Meeting Recap

After snowy weather forced us to reschedule our January meeting, it was good to see everyone in February. Members that attended the meeting brought appetizers, and "goodies" to share. The food was great, and we all enjoyed watching the movie Elling.

Esther and Bob Charlton conducted the installation of new officers and we welcomed Karl Flem as the new President of our Lodge.

We were so happy to welcome our Oslo member, Anders Marstrander at the meeting. It was great to have him and Donna Sutphin here; they will be married this June in Oslo. Anders is such a welcome addition to our membership. He's a great guy to answer questions, helping us to learn and appreciate more of our Norwegian heritages! Their wedding plans are exciting to hear about and we all wish Anders and Donna the very best!

Our March meeting featured an Immigrant Trunk Exhibit which was fascinating and educational. On loan from the Vesterheim Museum in Decorah, Iowa, we were all able to learn a bit more about reasons for immigration to America and items that immigrants brought with them to their new homes.

Thanks to Kaleb Flem for assisting in showing the trunk's items. Kaleb is always so willing to jump in and help with anything and everything!

We had a "full house!", and along with the large number of members and guests, we had an overflowing table of appetizers and goodies brought to share. The food was great and the social time we had was wonderful. Special thanks to Diane Person for heading up the kitchen chores - complete with her lefse apron!

In lieu of a raffle, members donated money to help defray the cost of the exhibit usage fee and UPS shipping. Thanks to everyone, Carol Luiso has told me that she collected nearly $100, so the cost to our lodge's budget was about $50. Money well spent, I think!

A big welcome goes out to a new member Donna Kent. It truly is a small world, as I found out that Donna and I attended Folwell Junior High School and Roosevelt High School in South Minneapolis. And, to top that, our family homes were within blocks of each other! I hear that the Kents are great lefse makers. Later this year we will have to draw upon their skills as well as that of our other great cooks. In November we plan to have a smorgasbord and in December, a "Julefest Family Party!"

Sandy Nelson should get the "gold star" for "Bring Your Kids to Lodge!" She not only brought her kids, but her grandchildren! It is always so nice to have the younger ones with us. The Bannicks, Nelsons, and Flems. It was a pleasure!

Our regular April meeting will be held at the home of Susie and Glenn Mikaloff in Springboro. We will be having a pot-luck dinner and then Glenn will hold a White Elephant Auction! Bring your best White Elephant items. It should be a fun night! Mark your calendar for April 16th. More details are on the Lodge web site.

God Paske to all.
Beste Hilsen to you and your families!
Linda Hatle Burge
683.8770

Membership

Sons of Norway now has a family membership category. Now young people 16-23, living at home will have a free membership in Sons of Norway. In the past, they would drop off the member list after they reached age 16.

We welcome back into the lodge Alex Crocker-Lakness, Kathleen Flem, Christina Kosobud, Melanie Petreman and Mark Shoemaker. They will start receiving their own copy of the Viking. Remember, if you have children or grandchildren ages 15 and under, they can be Heritage Members and receive a quarterly newsletter, Viking for Kids.

There will be a focus meeting soon to discuss publicity for our lodge. If you wish to join the group and give us your ideas on publicity and membership, please contact me. The focus group will be an evening during the week, convenient to all those interested in attending.

Thanks for your help in finding new members for our lodge.

Esther Charlton, Membership Chairman

Ashville Viking Festival

The Lost Viking Hoard is hosting the 2nd Ashville Viking Festival on April 30 & May 1. It will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on that weekend, the admission fee requested is a canned good for the Ashville Food Pantry. There will be a variety of entertainment, crafts demonstrations, and a children’s area with crafts and storytellers.

You can check their web site for more details at The Ashville Viking Fest Web Site.

Our lodge will have a space to display cultural items and promote Sons of Norway. If you would be able to help at the lodge area for the festival, please contact Esther for more details, directions and which day would be best for you. Ashville is about 20 miles south of Columbus.

Norway’s Centennial

There will be a dinner on Tuesday, June 7, to celebrate the day 100 years ago, when Norway separated from Sweden.  This will be a time to come together to enjoy fellowship with others who enjoy their Norwegian heritage.  The location is the The White House Inn, 4940 Muhlhauser Rd, just east of Rte. 747.  You may order from the menu, so there’s no need to preorder with your RSVP. If you have questions, contact Esther Charlton.

Norwegian Classes on Hiatus

We have enjoyed our classes, but now must suspend them as our teacher Anne-Lise Sarwar is moving back to the Akron area.  We thank Anne-Lise for all the help she has given us, and her daughter Angela for bringing her to class.  We are looking for a Norwegian who would like to teach our classes.  The classes had been one evening, every three weeks for an hour and a half. 

April Birthdays

Sonja Kinney(1), Katherine Sanders(2), Robert Price, Jr.(13), Jim Shoemaker(16), Gretta Hahn(22), Robert Price Sr.(26), Robert Kyvik(27), Walter Varland(27)

May Birthdays

Roseale Wingler (14), Vicki Petreman (15), Robert Niehaus (15), Dan Beckman (18), Bob Pearson (23), Eric Scheffer (25)

June Birthdays

Lance Larsen (2), Clare Williams (7), John Eriksen (11), Pamela Nelson (13), Susan Price (18), Joyce Kosobud (23), Carol Stone (25), Jim Lee (27)

Genealogy boost?

“Aftenposten's English news service has been getting lots of e-mailed requests lately for help from readers searching for long-lost friends and acquaintances believed to be living in Norway. Here's a way for them to do the searching themselves.

“Our staff doesn't always have time to consult local phone books to answer our readers' requests. We hope this handy external link will do the trick.

"It goes to the major Norwegian telephone catalogue known as Gule Sider or Yellow Pages in English. But, it not only contains commercial listings: Individuals can be found by tapping in the last name and first name in the appropriate boxes."