. Each country hasits own unique traditions with which itwelcomes the holiday. Here are some of themore interesting ways they celebrate Easterin the Nordic countries.

Sweden• In olden times, people were forbidden to

touch a needle or scissors so they wouldn’tviolate the memory of Christ’s suffering.

• An old tradition that continues is thepåskris, birch twigs that are brought in-doors and decorated with feathers.

• Lamb is the main course for Easter Sun-day. e custom of eating lamb comes fromthe Bible story of the Passover, which gavebirth to the tradition of eating paschallamb.

• On Maundy ursday, little girls dressedas witches go door to door begging fortreats. is custom is called påskkärringar(Easter witches). According to an old super-stition, this was the day witches consortedwith the devil.

Easter traditions of Scandinavia• A unique tradition in Denmark in-

volves sending teaser letters with elabo-rate designs cut out with scissors andcontaining a verse. e letter is anony-mous; the idea is for the recipient toguess who sent the letter.

Finland• Some Finnish families sow grass in

small pots before Easter, and put eggs inthem when the grass has grown. eyadd little yellow chicks and Easter eggsto decorate their grass “gardens.”

• e traditional Easter food in Finlandis lamb. A special treat called mämmi (akind of malt pudding) is bought or pre-pared, and served with cream and sugar.

• An old spring custom involves cuttingand decorating pussy willows.

Iceland• It’s traditional to give store-bought

chocolate Easter eggs filled with varioussweets and strips of paper with sayings(similar to fortune cookies).

• roughout the 18th and 19th cen-tury, when good, fresh food was scarce,porridge made from barley or rice wasserved on Easter Sunday.

John Sinn resigned from theboard effective 2015 and was pre-sented the designation of DirectorEmeritus in November of 2014.John has tirelessly given muchtime and dedication to this parkand his shoes will be big ones tofill. He states he will plant flowersand oversee the pond project inthe spring but cannot devote asmuch time anymore as he hasdone in the past. What a greatsupporter he has been to this parkand the City of Minot.

A Valued Volunteer Retireswith Honors

became an avid genealogist, researchingher own family history, volunteering atthe LDS Library in Bismarck, taking aEuropean vacation with her brotherDavid Luyben to meet her newfoundDutch and Norwegian relatives, andfinally, writing an award-winning how-to guide entitled Tracing Your DakotaRoots: A Guide to Genealogical Researchin the Dakotas with co-author CathyLangemo and design assistance from herbrother, David.

Aer her retirement from REC, JoAnn never slowed down. For years, JoAnn was very active in the NorskHøstfest organization, where she was thepublicist. Other projects were editingnewsletters for the Sons of Norway andthe Scandinavian Heritage Associationof Minot, where she was a member ofthe Board of Directors. She was alsopublicist for the Vital Friends of theRiverdale Ambulance Service. Until herillness sapped her energy at the very end,she continued to edit the internationallyrenowned Scandinavian Press magazine.Jo Ann was historian of the NorthDakota Professional Communicatorsorganization and won many state andnational awards for her writing,including North Dakota Press Woman ofthe Year. Yet unpublished is her latestwork, e Mahogany Table: A FamilyHistory, a novel based on historicalevents that occurred during theHolocaust in the Netherlands.

Jo Ann leaves behind her husband,Nick, Pick City; her children, Wendy(Dale) Sanderson, Bismarck; Nicholas“Scott” (Raquel), Bismarck; and Shane(Jodi), Phoenix, Arizona; her brother,David Luyben, Everett, Washington; hergrandchildren, Chris, Jesse, Brynn, Eric,Nicholas, Katy, and Jessica; her great-grandchildren, Kelseye, Ta’teanna,Breein, Brekka, and Peyton, and herangel cat, Panda. Jo Ann was precededin death by her parents; brother, RobertLuyben; and a second angel cat, Pudgy.

•

SCANDINAVIAN HERITAGE NEWS • March 2015 • Page 5

Dear Reader,As publisher of Scandinavian

Heritage News, it is my very difficultduty to notify you of the passing of JoAnn Winistorfer, our wonderful editorfor the past many years. She had earnedmany credits and awards in her lifetimethat singled her out as a very specialperson. Unfortunately, Jo Ann wasstricken with pancreatic cancer, one ofthe least curable cancers. She fought acheerful, courageous battle for aboutthree months before traveling home to bewith her Lord in Heaven. As you mayremember, she always signed off hercolumns with “A fellow traveler…”

I want to thank you readers for yournotes of encouragement and praise forher work. These comments meant sovery much to Jo Ann.

She will definitely be missed andfondly remembered. I know the SHANews staff, who dearly loved her andadmired her talents, will work tocontinue Jo Ann’s legacy of promotingScandinavian Heritage Association. Itwas always her desire that the SHAPark and other heritage-preservingobservances would continue and furthergrow for the enjoyment of many futuregenerations.

She, as all of our SHA members do,shared our motto:

“A Remembrance of the Past, ALegacy for the Future.”

— Al Larson, Publisher

JO ANN WINISTORFER1939 – 2 015

Jo Ann (Luyben) Winistorfer, 76, ofPick City, North Dakota, went to be withher Lord on February 4, 2015, in herhome aer a courageous battle withpancreatic cancer. Family and friendsshared memories of Jo Ann at 10:00 a.m.on Monday, February 9, at BismarckFuneral Home. A memorial servicefollowed in the funeral home chapel at11:00 a.m. Interment of Jo Ann’s asheswill take place at a later date.

Jo Ann was born January 4, 1939, inBismarck, North Dakota. At the time ofher birth, her parents, Virgil and Alvina(Temanson) Luyben, resided in Stanton,North Dakota. e family moved toBeulah, and finally to Bismarck, where,as a pre-teen, Jo Ann began her career injournalism by publishing her ownneighborhood newspaper.

Aer graduating from DakotaLutheran Academy in Minot, NorthDakota, JoAnn returned to Bismarck,where she continued using her artistictalents in various jobs. She became theartist for KXMB-Channel 12, followedby Quality Printing and several otheradvertising and print-related businesses.She then took the position of staff artistfor the North Dakota Rural ElectricCooperatives magazine, where sheworked for 29 years, eventuallyadvancing to managing editor. She alsotaught commercial art in the BismarckPublic Schools vocational/technicalcenter for two years.

During this time, she met the love ofher life, Nick Winistorfer, who told heron the night they met that he was goingto marry her. He fulfilled that promiseon August 20, 1960. To this union wereborn three children: Wendy, Nicholas“Scott”, and Shane. True to the teachingspirit of her mother before her, Jo Anntaught her children how to read at theripe old ages of three and four, taughtherself to play the guitar, and fostered inher kids and grandkids a deep love forpoetry and music.

In 1992, Jo Ann and Nick moved to afarm outside of Pick City, North Dakota,but she continued to spend her weekdaysworking in the Bismarck area. She

Page 6 • March 2015 • SCANDINAVIAN HERITAGE NEWS

Names, dates, and places written ona pedigree chart or family groupsheet are the framework of a person’slife.

Once the framework is constructed,you can “flesh out” the person withdetails of his or her life, embellish itwith historical events that took placeduring their lifetimes, add humaninterest with family stories about theperson. This will put meat on the bonesof your ancestors.

“Close your eyes and try to thinkabout your ancestors’ lives,” writesPatricia Law Hatcher in “Turning PaperInto People” (ex cerpted from “Produc-ing a Quality Family History”).

To bring the details into sharp focus,Hatcher suggests you use your “mind-camera” to picture your ancestorstanding in his or her own kitchen—zooming in on the clothing, the uten-sils, the setting, the person’s activities.

If you’re getting a fuzzy picture,research can help to get a sharperfocus.

Hatcher recommends you place yourancestors in the following contexts:

• Times and life style— homes orfarms they lived in, transportation,clothing, foods they ate, neighbor hood,town, school, diseases, treatment.•Work— farmer, blue collar work-

er, professional; implements used;duties performed.• Environment— geography or

topography of land, soil type, trees,birds, and wildlife, weather conditionsand climate, major environmentalevents, such as blizzards or prairiefires. •Military duties— branch of serv-

ice, uniform worn, weapons used,campaigns, battles. • Religion— denomination, parish,

name of minister, religious beliefs andcustoms, ceremonies.

• Family— size, spacing betweenchildren, age at marriage, child mortal-ity, first or second marriage, storybehind names.•History and politics— history

and politics that affected your ancestorand his family significantly or distant-ly; political affiliation. • Community— settled community

or frontier? Nearest town?• Ethnic group— how did ethnic

background affect your ancestor’s life? • Society— social structure: view of

children, courtship customs; whetherslave/slave owner or indentured ser-vant.• Law— what happened when

someone died without a will? Whoinherited the land/property? Did wid-ow have dower rights? What wasrequired to get a divorce? Could yourancestor vote?• Records— documents he/she is

listed in: contracts, papers, registra-tions, directories, etc. Did ancestor’schurch keep records? Is he/ she listedin a city or business directory?

Think, think, think!•

Adding meatto your ancestral stew

By Jo Ann Winistorfer

Here are some tips to help you cookup a good story even though youmight not consider yourself a writer:

• Keep a personal journal or note-book to get in the habit of writing. Prac-tice, practice, practice. Jot down ideas,observations, reflections, memories.

• Use description to bring your set-tings and characters to life. Accordingto the book “Writing A to Z,” “descrip-tion . . . is the art of showing the readerhow a person, place or thing looks,tastes, feels, sounds, smells, or acts. . . .it is bringing something to life by care-fully choosing and arranging wordsand phrases to produce the desiredeffect.”

•Use your common sense—and yourfive senses—when you write. Describesights (Aunt Emma’s bridal gown), tastes(Grandma’s tangy spaghetti sauce),sounds (meadowlark’s trill), smells ( lilacsin spring), and touch (Grandpa’s whiskerrubs).

• Use dialogue. Let your readers“hear” your characters speak. Addquotes to your book.

•Write concisely. Long pages ofdescription with little or no dialogueturn readers off.

• Avoid $10 words when a nickelword will do. As the saying goes,“Write to express, not to impress.”

• Employ clear writing, with propergrammar, punctuation, and spelling.

•Give your readers short, entertain-ing accounts spiced with plenty ofanecdotes to make the story morepalatable. Study the styles of other writ-ers to learn how they handle anecdotes.Especially check out Readers Dig est,which specializes in short stories with acatchy lead, entertaining body, and satis-fying closing. •

What if you’re not a good ‘cook’?

SCANDINAVIAN HERITAGE NEWS • March 2015 • Page 7

Bradley Thomas • Bryan Thomas

We are proud of ourSwedish Heritage

via theQuist and Chelgren (Johnson)

lineages.

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for Reservations,call 701-837-1010

Walk-Ins Welcome

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Upper Left: One year appointees, Adelaide Johnson, Marilyn Wagner, CurtMedalen and Bob Brugaug

Upper Right: Some elected board members, Everett Olson, Myron Anderson, EvaGoodman and Doris Slaaten

Below: Al Larson congratulating Marion Anderson on her re-election as Secretary.

Scandinavian Heritage Associationre-elects officers

Page 8 • March 2015 • SCANDINAVIAN HERITAGE NEWS

'Apaurak'In Alaska

by Pastor Arland Fiske

IIread her obituary with specialinterest: ‘Alaska missionary dies atage 90.’ It referred to Dagny BrevigNimmo who died Jan. 19, 1987, inMaine. My mind flashed back to myfreshman year at Concordia Collegein Moorhead, Minnesota, 43 yearsearlier.

Above the Arctic CircleConcordia’s Professor J. Walter

Johnshoy had just written a bookentitled “Apaurak In Alaska: SocialPioneering Among the Eskimos.” Itdescribes the work of Rev. TollefBrevig (1857-1935) among theEskimos above the Arctic Circle inthe areas of Teller, Igloo andShishmareff from 1894 to 1917. Ibought the book because of my highregard for the author who was myacademic advisor in a philosophymajor as well as my Hebrewinstructor. I’ve had manyoutstanding teachers, but few haveinspired me to study as much asJohnshoy. I felt a deep loss when hedied suddenly at the beginning ofmy senior year in 1947.

Named “Father of All”Who or what was “Apaurak?” It’s

an Eskimo name for “Father of All”

and was given to Brevig bythe Eskimos in a specialceremony. He was the onlypioneer white missionary andsocial worker in Alaska whowas adopted into an Eskimotribe. Born in Sigdal, Norway,Brevig emigrated to Americaat age 10 with his parents.After graduating from LutherCollege in Decorah, Iowa, hetaught school for 11 years inMinnesota. Then he enrolledat Luther TheologicalSeminary in St. Paul,graduating in 1891. DuringMarch, 1894, while serving asa pastor in Crookston,Minnesota, Brevig received aletter from Rev. Herman A.Preus, president of theNorwegian Lutheran Synod,asking him to consider goingto Alaska.

Raising reindeer would helpThe United States government

wanted to help the Eskimos getstarted in raising reindeer.Siberians had been employed fortwo years but they were cruel toboth Eskimos and reindeer. Thegovernment wanted to importLapps (Sami) from Norway, knownto be the finest reindeer herdsmenin the world, to come to Alaska.The Lapps, however, agreed tocome only if a Norwegian Lutheranpastor lived among them to

minister the Gospel. Brevig arrivedin Alaska, Aug. 1, 1894, accompaniedby his wife, Julia. He didn’t knowthat he’d also be the manager of thereindeer herds and Teller’s firstpostmaster.

His word was always goodBrevig was the first school teacher

in the area. He found that theEskimo children were quick to graspconcrete concepts but they haddifficulty with abstract reasoning.Because they counted on their toes

Rev. Tollef Larson Brevig and his wife Julia M. (Johnson)are shown with one of their six children: Carl, Leonora, AlfOttis, Dagny Alaska, Thelma Marie and Borghild Constance.

View of Teller, Alaska about 1900.

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SCANDINAVIAN HERITAGE NEWS • March 2015 • Page 9

Author ArlandO. FiskeEditor’s note:This column ispart of a series

by pastor ArlandFiske, of Minneapo-

lis, Minnesota, retired from EvangelicalLutheran Church ministry. Fiske haswritten nine books on Scandinavian her-itage. The chapter reprinted here is from“The Scandinavian Spirit.”

and fingers, numbers over 20 gavethem trouble. Brevig quickly learnedthe Eskimo ways and the people felta strong sense of trust towards himbecause his word was always good.

The fur traders and whalers triedto keep missionaries away. Knowingthat the missionaries would protectthe Eskimos from exploitation, theysaid, “Next spring men will comewith a book which they say cannotlie and which is given by God. Thesemen who bring the book are liarsand the book itself is full of lies.” Itdidn’t take the Eskimos long tofigure out who the real liars were.

Better times for EskimosSome of the early encounters of

the Eskimos with foreigners hadbeen a disaster. Many of the Russiangovernment officials were extremelycruel. The U.S. purchase of Alaska in1867 eventually brought better times.The Eskimos were, for the most part,a trusting people with a strong senseof justice. Their religion, however,was centered in spirit worship,controlled by the “shamans” (witchdoctors). Their living conditionswere anything but sanitary, withpoorly ventilated homes and liceeverywhere. Bathing was not one oftheir virtues. They thought waterwas only for boats and had noappreciation for soap.

Christmas trees 70 miles away Christmas became a high point

among Eskimos in Teller afterBrevig’s arrival. They journeyed 70miles into the interior to fetch thefirst Christmas trees. The annualReindeer Fair brought peopletogether for competition. The U.S.Commissioners and Marshalls werebusy protecting the herds frompoachers.

Yearly news from homeIn the early days, ships with

supplies and mail were scarce.Sometimes it took a whole year toget news from home. ProfessorJohnshoy, as a little boy in hisfather’s parsonage, had known

Brevig. When Brevig died, hisjournals were given to Johnshoy forediting and publishing. A highlyqualified linguist and a master ofstyle, he put together an excitingstory. It tells of Brevig’s experiencesduring the “Gold Rush” days(described in Rex Beach’s books), ofintense cold, treacherous travelacross the snow and ice, disease anddeath, struggles with those whowanted the missionaries out,competition from some latermissionaries and the satisfaction ofseeing the Christian faith as well asbetter living conditions take root inan aboriginal people

Promoting mission’s work Brevig’s wife and two children

died in Alaska. He returned tomainland USA several times topromote the mission’s work. At age

56, he returned again to take overthe work when no one else wouldgo. Later missionaries includedBertha Stedje of Hettinger, NorthDakota, who went out in 1945, andPastor Albert Tastad of Rolette,North Dakota, from 1953 to 1956.Dagny “Alaska” Brevig, to whomthe book is dedicated, worked withher father as a school teacher andhelped with the mission orphanageuntil 1917. With her recent death, thelast of the original missionaries tothat far corner of America has cometo an end.

Great work is usually done by afew dedicated people, not the masses.Brevig and his family dared to bethose kind of people. He well earnedtheir title, “Apaurak, Father of All”.

Above: Reindeer herd, like those the Norwegian Sami people tended in Teller during Brevig’s time.Below: First family of Sami from Tromso, Norway, in Teller, Alaska.

Undesignated donation• Daniel & Jerlyn Langemo

Park Grounds memorial• Larry Erickson-Given by Jeanne McNea

Heritage House memorials• Delores Morken-Given by John Sinn

• Diane Heupel-Given by John Sinn

• JoAnn Winistorfer-Given by John Sinn

Stave Church memorial:• Donald Anderson -Given by George and Jeanice Officer

Finnish Society memorial• Duane Jussero-Given by Myron & Marion Anderson

• Ernest Maki-Given by Myron & Marion Anderson

Swedish Society memorial• JoAnn Winistorfer-Given by Lois Matson

Page 10 • March 2015 • SCANDINAVIAN HERITAGE NEWS

When a friend or loved one hasjust passed away, it’s often astruggle to come up with a fitting trib-ute to that person’s memory.

Making a gift donation in that per-son’s honor to the Scandinavian Her-itage Association is one way toacknowledge how much the deceasedmeant to you. It’s also a way to keepthe heritage of our immigrant ances-tors alive and well through our beau-tiful park in Minot’s heart.

There are many ways to give a me-morial to Scandinavian Heritage Parkin a loved one’s memory. For example,you can choose to support a specificproject, such as our Heritage Housemuseum. Or, you can choose an ethnicgroup’s project within the park (suchas the Danish windmill, Swedish Dalahorse, Gol Stave Church, etc.). Or,consider a memorial brick in the pathleading to the Heritage House. Youcan also give a donation directly to theassociation to be used where needed.

Contributions of $1,000 or more areackowledged with a plaque on the

Your gift to SHA keepsNordic heritage alive, well

Scandinavian Heritage AssociationWall of Honor. Lesser amounts of $25or more are recognized in the GoldenBook of Memory in the SHA head-quarters building.

It’s a good idea, too, for each of usto sit down with our families to dis-cuss where we would like our ownmemorials to go someday. We shouldwrite down our wishes so that otherfamily members have the informationand can follow through with ourwishes. Remember, too, that placing anotice in an obituary indicating wherememorials are to be sent helps otherswho wish to honor the deceased.

And finally, the ultimate gift is tobecome a benefactor of SHA throughyour estate. It’s a way for you to leavea lasting legacy to your Scandinavianheritage as well as a memorial to youor a family member.

We hope you will consider theScandinavian Heritage Associationwhen you discuss memorial donationsor estate gifting. For information, con-tact the SHA office at (701) 852-9161.

Legacy Tax Creditbenefits giver, charity

Anticipating next year’s taxes, it’snot too early to consider giving agift donation to the Scandinavian Her-itage Association than right now.

Making it more advantageous is alaw passed by the North Dakota Legis-lature to improve the quality of life inour state. Senate Bill 2160 (SB2160) es-tablishes a Legacy Tax Credit that al-lows individuals, businesses, trustsand estates to take advantage of a 40percent state tax credit for contribu-tions of over $5,000 to qualified chari-table endowment funds.

Even better, the unused portion ofthe state tax credit can be carried for-ward for three years.

Depending on your tax bracket,your contribution to the ScandinavianHeritage Association can make aneven greater impact on the communityand cost you less.

The table on page 11 was preparedby the Minot Area Community Foun-dation. It shows the tax benefits forgivers in different tax brackets.

Check with your accountant or taxpreparer for details, or contact theSHA office. •

• • •

In Honor of George Officer’s95th Birthday:Undesignated: • Jeanice Officer• Thomas & Nancy Schuelke

MEMORIALS:Undesignated memorials• JoAnn Winistorfer-Given by Myron & Marion Anderson

• JoAnn Winistorfer-Given by Allen Larson

• Rogene Christianson-Given by Ramona Buettner

2 0 1 4 M EMOR I A L S A N D D O N AT I O N S

� ��� �

SCANDINAVIAN HERITAGE NEWS • March 2015 • Page 11

Page 12 • March, 2007 • SCANDINAVIAN HERITAGE NEWS

Coming soon: Audio tours of SHA Park!Plans to have an audio tour system in place in Scandina v -ian Heritage Park by this summer are progressing nicely.The system will involve the use of around a half dozenMP3 players, each containing recorded descrip-tions of the park’s features.

“Each system will look like a smallWalkman, complete with headphones andneck band,” says Mark Anderson, SHA pres-ident. “There will be five or six available,and people can rent them for a nominalcharge to carry with them on a self-guidedtour.”

A joint project between the ScandinavianHeritage Association and the North DakotaCenter for Persons with Disabilities (NDCPD),the players are designed especially for visuallyimpaired park visitors.

But anyone can use them to enhance their tour experi-ence, according to President Mark, noting,”It’s a positivething on a number of different levels.”

Already, the text for the soundtrack has been written and isin the editing process.

Still to be decided is whether the audio player’srecording will be coordinated with a circle tour of

the park, or whether different stations along theroute would have numbers, enabling the user

to simply push a number to synchronize thetract to describe that particular park high-light—or both!

The next step is to raise funds to offsetthe cost of the pro j ect, which is expected torun between $2,000 and $2,500.

President Mark is busy these days send-ing letters to friends, fraternal organizations

and businesses to see whether they would liketo help sponsor the project. How about you? If you, your business, your orga-

nization or anyone you know would like to give a dona-tion, please call the SHA Office at (701) 852-9161.

Thank you!•

THE SCANDINAVIAN HERITAGE PARK, the only park in the world representing all five Nordic countries, hosts thousands ofvisitors each year from around the world; as well as providing a picturesque setting for weddings and family gatherings.As a member of the Scandinavian Heritage Association, You help support:

SUSTAINING MEMBER$35.00 per year

Will receive the SHA MembershipPackage, which includes:

• Membership Card good for 10% offScandinavian Gift Shop items

Join Us In Preserving the Traditions of Our Proud Heritage

• Interpretative Tours of the Park• The Heritage House Museum• Local School Field Trips• The Annual “Midsommar Natt”• “Arts in the Park”• Seminars on Heritage and Culture• The on-going preservation and pro-

motion of Scandinavian traditions,positive values and ethics

• And much, much more!

Name (please print)____________________________ Phone _______________

Address__________________________________ E-mail___________________

City_____________________________State_______ Zip___________________

I/We wish to support the Scandinavian Heritage Association at the level checked below:� Sustaining Member � Sponsor Member � Benefactor Member � Yes, I/We give permission to print our name in the SHA publications� Please contact us. � I/We would like to become Volunteer(s) at SHA.� Check enclosed $________ � Credit Card: � MasterCard � Visa � Discover � Am. Exp.

Card Number _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Exp. Date_______Name on Card(please print) __________________________ Signature____________________________

Please mail to Scandinavian Heritage Assn., P.O. Box 862, Minot, ND 58702. Thank You!

M E M B E R S H I P A P P L I C A T I O N

• Membership Pin (initial membership)

• The Scandinavian Heritage News, offi-cial newsletter of the Association

• Invitation to Annual Banquet and otherSHA events

• Annual SHA Gift Packet

• Logo window Sticker

SPONSOR MEMBER$100.00 - $499.00 per year

Receives the SHA Membership Package,plus:

• Recognition in Newsletter (one issue)

• One (1) Complimentary Ticket to theAnnual Banquet

BENEFACTOR MEMBER$500.00 and above per year

Receives the SHA Membership Package,plus:

• Recognition in Newsletter (one issue)

• Two (2) Complimentary Tickets to theAnnual Banquet

M E M B E R S H I P C A T E G O R I E S

Page 12 • March 2015 • SCANDINAVIAN HERITAGE NEWS

SCANDINAVIAN SOCIETY NEWS•••Thor Lodge Sons of Norway NEWS

Everyone is invitedto come out and joinus for our parade atthe Heritage Park inthe afternoon. Thatevening we willhave a banquet cele-brating this special day for Norwegianpeople. We are starting to celebrate thenext hundred years of the signing ofthe Norwegian Constitution as lastyear was the 100th anniversary.

We have elected new officers for thenext two years for the lodge. I waselected President and I’m trying to getmy feet under me as they say. I havelots of new things to do includingwriting this article. We will be doingsome new and different things thiscoming term to try to make it a littlemore exciting and hopefully fun foreveryone. If you would like more in-formation about the Sons of Norwayor would like to join our lodge wewould be happy to talk with youand/or to have you join our lodgefamily. •

by Julianne Bonner, presidentThor Lodge 4-067 Sons of Norway

As I’m writing this the wind isblowing and snow is flyingaround. If you’re like me you are wait-ing for spring to arrive. Maybe in an-other month it will be here but howcan we wait so long for it to arrive.One way to do it is to keep busy withactivities that we enjoy. Sons of Nor-way is busy as usual and we inviteyou to join us for our activities. InMarch we have two events coming up.One is our Potet Klubb on March 16 at6:30 PM at the First Lutheran ChurchParish Hall. Everyone is invited tocome and partake of the deliciousklubb that our cooks have made forus. Also in March is our spring bazaaron March 28 at the lodge home at theHeritage Park. We will have bakedgoods for sale, plus books, and aGrandma’s Attic. Before you leave youcan have lunch with pie and coffee tofinish off your meal. Our next bigevent is Syttende Mai on May 17.

JJooiinn iinn tthhee FFuunn!! LLoottss ooff UUppccoommiinngg AAccttiivviittiieess PPllaannnneedd ffoorr tthhee SSoonnss

WE THANK OUR SHA PARK GREETERS . . .for providing park tours all season, including during

Norsk Høstfest. Thanks for welcoming visitors, showing them around the park and makingthem feel at home!

Velva / Minot852-0406

1-800-472-2141www.verendrye.com

Quality Service at Affordable

Rates

Interesting Things You Might Not KnowAbout NorwayThe name “Norway” means “path tothe North”.

There are asmany Norwe-gian descen-dants living in the US asthere are Norwegians living inNorway, especially the states ofNorth Dakota, Minnesota and Wis-consin.

Even though Norway is one of thebiggest exporters of oil in the world,it currently sits at the top ofBloomberg’s list for most expensivegas in the World, at $9.26/gallon asof this writing.

On a related note, owning an elec-tric car in Norway grants you freepublic parking, free ferry trips, andthe right to drive in bus lanes.

Norway has over 12,000 km ofcoastline.

Swedish Heritage Society-NWND NEWS

Growing Up in Sweden 1943-1961

In 1943, with World War" raging inmost of Europe, Sweden remainedneutral. Sweden prepared for war bystationing soldiers at various loca-tions throughout the country. In thecounty of Varmland , a battalion ofsoldiers was stationed at a farm calledAgviken, about 6 miles from the townof Filipstad which was owned by myparents Alfred and Elin Jansson. In1943 the army Doctor offered to be theattending physician at my birth, Momdeclined his medical offer but did ac-cept a military Jeep ride to the hospi-tal in Filipstad where a midwifehelped Mom with my birth. The sol-diers took up a collection for a babygift. When Mom brought me homefrom the hospital she was given a sil-ver spoon with my name engraved onit and 450 kronor for my future.I grew up on a 45 hectar (113acres)

on the far side of the lake from town.In warm weather going to town in-cluded rowing the boat across the lakeand walking to the highway to catchthe bus. When the lake was frozen wecrossed the lake on a kicksled. Thekicksled had 2 metal runners about 6feet long and a small seat with han-dlebars to guide it. A person couldhang onto the seat or a schoolbag andsack of groceries could be tied on tothe handlebars. Dad made a small v-plow out of wood which he tied ontohimself and pulled this plow to keep afootpath open to. and from the lake.

Life on the farm was simple. Noelectricity and no indoor plumbing.There was a story about a wolf carry-ing off a small girl which scared me. Iwould wake up Mom to keep an eyeon me as I went to the outhouse andback. Of the 45 hectares of land Morethan half was forested. Hay meadowsand potato fields were cleared andplanted to help feed the animals andmy family. We had chickens, 2 cowsand 2 pigs. When Dad needed a horseto pull a cart or mow the hay he wouldborrow a horse from the neighbor.When butchering time came severalneighbors would come and help. Dadwould go to help them do the same.We always had a large vegetable

garden and the potato fields for food.Also in the forest and in cultivatedpatches we had a variety of berriesother plants that Mom canned, jellied,dried and made wine with. We hadraspberries, gooseberries, currents,strawberries, lingon berries, rhubarb,blueberries, cloud berries and cantrellmushrooms. Nothing went to waste.Our radio was powered by a

rechargeable battery that lasted sev-eral weeks. Regular new and Sundaychurch services were the main thingwe heard on the radio. When the bat-tery ran out of power Dad wouldhave to take it to town and get itrecharged.Summer recreation was swimming,

sunbathing, and fishing. There werenorthern pike, perch and many otherkinds of fish. In August we wouldcatch a big batch of crawdads and

have a crawdadfeed with theneighbors.There were

many holidaytraditions grow-ing up in Swe-den. For Easterwe dressed up inbrown -like witches,write Easter cards, go to the neighborsand throw the cards in the door whiletrying to not get caught and run away.In June we celebrated Midsummer bydancing around the pole and singingtraditional songs. Christmas eve waswhen the tree was put up and deco-rated. We even used real lighted can-dles as part of the decoration. ForChristmas eve we would have a partyand dance around the tree singingalong with the music on the radio.The traditional Christmas eve mealwas lutfisk with potatos and whitesauce. For desert Mom would makerice pudding and hide an almond inone serving. Whoever found the al-mond was said to be married in ayear. The Christmas tree was kept upfor 20 days and then we had a partyat each of the neighbors houses wherewe danced around the tree followedby a tug of war as the tree went outthe door. For the New Year we meltedlead in a fire and poured it in coldwater to see what wonderful shapesit would make.By the time I was 18 years old I de-

cided to go to the United States andsee my brother and sister who werealready in the states. That 450 kronorfrom the soldiers bought my boatticket.I saw many new things in the

United States in 1961 including myfirst television. •

as told by Vicky Jones to Tilman Jones

SCANDINAVIAN HERITAGE NEWS • March 2015 • Page 13

Page 14 • March 2015 • SCANDINAVIAN HERITAGE NEWS

Dakota Finnish Society NEWS

A Successful LittleChristmas with plenty of Giving

by Marion Anderson, presidentDakota Finnish Society

The Finnish Society had theirPikkujoulu (Little Christmas) cel-ebration on December 14, 2014. Wehad another wintry day with icyroads, but we still had about 55 peo-ple there. They came from Velva,Stanley, Ray, Rolla, Belcourt, Wash-burn, Berthold, Mohall, Bismarck,Wing, Minot and Minot Air Force

Submitted by Pamela Orth

Isubscribe to a site called “Eastman’sOnline Genealogy Newsletter” withDick Eastman having over 30 years ofgenealogy experience. He also offersmany other interesting posts for anyonesuch as “How to Find Anything onyour Hard Drive within Seconds.”When the article about Vikings proba-bly being misunderstood and leaningmore toward the “family man” ideawas featured, I was interested. Mr. East-man says he is not sure if he believesthis but research compared 1,000-year-old mitochondrial DNA of Viking skele-

Souris Valley Danish Society NEWS

tons to that of mod-ern day people liv-ing in Norway,Iceland, Britain andother places in north-west Europe and built a picture of howNorse lineage spread throughout colo-nized areas. This newsy item aboutthe Vikings being misunderstood andmaybe only pillaged a little was in-triguing. The latest news may be thatthey brought their wives and evenchildren with them on the long boats.These guys constructed the mailchain

Misunderstood Vikings

Longboats then...

Longships NowOf course, no comparison, couldn’t resist afterreceiving adverstisement for Viking River Cruise

to make shirts using the 4-to-1 methodwhere each ring is linked with 4 others(could these guys be all bad?) May wededuce that the Vikings may not havebeen as brutal as the legends say.

The Vikings were feared warriorsand according to Carol Menges wouldannounce their coming with emblemsof war on their longboats which wouldmake it easier to take over whateverthey wanted in the coastal areas andthe inhabitants would run for anysafety they could find. She states thateventually they assimilated into thecultures they took over. In betweentimes of ravaging other Norsemenwould come to trade and were notdecked out for war and so they wereable to do business with them. Carol

Menges goes on to say that ourViking ancestors married intothe local population. A greatmany did and were not againstthat. She says some didn’t havewives until they moved awayfrom their birth areas and tookover another place. This waythey became a part of the newcultures they conquered. TheseVikings included Danes. •

Base. Enter-tainment wasprovided byJohn Halone,Dave Salinas,Carl Kannia-nen and Orlin

Larson. Many door prizes weregiven out and most were provided byPhyllis Gordon. There were no schol-arship applicants this year. Dona-tions of $250.00 each were given toSalvation Army, Wounded WarriorProject, Homeless Coalition (throughSt Joseph’s Hospital Foundation) andthe Great Plains Food Bank.

The next Finnish event is St. Urho’sDay on March 16, 2015. Rolla usuallyhas a celebration on that date. •

There is an old Finnish saying: “If booze, tar, or

the sauna won’t help, the illness is fatal.”

��

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SCANDINAVIAN HERITAGE NEWS • March 2015 • Page 15

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Ode to Saint Urhoby Gene McCavic and Richard Mattson

Virginia, MinnesotaOoksi kooksi coolama vee

Santia Urho is ta poy for me! He sase out ta hoppers as pig as pirds. Neffer peefor haff I hurd tose words!

He reely tolt tose pugs of kreenBraffest Finn I effer seen

Some celebrate for St. Pat unt hiss nakesPutt Urho poyka kot what it takes.

He kot tall and trong from feelia sourUnt ate kala moyakka effery hour.

Tat's why tat kuy could sase toes peetlesWhat krew as thick as chack bine neetles.

So let's give a cheer in hower pest vay On Sixteenth of March, St. Urho's Tay.

by Roxi Mathis

Every March 16th, Finns across Fin-land and the U.S. celebrate St.Urho’s day, a day to recognize theman who, according to legend, drovethe grasshoppers out of Finland, muchlike St. Patrick and his snakes. Thelegend began in Virginia, MN in 1956,a story told by Richard Mattson. Later,Dr. Sulo Havumäki of Bemidgi, MN,changed the original pest of frogs tograsshoppers in an origin story whichmade St. Urho the patron saint ofvineyard workers. This is why he isoften portrayed with grapes. The storygoes that ancient Finland’s grapevineyards were threatened by aplague of grasshoppers and St. Urhorid the country of them with onlythese words: "Heinäsirkka, heinäsirkka,mene täältä hiiteen," which translatesroughly to “Grasshopper, grasshop-per, go to Hell!”

The holiday is celebrated in manycommunities with feasting and a vari-ety of other activities, from paradesand talent shows to pancake suppersand athletic games. The traditional col-ors are royal purple and nile green.

Celebrations are held all over Min-nesota, as well as some locations inMontana, Oregon, even Ontario, aswell as our own, Rolla, ND.

St. Urho’s Day

Photos courtesy of sainturho.com

St. Urho statue in Menahga, MN

St. Urho statue in Finland, MN

Page 16 • March 2015 • SCANDINAVIAN HERITAGE NEWS

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