1. No category

THE VASA STAR
Vasastjärnan
Publication of THE VASA ORDER OF AMERICA
JULY-SEPTEMBER 2011
www.vasaorder.com
Humble Beginnings - Pg. 25
Nordstroms - Pg. 26
The Grand
Master’s Message
Bill Lundquist
Dear Vasa Brothers and Sisters,
This article will reach you as both an ending and a beginning as my first
year as Grand Master ends and another begins. I would like to personally
thank all Vasa members of the Districts in the US, Sweden and Canada for
your support of the various fundraising initiatives this year.
Thank you to every District in the US and Canada who accepted the
challenge of donating up to 5% of your unused allocation in the Old Age
and Benefit Fund to the important work of the Vasa National Archives in
Bishop Hill, Illinois. 100% of the Districts that have met since my election have made this donation. I am honored that you have placed your
trust in me and the current executive board through your generosity. I’m
asking you to continue your commitment annually to this arm of our Order.
The storage, display and genealogical work done at the Archives continue to
need this support. We welcome our new Archivist, Viktoria Kofoid. She is a
Swedish born lady and a great addition to the Archives. Lars Jenner recently
started a new chapter in his life in the Chicago area. He continues to assist
the new Archivist and serve the Order as a District Officer.
The Heritage Fundraiser in support of the National Archives is underway. Please remember that with over 13,000 members a $10.00 gift per
member to this fundraiser would provide for operational expenses for 2
years! Thank you to those who supported this year’s Education Stamp
Fundraiser. Approximately $15,000.00 was collected for the important project of restoration of the Education Fund but we could and should do better.
If you haven’t sent in your support for the stamps you’ve received it’s not
too late. Donations will be welcomed anytime or should you need more
stamps for the holiday season please contact Joan Graham, GLS or me. The
“Julgrans” Fundraiser will be out in plenty of time for your holiday commitment.
I continue to hear from past scholarship recipients about their careers
and successful contributions to society as well as their thankfulness to those
in the Vasa Order who have helped them financially to achieve their goals. I
recently read the motivating life philosophy which contained the following
couple of sentences: “It is in life what you give of yourself to others; in
serving with love and understanding that brings joy to your heart. It is what
we make of our lives, and how we use our God-given talents, that others
may benefit in having known you.” A scholarship named in honor of your
District will serve as a legacy for your members, bring additional “joy” to
your District and make a Scandinavian student “benefit” by knowing the
Vasa Order of America.
I hope that all who have held offices in Local and District Lodges have
enjoyed a very successful year. I ask that those who have chosen not to continue in leadership roles will continue to use your experience in assisting
your lodge and that you will support and assist new officers.
I have had the privilege of attending District conventions of all but one
District (due to two conventions scheduled on the same weekend) to witness
the initiation of many excited newly elected District Officers.
I congratulate all new officers and wish you success in the year ahead. I
challenge all Districts to work hard keeping Scandinavian traditions and culture alive for future generations.
The first meeting of the Grand Lodge Executive Board will be taking
place in September in Portland. Please contact your regional board member
with concerns you would like the Board to review as soon as possible. In
this time of war, I ask that you pray daily for safety for our troops in harm’s
way, for those in Norway who mourn the lives lost and try to understand the
tragic and senseless act of violence and for our Order.
In Truth and Unity,
Bill Lundquist, Grand Master
Kära Vasa Bröder och Systrar,
Den här artikeln kommer i samband med att mitt första år som
Stormästare börjar och ett nytt år står framför oss. Jag vill personligen tacka
alla Vasas distriktsmedemmar i USA, Sverige och Kanada för ert stöd i
diverse insamlingskampanjer under året.
Ett stort tack också till var och ett av de distrikt i USA samt Kanada som
antog utmaningen att skänka upp till 5% av sina oanvände resurser inom
Äldre Fonden och som används till att gynna det viktiga arbetet på Vasa
Arkivet i Bishop Hill, Illinois. Av de distrikt jag träffat, sedan jag blev
vald, har 100% gett sitt fulla stöd. Jag känner mig hedrad över att ni har
gett mig ert förtroende och det nuvarande exekutiva rådet genom er
generositet. Jag ber er fortsätta det årliga stöd tillägnad denna del av vår
Orden. Förvaring, utställningar och släktforskningsarbetet som görs på
Arkivet, kommer att i fortsättningen också behöva ert stöd. Vi välkomnar
vår nya Arkivist, Viktoria Kofoid. Hon är svenskfödd och en fantastisk
tillgång för Arkivet. Lars Jenner började nyligen ett nytt kapitel i sitt liv
nära Chicago. Han kommer att fortsätta assistera vår nya arkivist och Orden
som distrikt.
Arvsfonds Insamlings Kampanjen (Heritage Fundraiser) som är till för
att stödja Arkivet är påbörjad. Var snäll och kom ihåg att med över 13,000
medlemmar skulle en summa på 65.00 Kr per medlem ge tillräckligt stöd
för att kunna fortskrida under ytterligare två år! Tack till Er som stödde
årets insamling genom att köpa frimärken. Ca 96 000.00 Kr ($15,000.00)
samlades in för detta viktiga projekt som är till för att återigen bygga upp
Utbildningsfonden, men som vi kan försöka göra ändå bättre. Om du ännu
inte skickat in ditt stöd, är det inte för sent. Era bidrag tas med glädje emot
när som helst ni behöver mer frimärken. Om ni vill beställa mer frimärken
inför julsäsongen, kontakta Joan Graham, GS, eller mig.
Julgransinsamlingen kommer ut i god tid innan era helgåtaganden.
Jag fortsätter höra ifrån f d stipendiater som berättar om sina karriärer
och bidrag till samhället samtidigt som de är mycket tacksamma för dem
inom Vasa Orden som hjälpt dem finansiera och nå sina mål. Jag läste
nyligen ett filosofiskt yttrande vilket innehöll följande mening: “Det är nu i
livet du ger av dig själv till andra; att kunna hjälpa till genom kärlek och
förståelse som skänker hjärtat glädje. Det vi gör med våra liv och hur vi
använder de talanger Gud försett oss med, kan vara en fördel till dom som
träffat oss.” Det distrikt som delar ut ett stipendium kommer att se det som
en uppgift att även i fortsättningen kunna känna glädjen över att göra detta
för en som studerar i Skandinavien, att de för dessa, har varit en fördel att
känna till Vasa Orden av Amerika.
Jag hoppas att alla som erhållit poster inom de lokala- samt
distriktslogerna har erfarit ett framgångsrikt år. Jag ber att ni som avsagt er
framtida ledarskap, att även i fortsättningen dela med er av era erfarenheter
och att ni stödjer och assisterar de nyvalda i ert ställe.
Jag har haft förmånen at delta i alla distiktsmöten utom ett, (p g a att två
möten var planerade under samma helg) där jag bevittnat intagningen av
många nyvalda distriktsofficerare. Jag gratulerar alla officerare och önskar
all framgång under kommande år. Jag uppmanar till hårt arbete för
bevarandet av de Skandinaviska traditionerna och att hålla vår kultur
levande för framtida generationer.
Det första mötet för Storlogens Exekutiva Råd blir i September i
Portland, OR. Var vänlig kontakta era regionala styrelsemedlemmare så
snart som möjligt med ev frågor och förslag ni skulle vilja att det Exekutiva
Rådet tar upp under mötet. Vi lever i en tid fylld av oroligheter och krig, jag
vill att ni ber för våra trupper, som dagligen utsätts för faror och risker, samt
för de som sörjer sina landsmän i Norge som omkom under den
fruktansvärda massakern. Be också för vår Orden.
I Sanning och Enighet,
Bill Lundquist, Stormästare
THE VASA STAR (USPS 657-020)
THE VASA STAR
July-September 2011
Vol. 104, No. 3, Serial 848
Published by:
Vasa Order of America
vasaorder.com
HEADQUARTERS:
c/o Joan Graham
Grand Secretary
5838 San Jose Avenue
Richmond, CA 94804
Phone: 510-526-5512
E-mail: vasajlg@aol.com
JULY-SEPTEMBER 2011
AN IMPORTANT REMINDER
CHRISTMAS GREETINGS AND
CHECKS FOR CHRISTMAS GREETINGS
Please send Christmas Greetings and checks for Christmas Greetings to Grand
Secretary, Joanie Graham, 5838 San Jose Avenue, Richmond, CA 94804. Phone
510-526-5512. E-mail: vasajlg@aol.com.
New members: Send to GS, Joanie Graham.
All address changes and subscriptions as well as all address changes should be
sent to the Circulation Manager listed here on Page 3.
Grand Master:
Please send pictures of good quality in order for them to reproduce well in The
Vasa Star. Electronically submitted photos should be scanned in JPEG format at a
resolution of 300 dpi.
For submitted Lodge articles, please add city and state. Thanks!
Bill Lundquist
1456 Kennebec Rd.
Grand Blanc, MI 48439
Phone: 810-695-3248
Cell Phone: 810-845-5065
E-mail: wmlund1@aol.com
IN MEMORIAM
Please read instructions on how to send and pay for Obituaries.
Editor:
Marie Carlson
9560 Curberry Drive
Mentor, OH 44060
Phone: 440-255-4665
E-mail: mariec@swedes-r-us.com
Circulation Manager:
(All Address Changes)
Joan Graham
5838 San Jose Avenue
Richmond, CA 94804
Phone: 510-526-5512
E-mail: vasajlg@aol.com or
circulationmanager@gmail.com
Send bottom section of white copy of
application for new members to her.
Deadlines for The Vasa Star:
Jan.-March deadline is Jan. 1; April-June deadline is April 1;
July-Sept. deadline is July 1; Oct.-Dec. deadline is Oct. 1
Deadline for Christmas ads is Oct. 1
Price for Christmas Greetings – $30.00 column inch
Deadline for Lucia articles is January 1
Picture and article, 200 words or less.
VASA DIRECTORY
OFFICIAL ADDRESS LIST
Membership Chairman:
Art Bjorkner
31 Vasa Drive,
Hackettstown NJ 07840-5314 USA
Advertising:
Only electronic submissions
Send to: Marie Carlson
E-mail: mariec@swedes-r-us.com
Invoices will be submitted electronically
(via e-mail)
Advertising Prices:
Full Page Black and White
Half Page Black and White
Quarter Page Black and White
One Column Inch
$500.00
$275.00
$150.00
$ 30.00
Half Page Color
$500.00
Full Page Color
$800.00
Available only for inside front cover, inside
back cover or back cover.
10% discount for Vasa Lodges and Members
THE VASA STAR (ISSN 0746-0627) is
published bi-monthly by the Vasa
Order of America. Periodicals postage
paid at Richmond, CA, and additional
entries.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes
to The Vasa Star, 5838 San Jose Ave.,
Richmond, CA 94804.
Vasa Star July-September 2011
It is the listing for every lodge in the Vasa Order, with meeting locations and officers, and addresses and telephone numbers for all Grand, District, and Local lodges
as well as all Children’s Clubs and Activities Clubs.
In an effort to cut costs, the Vasa Directory will be provided to every district and
local lodge via an email attachment. It has been re-formatted so that it can be printed on your home printer, on 8 1/2 x 11 paper. Please take it to your local office supply store to make copies for those in your lodge who don’t have computer capability. It can be copied “double sided,” and put into a binder or notebook. If no one in
the lodge has the capability of printing the Vasa Directory, please contact the Grand
Secretary Joanie Graham, and a paper copy will be sent to you.
DIRECTORY IS ON THE VASA WEBSITE
You can also check the Vasa website www.vasaorder.com to locate Grand, District,
and Local Lodge information.
Cover:
Swan at Cleveland Zoo, “The summer has come to an end and is flying
away.”
Svan på Cleveland Zoo, “Sommaren har nått sitt slut och flyger bort.”
Picture by: Marie Carlson, Editor, VS
Page 3
Letter from the Editor
It was a while since I wrote, and with only four issues per year, I
guess it was. Many things have happened to all of us and around the
globe, good and bad, since the previous issue of The Vasa Star. Sadly to
say, what comes to mind for me is the senseless massacre in Norway
that was carried out by one man alone, Anders Behring Breivik. This
mass shooting was among the worst in history, and put not only the
Norwegian nation in a state of shock and disbelief, it had a global effect,
how could this happen in a country like Norway?
We are in the middle of September by the time you read this, and it is
hard to believe that on September 11 it was 10 years ago since two
jumbo jets flew into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New
York and a third plane flew into Pentagon, in Washington DC, a planned
terrorist attack killing hundreds of men and women. A fourth attack was planned but avoided
thanks to some remarkable people on that plane that lost their own lives in order to save others
while still in flight over Pennsylvania.
It was 50 years ago since Dag Hammarskjöld died. He was the General Secretary in the
United Nations from April 1953 until his death in a suspicious plane crash September 1961.
Please let us remember these people and their sacrifices for mankind.
In sad times we seek comfort in our families and friends, and the ties get stronger. So until
next time, enjoy and plan for upcoming holydays, it is so important to have future plans and
events to look forward to.
“Each and every one of those who’ve left us is a tragedy - together, it’s a national tragedy”
- Jens Stoltenberg, Norwegian Prime Minister
Marie
This will hopefully be our last electronic issue. The action taken by the delegates last July
when they cut the budget for the Vasa Star in half has made it hard to produce printed copies.
The board is meeting in a few weeks where they will try to figure out how to make the printing
and mailing of the magazine less costly.
Brev från Redaktören
Nu var det ett tag sedan jag skrev, med endast fyra upplagor per år, så är det faktiskt det.
Många saker har hänt oss alla och runt om i världen, bra och dåliga, sedan förra upplagan av
Vasa Stjärnan. Det är tråkigt att behöva säga att det som jag kommer att tänka på, är den
meningslösa massakern som hände i Norge, och som orsakades av en enda man, Anders
Behring Breivik. Denna massaker är bland det värsta i historien och har försatt inte bara den
norska nationen i ett chocktillsånd och misstro, den har haft en global effekt, hur kunde något
som detta hända i ett land som Norge?
Vi befinner oss i mitten av september när ni läser detta och det är svårt att tro att det är 10 år
sedan nu den 11:e september, som två jetflygplan flög in i The World Trade Center i New York
och ytterligare ett plan flög in i Pentagonen, Washington DC. En planerad terroristattack där
hundratals män och kvinnor omkom. En fjärde attack hade planerats men undveks tack vare
några beundransvärda människor på planet, som gav sina egna liv för att rädda andras, medan
de befann sig över Pennsylvania.
Det var 50 år sedan sedan, Dag Hammarskjöld dog. Han var General Sekreterare i Förenta
Nationen från April 1953 till hans död i en misstänksam flygplanskrash september 1961.
Kom ihåg alla dessa människor och vad de offrade för mänskligheten.
Under sorgliga omständigheter söker vi tröst hos våra nära och kära, dessa band förstärks. Så
tills vi hörs nästa gång, njut av att planera inför kommande helgdagar, det är så viktigt att ha
framtidsplaner och att se fram emot kommande evenemang.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Grand Lodge News ...........................................5
District Lodge News .........................................8
Lodge News .....................................................10
Swedish Lodge News ......................................18
Youth News .....................................................23
Bishop Hill Vasa Youth Club
Welcome to Our New Members ....................24
Culture.............................................................25
Humble Beginnings
Nordstroms
Sommar Rapport från Sverige (Eng and Swe)
Book Review and New Books ........................28
Write soon. Love, Fran
Happenings......................................................28
Midsummer Queen at Bishop Hill
Korpagillet
Have You Hit a Brick Wall in Your Swedish
Research or Don’t Know Where to Begin
Tidbits..............................................................30
In Memoriam ..................................................31
“Var och en av dem som lämnat oss är en tragedi, som tillsammans, lett till en nationell tragedi”
-Jens Stoltenberg, Norsk Premiärminister
Marie
Förhoppningsvis blir detta vår sista elektroniska upplaga. Det beslut som togs av delegaterna
förra året i slutet av juli, då budgeten för Vasa Stjärnan halverades, har gjort det svårt att
producera tryckta upplagor. Ett styrelsemöte kommer att hållas om några veckor där de ska
försöka räkna ut hur man ska göra för att reducera kostnaderna för tryckning och porto av
tidningen.
PAGE 18
Page 4
Vasa Star July-September 2011
GRAND LODGE NEWS
Welcome to The Swedish Language Corner!
Vasa Svenska — Learn Swedish the Vasa Way
This is an update on the progress of
our new Swedish language program
VasaSvenska. As I wrote in Vasa Star #1
2011, one of my initial concerns was to
put together a program committee, which
is now in place. The committee has three
members who are responsible for communicating with the district cultural leaders within their respective Vasa region.
They are also involved with the program
design and content.
The committee members/contact persons are:
• Inger Hanright (Grand Lodge
Cultural Leader), hanright@optonline.net: Eastern Region (District
Lodges 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and the
Southeast and Florida-Regions).
• Inez
Tornblom,
eskilstuna@wowway.com: Midwest
Region (District Lodges 7, 8, 9, 10,
17 and the Central Region).
• Eivor Pfannkuch, pfannkuch@comcast.net: Western Region (District
Lodges 11, 12, 13, 15 and 21)
As the Grand Lodge Language
Director and committee chair I am
responsible for the overall program and
contacts within our organization, and also
for the direct communication with the
lodges in Canada and Sweden.
(Obviously, our members in Sweden do
not need to learn Swedish, but they may
still be interested in knowing about our
program).
At the time of writing I am collaborating with the Grand Lodge webmaster
Robert Anderson to provide a Swedish
web page within the Grand Lodge
website. Watch for the link Visit the
Swedish Language Corner at
www.vasaorder.com. There we will post
lessons, articles, and other interesting
items. By the time you are reading this
Vasa Star issue our web page should be
up and running.
The main part of the VasaSvenska program will consist of lessons with text and
audio files that can be downloaded from
the language corner on the GL website.
The course, which is offered at no cost, is
professionally designed and quite comprehensive. We have decided to divide it
up and post only one or two lessons at a
time in order to make it easier to work
with. The text may be printed out and the
Vasa Star July-September 2011
audio files, where the text is read out
loud, may be saved on your computer or
a blank CD for easy listening and practice. We also plan to eventually post
video clips on the website. More details
will soon follow, and the district cultural
leaders will be informed by email when
the program is ready for takeoff in
September. Please feel free to contact me
or one of the committee members with
any suggestions you may have about
material, links, or other resources.
We have chosen to make VasaSvenska
mainly an online program because it is an
easy, flexible, and inexpensive way to
spread and receive information. We realize that everybody may not have access
to the internet, but this does not have to
exclude anyone from participating in a
local lodge study group. The group leader
or another participant can make the material available to a fellow student. Lessons
and articles, as well as book and CD suggestions will also be printed in the Vasa
Star.
We very much look forward to introducing the VasaSvenska program with
the Swedish Language Corner on the web
and in the Vasa Star. Our goal is to have
something instructive and enjoyable for
everybody, whether you know only a few
Swedish words or are a fluent Swedish
speaker. And since there is no time like
the present, we’ll begin right away with a
timely article on the development of the
Swedish language through the ages.
Enjoy!
‘til next time!
Best regards/Bästa hälsningar, Siv
Swan-Pierson, Grand Lodge Language
Director
VasaSvenska@verizon.net
Swedish –
Dead or Alive?
Our Grand Lodge Swedish Language
Committee member Inez Tornblom, a
native Swede and longtime U.S. resident,
recently wrote an article with this somewhat provoking title in a newsletter.
There she told about a harrowing experience in Uppsala, Sweden a few years ago.
She had turned to a young man to ask for
directions, in Swedish of course, but the
Swedish university student seemed to
think that Inez should converse with him
in English! Now, ‘harrowing’ may be too
strong a word to use in this context, but
indeed, it was a bit shocking to Inez. The
good part is that the incident inspired her
to look into the history of the Swedish
language, where she discovered that
many foreign words for centuries have
been heavily incorporated into the
Swedish tongue.
But, let’s start from the beginning…
Swedish belongs to the East
Scandinavian group of North Germanic
languages, which also includes Danish,
Norwegian, Faroese and Icelandic.
In the Viking age the ‘Danish tongue’,
the ancestor of the modern Scandinavian
languages, was understood by the Angles
and the Saxons of England. Today,
although Swedish and English have
developed along different lines, English
speakers would recognize the relationship
and similarities between the two languages.
The history of the early Swedish language has been made available to us by
large numbers of runic inscriptions, dating from about AD 600 up to the early
1200s, thus encompassing the Viking era.
The thirteenth century saw the influx
of powerful merchants mainly from
North Germany into Sweden. They
gained considerable influence in the
country, and this led to the introduction
of a wealth of German words into the
Swedish language, such as betala/pay,
borgmästare/mayor, handel/trade, köpman/merchant, skräddare/tailor, and
snickare/carpenter. As a result, Swedish
became differentiated from the neighboring Scandinavian tongues.
The year 1526, when the New
Testament was translated into Swedish,
seems to be a turning point in the evoluContinued on page 6
Page 5
Swedish – Dead or Alive
Continued from page 5
tion of Modern Swedish. Ever keen to
distinguish their language from Danish
and other tongues, which had influenced
Swedish, successive governments insisted on a written form of the language that
was traditional and conservative, based
upon original manuscripts written by
monks, rather than on the spoken word.
The seventeenth century saw the gradual standardization of Swedish, based primarily on the Svea dialect spoken in
Stockholm and around Lake Mälaren. It
incorporated some features of the Göta
(Southern Sweden) dialect.
Written Swedish continued to be
deliberately cultivated as a symbol of
national unity; in 1786 King Gustav III
founded the Swedish Academy. The
Academy’s “noblest and most urgent”
task was to work for the “purity, strength
and sublimity” (in today’s language,
something like ‘clarity, expressiveness
and reputation’) of the Swedish language.
French was the foremost world language in the 1600s and 1700s, so it follows that a myriad of Swedish words like
charmant/charming, fars/comedy, affisch/poster, paraply/umbrella and
chef/boss. are borrowed from this language; words Around 1800 Napoleon´s
Field Marshal Bernadotte came to
Sweden with his retinue to become
Sweden´s king and brought a new wave
of French words. French, of course,
became the official language at the
Swedish royal court.
It has been estimated that roughly 17.5
million people in the world either speak
or write Swedish. Almost the entire population of Sweden has Swedish as their
mother tongue and it is also one of
Finland’s two official languages.
Four million Norwegians and five million Danes can understand it, and therefore anyone who masters Swedish also
acquires a basic reading knowledge of
Danish and the two forms of Norwegian
(Bokmål and Nynorsk).
The language changes as society
changes. Swedish words get new meanings, or are put together to form new
words. The internet, TV, movies, and
new technology have brought an
avalanche of borrowed American words
like koncept/concept, hackare/hacker,
hype, party, pierca/pierce, promota/promote, softa/soft. Many fully integrated
Swedish words are also taken from the
English language. Ängel/Angel,
präst/priest,
potatis/potatoes,
Page 6
elektricitet/electricity, tobak/tobacco, tunnel, match, turist/tourist, and strejk/strike
are but a few examples.
So, are we coming full circle to where
English and Swedish are as close as they
were in ancient days? Time will tell.
A closing commentary: Inez writes:
“Swedish will survive! The mixing is just
a sign of a living, growing language.” I
agree, but even so I sincerely hope that
Swedish will be able to keep its special
flair in the midst of all the influences
from other languages. After all, it is my
homeland’s cherished tongue!
Siv Swan-Pierson, Grand Lodge
Language Director
vasasvenska@verizon.net
Note: Most of the information in the
article
is
downloaded
from
http://www.linguaphone.co.uk/language.c
fm?language_id=30
Välkommen till Svenska Språkhörnan!
Vasa Svenska — Lär dig svenska på vasavis
Här följer en uppdatering av hur arbetet
med vårt nya svenska språkprogram
VasaSvenska fortskrider. Som jag skrev i
Vasastjärnan nr 1 en av mina första
uppgifter
var
att
bilda
en
programkommitté, vilket nu är gjort.
Kommittén har tre medlemmar, som
ansvarar för kommunikationen med
distriktskulturledarna inom sin respektive
region. En annan viktig uppgift är att
medverka vid programmets utformning
och bidra till dess innehåll.
Kommittémedlemmarna/kontaktperson
erna är:
• Inger Hanright (Storlogens Kulturledare),
hanright@optonline.net: Östra Regionen
(distriktslogerna 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 och Sydöstra
och Florida-regionerna).
• Inez Törnblom,
eskilstuna@wowway.com: Mellanvästra
Regionen (distriktslogerna 7, 8, 9, 10, 17
och Central-regionen).
• Eivor Pfannkuch,
pfannkuch@comcast.net: Västra
Regionen (distriktslogerna 11, 12, 13, 15
och 21).
Som Storlogens språkkonsult och
ordförande i kommittén ansvarar jag för
programmet i stort och för de övergripande
kontakterna inom vår organization liksom
även direktkontakterna med logerna i
Kanada och Sverige. (Naturligtvis behöver
våra medlemmar i Sverige inte lära sig
svenska men de kan ju vara intresserade av
att följa programmets utveckling ändå.)
När detta skrivs samarbetar jag med
Storlogens webbmästare Robert Anderson
för att sätta upp en svensk hemsida på
Storlogens webbplats. Titta efter länken
Visit the Swedish Language Corner (Hälsa
på i den svenska språkhörnan) på
www.vasaorder.com. Där kommer vi att ha
lektioner, artiklar och annat intressant
material. När du läser det här numret av
Vasastjärnan, hoppas vi att vår hemsida är
klar att tas i bruk.
Huvuddelen av programmet kommer att
bestå av lektioner med text och ljud som
kan laddas ner från språkhörnan på
Storlogens webbplats. Kursen, som är
gratis, är professionellt utformad och
mycket omfattande. Vi har beslutat att dela
upp den och anslå endast en eller ett par
lektioner åt gången så att den blir lättare att
arbeta med. Texten kan skrivas ut och
ljudfilerna, där texten läses högt, kan
sparas på din dator eller en tom disk så att
du lätt kan lyssna och öva. Vi planerar
också att så småningom ha videofiler
på vår hemsida. Fler detaljer kommer snart
och våra distriktskulturledare blir
underrättade per e-post när programmet
är klart att presenteras i september.
Kontakta gärna mig eller någon av
kommittemedlemmarna om du har förslag
till länkar, material eller andra idéer till
programinnehåll.
Vi har valt att göra VasaSvenska till ett
huvudsakligen online program därför att
det är ett lätt, flexibelt och billigt sätt att
sprida och ta del av information. Vi förstår
att alla kanske inte har tillgång till webben
men det behöver inte betyda att man inte
kan delta i en lokalloges studiegrupp.
Gruppledaren eller en deltagare kan göra
materialet tillgängligt för någon annan.
Lektioner och artiklar såväl som förslag på
böcker och CDs kommer också att finnas i
Vasastjärnan.
Vi ser fram emot att presentera
VasaSvenska-programmet med den
svenska språkhörnan (the Swedish
Language Corner) på hemsidan och i
Vasastjärnan. Vårt mål är att ha något
intressant och lärorikt att erbjuda var och
en antingen man kan endast några enstaka
ord eller talar svenska flytande. Och
eftersom det är viktigt att ta vara på varje
tillfälle att lära, så börjar vi direkt med en
artikel om utvecklingen av det svenska
språket. Hoppas ni finner den intressant!
Vi hörs! Bästa hälsningar, Siv SwanPierson
Storlogens Språkkonsulent (Grand
Lodge Language Director)
vasasvenska@verizon.net
Vasa Star July-September 2011
Svenskan – död eller levande?
Medlemmen i Storlogens språkkommitté Inez Törnblom, född i Sverige
och bosatt i USA sedan många år, skrev
nyligen en artikel med denna något
utmanande titel i ett nyhetsbrev. Där
beskrev hon en omskakande upplevelse
som hon hade i Uppsala för några år
sedan. Hon hade vänt sig till en ung man
för att fråga om en adress, på svenska
förstås, men den svenske studenten
verkade tycka att de skulle tala engelska!
Nåja, ‘omskakande’ är kanske ett alltför
starkt ord i sammanhanget men nog blev
Inez minst sagt överraskad. Händelsen
ledde i alla fall till att hon beslöt sig för
att forska litet i det svenska språkets
historia och upptäckte då att många inte
bara engelska utan också tyska och
franska ord har införlivats i det svenska
språket under århundradens lopp. Men låt
oss börja från början...
Svenskan tillhör den östskandinaviska
gruppen av nordgermanska språk, som
även omfattar danska, norska, färöiska
och isländska..
Det ’danska tungomålet,’ de moderna
skandinaviska språkens förfader, kunde
på vikingatiden förstås av Englands
anglosaxare. Fastän svenskan och
engelskan har utvecklats I olika
riktningar
kan
engelskspråkiga
fortfarande känna igen släktskapet och
likheterna mellan de två språken.
Vi har fått tillgång till det tidiga
svenska språkets historia genom ett stort
antal runinskrifter, som daterar sig från
omkring år 600 till det tidiga 1200-talet
och således omfattar vikingatiden.
På tolvhundratalet kom ett stort antal
mäktiga köpmän huvudsakligen från
norra Tyskland till Sverige. De fick stort
inflytande i landet, vilket ledde till att
många tyska ord införlivades i det
svenska språket t. ex. betala,
borgmästare, handel, köpman, skräddare
och snickare. Svenskan kom härigenom
att skilja sig från de andra skandinaviska
språken.
Året 1526, när Nya Testamentet
översattes till svenska, tycks vara en
vändpunkt i den moderna svenskans
utveckling. Efterföljande regeringar ville
särskilja svenska språket från danskan
och andra språk, som hade påverkat
svenskan, och insisterade på att det
skrivna språket skulle vara traditionellt
och
konservativt,
baserat
på
orginalmanuskript skrivna av munkar, i
stället för på det talade ordet.
På sextonhundratalet kom en gradvis
standardisering
av
svenskan,
Vasa Star July-September 2011
huvudsakligen baserad på sveadialekten
som talades i Stockholm och runt
Mälaren. I denna införlivades en del
inslag av götadialekten i södra Sverige.
Man fortsatte att medvetet utveckla
den skrivna svenskan som en symbol för
nationell enighet. 1786 grundade kung
Gustav III Svenska Akademien.
Akademiens ”noblaste och mest
trängande” uppgift var att verka för
”renheten, styrkan och högheten” (på
nutida språk ungefär ‘klarheten,
uttrycksfullheten och anseendet’) i det
svenska språket.
Franskan var det främsta världsspråket
på 1600- och 1700-talen, varav följer att
en mängd ord som t. ex. charmant, fars,
affisch, paraply och chef lånades från
detta språk. Runt år 1800 kom Napoleons
fältmarskalk Bernadotte till Sverige med
sitt följe för att bli Sveriges kung. Många
nya franska ord kom då i bruk och
franska blev förstås det officiella språket
vid hovet.
Uppskattningsvis skrivs eller talas
svenska av ca 17,5 miljoner människor
världen runt. Så gott som hela Sveriges
befolkning har svenska som modersmål
och det är också ett av Finlands officiella
språk.
Fyra miljoner norrmän och fem
miljoner danskar kan förstå svenska och
därför får alla som bemästrar svenskan
också en grundläggande färdighet i att
läsa texter på danska och norskans båda
språk (bokmål och nynorsk).
Språket förändras i takt med samhället
vi lever i. Ord får en ny mening eller sätts
ihop för att bilda nya ord. Internet, TV,
filmer och ny teknik har bragt en uppsjö
av amerikanska ord som t. ex. koncept,
hackare, hype, party, pierca, promota och
softa. Många välkända svenska ord är
också lånade från engelskan. Ängel,
präst, potatis, elektricitet, tobak, tunnel,
match, turist och strejk är bara några få
exempel. Så håller vi på att sluta cirkeln,
där svenskan och engelskan kommer lika
nära varandra som de var för mycket
länge sedan? Tiden får utvisa.
En avslutande kommentar: Inez säger:
”Svenskan kommer att överleva.
Uppblandningen är bara ett tecken på ett
levande, växande språk.” Jag håller med
men visst hoppas jag ändå att det svenska
språket kan hålla ställningarna mot alltför
mycket inflytande från andra språk. Det
är ju trots allt mitt hemlands kära
tungomål!
Siv Swan-Pierson, Storlogens
Språkkonsulent (Grand Lodge
Language Director)
VasaSvenska@verizon.net
(Merparten av uppgifterna i artikeln
kommer
från
webbsidan
http://www.linguaphone.co.uk/language.c
fm?language_id=30)
Please remember the Grand Lodge
Scholarship Fund and the Vasa National
Archives when making a memorial donation. Vasa Scholarship Fund, Joan
Graham GS, 5838 San Jose Ave.,
Richmond, CA 94804 ~ Vasa Archives,
Jake Gruel, Financial Secretary, 13716
W. Lilac Lane, New Berlin, WI 53151.
Page 7
DISTRICT LODGE NEWS
DL Lake Michigan #8
District Cultural Leader Andrea
Wilczynski coordinated with the local
lodges to present a stunning exhibit highlighting Swedish holidays and special
seasonal events. There were also displays
on the Vasa National Archives in Bishop
Hill, Illinois, and the Scandinavian
Park/Vasa Park in South Elgin, Illinois.
In addition to the cash drawing, there
were two different raffles. The welcome
gift bags were provided by Siljan–Mora–
Tuna #134. The colorful royal blue bags
were imprinted with a bright yellow
“VASA”, and filled with a great selection
of treats. The Hospitality Room was
located at the pool side and provided a
welcome respite for delegates and guests.
The District Executive Board provided
the Friday evening buffet.
Dave Nordin presented a two part
Cultural Program; the first part included
the children from Nordikids #208 and
Nordik Folk #761 to tell the story of
Viking living. He shared factual information about Vikings, and the Nordikids
were “actors” who played out the story of
how the Vikings traded, bartered, lived,
and battled. The Viking ship, swords,
and shields from last year’s Kids Camp
were used, and adults from the audience
helped to tell the story. There were songs
about Vikings that the children sang
while they re-enacted a scene of a
“thrall”, telling stories and Viking sagas
in front of a fire. The story of the Viking
Ship was the second part in Dave
Nordin’s talk about the travels of the
Vikings. Dave Nordin kept us enchanted
and fascinated with his stories, and
everyone learned something new about
Vikings. The children were a wonderful
addition to the program. Well done
Nordikids!
The Opening Ceremony was presented
by members of Nordikids #208, Linde
#492 and Nordik Folk #761. Many of the
Grand Lodge Officers and Past District
Masters attended the Convention. Lunch
was available from the hotel breakfast
area room. Convention attendees ate
lunch in the Convention meeting room,
and listened to the four “Lunch and
Learn” presentations.
GLD-DLLM #8/S&FS VOA National
Archives Inc., PDM Jake Gruel presented
a musical slide show of Bishop Hill,
Illinois, the historic buildings, and the
home of the Vasa National Archives.
Page 8
PDS Marge Gruel discussed the procedures for applying for assistance from the
Old Age and Benefit Fund. Vasa members may request assistance for medical
and or financial need. Application forms
were distributed to the attendees.
VDM Edward Hultgren encouraged
local lodges to host a District
Convention. He discussed the resources,
including the District Executive Board
members that are available to local
lodges to plan the annual event. ADS
Joella Hultgren distributed folders to
each local lodge that contain the District
#8 Policies and Procedures appropriate to
District Convention planning
DMC Vasa National Archives
Archivist Lars Jenner spoke about the
new equipment in use at the Vasa
National Archives to help him do his
work in archiving, researching, and
reporting back to inquiries about historical records and genealogy questions.
Many special activities take place during the Saturday evening banquet.
District Chaplain Inez Törnblom led the
recitation of the Swedish grace. In addition to the delicious meal and fellowship,
we were entertained before, during, and
following the meal. They were several
winners of the cash drawing. The evening
was concluded with several hours of fun
dancing; the Disc Jockey seemed to know
exactly what type of music, including
Swedish songs, would bring the dancers
out to the dance floor.
Following dinner, Master Of
Ceremonies, District Master Tom
Cleveland announced the awards from
the Friday morning Golf Tournament at
the Michigan City Municipal Golf
Course and the annual Membership
Awards for 2010 were presented by
District Executive Board Member Steve
Westlund, 1st place was Svea # 253,
receiving $300.00.
The College Scholarship Awards were
presented by Grand Lodge Youth
Director USA and Canada/District
Supervisor of Youth and Children’s Club
Lynda Smith. The Sjölunden Language
Camp Scholarships were announced by
Grand Lodge Youth Director USA and
Canada/District Supervisor of Youth and
Children’s Club Lynda Smith. The recipients of two weeks at Concordia
Language Camp in Bemidji, Minnesota
were: Philip Nelson, Hagar #721;
Continued on page 9
District Cultural Leader Andrea Wilczynksi and Lisa Cianci, Chairman Siljan-Mora-Tuna
Lodge #134, with the Valborg Exhibit, including fresh strawberries and sparkling juice.
Vasa Star July-September 2011
DL Alberta #18
Canada
DL Lake Michigan #8
Continued from page 8
Harrison Lorentz, Nordikids #208; and
Kelsey Ruth, Förgät Mig Ej #64.
Congratulations campers.
Vice District Master Edward Hultgren
presented the Distinguished Service
Award to Grand Master/Past District
Master William (Bill) Lundquist. The
award is given to a member of the
District Lodge who has provided outstanding service to the District, the Vasa
Order of America, and the American and
world communities. Bill was given a
ring that contains the Vasa Order
emblem, the designation “DSA”, and his
initials. Congratulations Bill!
District Chaplain Inez Törnblom and
Marvin Anderson presided over the
Memorial Service during which District
members who died during 2010 were
remembered.
Installation Of District Officers: DM,
Tom Cleveland; VDM, Edward Hultgren;
DS, Nancy Hult; ADS, Joella Hultgren,
to mention a few.
The Sunday post Convention lunch
was provided by Bessemer #203. The
lunch was appreciated and the delegates
started for home well nourished in both
mind and body.
Submitted by; Joella D. Hultgren,
Assistant District Secretary
DL Golden Gate #12
Our annual Sweden Day event was
June 4th at Camp Norge in Alta,
California. It is tradition that one of the
last duties for the District Master, Scott
Matthews, is to host Sweden Day. In past
years the weather was glorious with
sunny days and starlit nights but with
record spring rains and cool temperatures
it was a totally different experience.
Scott and his dear wife Kathryn had
planned to set up their pup tent while at
the camp but with the ground
being rather squishy with all the rain they
decided to stay warm and cozy in one of
the dorms. Those brave souls who made
the trip to the mountains in spite of the
weather have all those fun memories of
Sweden Day 2011 as we celebrated
among the rain drops.
If you weren’t able to attend, here is
what you missed: Our Flag
Ceremony usually held outdoors was
indoors this year. Because we had no
electronic music our District Master of
Ceremonies, George Sell described each
flag one by one. Our Sweden Day
Princess was Elecia Vanover. Her
crown didn’t arrive but she looked lovely
in her beautiful white dress.
She expressed her gratitude for being
chosen to represent Vasa/Sweden Day
2011. Our chefs for the Saturday BBQ
were Jeff Vanover, James Netzel and
Robert Beeson. Keeping the charcoal dry
was the goal and they did a fabulous job
of creating a BBQ gazebo with tarps. Ed
Netzel brought his own wood for the
campfire later that evening and those who
were there were warmed by the fire and
Vasa Star July-September 2011
the yummy brandy/marshmallow concoction.
Sunday morning the Lipscom/
Matthews crew treated us to Swedish
pancakes with Lingonberry whipped
cream, bacon and scrambled eggs. It was
truly a memorable event.
Submitted by: Carole Ann Sell
Sweden Day Princess Elecia Vanover
The 40th Biennial Convention and 8th
Anniversary of District Lodge Alberta
#18 was hosted by the Past District
Masters’ Club of District Lodge Alberta
#18 at Leduc, on Friday June 10th.
Golfing for those interested took place at
the Black Bull Golf Course.DM Fae Doty
and her husband Lee held a reception
Friday evening welcoming guests, delegates and executive to the Convention.
On Saturday, Doreen Nyroos, Grand
Lodge Deputy and P.D.M. District #18
opened the 40th Biennial Convention,
which was held in Leduc, Alberta, June
10 - 12, 2011, by greeting those present
and introducing Joan Petersson who gave
the narrative for the Flag Ceremony.
Doreen then introduced District #18
District Master Fae Doty. Fae, in turn
introduced District Officers, Visiting
Officers, Honorary Life Members, Grand
Lodge Officers, Vice Grand Master Tore
Kellgren and his wife Birgitta, and Grand
Master Bill Lundquist and his wife,
Sheila, to name a few.
New members to the Convention were
initiated into the District. They were
Celia Sollows and Bruce Samuelson both
of Skandia #549. The minutes of the last
District Convention meeting were read
and corrected as were the Executive
Board meeting minutes of June 10, 2011.
The rest of the meeting was run as per ritual.
Jessica Lee of Norden Lodge #513
was the winner of the District scholarship, however she was unable to attend
the Convention so will be presented her
award at another time.
Lodges Nordstjärnan #575 and
Branting #417 both gave donations to
Skandia #549 Vasa Children’s Camp in
recognition of the Districts 80th
Anniversary, and Skandia #549 sent a
bouquet of flowers which was placed on
the alter.
A group photograph of all present was
taken outside the hotel in front of an oil
pump jack, after which a banquet was
held. Following the banquet, door prizes
were presented with Phyllis Ochoa winning three of them. Ray Nyroos then presented the golf awards from the game that
was played on Friday, June 12th
A Memorial service for the departed
members was held, with Doreen and Ray
Nyroos and Ken and Carol Banks doing
the officiating. The service consisted of
Continued on page 10
Page 9
DL Alberta #18
Continued from page 9
singing some popular Hymns, reading of
poems, lighting of candles, and the placing of carnations in a vase for each
departed member. Following the service
the attendees enjoyed coffee and an
anniversary cake, marking the 80 years
for the District.
The meeting commenced at 10 a.m.
with the installation of the newly elected
officers for the term 2011 to 2013. The
following District Officers were installed:
District Master, Fae Doty, Vice
District Master, Sandra Petersson,
Lisa
McMurray,
Secretary,
Assist. Secretary, Joan Sjolin, Treasurer,
Lloyd Eriksson, Members of the
Executive Board, Don Melin, Carol
Banks, Phyllis Ochoa, Trustee, Darl
Brown, Auditor, Ken Banks, Cultural
Leader, Dolly Killaly, Youth Supervisor,
Trevor Nyroos, Historian, Lois Brown,
Membership Chairman ,Phyllis Ochoa.
Representative to Vasa Archives,
Lennart Petersson
Both the Vice Grand Master and
Grand Master spoke on the Good of the
Order and how they enjoyed visiting
Alberta and meeting those present.
Presentation of the Past District
Officer’s pin was made to Past Secretary
Thelma Speilman and past Assist.
Secretary Celia Long for the many, many
years they have held these positions.
Sigrun Magnason gave the description
of the Icelandic flag. Blue is for the sky,
white is for the glaciers, and red is for the
volcanoes and fire.
The meeting adjourned by noon with a
short executive meeting following.
Submitted by: Lois Brown,
District Historian
LODGE NEWS
North Star Lodge #106
Fylgia Lodge #119
Los Angeles, CA
Eleonora Nyren arranged for us to
visit the famed Descanso Gardens when
spring flowers were in full bloom.
Jane Hendricks of Nordic Fox Lodge
continues to cater delicious luncheons
following our monthly meetings.
Midsummer was special. We were
honored to have Linnea Marie Heinstedt
as our representative and she was selected as Svea. Linnea and her family belong
to the Nordic Heritage Lodge and all are
active members. She was beautiful on
this wonderful day at the Vasa Park. The
Midsummer Queen, Kristen Demarjian,
represented the Scandia Lodge. The title
of Columbia was held by Kiley Jahn,
who represented the Viking Lodge and is
Linnea Marie Heinstedt was selected as SVEA a member of the Evening Star Lodge.
for the Midsummer Celebration in June at There were two other beautiful princessVasa Park. She represented North Star Lodge es: Katie Spaberg representing the
#106, Los Angeles, CA. She is shown with Swedish Club of Los Angeles, and
North Star Chairman, Erik Lindberg.
Rebecka Thorsen who is a member of the
North Star Lodge #106 of Los Golden Valley Lodge. All of these girls
Angeles, California, had busy entertain- were lovely and gracious.
We look forward to Christmas with
ing months. We are pleased to have
added two new members: Siri Eliason, Lucia and our 105 year anniversary in
who is well known in Swedish circles. January.
Submitted by: Elinore Thornton and
She resides in Thousand Oaks, California
Jeanette Engstrom
and Ingemar Hultehage of Malibu,
California. Välkommen!
We had Mother’s Day remembrances
and a Father’s Day commemoration feaA Vasa-bridge to your
turing talented vocalists: Uno Kasperson,
Swedish ancestors!
Erik Lindberg, and Bob Solt. They had
Looking for your relatives in Sweden?
especially good voices that day and with
fancy headgear. CL Eleonora Nyren
I have helped many satisfied
always provides prizes; generally baskets
Vasa-members finding their Swedish roots.
Further info please e-mail:
of Swedish food items and more. She
swedengen@telia.com
does a great job.
Los Angeles, CA
Page 10
“God dag,” from San Francisco. In
May 2011, Robert Peterson, past Chair of
Fylgia, and past District 12 Master, gave
an enthralling lecture on the prolific
woodcarver, Emil Janel, who was born in
1896 in the wilderness town of Orsa,
Sweden. Emil Janel showed the beginning signs of his genius at the age of four
by whittling small animal figures out of
wood to amuse himself during the long
winter. He continued his carving, and at
the age of 19, exhibited his figures in
Stockholm winning a first prize of 100
Swedish Crowns!
After emigrating to Canada, and then
to the United States, Emil Janel lived in
the Bay Area, he was represented at a
local art gallery, and one of his fine wood
sculptures is on display at Sveadal. Many
delighted guests enjoyed Robert
Peterson’s well-researched remarks on
Emil Janel along with many artifacts:
woodcarving sculpture figurines, books,
and articles, which were set-up on an
adjacent table for display. During the
question and answer section, some audience attendees had met Mr. Janel, which
added ambience to this splendid evening
of culture and fellowship.
Special thanks to Robert Peterson for
the fine lecture, and to Chris and Bob
Olson for the delicious refreshments! For
more information about the artist, please
consider “The Life and Work of Emil
Janel, an illustrated essay” by Thomas C.
Seal, 1973.
In June 2011, Fylgia chair, Scott
Schulkin, gave a wonderful lecture, “My
Vasa Star July-September 2011
Fylgia Lodge #119
Continued from page 10
Trip to Öland” regarding Scott’s trip to
Sweden, where he met local genealogists,
who knew some of his family. In fact,
Scott ended up meeting family on both
sides of his grandfather’s family. In
addition, without knowing this ahead of
time, Scott stayed in a resort, which was
right next door to his great, great grandfather’s birthplace. Therefore, with a little
info and a lot of luck, Scott found out a
great deal about his family and met a
number of them, which inspired members
to renew their efforts to get in touch with
their Swedish roots.
In addition, in June 2011, about a
dozen Fylgia members enjoyed
Midsummer at Sveadal, in Morgan Hill,
CA (about 90 minutes south of San
Francisco). Kristin Jackson represented
Fylgia in the Midsummer Queen’s Court.
Fylgia member, Ted Olsson, was the
Master of Ceremonies for the event,
where the distinguished guests included
Barbro Osher, and Jonas Hafstrom, a
Swedish Diplomat, currently serving as
the Swedish ambassador to Washington,
D.C.
Please join us in 2011 at the historic
Swedish American Hall in the heart of
San Francisco for the following cultural
events: in September, Fylgia Arts &
Crafts Show; in October, 104th
Anniversary Dinner; and in December,
“Julbord” Dinner. For more information,
please see our website: www.scandinavius.com/vasa/fylgia.
Submitted by: Victoria Lynn Peterson
Picture by: Victoria Lynn Peterson
Muriel Beroza and Robert Peterson inspect
and enjoy a piece of art (a woodcarving) by
Emil Janel at the Swedish American Hall in
San Francisco.
Vasa Star July-September 2011
Thule Lodge #127
Jamestown, Bemus Point, NY
Hello from Thule Lodge #127 in the
Jamestown/Bemus Point, NY area. Our
summer began with many activities,
which included Friday night dinners at
the lodge, a herring breakfast, the meatball dinner, our summer schedule of
meetings, and the annual Scandinavian
Festival in the middle of July. Our meetings are held on Thursday evenings during the summer, and Lodge Chairman
Ralph Veights welcomes all to the meetings. For all events and activities, assistance is always provided by our members.
Lodge chaplain Diane Shaw conducted the Memorial Service at the end of
May to remember those lodge members
who have passed away in the last year.
Past lodge chairman Edwin Sandberg
read the names, and Chaplain Shaw
would bring a carnation to the altar in
that person’s memory.
At the end of May, two long time
members celebrated their arrival to the
United States 85 years ago. Allie Linnea
Nelson Withers, and Nels John Nelson
told a brief history of their immigration
with their family, arriving at Elis Island.
Their father had arrived first, finding
employment, and with their mother, they
arrived later to settle in the western New
York area. They have never forgotten
their Swedish heritage, and are proud to
talk about Sweden. Allie served the
lodge as cultural leader for many years,
and Nels serves the lodge as outer
guardsman.
At each meeting, our financial secretary Donna Sandberg keeps the members
informed of those who are ill, and
encourages all to visit those who are ill
and in need. Treasurer Loretta Smith
keeps track of the financial records of the
lodge. Lodge secretary Lucile Marsh
keeps all informed of the latest communications of the lodge, and is a well-known
person working at every dinner.
During the Scandinavian Festival
there were many food stands, many hours
of festive music, Scandinavian displays,
cultural activities and demonstrations all
related to the heritage. The Thule Lodge
served their famous Swedish meatball
dinner on the first day of the festival.
Appreciation goes to Thule lodge member Don Sandy for his efforts with this
annual festival.
Everyone at the Thule Lodge hope
that the summer is a good time for all,
Sister and brother, Allie Linnea Nelson
Withers and Nels John Nelson, celebrated
their arrival to the United States 85 years ago
at a recent Thule Lodge #127 meeting.
and if you are in our area, we would welcome you to our lodge at 4123 Pancake
Hill Road. “God dag” to all.
Submitted by: John Sipos,
Lodge historian
Bessemer
Lodge #203
Chicago, IL
Susan Nilsson, Culture Director and Britt
Nilsson, Past Chairman.
The members at Bessemer on the
south side of Chicago have been busy
making plans to celebrate its 100th
Anniversary, which is coming up
Sunday, October 16, 2011 beginning at 1
p.m. at The Royal Palace in Chicago
Ridge, Illinois. In addition to contacting
Continued on page 12
Page 11
Bessemer Lodge #203
Continued from page 11
many former Bessemer supporters, we’re
also contacting former Solstrålar members. Solstrålen was an active Vasa
Children’s Club for more than 75 years.
As a matter of fact, the DJ for the event is
former Solstråle, Mark Nilsson, who is a
correspondent for a popular local TV
show in Chicago called 190 North.
More information on attending this
event or making raffle prize donations
can be found on our Vasa website or by
calling 773-239-1855 or 708-423-4057.
Chairman Jim Pelzman and his wife, Pat
Pelzman, our Chaplain promise to bring
their dancing shoes!! This promises to be
a really fun event so we hope to see many
of you there.
Svea Lodge #296
Erie, PA
Our lodge has a weekly Swedish language class that meets every Tuesday morning
for two hours. We all take turns hosting the group of eight in our individual homes,
Lisa Owen is our teacher, and we all help to provide lesson material – the lessons that
were provided in the Vasa Star have been used also.
Our lodge held its annual Spring Dinner on May 14th at the Maennenche Club.
There were awards presented and a great Chinese auction. Marjorie and Harry Johnson
received their 25-year membership pins. Our lodge is 97 years old.
Submitted by: Linda Collin
Submitted by: Susan A. Nilsson
Brahe Lodge #245
Rockford, IL
Vasa Brahe Lodge #245 celebrated
“Midsommar” in our beautiful new Vasa
Park lodge building in Rockford IL on
June 23, 2011. A potluck was supplied by
a good showing of attending members for
this special occasion. The delicious
“smörgåsbord” consisted of “köttbullar,”
“sill,” “risgrynspudding,” beans, corn
pudding, potato salad, chocolate desserts,
etc. We even had miniature “Majstänger”
at the tables!
Afterwards, Chairman Scott Johnson
brought us up to date on our improving
lodge finances and final touches on finishing our new lodge building. ViceChairman David Tollin then discussed
plans for future meetings.
An enjoyable “Midsommar “celebration was had by all!
May birthdays were honored at the dinner. Shown are Tom Johnson, Linda Collin,
Marge Johnson, Sandra Miller and Alice Battersby. We sang “Ja, Må Han Leva.”
Mayflower Lodge #445
Torrance, CA
Submitted by: D. G. Eksten
Members enjoying the “Smörgåsbord.”
Page 12
The members of Mayflower Lodge
#445 are thrilled to announce they are
settled in their new Lodge home at 18815
South Crenshaw Blvd. in Torrance,
California. As you can see the
Scandinavian design of our building
holds true to our cultural roots.
We held our first event in our new
location this spring by having a social
and game night. Each month we gather
for a catered dinner and a short meeting
afterward.
On May 1st Mayflower Lodge celebrated its’ 87th anniversary by hosting an
open house and luncheon with 54 guests
in attendance. It was a grand day for us.
August 4th we will have a “bring your
own meat barbecue” and September 1st
will be our annual Meatball Contest. If
you are in the area please join us for these
evenings of fun and happy fellowship.
Submitted by: Ann Kristine Hellgren,
Chairperson
Vasa Star July-September 2011
Lindbergh Lodge #494
Norden Lodge #684
Torrance, CA
Fresno, CA
Our meeting in early April required
some attention to business during the
cocktail hour. The District #12
Convention will be meeting at the end of
the month. We were fortunate to have
The vice District Master Victoria FedorThurman as a guest at our meeting. She
brought up the subject that we should all
be thinking of new ways to attract and
keep new members. We need some fresh
ideas. There was some discussion of the
District meeting and things we needed to
do to prepare for it by April 29-May 1.
We adjourned to the dining room
where we were served salmon, a favorite
entre. Our own cooks are so good at making it particularly delicious. There is
always a good crowd on salmon night;
we had about 60 enthusiastic diners. Our
birthday members were serenaded and we
then proceeded to the program.
Professor Thomas Rossing of the
Music Department at Stanford University
is a member of our organization. He was
in Sweden in 1938 at the time of the
Nobel Prize festivities. He requested the
privilege to attend the ceremonies and
was pleased to be invited. He brought
back a visual presentation of the whole
event, from the first entrance of the King
and his party and then the 1938 Nobel
Prize winners. We were able to see the
ceremonial presentations by the King to
the honored prize winners. This was followed by the dinner, the dance and the
entire celebration. It was spectacular. I
am sure that no one in our audience has
even been to one of these prestigious
affairs. It was a very special treat to allow
us into the inner circle of Nobel
Celebrations.
May is always a very welcomed meeting time. We celebrate Mother’s Day. All
duties and functions for the evening are
performed with great skill by the men.
The only woman on duty that night was
our new Bar Chief Ronni Haderle. It was
her initiation into the work of making
sure that the favored libations are available and served with a napkin. This night
all of the ladies whether mother’s or not
were treated to their preferred beverage.
The money, food, drink, table
setting…everything was done by the
men. The dinner was nicely served and
quite delicious. No tips from the distaff
side were needed. We had chicken, potato salad, bread, ice cream and a fancy
Vasa Star July-September 2011
decorated Mother’s Day Cake. There
were about 66 people at the celebration.
The Maid of Honor for our
Midsummer Fest this year was Alexa
Wallin, granddaughter of our Past
Chairman Chuck Wallin. To round out a
very special evening, we had music by
Jack Haderle and Jerry Clements,
Swedish of course. Dancing went on for
the rest of the evening. Our most eager
dancer was Tom Rossing who managed
to swing several ladies around the floor.
It was a splendid time for all of us.
Submitted by: Muriel Nelson Beroza
Our June meeting began with a lively
social hour with about 70 members and
guests present. The guests (including
some prospective members), visitors
from sister lodges and Sweden were
introduced. We proceeded to the banquet
hall for a wonderful summer pot luck
dinner including many diverse items
from sill to sushi. We are hoping to get
the recipe for a new cheese fruit bake.
We serenaded the June birthdays, kids
and initiated three lovely ladies as new
members: Ginny Nelson, Roni Haderle
and Lynn Bollen.
Kils Dragspel Klubb from Värmland
entertained. The accordionists were
Anders Johansson, Herb Lundin, Christer
Falkenstrom and Anne Marie Karlsson,
(also the vocalist). The group also featured Stig Johansson, bass guitar and
Mats Gustafsson, violin. They were
joined by our local talent: Carolyn
Anderson, “fiol and durspel,” Eric
Lundin, on accordion. They also performed at our 118th Midsummer Festival
in Sveadal. We were also treated to solos
by two of our local troubadours Jan
Nordin and Dag Forssell.
What a wonderful evening. No one
went home early. Those who were not
dancing were tapping toes and singing
along.
Our April meeting started with a delicious Easter potluck: one table with dinner dishes and another table just for
desserts. We know how to keep our priorities in proportion! We also learned
about Swedish Easter traditions, and
everyone got a chance to decorate an
Easter egg to take home. One highlight
of the evening was awarding an $800
scholarship to a most deserving high
school student, Andreya Johnson.
In May, George and Carole Sell graciously opened their home to the Lodge
members for our annual celebration of
Valborgsmässoafton. We did a Swedish
show-and-tell with members showing off
their Swedish treasures and family heirlooms and telling the stories behind each.
We ate good food, drank refreshing beverages, and ushered in spring with an
exuberant sing-along.
Here is Monica Shipley with homemade treats for the bonfire party.
Norden Lodge does love to eat, so
we had another potluck dinner in June.
We want to feed our minds as well as our
stomachs, though, so we also enjoyed an
interesting and informative program on
Leroy Anderson, son of Swedish emigrants who became a hugely successful
composer of light orchestral music.
Many of his pieces were introduced to
the world by the Boston Pops.
Submitted by: Judith Harless
Marci Johansson presenting scholarship
check to Andreya Johnson.
Page 13
Vinland of Cape Cod Lodge #703
Cape Cod, MA
Midsummer Fest, celebrated as one large happy family.
An important goal for Vasa is to share
our culture and customs with others. In
April our Maypole and woodcut Viking
traveled to an International Festival sponsored by a local school district.
Traditional foods, entertainment and displays from 24 countries attracted many
families. Our members in traditional costumes greeted visitors at our display
tables laden with utilitarian and decorative Scandinavian items. Emma Brimdyr,
costumed as Lucia and her sister Kyra as
an honor maid, ably answered questions
from admirers. Travel brochures and coloring pages were very popular too.
A “Pound, Pint, Quart, Yard and
Gallon” Auction benefited our scholarship fund. Our 2011 recipient, Kelsey
Lotti of Finnish descent, will major in the
field of physical therapy. She’s a topranked student and captain of her high
school sailing team.
May brought our Swedish meatball
luncheon with “köttbullar, inlagd gurka,”
new potatoes, green beans, lingonberries,
pickled beets, “limpa, knäckebröd” and
Vivian Lundquist’s lemon cake. Another
opportunity to visit with friends over a
delicious meal!
Our Midsummer Fest on June 18 featured beautiful programs crafted by
Marilyn and Evind Sohoel and Debbie
Goldberg. We sat as one large noisy family eating our picnic lunches while Sonya
Westerback and George Hedlund played
Scandinavian selections on their accordions. Early summer flowers were placed
on our Maypole and round and round we
danced to folk music. Debbie Goldberg
photographed our customary Vinland
family portrait by the Maypole. What a
welcome to summer on a perfect midsummer day!
We are so grateful to have had wonderful experiences renewing friendships
with our elder members who have recently been able to attend our functions again.
Submitted by: Dorothy Kean
Solstad Lodge #709
Sun City, AZ
Members of Solstad Lodge #709 and members of Club Scandinavia shared a joint Midsummer
celebration in Sun City West, Arizona.
Members of Solstad Lodge #709, Sun
Page 14
City West, AZ, and members of Club
Scandinavia of Sun City West, held a
joint early midsummer celebration at the
home of Cultural Leader Anne Levig.
The Scandinavian heritage group gathered on the patio of the host’s home for
an American style picnic, complete with
hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, and
baked beans, as well as Swedish herring
and other delicacies.
Officers of the group decorated a maypole with flowers and traditional Swedish
colors of yellow and blue. Members,
whose heritage represented the five
Scandinavian nations, shared information
about midsummer customs and traditions
in each of the five countries.
Swedish coffee and cake, in honor of
the birthdays of two Vasa members, concluded the day’s celebration.
Viking Lodge #730
Flint, MI
Women in Swedish costumes: Left to right.
Sharone Borgers, Carole Erickson, Lila Wood
and Christine Johnson.
June 26, 2011. What a beautiful summer day for our Midsummer Celebration.
We were again privileged to join in the
festivities at the Vasa Country Club near
Lapeer, MI. The grounds include a community of homes which surround a small
lake with swimming for young and old
and, a floating raft for the more adventurous swimmers. A large pavilion provided
plenty of room for tables that accommodated approximately 100 participants.
Viking Lodge #730 was well represented
with 27 members, family and friends.
The smorgasbord tables were covered
with the best of Swedish food which
included Johnson’s surprise, cucumber
slices in vinegar, meatballs, beets, baked
fish, etc. Topping off the meal was a variety of desserts.
Vasa Star July-September 2011
Viking Lodge #730
Continued from page 14
Music and sing along sheets were
offered by Roy Borger (accordian) and
Hazel Johnson (keyboard). It is always a
challenge trying to sing in Swedish lingo.
Gun Stoll and her large crew of mostly
teenagers (glad to see) decorated the
Maypole with Swedish flags and a multitude of colorful fresh flowers. The permanently located, pivoting pole was
erected easily for everyone to admire and
dance around many times. How could
you not have had a good time; perfect
weather, good friends, good food and
wonderful facilities! Can’t wait until
next year (maybe bring along a bathing
suit?) Have to think about that.
Submitted by: Ron/Dee Carlson
Viking Lodge #730 attendee’s in front of the Maypole.
Sierra Kronan Lodge #737
Roseville, CA
Looking back at our lodge meetings
this spring, we remember the April cultural presentation on Easter in Sweden.
Swedes keep to the Astronomical cycle
calendar and celebrate Easter on the first
Sunday after the first full moon after the
spring solstice. Members Carl Pearson
and Carol Nesewich presented “Easter in
Sweden - Meeting Spring Head On” with
bright yellow daffodils, birch twigs, and
good food. In addition to daffodils,
known as lilies in Sweden and “påskris,”
was a display of Swedish Easter cards or
“Påskkort“ obtained from a book store in
Arvika, Easter-themed photos from
“Kvällstunden,” and an enlarged picture
of Blue Mountain or “Blåkulla“ complete
with small figures of witches flying
about. We were reminded that in Sweden
little girls dressed up as witches go door
to door with their coffee pots, expecting
to get them filled with small change or
candy. Sometimes they deliver Easter
cards, and surprisingly, even if the family
isn’t home, the child is welcome to open
the door, throw the card inside and go on
her way. We were reminded that food
served during the Easter season would
likely include “semlor“; we ate cream
puffs instead of Shrove Tuesday buns but
after all they are ‘similar’ to “semlor.”
The Easter Sunday meal is often laid like
a “smörgåsbord“ and could include
spring lamb (a relatively recent tradition),
herring, salmon, potatoes in some form,
other side dishes, and eggs. After forty
Vasa Star July-September 2011
days of fasting, during which no eggs
were allowed in meals, they were a special treat. Eggs were not only consumed,
they were also painted to fight off bad
spirits.
In Skåne, southern Sweden, kids used
to roll eggs down the sandy dunes along
the coast to watch them collide with each
other and spill all over the slope. The big
sea wall north of Kivik is still called
Äggabackarna or the Egg Hills. In certain
parts of the country the custom of
“äggapickning“ was observed. People
gathered on Easter morning with
hardboiled eggs in their pockets. Two
players stood opposite each other, one
holding his egg still and the other using
his for attack. The winner was the one
whose egg remained unbroken. This was
supposed to bring good luck through
the coming year. With a little encouragement, Sierra Kronan members lined up
and paired off to tap their eggs one
against the other, the Red Egg
Team against the Yellow. Traditionally
the eggs were dyed yellow using onion
peels, and red using beet juice. We had
lots of fun and Raye Brown was the
winner. Under the strictest rules of the
contest, we would have had Raye peel
her egg and eat it to prove it wasn’t a
fake.
Submitted by: Carol Nesewich
Jubileum
Lodge #755
Madison, WI
Our last regular program of the spring,
held on Sunday, April 10th at Good
Shepherd Lutheran, featured founding
member and past chairman Lowell
Nordling, who explored pre-Columbian
America through the works of three
authors, Gavin Menzies, Charles Mann,
and C. Fred Rydholm. According to
Lowell, there was a lot going on in North
America before 1492, and some of it
might even have involved Scandinavians.
By far the best-documented Viking
site is at L’Anse Aux Meadows,
Newfoundland, from about 1000 AD. But
did Vikings also explore the North
American interior via the St. Lawrence
River and the Great Lakes, and via
Hudson Bay and the Red River?
There are tantalizing hints. Lewis and
Clark reported that the Mandan tribe had
a more settled lifestyle than most Plains
Indians, and that some of them had typically light skin and hair, suggesting influential encounters with Europeans well
before the French in the 1700s. The
Kensington Rune stone, found in
Minnesota in the late 1800s, was allegedly carved by the dying members of an
expedition up the Red River from
Hudson Bay. The Swedish-born editor of
the Ashland, WI newspaper encountered
an Indian who spoke words which, to his
tribe, were magic, but sounded remarkably like Swedish.
Page 15
Jubileum Lodge #755
Continued from page 15
It’s generally agreed that Columbus
knew that the earth was round, not flat.
But did he also have maps showing that
his real destination wasn’t the Far East,
but an entire continent between Europe
and Asia? That’s the opinion of Gavin
Menzies. In his book 1434, he describes
Chinese armadas of the 14th and 15th
centuries that explored the entire globe.
They supposedly reached Italy, bringing
maps showing the Americas, and diagrams which da Vinci modified to produce many of his astounding inventions.
Viking and Chinese explorers might
have found far more in North America
than we presently think. The Cahokia site
in Illinois east of St. Louis was once a
city of 40,000 inhabitants. But according
to Charles Mann, author of 1491,
Cahokia was just one of many such cities,
a remnant of a civilization of 10 million
people in the Mississippi Valley, going
back several thousand years BC, and sustained by an extensive trade in grain, fur,
and copper.
C. Fred Rydholm’s Michigan
Copper—the Untold Story: A History of
Discovery provides additional evidence
for a worldwide trade in American copper. During his lifelong explorations of
Michigan’s Upper Peninsula he found
numerous excavations and artifacts,
including a pit-furnace 20 feet deep and
10 feet across, cut into rock, and a 3500lb. copper nugget that had been partially
excavated before being abandoned.
Copper was important throughout the
ancient world, both “as is” and as bronze,
an alloy with tin. Rydholm claims that
more copper was used throughout the
ancient world than was available from
local sources, and also that the amount of
copper removed from Michigan was far
more than that found in North American
artifacts. So he hypothesized a worldwide trade, involving Egyptians,
Carthaginians, Celts, and Chinese, with
80% of the copper coming from the
Upper Peninsula.
As Lowell Nordling put it, “These stories inhabit our world. They personalize
it.”
We held our annual Pea Soup,
Pancakes, and Proverbs dinner at Arbor
Covenant Church in the evening of
Thursday, May 12. During Pea Soup
night we had four pots of pea soup. It’s
always fun to sample variations of this
simple, familiar food. Various blends of
thyme, marjoram, and ginger were used.
Page 16
Two were made with whole yellow peas,
while the other two used split yellow
peas, more easily found in our locale.
Hans Fride re-told the history of pea
soup. People have been eating it for thousands of years, because dried peas are
easily transported, highly nutritious, and
easily prepared. The tradition of Pea
Soup Thursday goes back to preReformation Sweden, and the need to eat
something that would stick with you
through the Friday fast day. Unlike some
other Swedish traditional foods, pea soup
is still widely eaten in Sweden. It’s even
available, ready-made, frozen in plastic
sleeves with metal-crimped ends, like the
ones used in America for breakfast
sausage. That led to a brief digression
about the much wider variety of foods
available in such sleeves, or tubes with
screw-on caps, in Sweden than in
America.
As is our custom, anyone who wanted
shared a Swedish saying or proverb.
Lowell Nordling recalled, “He who wishes to sing will find a song,” which led to
the invention of another one, on the spot.
“He who wishes to complain will find
something to complain about.” Ulla
Swanson shared, “Small, small words of
love, said every day, and your home
becomes a heaven and your life becomes
pleasant.” Barbara Furstenburg quoted,
“Up like the sun, flat as a pancake, such
is life.” That led to a discussion of the
idiom “flat as a pancake,” which in the
proverb appears to refer to death, but in
America refers to land which is, well, flat
as a pancake.
The sayings came thick and fast—I’m
sorry I couldn’t keep up with all who
shared one or what they were. Many had
heard, “Away is good but home is best.”
“What breaks in a moment takes years to
mend.” “One cannot live on beauty, but
one can die for it.” “Don’t throw away
the old bucket until you’re sure that the
new one holds water.” “When sin drives,
shame sits in the back seat.” “A piece of
bread in the pocket is better than a feather
in the cap.” “A woman’s heart sees more
than ten men’s eyes.” And, with
“Midsommar” just around the corner,
“Midsommar” night is short, but it sets
many cradles rocking.” Our “Mid sommar” celebration, so far as I know, is
strictly G-rated. We also heard a few
Norwegian jokes.
Thanks to Gunnard Swanson and
Gloria Waity for making the pancakes,
and to the others who brought “lingon,”
flatbread, and cheese.
We are also proud to announce that
Dylan Bender
Dylan Bender, son of Daniel and Carol
Bender of Wisconsin Rapids, has been
awarded a scholarship from Lake
Michigan District Lodge #8. Dylan will
be studying Environmental Engineering
at Michigan Tech. Dylan is a five-summer alumnus of Sjölunden (Concordia
Swedish Language Village), an Honor
Roll student and 1st Team AllConference football player at Lincoln
High, an Eagle Scout, and an acolyte at
St. John’s Episcopal Church. The future
is in good hands. Congratulations, Dylan!
Submitted by: Robert Merrill,
Historian
Nordic Red Rock
Lodge #760
Sedona, AZ
Don Rosenow and Pete Peterson,
remensitic of Legendary Swedish comedians, Olson and Johnson presented a
program on Viking ship finds in comic
fashion. Don acting as an investigative
Swedish newspaper reporter finds a
recluse Swede building a model Viking
ship while living in a cave in the deepest
and darkest part of Småland. As Don
continues with the interview, he discovers that Pete Peterssonssonson-AndThen-Son, is the oldest known living
Viking; born in 1011.
Don and Pete’s bantar, dialogue and
slides in Power Point of archeological
artifacts and history of Viking ship discoveries presented a hilarious discourse
on Nordic history. Peterssonson, son’s
head attire of rag mop for hair and cooking cauldron as a helmet spoofed the idea
of Vikings wearing horns. That erroneous
idea seemed to have started in New York
Vasa Star July-September 2011
Nordic Folk Lodge #761
Nordic Red Rock
Lodge #760
Munster, IN
Continued from page 16
at the turn off the century when the opera
society of that city decided to put on a
Nordic presentation. The director cast
about for a robust characterization of a
Viking and came up width idea of adding
horns to the helmet. Needless to say
Nordic Red Rock Lodge spent a hilarious
hour or more listening to the interview of
the Petterssonsonson-And-Then-son oldest living Viking!!! All spoken in EngelSvensk!
Submitted by:
Don Rosenow and Pete Peterson.
Nordik Folk began April with the first meeting of its newly formed Genealogy
Club on April 4th. Over ten Nordik Folk members turned out for the initial informative meeting led by Herb Smith, who has been working on his family tree and wanted
to share some of the things he’s learned along the way. The first meeting was a great
overview for the beginner with information on how to fill out your Ancestral Chart
and Family Group Records to navigating all of the online resources. His main goal
was to help us gather as much information as possible using free sources. Genealogy
Club will meet monthly from September-June on the first Monday of each month; and
Herb is available as a consultant to members in between meetings.
Our Cultural Program for the April Business meeting was cancelled, but Cultural
Leader Michelle Westlund is saving it for a rainy day.
Our second Genealogy Club was held on May 2nd, where Herb Smith talked about
where to start. He walked us through inputting information into a useful “Standard
Data Base” (Geni, Ancestry etc.), utilizing the local public library genealogy online
program “heritage Quest,” and then how to read what you’ve found.
From May 13-15 Nordik Folk #761 delegates Annelise Nelson and Barbara
Hannigan attended the 103rd Annual Convention of District Lodge Lake Michigan #8
which was hosted by The District Lodge Executive Board. Congratulations to them on
a wonderfully planned and enjoyable convention! Many Nordik Folk members attended the convention and all came away with fond memories. Nordik Folk Members
Rachel Hannigan and Katie Westlund were recipients of District College Scholarships
and were present to receive their awards.
Our May business meeting was spent recapping the District Convention and discussing ways to expand our local lodge membership, which for us has been an ongoing topic. We hope to expand our outreach in the community by holding more cultural
events and publicizing more thoroughly. One thing we hope to do is open up our
Genealogy Club to the community. We are also hoping to start our own Annual
Midsommar Celebration in Northwest Indiana.
Submitted by: Linnea Ogrentz
Genealogy Club Mentor Herb Smith speaking to members Les Lesko, Beth and Fred Raddatz,
David Andersson, Annalisa Blue, Lynda Smith, Kristen Schmal, Lisa Pearson, Michael Pearson
Sr., Susan Flores, Janice Tomky, and Michelle Westlund.
Vasa Star July-September 2011
Page 17
SWEDISH LODGE NEWS
Logen
Göteborg Nr 452
Logen
Karlstad Nr 632
I mars månad varje år ordnar Sveriges
Släktforskarförbund “Släktforskningens
dag” runt om i landet. I Göteborg
arrangerades eventet av några lokala släktforskarföreningar i samarbete med
Göteborgs Stadsbibliotek. Vår loge fick
en av inbjudningarna att vara med som
utställare under de tre dagar som det pågick. Vi fick även göra en presentation om
Vasa Orden i bibliotekets hörsal. Denna
inbjudan kunde vi med glädje ställa upp
på.
Under ett par veckor jobbades det
febrilt i logen med planeringsmöten för
framtagande av informationsmaterial och
bilder. Utställningsväggarna i vår monter
skulle dekoreras och bemanningsschema
i montern under tre dagar behövde
upprättas.
Det var full aktivitet när drygt 15 st.
utställare på fredagsmorgon var på plats
på biblioteket då väggar, bord och stolar
skulle ställas på plats. Vid lunchtid var
det invigning och sedan var det en strid
ström av besökare i dagarna tre.
Uppskattningsvis besöktes dagarna av
flera tusen personer och till vår loges
monter kom det hela tiden besökare i
olika åldrar. De flesta ville veta vad Vasa
Orden är för något och det var just det
som vår information i huvudsak handlade
om. Vårt mål och förhoppning var ju
också att få nya medlemmar som säkerställer vår loges framtid.
De besökare som hade emigranter i sin
släkt fick information om Vasa Arkivet
och om deras medlemsböcker. Vasa
Arkivet kommer på sikt att skanna in
böckerna så att det blir digitalt sökbart.
Att det idag finns ett sökbart register med
ca 58000 st. Vasa-medlemmar (EMIVASA) utgiven på CD-skivorna
Emigranten 2001 och Emigranten
Populär 2006 var inte så känt. I registret
framgår bl. a. namn, födelse och vilken
loge medlemmen tillhörde. Den informationen kan vara en pusselbit och historia
om en släkting som eftersöks.
I hörsalen informerade logens ceremonimästare Birgit Lindblad Vasa
Ordens historia och kulturledare
Charlotte Börjesson om Kontakt Amerika
och de möjligheter som är av intresse för
släktforskarna.
Sol och värme hälsade Kerstin Lane i
Karlstad inför hennes officiella
utnämnande som Årets Svensk-Amerikan
vid Sverige-Amerikadagen i Filipstad den
30 juli.
I samband med en middag på Sverige
Amerika Centret tillsammans med
medlemmar ur Logen Karlstad Nr 632,
berättade Kerstin att hon stod och såg ut
över Chicago, där hon bor, när hon fick
telefonsamtalet om att hon blivit utsedd
till 2011 års Svensk-Amerikan. Hon
kände sig mycket ödmjuk inför denna
utnämning. “Tänk att jag som kommer
från den skånska myllan har nominerats
till Årets Svensk-Amerikan!”
Ett “Get Together Party” under
värdskap av Karlstads kommun,
arangerades av bl a Cathrine BringseliusNilsson
ledamot
av
utnämningskommittén.
Kerstin Lane har byggt upp Swedish
American Museum i Chicago från
blygsamma ett rum till ett fyravåningars
kulturcentrum. Besöksantalet var 2 000 år
1986 och har idag ökat till 45 000. Hon
har också varit Generalkonsul för Sverige
i Illinois och avtackades i juni i år, men
hon tjänstgör fortfarande i avvaktan på en
efterträdare. Kerstin var vidare
initiativtagare vid bildanden av Chicago
Cultural Alliance 2007 och är fortfarande
aktiv som ordförande. Hon var också
drivande
vid
bildandet
av
lokalavdelningen för SWEA i Chicago.
I sitt tacktal berättade Kerstin Lane att
när hon är i USA, är Sverige hemma och
när hon är i Sverige, är USA hemma.
Arbetet med att bygga upp Swedish
American Museum har tagit mycken tid i
anspråk och hennes man har påpekat att
de har fyra barn, tre av kött och blod och
så museet!
Insänt av Charlotte Börjesson, KL
Page 18
Sy Charlotte Börjesson och Sy Irma Delfs är
nöjda med sin dag i montern.
Traditionsenligt firade LL Nr 452
Göteborg ”examensdagen” den 4 juli på
Slätskäddegatan i Fiskebäck i vackert
väder. Visst kan väl Amerikas
Nationaldag även kallas för Vasa Ordens
stora högtidsdag? Generös och gästvänlig
värd var O Ola Hansson. Ett tjugotal
logesyskon och gäster från LL Nr 702,
Kongahälla hade tillfälle att närvara.
Välkomstdrinken svalkade perfekt i sommarhettan!
Festligheterna inleddes med en quiz,
(som det är ok att kalla frågesport
numera). Åtta lag bildades som fick ge
sig ut på den snitslade banan med penna
och papper.
Tio frågor om Amerika och Vasa
Orden pockade på svar. Vet du kanske
mellan vilka delstater huvudstaden
Washington ligger? Har du koll på vilket
år USAs nuvarande flagga antogs eller
hur många medlemmar Vasa Orden har
totalt? Efter quizen hissade Vincent Höjer
Stjärnbaneret och vi stämde alla upp The
Star-Spangled Banner.
Nu var det dags att njuta av läckerheterna från Olas grill. Tre olika sallader,
majs och tomater bjöds till den baconinlindade fläskfilén. Och som om det inte
var nog trollade Ola fram äppelpaj med
en fantastiskt god och nyttig sås … Tre
lag fick dela på segern i den svåra quizen.
Men alla så fick vi med oss ett mycket
fint minne hem från den trevliga och
glada festen i Fiskebäck!
Insänt av: Margareta Ruthagen/
Monica Olsson
Insänt av: Barbro Bucht, KL
A Vasa-bridge to your
Swedish ancestors!
Looking for your relatives in Sweden?
I have helped many satisfied
Vasa-members finding their Swedish roots.
Further info please e-mail:
swedengen@telia.com
Vasa Star July-September 2011
Logen Höganäs Nr 634
Br Jan Berg framför Krapperups slott.
Vid kulturmötet lördagen den 16 april 2011 samlade ett 50-tal Vasamedlemmar. O
Sy Evy Lindstrand från LL Skåne Nr 570 och LL Carlscrona Nr 601 välkomnades till
kvällens möte.
BCM och BCMA Br Ola och Sy Maj Sandberg tjänstgjorde som Ceremonimästare
på ett föredömligt sätt. Föregående mötes protokoll upplästes och godkändes och PS
Sy Carina Nilsson läste upp inkomna kallelser. O Sy Evy Lindstrand läste upp
nomineringskommitténs förslag till nya Distriktstjänstemän, varvid det framkom att
vår VO Br Karl-Axel Bengtsson nominerats till CDM i DL 20. Vi gratulerar BR KarlAxel till nomineringen!
Efter sedvanliga rapporter från FS och K upplästes motioner och ändringsförslag
inför årets Distriktsmöte. Logen beslutade helt enligt styrelsens förslag. Mötet avslutades med en vacker ljussläckningsceremoni.
Den arrangerande gruppen hade dukat borden i vårens färger och en god middag
bestående av honungsmarinerad skinkstek med tillbehör serverades. O Sy Evy
Lindstrand kunde hälsa
ytterligare tre gäster
välkomna
till
efterkapitlet, gäster
som förhoppningsvis
blev medlemmar i vår
loge på SverigeAmerikamötet i juli.
Efter kaffe och god
hembakad kaka intogs
scenen av Ros-Marie
Greén och Johan
Isberg som spelade och
sjöng många kända
melodier och snart blev
det också en livlig allsång.
Husbandet spelade
upp till dans och som
Br Wayne Pierson från Nordic lodge nr 660 blir serverad lax med vanligt fylldes golvet
tillbehör med O Sy Eva Lindstrand, Sy Carina Norén och Br snabbt med dansglada
Gunnar Lindstrand tittar på.
Vasasyskon. Många
glada vinnare kunde hämta fina vinster vid lotteridragningen och så var även denna
trevliga Vasakväll till ända.
Söndagen den 29 maj 2011, var vi 24 Vasasyskon som träffades utanför
Krapperups slott som ligger c:a 5 km utanför Höganäs stad. Slottet är en av Skånes
äldsta och historiskt sett viktigaste sätesgårdar med anor från 1300-talet. Här finns
också en naturromantisk park med porlande bäckar, slingrande stigar och flera exotiska träd.
Där fick vi en mycket fin guidning genom slottet av Margareta Johnsson, som tillVasa Star July-September 2011
sammans med sin far finns med på vårt
Charterbrev. Vi avslutade träffen på
Slottscaféet.
Den 6:e juni, Sveriges Nationaldag,
firades i Tivoliparken i Höganäs. I fanborgen deltog Br Jan Berg, Br Kent
Andréasson, Sy Barbro Carlson och Br
Leif Larsson. Efteråt träffades vi hemma
hos Sy Ingrid och Br Jan Berg. Vi var 23
Vasasyskon som intog macka med ”gubbröra” och lite förfriskningar därtill.
Vädret var fint så det blev långbord i
trädgården.
Under vårt Sverige-Amerikamöte den
2 juli 2011, hälsade vår Ordförande Sy
Evy Lindstrand 81 st Ordensyskon
välkomna till årets Sverige-Amerikamöte
på Vikens Hemgård. Vi hade tre gäster
från Amerika, Br Bertil Winther, Logen
Golden Valley Nr 616, Sy Siv Svan
Pierson, Scandinavia Lodge Nr 667 och
Br Wayne Pierson, Nordic Lodge Nr 660
som infördes och hälsades välkomna.
Bland gästande ordenssyskon märktes
bl.a. SLD Br Åke Mellnert, Logen
Christian Nr 617, DM Br Olle
Wickström, Logen Skåne Nr 570. DLH
Sy Anita Nilsson, Logen Skåne Nr 570.
Gäster kom även från Logen Carlscrona
Nr 601, Logen Kärnan Nr 608 och från
Logen Nybyggarna Nr 698. Denna kväll
fick vi också tre ny medlemmar. Sy
Kerstin Nilsson, Br Calle Nilsson och Br
Mats Malmström. Dom hälsades varmt
välkomna till Logen Höganäs Nr 634.
Fanparaden utfördes av Br Kenneth
Nilsson, Sy Inger Bengtsson, Br Sixten
Bengtsson och Sy Bodil Larsson.
Prologen till fanorna lästes av Sy Maj-Lis
Friedman.
Efter Kontakt Amerika, läste KL Sy
Ingrid Berg upp hälsningar från bl.a. vänloger i USA. LH, Br Gunnar Lindstrand,
berättade om Oscarsstatyetten. Mötet avslutades med en vacker ljussläckningsceremoni. Efter lite förfriskningar bjöds det
till bankett. KL.
Sy Ingrid Berg talade till de nya
medlemmarna och hälsade dem välkomna till Logen Höganäs Nr 634. Tacktalet
hölls av nye medlemmen Br Calle
Nilsson.
Efter maten bjöds det upp till dans och
golvet fylldes snabbt. Gert Reinhold stod
för
musiken
denna kväll. I
Drömreselotteriet gick högsta vinsten till
Br Karl-Axel Bengtsson. Kvällen var slut
och vi gick alla hem efter en som vanligt
lyckad Vasakväll.
Insänt av: Ingrid Berg, KL
Bilder av: Ingrid Berg, KL
Page 19
Logen
Kongahälla Nr 702
DL Norra Sverige Nr 19 hade sitt
Distriktsmöte i Kungälv den 27 – 29 maj
2011, där Logen Kongahälla Nr 702 var
värdloge.
Det finns många anekdoter och berättelser från vikingatiden om möten som ägt
rum i trakten av Kongahälla, nuvarande
Kungälv, som t.ex. Norges kung Olav
Tryggvassons möte med Sigrid Storråda,
då de skulle göra upp om sina giftermålsplaner, vilkets sägs ha ägt rum år 997.
Trekungamötet ägde rum 1101 på
Kungsvallen vid Landamäret. Det sägs att
det då var den danske kungen, Erik
Ejegod, som tog initiativet till mötet med
kung Magnus Olavsson av Norge, även
kallad Magnus Barfot samt Inge
Stenkilsson av Sverige. Mötet var avsett
att skapa fred mellan länderna. Med detta
som bakgrund var det naturligt för Logen
Kongahälla Nr 702, att redan från början
välja en viking som sin symbol. Man kan
väl då också tycka att det var en lämplig
plats att samla Vasavänner från såväl
Storlogen i USA som Distriktslogen Norra
Sverige Nr 19 och Distriktslogen Södra
Sverige Nr 20 till att diskutera om vad
som är det bästa för Vasa Orden av
Amerika.
Flertalet av deltagarna samlades tidigt
på fredagen på Hotell Fars Hatt i Kungälv
där mötet och inkvarteringar har varit.
Gäster som bodde på hotellet fick vid
ankomsten en liten viking med en historik
om vikingastaden Kongahälla. Glädjande
var det, att ha Stormästare Br Bill
Lundquist med hustru Sheila samt Vice
Stormästare Br Tore Kellgren med hustru
Birgitta som gäster.
Sedan 2002 har Logen Kongahälla årligen haft en speciell Vikingadag och med
detta som bakgrund valde Logen att starta
Distriktsmötesdagarna med denna festlighet.
Drygt 175 Vasasyskon från SL, DL
Norra Sverige Nr 19, DL Södra Sverige
Nr 20 samt från många svenska lokalloger
i Sverige samlades i Restaurang Fars Hatt
på fredagskvällen. Många av Logen
Kongahällas medlemmar var klädda i sina
tidstypiska vikingakläder. Alla deltagarna
bjöds först på en välkomstskål där värdlogens O Br Sune Börjesson hälsade alla
deltagarna hjärtligt välkomna, varefter
Vikingahövdingen Br Morgan Andersson
frågade om några fiender var siktade i
grannskapet. Bitr Vikingahövdingen Br
Jan-Eric Berntsson rapporterade att så inte
var fallet och inledde kvällens festligheter
Page 20
med en trumpetfanfar. Så var det dags för
det spännande ögonblicket då
Vikingahövdingen Br Morgan Andersson
skulle tillkännage namnen på de utsedda
vikingarna.
Årets Viking, skall vara en kvinna eller
man, samt ha på ett förtjänstfullt sätt representerat Logen Kongahälla Nr 702.
Hedersvikingar, behöver inte vara
medlemmar i Vasa Orden av Amerika,
men skall på ett förtjänstfullt sätt ha gagnat Vasa Orden av Amerika eller Logen
Kongahälla Nr 702.
Till Årets Viking utsågs Logen
Kongahällas nuvarande Ordförande Br
Sune Börjesson som förutom varit Vice
Ordförande även varit Kulturledare. Till
Årets Hedersvikingar utsågs här SM Br
Bill Lundquist samt VSM Br Tore
Kellgren. Samtliga fick mottaga ett diplom
och en viking, snidad i trä.
Efter denna ceremoni var det dags att
inmundiga kvällens supé. För underhållningen denna kväll svarade Logen
Kongahällas medlemmar, som framförde
en Fritiof Andersson-kavalkad med musik
och texter av Evert Taube.
Ett 80-tal Vasasyskon var då samlade i
möteslokalen för invigningen av
Distriktsmötet, på lördag morgon.
Gästande Distrikts- och Storlogetjänstemän
infördes i fyra omgångar. Alla presenterades för Logen där de fick sina speciella
välkomstord av DM Br Einar Savolainen
Grön.
DM Br Einar Savolainen Grön lämnade
så över till O Br Sune Börjesson i Logen
Kongahälla Nr 702 som hälsade alla deltagarna välkomna till Kungälv och startade
ett inslag i invignings-ceremonin.
Distriktsceremonimästarna ledsagade in en
fanparad med två nyckelharpspelande
damer som förutom ingångsmusiken
spelade två folklåtar. Sy Inger Uneback
sjöng och Br Maths Fredriksson spelade
Inbjudan till Bohuslän, varefter uttåget
skedde med musik och uppskattande
applåder.
Distriktsmötets öppnande med de sedvanliga inledande punkterna, där det bl a
var reception för 23 nya Distrikts logemedlemmar, parentation hölls för åtta
Distriktsloge-medlemmar som avlidet
under den gångna terminen.
Nomineringen och val av de olika tjänstemännen och kommittéerna samt installation av Distriktstjänstemännen gjordes
av SLD Br Tore Tellberg, på ett mycket
förtjänstfullt sätt.
DM Sy Ewa Pilhammar Andersson
tackade för förtroendet att ännu en gång
bli vald till Distriktsmästare.
Drygt 180 Vasasyskon samlades till
Honorary Vikings
bankett under lördagen den 28:e maj. Kvä
llens värdpar Br Lars-Gunnar och Sy Ulla
Börjesson hälsade alla välkomna. En
mycket god supé serverades och vid förrätten utbringades först ett leve för
Sveriges Konung som följdes av
Kungssången samt därefter ett leve för
USA:s President där det sjöngs USA:s
nationalsång. Tal hölls av SM Br Bill
Lundquist och DM Br Einar Savolainen
Grön.
Efter supén framförde Vasa
Aktivitetsklubb Nr 10 Vasakören med
musiker, under ledning av Sy Inger
Uneback, ett antal sånger, på ett mycket
uppskattat sätt. Sedan var det dags för
kaffe samt dans.
För de Vasasyskon som inte deltog i
Distriktsmötet, hade man arrangerat en
utfärd till Marstrand. Ett drygt 20-tal deltagare färdades dit i bilar, där det blev en
guidad visning på Carlstens Fästning samt
lunch innan återfärden. På söndag förmiddag var det även arrangerat en guidad vandring utmed Kungälvs gamla fina byggnader på Västra Gatan för ett 10-tal
Vassyskon.
Ett bildspel om Kungälv och
Marstrand samt om Logen Kongahällas
historia, visades kontinuerligt, på en stor
TV-apparat i hotellets sällskapsrum.
Logen Kongahälla fick många uppskattande ord för hur detta Distriktsmöte
genomförts.
Insänt av: Rolf Claesson.
Foto: Leif Nilsson
Lodge Kongahälla #702
DL Northern Sweden #19 had their district meeting in Kungälv on 27 – 29 May
2011, Lodge Kongahalla #702 served as
the host lodge.
There are many anecdotes and stories
from the Viking age on meetings that have
taken place in the neighborhood of
Kongahälla, now Kungälv, e.g. The
Norwegian King Olav Tryggvassons
meeting with Sigrid Storråda, to arrange
for their wedding plans, it was said to have
Continued on page 21
Vasa Star July-September 2011
Logen Kongahälla Nr 702
Continued from page 20
taken place in 997. The three kings meeting took place 1101 at Landamäret near
Kongahälla. It is said that it was King Eric
I of Denmark that initiated the meeting
with King Magnus Olavsson of Norway,
also known as Magnus of Norway, and
Inge Stenkilsson of Sweden. The meeting
was intended to create peace between the
countries. With this in mind, it was appropriate to gather friends from both the
United States as the GL, DL Northern
Sweden #19 and DL Southern Sweden
#20 to discuss the future of The Vasa
Order of America.
The majority of participants gathered
early on Friday at hotel's Fars Hatt in
Kungälv where meeting and the accommodation facilities were held. Guests, who
stayed at the hotel, received upon arrival a
small viking with including the history of
the Viking city of Kongahälla. We were
fortunate to have GM Bill Lundquist with
wife Sheila and Deputy Grand Master
Tore Kellgren with wife Birgitta as guests.
On Friday evening the stage was set to
celebrate Viking Day, a tradition that started in 2002 and is held annually, an appropriate way to kick off the District meeting.
More than 175 Vasa members from the
GL, DL Northern Sweden #19, DL
Southern Sweden #20, as well as from
many Swedish local lodges in Sweden
gathered at Restaurant Fars Hatt on Friday
evening. Many of Kongahällas members
were dressed in Viking clothes. Chairman
Sune Börjesson greeted all participants,
after which Viking Chief Morgan
Andersson asked if there were any enemies in sight. Deputy Viking Chief JanEric Berntsson reported that this was not
the case, and began the evening's festivities with a trumpet solo. Then it was time
for the exciting moment when Viking
Chief Morgan Andersson would announce
the names of the nominated Vikings. The
Viking, woman or man, should have significally represented the Vasa Order of
America or Lodge Kongahälla #702.
Honorary Vikings, need not be members of the Vasa Order of America, but
have benefited The Vasa of America or
Lodge Kongahälla #702.
This year's Viking was appointed to the
current Lodge Kongahälla Chairman Sune
Börjesson who in addition has been the
Vice President and also has served as
Cultural leader. To Honorary Vikings was
appointed GM Br Bill Lundquist and
VGM Br Tore Kellgren. All received a
diploma and a Viking, carved in wood.
Following this ceremony, it was time
for the banquette. Lodge Kongahällas
members were responsible for the entertainment that performed song of Fritiof
Andersson, with music and lyrics by Evert
Taube.
Some 80 Vasa members gathered in the
meeting room for the opening of the
District meeting on Saturday morning.
Visiting District and GL members were
introduced in four different groups. They
were all called up to the stage where
everyone had their special welcoming
words from DM Einar Savolainen Grön.
Chairman Sune Börjesson from Lodge
Kongahälla #702 greeted all participants
welcome to Kungälv and started the inaugural ceremony. Masters of ceremonies
was escorted during a flag parade while
two women played two folk songs on “key
fiddles.” Inger Uneback sang and Maths
Fredriksson played Invitation to Bohuslän,
after which the exodus took place with
music and appreciative applause.
It was then time for District opening
with the usual introductory paragraphs,
there was e.g. a reception for 23 new DL
members, and a last tribute was held for
eight DL members that we lost during the
past semester.
Nomination and election of officers,
committees and the installation of district
officials were made by the GLD Tore
Tellberg, in a very creditable way. DM
Ewa Pilhammar-Andersson thanked for
the confidence to once again be elected
DM.
Under the “Wellness of the Order” DM
Einar Savolainen Grön thanked the outgoing districts officials and the newly
appointed District officials and other officials including Chairman Sune Börjesson.
GM Bill Lundquist thanked for a very nice
district meeting.
More than 180 Vasa members had
gathered for Saturday evening’s banquette
on the 28th. Lars-Gunnar and Ulla
Börjesson greeted all welcome. We honored the King of Sweden by singing the
“King Song” and continued by honoring
the United States President after which we
sang United States national anthem
Afterwards we ate a very tasty dinner.
Speech was held by GM Bill Lundquist
and DM Einar Savolainen Grön.
After our meal the Vasa Activity Club
#10 Vasa Choir with musicians, led by
Inger Uneback, performed a number of
songs. Then it was time for coffee and
dance.
For the Vasa members who did not participate in the District meeting an excursion was arranged to Marstrand. A little
over 20 members traveled by car, where
they had a guided tour of Fort Carlsten and
Vasa Star July-September 2011
lunch before returning. There were also
guided tours arranged along the old buildings at Kungälv West Street for a 10 Vasa
members.
A slideshow of Kungälv and
Marstrand including Kongahällas history
ran continuously, at a large TV in the
hotel's lounges.
Kongahälla Lodge received many
appreciative words for the way this district
meeting was conducted.
Submitted by: Rolf Claesson.
Foto: Leif Nilsson
Logen
Filbyer Nr 714
Det blir nog så att Filbyter måste byta
lokal nästa gång de ordnar Brödernas
Afton, det var fullsatt till ”sista bänk” på
våravslutningen. Nu skall sägas också att
Damernas Afton inte står långt efter
bröderna, sade SY Lisbeth H Qvarfordt
när hon tackade för den goda supén
och den fantastiska underhållningen
under kvällen. Det blev alltså en lyckad
våravslutning med Logen Filbyter.
Logemötet styrdes med sedvanlig
elegans av Ordf. Arne Samuelsson.
Många viktiga punkter var snart
genomgågna, alla väntade med spänning
på efterkapitlet och Brödernas Afton.
Ingen risk för nedläggning tack vare att
logen arbetar hela tiden med att få nya
medlemmar. Inte sätter de sig till ro och
tror att det går av sig självt. Det är
styrkan med Östgötalogerna, var Sy
Lisbeths kommentar till den stora
uppslutningen. Tänk om alla logerna
kunde arbeta som östgötalogerna då
skulle det inte bli några nedläggningar.
Logen Filbyters våravslutnig är något
att minnas, var Ordf Maggie AhlinsThulins kommentar när vi tog bilen och
svängde åter mot Norrköping.
Insänt av: Inge Hallberg
Foto: Inge Hallberg
Samarbete i logerna. Här från v ses ordf. i
Logen Bråviken Nr 751 Maggie Ahlin Thelin.
Stig Carlsson Ordf i logen Nr 762 Vadstena.
Arne Samuelsson Ordf i Logen Filbyter Nr
714 samt Lisbeth H Qvarfordt, FDM.
Page 21
Logen
Knallen Nr 745
Ett femtiotal logesyskon hade samlats
utanför Odd Fellow i det fina vårvädret.
Bussen, som först skulle köra oss till
Bredareds Bygdegård, avgick klockan 10.
På Bygdegården möttes vi av en trevlig
guide som bjöd på kaffe med dopp och
visade oss en film om Uno Axelssons liv
och konstnärskap. Denne man hade i
naturen funnit material till sitt
konstnärskap. I trädens olika former och
“missbildningar” hade han sett figurer
som han skickligt skulpterat fram. Denna
konstskatt finns att beskåda i ett museum
i anslutning till Bygdegården. Museet är
väl värt ett besök.
Färden fortsatte genom fagra marker i
vårens tid. Vi färdades genom Fristad och
på den vackra vägen förbi Gingri till
Rångedala kyrka och nådde så Ågårdens
Säteri. Där välkomnades vi av familjen
Wingborn till ett gästabud med helstekt
gris och läckra tillbehör. Eftermiddagen
tillbringades i vänners glada sällskap med
aktiviteter som poängjakt, musikaliska
tävlingar och lotterier.
Kåsören Örjan Hill underhöll oss med
ett historiskt föredrag om människor som
levat och spelat roll i Ågårdens historia.
Det var mycket intressant. Örjan Hill har
mångal kvaliteter.
Hemfärden tillbaka till Borås företogs
per buss i kvällningen med glada och
nöjda logesyskon efter en innehållsrik
dag.
Insänt av: Lilian Ewe Ericson,
Logehistoriker
Logen
Klockan Nr 747
Vårens sista möte i Logen Klockan Nr
747 var lördagen den 16 april. På
logemötet behandlades bl a motionerna.
Kulturledaren
läste
en
dikt.
Logehistorikern gav en återblick på mötet
1992, då det varit hattparad.
På grund av lågt deltagande i förra
årets Gökotta bestämdes att vi inte skulle
ha någon i år. Sedan var det dags för
efterkapitel. Lax med tillbehör smakade
utmärkt denna vårkväll.
Jämt får man höra att sång och dans
gör oss friska och glada. Glada är man
alltid på Klockans möten och säkert blev
vi åtminstone piggare, när sångaren från
England, Mel Rainbow, började sjunga.
Page 22
Det blev låtar som man hört av Dean
Martin, Elvis Presley, Jim Reeves med
flera. Vad vi njöt och vad vi dansade! Vi
bad honom direkt att komma tillbaka ett
annat år. Tack till Br Sven-Olof som
ordnat denna underhållning.
I pausen smakade kaffet extra gott, då
vi till detta fick en mycket god kaka ,
som en av systrarna bakat. Efter
sedvanlig lottdragning blev det ytterligare
danser och sedan var det dags att bege sig
hemåt.
Vi ses den 24 september!
Insänt av: Inger Ericson
Foto: Sven Olov Stigsson
Mel Rainbow som underhöll på vårt förra
möte.
Logen
Bråviken Nr 751
Många loger anordnar, efter
vårterminen slut, resor. Logen Bråviken
#751 reste till avslutning på Mauritzbergs
Slott, vilket kan läsas om i Bråvikens
hemsida. Logen Vadstena #762 och
Filbyter #714 anordnar flera resor på
försommaren. Bl.a till Barakaryd i
Småland och en resa till invandrarbygder
i Södra Östergötland med premiär på
musikalen Andrew Pettersson, en “äkta
pionärshistoria” på Aggarps loge i
Rydsnäs. Vidare så kommer Peter
Casseldagarna i Kisa framöver. Ja, det
finns en hel del resor varje som ordnas
av Östgötalogerna.
Logerna Vadstena och Filbyter,
Linköping och Logen Bråviken
Norrköping gjorde en dagstur till
Vadstena och trakterna kring Omberg och
Drottning Omma. Första stoppet var en
Guidad tur i Klosterkyrkan i Vadstena
och alla de fina utsmyckningarna som
finns där. Därefter intogs kaffe i
Pilgrims-Centrum.
Vidare ut mot den s.k. “slätta” och via
Naddö, besöktes Sveriges äldsta
Kyrkogård, där bl.a. nationalskalden
Verner von Heidenstams son Dag har sitt
vilorum. Kyrkan som tillhör platsen heter
Örberga Kyrka, näst äldst i Sverige, och
som visade sig vara en ytterst originell
kyrka. Lunch intogs på Stocklycke
Vandrarhem på Omberg.
Nästa stopp var det primära, besöket
på Ellen Keys Strand alldeles intill
Vättern. Det var en arbetsam upplevelse
för de flesta att ta sig ner till stranden och
upp igen via långa trappor. Men det var
det värt, en mycket trevlig guidning bjöds
vi på hemma hos Ellen Key. Min eloge
till systrarna Mary Dahlström och IngBritt Persson Cederin som med yttersta
viljan tog sig ner och upp igen från de
många branta trapporna. Väl uppe vid
bussen fanns en rastplats med utsikt över
Hästholmen och Vättern,
till
eftermiddagskaffet som verkligen alla
gjort sig förtjänta av.
En stor eloge till Kulturledarna Laila
Pettersson, Vadstena och Kristin Lundin i
Filbyter samt till Pege Andersson
Vadstena som höll ihop de olika besöken.
En applåd kom från deltagarna i
Bråviken, Vadstena och Filbyter.
Östergötland består av många fler
kulturupplevelser och vi ser fram emot
mera besök.
Fotnot: Besöket hos Ellen Keys
Strand gav mersmak. Läs boken Ett hem
för själen, Skriven av Ingela Bendr.
Drottning Omma är ett sagoväsen
kring Omberg. Läs på Goggels.
Insänt av: Inge och Lisbeth Hallberg
Kultur och drivna reseledare vid Ellen Keys
Strands parkering med utsikt över Vättern och
Hästholmen. Från V Laila Pettersson, Logen
Vadstena Kristina Linden, Logen Filbyter
samt Per-Gunnar Andersson intendenten på
Övralid, Logen Vadstena och samman hållande av hela denna resa.
Vasa Star July-September 2011
YOUTH NEWS
Bishop Hill, Vasa Youth Club
A favorite project of the members of Bishop Hill’s Vasa
youth club is to tend the garden at the Vasa National Archives.
Pictured here is Pride of the Family member, Claire Mannon,
daughter of Kimberly Mannon of Geneseo, Illinois and grand-
daughter of Russ and Nan Swanson of Rio, Illinois, members of
Local Lodge #683. Be sure to stop and smell the flowers at the
Archives this summer!
Submitted by: Patti Christianson, Bishop Hill Lodge #683
AUDIO-VISUAL DIRECTOR
Mike Pearson
7309 New Hampshire Pl • Hammond, IN 46323-2937 USA
Phone: (219) 588-4752
E-mail: audiovisual.vasaorder@yahoo.com
The Vasa website at www.vasaorder.com contains a “materials button” which has the listing of audio visual
materials available.
If you are unable to use the Vasa website, you can still ask that a listing be sent to you by mail.
Vasa Star July-September 2011
Page 23
Welcome To Our New Members
On behalf of the Grand Lodge and members of the Vasa Order of America, I am pleased to welcome you to
membership in these local Vasa lodges. If you are new to the Vasa Order of America we bid you welcome. If
you are transferring or are a dual member, your new lodge bids you welcome. We hope you will enjoy your
membership and will participate in all of the activities planned for you.
Art Bjorkner, Grand Lodge Membership Chairman
31 Vasa Drive,
Hackettstown NJ 07840-5314 USA
DL CONNECTICUT NO. 1
Karl XII Lodge No. 103
Sivert R. Jacobson
DL MASSACHUSETTS NO. 2
Nordic Lodge No. 611
Toriann Ellen Arvidson
Pamela Anne Laino
Vinland of Cape Cod Lodge No. 703
Clara J. Buttrick
Jan Marie Voelker
Birka Lodge No. 732
Karyn Lyn Ashness
Ann Elizabeth DeLacey
Sven Gunnar Hyberts
Marlys J. Mahajan
Sharon DeLacey Mikutel
Lisa E. Winsor
Samantha Kristine Cunningham
Jim D. Losh
Kimberly Lynn Normann
Dalahäst Lodge No. 742
Harvey Milton Evans
DL LAKE MICHIGAN NO. 8
Kronan Lodge No. 179
Marcella Jane Carlson
Joy A. Hamron
DL PENNSYLVANIA NO. 9
Nobel-Monitor No. 130
Nancy R. Faymon
Eric Larson Zalud
DL NEW YORK NO. 4
Thule Lodge No. 127
Gloria Anderson
Roy M. Holland
Newkirk L. Johnson
Janet Miller
William R. Turner
William B. Wittenbrook
DL GOLDEN GATE NO. 12
Lindbergh Lodge No. 494
Lynne Bollen
Viveca Eliscu
Gunnar Galsgaard
Ronnie Haderle
Kristina Anna Kappel
Ginny M. Nelson
Linnea Lodge No. 504
Jan Ekner
Alexandra Loon
Sierra Kronan Lodge No. 737
James Verne Netzel
Melissa Sue Netzel
DL NEW JERSEY NO. 6
Arlington Lodge No. 62
Karen H. Rossen
Linne Lodge No. 429
Joyce Kellish
Martin Kellish
Three Crowns Lodge No. 704
Cynthia Alison Baker-Scott
Karin Lovisa Boitz
Douglas James Creelin
DL PACIFIC NORTHWEST NO. 13
North Star Lodge No. 145
Ebba Ostrom
Lester Everett Ostrom
Norrskenet Lodge No. 189
Carl Ronald Lofgren
Alexa Louise Lowe
Anthony Michael Lowe
Lori Vanderman Wilmot
Stephen Barwick Wilmot
DL RHODE ISLAND NO. 3
Svea Lodge No. 362
Haley Marie Tavares
Page 24
Norden Lodge No. 233
Leonard A. Gottner
Leslie Mae Kelly
Esther M. Taylor
Olympia Lodge No. 550
Dorene Angela Berg
Lynette Lindelöf
Philip E. Stutzman
Susan A. Stutzman
DL PACIFIC SOUTHWEST NO. 15
North Star Lodge No. 106
Siri Marie Eliason
Ingemar Hulthage
Desert Viking Lodge No. 682
Alex Danson
Clark Allyn McCartney
Valley Viking Lodge No. 701
June Marie Evans
DL ALBERTA NO. 18
Nordstjarnan Lodge No. 575
Chrystal Vinje Marney
DL SÖDRA SVERIGE NO. 20
Calmare Nyckel Lodge No. 628
Barbro and Björn Hagström
Ronneby Lodge No. 630
Åke Karlsson
Ann-Charlotte Nilsson
Sandra Nilsson
Blå Jungfrun Lodge No. 749
Leif Axelsson
Maud Axelsson
Jan G. Jonsson
Monika Jonsson
DL ARIZONA NO. 21
Tucson Lodge No. 691
Kayleigh Clare Arendt
Andrew James Peele
Vasa Star July-September 2011
CULTURE
Humble Beginnings
by Millie Ring
I was born in “Scandinavia.” There are
five countries that are part of
Scandinavia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark,
Finland, and Iceland. I was born in
Sweden. It is a cold country and has long
dark winters. The sun rarely shines by the
arctic circle where it is dark night and
day for about four months in the winter.
In the summer it stays light so long that
you have to have your shades pulled
down at night so that you can sleep.
I was almost five when my parents,
Lilly and Ingemar, came to the United
States to find a better life. The boat we
came on was called the Gripsholm, and it
took ten days to reach this wonderful
country called America. There were no
planes in those days, but now it only
takes 9 hours on a jet to span the ocean
from Sweden to the USA.
Neither my parents nor I could understand nor speak one word of English. I
went to kindergarten, and the kids all
teased me because I could not understand
them. I soon learned to speak English
without any special lessons. Then my
parents learned the English language
from me. We were so very proud of our
achievement and happy to be living in
this remarkable country called the USA.
We lived in a small four room apartment. There was not a bit of grass or a
yard where I could play. There were only
cement sidewalks. My dad Ingemar
worked as a carpenter and made about
$15.00 a week with no vacations and no
sick pay or pensions. My mom Lilly was
a housewife.
We were very poor. I only had one
pair of shoes, coat, hat, sweater, and
gloves. I also had one dress for Sunday
School and two blouses and two skirts for
school. There were no big decisions to be
made about what we were to wear for
school. When it was winter and zero
weather, we wore rubber galoshes with
A Vasa-bridge to your
Swedish ancestors!
Looking for your relatives in Sweden?
I have helped many satisfied
Vasa-members finding their Swedish roots.
Further info please e-mail:
swedengen@telia.com
Vasa Star July-September 2011
buckles.
We did not eat the way we do today.
There were no delis, or frozen foods. Our
main diet consisted of oatmeal or a piece
of toast and squeezed orange juice for
breakfast. For lunch we had peanut butter
and jelly sandwiches and a bowl of
homemade soup. For dinner we had meat
once or twice a week, some fish, many
potatoes, rice dishes, fresh vegetables,
and hard breads. We did not eat many
salads. It was simple fare, but we grew up
healthy and strong.
We played simple games such as
cards, checkers, bunco, and dominoes.
There were no computer games,
Nintendo, or Game Boy. There was no
software, and hardware was a place to
buy nails. The Internet was something
like a hairnet. We had roller skates which
fit on our shoes. We needed a skate key
to tighten the clamps on our skates so
they would stay on our feet. We jumped
rope, played Run Sheepy Run, Baby in
the Hole, and other outside games. We
had no TV, only a lowly radio.
As I got older and was in the sixth or
seventh grade, I got my first second hand
bike. What a thrill that was. Now the kids
get their first car at 16. We went to a second hand store and bought movie magazines for five cents each. We girls saved
movie stars’ pictures in a big cardboard
box, and then traded these pictures with
our friends for each of our own favorite
stars. My favorite was Loretta Young.
In those days, smoking was an expensive habit that only some could afford at
29 cents a pack. We picked up silver
wrappers from cigarette packages that
had been discarded. We made silver balls
out of the foil, sold it, and got about 5
cents for a big ball.
We went ice skating in the winter at
the park. Our biggest enjoyment was
going to Lake Michigan to swim and fish
in the summertime. There was no Outer
Drive then. It was only sand and jagged
rocks where we would dive and swim in
the very deep water. No swimming is
allowed there now, and all those huge
rocks have been leveled off and are now
walkways.
When I was 11, the movies with a
stage show, cost only 15 cents for kids
and 25 cents for adults. We saw the top
follies, and many of the big movie stars
gave us their autograph at the stage door.
We saved our milk money, which was
about 5 cents a day, so we could go to the
movies on Saturday afternoons. That was
the biggest thrill of our week.
I went to grade school for eight years
and then had 4 years of high school. No
one could afford to send their kids to college. After finishing high school, most of
the boys my age were drafted into the
2nd World War. They were only 18 or 19
years old and afraid.
We walked to school both ways summer and winter, often through much
snow and below zero weather. Our lunch
time was one hour. We had no hot school
lunches. Mom packed up our lunch in a
brown paper bag, or sometimes we went
home where she was always there to
greet us with hot chocolate made out of
dry cocoa and milk. There were no
instant things in those days. Everything
we ate was made from scratch, even baby
food. Mom had to strain the food and
make it. We could not afford to go out to
restaurants. There were no McDonalds,
Kentucky Fried Chicken, or Burger King,
etc.
We did not have any of the electrical
appliances we have today. We had a
toaster that opened on both sides so two
pieces of bread could be toasted at the
same time. We had to turn and watch the
toast so it would not burn. We had no
automatic dishwashers, Mom was it. We
had a washing machine with a hand
wringer, and no automatic dryers. There
were no microwaves, no toaster ovens, no
showers, and silent movies only, no
talkies.
We did a lot of walking in those days.
I think the streetcar cost 5 cents, and we
could not afford the fare. There were no
transfers, and there were two conductors
on each streetcar. When we got a hole in
the sole of our shoes, we would put a
piece of cardboard in so our feet would
not get wet. We only had black, brown,
or white shoes, not all these multi-colored ones that we have today. We also
did not have all those fancy named sneakers as we do today. We had gym shoes.
The girls wore green romper gym suits,
Continued on page 26
Page 25
Humble Beginnings
Continued from page 25
and wore gray tank suits for swimming.
They looked awful.
Christmas was a big event. Santa
always came in person with a small pack
on his back on Christmas Eve. We were
so excited. We each got two or three presents. I got a petticoat, woolen stockings,
and maybe one toy which was either a
ball, jump rope, jacks, or a game like
Checkers or Parcheesi. We each had a
Christmas stocking that was not hung by
the fireplace, because we did not have
one. In our stocking we found raisins,
some penny candy, and an orange or an
apple.
On Christmas Eve, we had Swedish
Smorgasbord, which consisted of
köttbullar (meatballs), “Dopp i Gryta”
(dipping in the drippings), “skinka”
(ham), “ost” (cheese), limpa bread, and,
of course, “glögg,” a spiced wine. We
had real candles on our tree. The
Christmas tree cost $1.00. We used
strung cranberries on a chain and popcorn
balls to trim it. We also used multi-colored paper chains, paper baskets, and little Swedish flags as decorations. It was a
marvelous feast and celebration with our
many loved ones.
These are only a few of my wonderful
memories of growing up in the beautiful
country called America.
Millie Ring is a member of Kronan
Nordstroms
Company History
Nordstrom, Inc. was started in 1901 as
a single shoe store in Seattle,
Washington, that was opened by two
Swedish immigrants. From those origins,
the family-run enterprise expanded into a
180-outlet, 27-state chain, which tallied
$6.49 billion in sales in 2003. In addition
to more than 90 flagship Nordstrom
department stores, the company also
operates about 50 Nordstrom Rack outlet
stores in the United States and around 35
fashionable boutiques, most of which are
located in Europe. Catalog and Internet
sales are generated through the
Nordstrom Direct unit. Carefully supervised expansion, tight family management, wide selection, and attentive customer service have long been the hallmarks of Seattle-based Nordstrom, one of
the largest independent fashion specialty
retailers in the United States. Members of
the founding Nordstrom family continue
Page 26
to own about 20 percent of the company’s stock.
Opening of Small Shoe Store in 1901
John W. Nordstrom, a 16-year-old
Swede, arrived in Minnesota in 1887
with $5 to his name and, after working
his way across the United States, settled
briefly in Seattle. In 1897 he headed
north to Alaska in search of gold. He
found it. In 1899, $13,000 richer,
Nordstrom moved back to Seattle, where
he opened a shoe store with Carl Wallin,
a shoemaker he had met in Alaska. On its
first day of business in 1901, Wallin &
Nordstrom sold $12.50 in shoes.
Business quickly picked up. By 1905
annual sales increased to $80,000. The
business continued to grow, and in 1923
the partners opened a second store in
Seattle. By 1928, however, 57-year-old
John Nordstrom had decided to retire
from the shoe business, and passed on his
share to his sons Everett and Elmer. Carl
Wallin retired the following year and
likewise sold his share to the next generation of Nordstroms. In 1930 the shoe
stores were renamed Nordstrom’s. In
1933 John Nordstrom’s youngest son,
Lloyd, joined the partnership.
The business that John Nordstrom left
was substantially larger than the one he
started back in 1901. It was up to the next
generation of Nordstroms, however, to
build on their father’s success. In 1929
the Nordstrom brothers doubled the size
of their downtown Seattle store. In 1930,
despite the onset of the Great Depression,
the two stores made $250,000 in sales.
The shoe stores survived the Depression,
but faced another severe threat during
World War II, when leather rationing
prohibited U.S. consumers from buying
more than three pairs of shoes per year.
The Nordstrom brothers had to search
nationwide for supplies of shoes.
Expansion and Diversification in the
1950s and 1960s
In the postwar decades, the Nordstrom
brothers built the company into the
largest independent shoe chain in the
United States. In 1950 the Nordstroms
opened two new shoe stores: one in
Portland, Oregon, and one in a Seattle
suburb—the latter located at Northgate
Mall, the nation’s first shopping mall.
Nine years later, Nordstrom remodeled
its Seattle flagship store, and stocked it
with 100,000 pairs of shoes—the biggest
inventory in the country. By 1961
Nordstrom operated eight shoe stores and
13 leased shoe departments in
Washington, Oregon, and California.
That year, the firm grossed $12 million in
sales and had 600 employees on its payroll.
In the early 1960s, the Nordstrom
brothers came to a crossroads of sorts.
Spurred by their success, they were convinced that their business could expand.
The brothers were unsure whether they
should simply expand their shoe business
to the East and South or branch out into
other areas of retailing. The brothers
chose to diversify, and purchased Best
Apparel, a Seattle-based women’s clothing store, in 1963. With the addition of
apparel outlets, the company expanded
rapidly. In 1965 the Nordstroms opened a
new Best Apparel store adjacent to a
Nordstrom shoe store in suburban Seattle.
In 1966 the company acquired a Portland
retail fashion outlet, Nicholas Ungar, and
merged it with the Nordstrom shoe store
in Portland, which was renamed
Nordstrom Best.
In the late 1960s, the modern
Nordstrom department store began to
take shape. Between 1965 and 1968, the
company opened five stores that combined apparel and shoes. In 1967, when
annual sales had reached $40 million, the
chain’s name was changed to Nordstrom
Best. The firm diversified further in these
years, as Nordstrom Best began to sell
men’s and children’s clothing as well.
Third Generation Took Control in
1970
In 1968 Everett Nordstrom turned 65,
and he and his two brothers decided to
turn over the reins of the company to the
next generation of Nordstroms. Five
men—Everett’s son Bruce, Elmer’s sons
James and John, Lloyd’s son-in-law John
A. McMillan, and family friend Robert E.
Bender—took control of the company.
In August 1971 the company went
public, offering Nordstrom Best stock on
the over-the-counter market. Family
members retained a majority of the stock,
however. In 1971 Nordstrom earned $3.5
million on sales of $80 million. In 1973,
when sales first topped $100 million, the
company changed its name to Nordstrom,
Inc. That same year saw the opening of
the first Nordstrom Rack, an outlet store
used to move old inventories at discount
prices. It was located in the basement of
the downtown Seattle store.
The firm continued to grow steadily
throughout the 1970s by opening new
stores, increasing volume in existing
stores, and diversifying. In 1974 annual
sales hit $130 million. The following
year, Nordstrom bought three stores in
Alaska. In 1976 the firm launched a new
Continued on page 27
Vasa Star July-September 2011
Nordstroms
Continued from page 26
division, Place Two, which featured, in
smaller stores, a selected offering of
men’s and women’s apparel and shoes.
By 1977 Nordstrom operated 24 stores,
which generated sales of $246 million.
In 1978 Nordstrom expanded into the
southern California market, opening an
outlet in Orange County. That year, the
firm reaped $13.5 million in earnings on
nearly $300 million in sales. Buoyed by
the success, Nordstrom’s executives
charted an aggressive expansion program,
and began to open bigger stores in
California. Their late 1970s confidence
presaged a decade of phenomenal, but
controlled, growth.
Submitted by: Linda Lunstrum Kosvic,
Desert Viking Lodge #682
Source:
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Nordstrom-Inc-CompanyHistory.html
Sommar-rapport
från Sverige
Under sommaren är aktiviteten som
lägst i Vasalogerna, medan firanden av
Sverige-Amerika-dagar är som livligast,
några av dem stödda av vissa Vasaloger.
Mycket uppmärksamhet ägnas varje år
till firandet av Årets Svensk-Amerikan
(ÅSA), som sedan 1960 utses av de två
distriktslogerna (DL 19 och DL 20).
Huvudarrangemanget inklusive utdelandet av medalj och diplom, har under
årens lopp flyttat mellan olika städer
inklusive Stockholm och Göteborg, men
under åtminstone de senaste 10 åren, har
det ägt rum vartannat år i Karlstad eller
Växjö. I år delades insignierna ut till
Kerstin Lane från Chicago, i Karlstad och
Filipstad i samband med John Ericssondagen den 30 juli. Sverige Amerika
Centret är huvudarrangör, men dagen
räknas också som ett Vasamöte för
lokallogen (LL Karlstad Nr 632).
Kerstin Lane är troligen mest känd för
våra medlemmar som skaparen av det
fantastiska Svensk-Amerikanska Muséet i
Chicago med dess mycket populära interaktiva barnavdelning. Fram till
halvårsskiftet i år var hon också Honorär
Generalkonsul för Sverige i staten
Illinois (sedan 2003).
Hon är fortfarande i full verksamhet
som ordförande för den Nya
Kulturalliansen i Chicago (Chicago
Cultural Alliance), som hon organiserade
2007. Läs mer om Kerstin Lane i aprilVasa Star July-September 2011
juni utgåvan av Vasa Star (sid.6).
Av tradition är Årets SvenskAmerikan inbjuden till Minnesotadagen,
som vanligtvis firas i Växjö men som
detta år arrangerades i närliggande Ljuder
den 14 augusti. Vilhelm Moberg valde
Ljuder som utgångsort för emigranterna i
sina romaner om utvandringen.
Minnesotadagen anordnas vanligen av
Svenska Emigrantinstitutet och dess vänförening, men i år var Ljuders hembygdsförening också ansvarig. Den lokala
Vasalogen (LL Carl von Linné Nr 678)
brukar också bidra. För ytterligare information om svensk-amerikanska arrangemang (Barkeryd, Önnestad m.fl.) se
föregående utgåva av Vasa Star (sid.29).
Inom DL 19, som tillägg till John
Ericsson-dagen, finns för övrigt två andra
arrangemang: Korpagillet i Uddevalla
(LL Uddevalla Nr 638) den 13 augusti
och Atlantlogen i Göteborg (LL Göteborg
Nr 452 den 10 september.
Det finns uppenbara och goda skäl att
besöka några av dessa högtidligheter för
att träffa gamla vänner och för att knyta
nya kontakter. Detta är ett sätt att vidga
horisonten genom bibehållandet och
förstärkandet av banden mellan Sverige,
USA och Kanada.
För att till slut se litet längre in i
framtiden, d.v.s till 2012, kommer det att
arrangeras ännu en Swedish Bridge
Conference i Karlstad 12-15 september
2012. Den första ägde rum i Karlstad
2006 och blev en stor framgång med deltagande av många organisationer från
båda sidor av Atlanten. Vi hoppas att den
kommande blir något liknande och mer
information kommer att lämnas efterhand.
Insänt av: Stig Salgeback, Karlstad,
SLKL, Sverige
E-post: stig.salgeback@telia.com
Summer report
from Sweden
During the summer, the activities are
few within most of the Vasa lodges while
Swedish-American festivals are most
active during this time; some of them are
supported by certain Vasa lodges.
A lot of attention is devoted each year
to the celebration of The Swedish
American of the Year (Åsa), that has
since1960 been appointed by the two district lodges (DL 19 and DL 20). The central arrangement including the awarding
of the medal and diplomas has during the
years' moved between different cities
including Stockholm and Gothenburg,
but during the past 10 years, it has regularly taken place every other year in
Karlstad or Växjö. This year’s appointee,
Kerstin Lane from Chicago, was awarded
in Karlstad and Filipstad at The John
Ericsson Day celebration on July 30. The
Swedish American Center is in charge of
the arrangements, but it also counts as a
meeting with the local Vasa lodges (LL
Karlstad #632).
Kerstin Lane is probably best known
to most of our members, as the creator of
the fabulous Swedish-American Museum
in Chicago with its very popular interactive children’s’ department. During the
first half of this year she was also the
Honorary Consul General of Sweden for
Illinois (since 2003). She is currently the
president of the Chicago Cultural
Alliance that she organized in 2007. Read
more about Kerstin Lane in the AprilJune issue of Vasa Star (p. 6).
By tradition The Swedish American of
The Year is invited to The Minnesota
Day that usually takes place in Växjo, but
this year it was arranged in the neighboring village Ljuder on August 14. Vilhelm
Moberg chose Ljuder as the starting point
for the emigrants in his emigrant novels.
The Minnesota Day is run by The
Emigrant Institute of Växjö and its supporting body (Society of Friends), but
this year a local society in Ljuder was
also responsible. The Vasa lodge of
Växjö (LL Carl von Linné #678) contributed too. For more Swedish-American
festivities in southern Sweden (Barkeryd,
Önnestad and others), see the previous
issue of Vasa Star (p.29).
Within DL 19 as an addition to the
John Ericsson Day, there were two other
festivals: Korpagillet (The Festival of the
Raven) in Uddevalla (LL Uddevalla #638)
on August 13 and The Atlantic Lodge (LL
Goteborg #452) on September 10.
There are clearly good reasons to
attend some of these festivals in order to
meet old friends and make new acquaintances. It is a way to broaden the horizon
and maintaining and strengthening the
ties between Sweden and USA/Canada.
Looking forward further into the
future, i.e. into 2012, there will be another Swedish Bridge Conference arranged
in Karlstad September 12 - 15, 2012. The
first took place in Karlstad in 2006 and
was a great success with participation of
many organizations from both sides of
the Atlantic. We hope the upcoming
event will be something similar and more
information will be given as time goes
by.
Submitted by: Stig S. Salgeback,
Karlstad, GLCD, Sweden
E-mail: stig.salgeback@telia.com
Page 27
Book Review and New Books
Publish America Presents Write Soon. Love, Fran by L.E. Starks
Frederick, MD May 24, 2011 — PublishAmerica is proud to present
Write Soon. Love, Fran: Letters Home from a Korean War WAC
by L.E. Starks of West Haven, Connecticut.
The Army career of Corporal Frances
M. Bushey, now retired, began on April
28, 1949 and lasted until she was honorably discharged on September 7, 1951.
This book is based on the letters written
by Corporal Bushey, now known as Mrs.
Frances M. Wissner, to her mother
throughout her military career as well as
her personal remembrances of the events.
Mrs. Wissner is the author’s mother-inlaw and the actual writer of these letters,
which have been edited for clarity and
brevity. The personal experiences of this
Korean War WAC are shared with you,
the reader, and include her opinions and
thoughts on her relationships, friendships
and her work as a cook in the Army. The
reader will be privy to all the intimate
details of daily life as recounted by a
woman in the Women’s Army Corps who
started her army career as a Private and
ended it as a Corporal.
The author, L.E. Starks and Frances
M. Wissner, f/k/a Corporal Frances M.
Bushey, have known each other since
1990 when the author started dating and
eventually married Mrs. Wissner’s son,
David Starks. In 2009, Mrs. Wissner
showed the author the letters that her
mother had saved from when she was in
the army and suggested that a book could
be written.
“It has been an extreme pleasure to
work with this talented and dedicated
author,” said PublishAmerica Public
Relations Director Shawn Street. “For
ordering information, please visit
www.publishamerica.com.” This book is
also
available
on
www.barnesandnoble.com
and
www.amazon.com.
PublishAmerica is the home of 50,000
talented authors. PublishAmerica is a traditional publishing company whose primary goal is to encourage and promote
the works of new, previously undiscovered writers. Like more mainstream publishers, PublishAmerica pays its authors
advances and royalties and makes its
books available through all bookstores.
PublishAmerica offers a distinctly personal, supportive alternative to vanity
presses and less accessible publishers.
Follow us on Twitter at
@PubAmericaNews!
Page 28
Visit us online at http://www.facebook.com/publishamerica.publisher and
www.publishamerica.com.
Contact: Shawn Street – Public Relations
pr@publishamerica.com
www.publishamerica.com
Submitted by: Lisa Erickson, I am a
PDM from CT District No. 1
HAPPENINGS
Midsummer Queen at Bishop Hill
Lisa Wendel, 18 of Bishop Hill
was crowned this years’
Midsummer Queen at Bishop
Hill’s Midsummer event. Despite
rain off and on during the day
the event, especially the maypole
portion, was well attended with a
large procession. Lisa will be
attending Bowling Green State
University in Bowling Green,
Ohio on a ROTC scholarship
where she will be studying
Broadcast Journalism.
Submitted by: Mike Wendell
Vasa Star July-September 2011
Korpagillet
Torsten Torstensson, Ordförande i
Logen Uddevalla Nr 638, kontaktade mig
i början av januari och berättade att varje
år har logen något som kallas Korpagillet
då man utser Årets Hederskorp och att
han skulle vilja föreslå mig som
Hederskorp för det arbete jag gör med
The Vasa Star. Han frågade vidare om
jag hade intresse samt möjlighet att
medverka i detta evenamang. För att vara
riktigt ärlig visste jag nog egentligen inte
vad det hela handlade om, men jag
förstod att det här var något speciellt. Jag
tackade ja, eftersom jag visste att vi
skulle befinna oss Sverige under firandet.
Det verkade så långt borta i framtiden
då, och nu är det hela över. Jag hade
försökt luska ut litet från tidigare
Hederskorpar vad det var man skulle
“utsättas” för. Ju närmare datumet kom,
desto mer nervös började jag bli inför
kommande
“eldprov.”
Tidigare
Hederskorpar, nämde att “.....de hade ju
liksom överlevt.” Ja, ja det gjorde även
jag! Torsten, läste sedan “det hela var
över, ” litet om varför jag blivit utsedd
till Årets Hederskorp och jag känner mig
mycket hedrad och stolt över
utmärkelsen. Jag tilldelades ett fint
diplom samt en snidad korp i trä som
minne av detta evenemang. En mycket
fin kväll men många fina människor som
jag aldrig kommer att glömma! Ett varmt
tack till Er alla!
Andra personer som tidigare fått
denna utmärkelse är t ex Arnold och Aina
Barton, Anne-Charlotte Harvey, Erik
Gustavson och Elise Peters.
Jag vill nämna litet om några av
Torstens intressen. Jag hade förmånen att
se en fin samling bestående av diverse
föremål från Vasa Orden i dess
begynnelse samt en stor samling föremål
från Svenska Amerika Linien bl a
deltagarlistor där Raoul Wallenberg kan
nämnas som en av passagerarna. Torsten
har en stor utställning om Svenska
Amerika Linien på Sverige Amerika
Centret i Karlstad. Detta stora intresse
började med att hans farfar reste med
densamma. Ja, Torsten och hans fru
Monica har ett smärre museum i sitt hem!
Torsten har många “järn i elden.” På
sin gård, där han också växte upp föder
han upp Highland Cattle, fantastiskt fina
djur.
Jag bifogar en länk nedan från
utställningen i Karlstad:
http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.asp
x?programid=93&artikel=3763772
Insänt av: Marie Carlson, Editor,
The Vasa Star
Torsten Torstensson framför en av sina
samlingar.
Detta är ett logemärke som bars förr under logenmöten och vänder man på det så fyller de
ytterligare en fuktion.
Vasa Star July-September 2011
Have you hit a brick
wall in your Swedish
research or don’t
know where to begin?
A group of Swedish genealogists,
SwedGenTour 2011, will be touring the
United States this September to teach and
assist Swedish-Americans in how to find
their roots and how to do Swedish
research.
DL Norra Sverige #19 has two sisters’
participants in the group. Charlotte
Börjesson is the cultural leader in the lodge
Göteborg #452 and Anneli Andersson is a
board member in the lodge Mellerud #644.
Anna-Lena Hultman, Gunilla Didriksson,
Birgitta Eriksson and Bengt-Olof Käck is
also participants in the group from Sweden
this year. Kathy Mead, Chicago IL, will
join the group as well.
SwedGenTour 2011 has been successful in helping many individuals in our previous tours to United States. We get them
started with their research as well as
breaking down many brick walls. We do
hope that our brothers and sisters in the
lodges will join our lecture and workshops
along the tour. This year SwedGenTour
2011 will make the following stops:
Chicago (IL) Saturday, September 10,
the Swedish American Museum
Rock Island (IL) Sunday, September
11, the Swenson Center, Augustana
College
Denver/Aurora (CO) Saturday
September 17, the Community College of
Aurora
Salt Lake City (UT) Tuesday,
September 20, the Family History Library
Salt Lake City (UT) Wednesday
September 21, the Family History Library
We will lead a Swedish genealogy
research day who will include presentations and demonstrations on how to use
the various resources for Swedish
genealogical and historical research. There
will be presentations of Swedish genealogical online resources, Swedish genealogical CDs and Swedish emigration. There
will also be a preregistration for those who
want to have individual research help.
More information about the workshops,
the lectures and preregistration is available
at the website for SwedGenTour 2011,
www.lilleskogen.se
Anneli, Anna Lena, Gunilla and
Charlotte will be visiting the Vasa
National Archive in Bishop Hill before the
tour starts in Chicago.
Submitted by: Charlotte Börjesson,
CL, Lodge Göteborg #452
Page 29
TIDBITS
Ännu inget undantag
för surströmmingen
Fram till årsskiftet får surströmming
och annan fet fisk med höga dioxinhalter
säljas i Sverige. Sedan upphör Sveriges
tillfälliga undantag från EU-reglerna.
Dock bestämde sig regeringen redan i
början av året att söka ett permanent
undantag för fångst och försäljning i
Sverige av dioxinrik Östersjöfisk.
Bedömningen
både
inom
regeringskansliet och bland svenskarna i
EU är att både Europaparlament och ministerråd kommer att ge sina godkännanden under hösten.
Regeringen gav Fiskeriverket i
Göteborg och Livsmedelsverket i
Uppsala i uppdrag att utreda konsekvenserna att ett fortsatt fiske av fettrika fiskar som strömming och sill.
Fiskeriverket upphörde 30 juni och
dess verksamhet fördelades till Havs- och
vattenmyndigheten, Jordbruksverket och
Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet.
Livsmedelsverket konstaterade i ett
yttrande 8 april att en svensk dispens för
dioxinfisk kräver mycket information till
svenskarna.
Verket råder kvinnor i barnafödande
ålder, och barn, från att äta dioxinfisk
högst två eller tre gånger per år.
För övriga är rekommendationen att
inte äta surströmming och annan fet fisk
oftare än en gång per vecka.
inte förväntas några större förändringar i
kronprinsessparets program. Kron prinsessparets vänner är över lyckliga
över beskedet.
Crown Princess
Victoria is Pregnant!
A few minutes before 15.00 on
Wednesday, Expressen.se, received confirmation that the Swedish Crown
Princess Victoria is expecting a child.
The Swedish Royal Court also released a
press statement, saying that a child is
expected to be born in March 2012.
Source: Expressen On-line
On books
Did you know……
….that the world’s fastest selling novel is Harry Potter and the Deathly
Hollows. During the first 24 hours 8.3 million books were sold.
33 miljon books
…..that the largest library in the world is said to be the United States
Library of Congress in Washington DC. The library has 13 floors and it contains among other items, 33 million books and 63 million manuscripts.
Visste du…..
…..att världens snabbast säljande roman är Harry Potter och dödsrelikerna.
Under de första 24 timmarna såldes den i 8,3 miljoner exemplar.
Source: Östersunds Posten
Submitted by: Marie Carlson
33 miljoner böcker
Litet roligt!
.....att världens största bibliotek sägs vara United States Library of Congress
i Washington DC. Biblioteket är 13 våningar högt och det rymmer bland
mycket annat 33 miljoner böcker och 63 miljoner manuscript.
Jag älskar dig Sweden!
lite roliga...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep3JU
x8N7E0
Kronprinsessan gravid!
Kronprinsessan Victoria är gravid och
väntas föda i mars 2012, informerar
hovet.
Det gemensamma för hovet och
kungafamiljen är att alla gläds åt
beskedet, säger Bertil Ternert,
informationsansvarig för hovet.
Den 14 juli 1977 föddes Victoria
Ingrid Alice Désirée, som prinsessa i
Page 30
Sverige. Den 19 juni 2010 vigdes hon
och Daniel Westling i Stockholm.
Ett par minuter innan klockan 15
onsdagen den 17 augusti kunde
Expressen.se få bekräftat av hovet att
kronprinsessan Victoria väntar barn.
Födelsen är beräknad att ske i mars nästa
år.“Den blivande modern mår bra,”
meddelar hovet. Under onsdagen var
kronprinsessan närvarande vid utdelning
av priset “Årets svensk i världen” i
Stockholm. Hon avslöjade då ingenting
om det kommande beskedet. I fladdrande
kläder gick hon in till Grand Hôtel i
Stockholm där prisutdelningen ågde rum.
Ingen anade då att hon bar på Sveriges
nästa tronarvinge. Hovet skriver att det
On people
Did you know……
....Kris Kristofferssons, singer, composer, actor and political activist
Kristoffer “Kris” Kristofferson, was related to poet Dan Andersson, and is
the ninth generation of the family from Nås in Dalarna to have the same first
and family name.
Visste du…..
....Kris Kristofferssons, sångaren, kompositören, skådespelaren och den
politiska aktivisten Kristoffer ”Kris” Kristofferson, var släkt till poeten Dan
Andersson, och är den nionde i generationen i familjen från Nås i Dalarna
som har samma för- och efternamn.
A note of Remembrence
In Memoriam
Till minne av hädangångna
ordenssyskon genom vilkas
bortgång syskonkretsen gjort
en kännbar förlust
In memory of our departed
members who will be
sorely missed
ARIZONA
DOUGLAS W. MORTENSEN passed away on April 2, 2011,
in Arizona. He was a member of Solstad Lodge #709. Douglas
was born in Hartford, CT, on January 11, 1940, and moved at a
young age to California. He moved to Arizona in 2005. He is
survived by his wife, Solveig, and 1 son, daughter-in-law, and 2
grandchildren.
DAGMAR WOINSKI passed away on January 22, 2011, at the
age of 93 in Sun City, AZ. Dagmar was an active member of the
Vasa Order from 1960, including District Master 1970-1971 for
California’s Golden Gate District. Dagmar was born in Julita,
Södermanland, Sweden, and moved to the United States in
1959. After a short time in Wisconsin, the family moved to San
Carlos, CA. Both Dagmar and her husband Peter joined Linné
Lodge in San Mateo in 1960 where Dagmar was Chairman.
Dagmar was elected District Master 1970-71 for the Golden
Gate District and held several other posts within the district. She
greatly enoyed her active time in the Vasa Order. Dagmar and
Peter moved to Seattle in 1984 after Peter’s retirement. In
Seattle, they joined Klippan Lodge. After Peter’s death in 2002,
Dagmar and her son Magnus Eriksson moved to Sun City, AZ,
in 2003. During Dagmar’s time in Sweden, she worked as a
waitress in several restaurants, most notably Grand Hotel in
Stockholm. Later she joined Ericsson where she worked until
she moved to the United States. In death, she returned to her
homeland and is resting at Uppenbarelsekyrkan in Hägersten,
outside of Stockholm. Magnus continues to live in Sun City.
Dagmar is also survived by her daughters, Maria Woinski
Nyström and Viveka Eriksson Macklin, who are both living in
Sweden, in addition to grandchildren Katarina Elisabeth
Eriksson in Toronto, Canada, and Jenny Heléne Nyström in
Tyresö, Sweden.
CALIFORNIA
HELEN FORSTY (nee LINGREN) passed away on March
30, 2011, in Fair Oaks, CA. She was born in North Dakota on
September 20, 2012, but grew up on the family farm in Hood
River, OR. She was a 50-year member of the Vasa Order of
America, and a member of Sierra Kronan Lodge #737 for many
years. She served as an interpreter for the Finnish team at the
1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, CA. Helen was preceded in death by her husband, Richard, of 62 years and son
James. Helen loved music, gardening and reading.
GUSTAV HELGE DAVID FRANZEN passed away on April
13, 2011. He was born on February 19, 1921. Gus was born in
Jonkoping, Sweden, and raised in Lynn, MA. A long-time resident of the Conejo Valley, Gus was co-founder and Vice
President of Semtech Corporation prior to his retirement. A
proud veteran of the U.S. Naval forces, Gus was a member of
the World War II Pacific fleet, serving in 21 major battles. Gus
served his country again in the Korean conflict. Gus is survived
by his wife, Lisa Franzen and family. He was a 26-year member
of Oak Leaf Lodge #685, Lisa is also a member of Oak Leaf
Lodge. Gus will be missed by all his family and friends.
ALYCE LINDSTROM passed away on April 19, 2011, in
Santa Rosa, CA, just 15 days after observing her 100th birthday.
She was born in Oakland, CA, on April 14, 1911. Alyce was
predeceased by husband Donald Lindstrom in 1993 and is survived by son Donald Tarpley, 1 sister and 3 brothers. Alyce
(and Don) were initiated into Linnea Lodge #504 in 1978 and
was a Honorary Member. She will be fondly remembered by
all.
PEARL MAE EVANGELINE WINJUM CARTER
MYERS. Born May 31, 1915, in Hayti, South Dakota. Died
Friday, April 22, 2011, at the age of 95. Pearl was first married
to George Glennwood Carter in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1939,
with two children from this union: James Randall Carter of
Brentwood, California, and Janeen Carter Guest Smith, of
Bakersfield, California. The couple divorced 1948. Pearl married Alvie M. Myers in 1953. They remained happily married
for over 50 years, renewing their wedding vows just two months
before Al’s death in 2004. She is survived by her son, Jim, and
his spouse, Joan, their daughter, Kimberly, and her daughters,
Jennifer and Sarah Capilla; and her daughter, Janeen, and her
spouse, Randall, and her daughters, Suzanne and Noelle Guest.
Orphaned at age 4, Pearl was raised by family members in
South Dakota, where she graduated from Watertown High
School as a National Honor Student in 1933. She worked for the
WPA in Nebraska during WWII, where she met her first husband. After the war, they moved to Bakersfield, where she
worked for the Kern County Chamber of Commerce, Hornkohl
Laboratories, and Wheatley and Co. She ended her
accounting/bookkeeping career working for Warren Rooney,
CPA, retiring in 2006 at the age of 91. Always proud of her
Scandinavian heritage, Pearl was an active member of the local
chapter of Valley Vikings Lodge #701 for over 30 years, and a
faithful member of Emmanuel Lutheran Church for the last 60
years. She volunteered her accounting skills to these groups and
to senior programs, such as the Cambridge Hills Rest Home,
where she offered encouragement to many much younger than
herself. Independent and self-sufficient until age 94, Pearl lived
alone much of her life, even during marriage. Balancing a modest, faith-based lifestyle with her indelible love for fashion,
food, flowers, a good party, and a Sunday drive in her
Oldsmobile, Pearl lived with purpose and on her own terms,
putting family and faith in the foreground. Her warm grandma
hands reached all across Kern County, offering kindness and
tolerance to whomever she met, reminding us that, even in loss,
“all things happen for a reason.”
CONNECTICUT
ELSA MARIA CHRISTINA CARLSON (JOHANSSON),
Rhode Island’s third oldest resident, passed away peacefully at
Roberts Health Center in North Kingstown on May 31, 2011.
She was born on August 17, 1903, to Algott and Emma
Johansson at Elmhestra, since the early 18th century, the family
farm in Dalstorp, Sweden. She was one of 10 children and the
oldest of the 5 daughters. She is survived by sisters, Ingrid
Garnolf and Gunborg Claesson fo Dalstorp. Elsa married her
first husband, Gustaf Carlson, when she was 18. The had 2 sons
before Gus died of polio in 1928. In May, 1932, she married
Conrad E. Carlson, a widower and had 2 more sons. They were
married for 55 years. The family lived in West Hartford and
enjoyed summers at their cottage on Coventry Lake. Elsa was
active at Emanuel Lutheran Church in Hartford, CT, and was a
member of the first lodge (Norden #1) of the Vasa Order of
America for over 80 years, making her the oldest and longest
serving member in the Order. Elsa was well known for her
devotion to her family and for her keen ability at playing bridge.
She played every week until after she turned 105. Her other
great talent lay in the kitchen where she turned out countless
smorgasbords and pastries for family and friends. Everyone was
welcome in her home, and no one ever went away hungry. She
is survived by her 4 sons, Arnold E. of Charlton, MA; Russell L.
and his wife Rebecca of North Palm Beach, FL; Paul C. and his
wife Patricia, and Gordon W. and his wife Carol, all of North
Kingstown. She is also survived by 9 grandchildren, 11 greatgrandchildren and 1 great-great-grandson.
OHIO
JUDGE NILS JOHNSON SR. passed away on May 1, 2011,
at the age of 89. He was born on January 30, 1922, in
Youngstown, OH, and was initiated in Harmony Lodge #465 on
December 19, 1964. He is survived by his wife Janet whom he
married in 1947, 1 daughter, Dr. Becky Heikkinen and 4 sons,
Bruce, Nils, Eric and Scott. Nils is also survived by 11 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. He served as Judge of the
7th District Court of Appeals from 1964 to 1972.
TEXAS
LLOYD R. LOVEN passed away on February 18, 2011, at the
age of 93 after a heart attach. He was born in Decorah, IA, on
July 7, 1918. Lloyd was married to Susie Louise Price Loven
for 53 years. Susie preceded him in death. Many nieces,
nephews, cousins and loyal friends survive Lloyd. Lloyd was a
member of the Carl Gustav XVI Lodge for 35 years and was a
life member. He also helped build the Ormen Lange II, a longship and manned it in numerous parades all over Texas.
WASHINGTON
ROSE MARY ERICKSON passed away on May 1, 2011, at
the age of 104. She was born on September 8, 1906, on a farm
in Nebraska. She married Gilmore Erickson in 1929 and was
widowed in 1953. She was a beloved aunt to many nieces and
nephews.
NORMA PERKINS passed away on May 24, 2011. Norma
was born on March 14, 1925, to Swedish immigrants. She was
proud of her Swedish ancestry. Norma married Allen Perkins in
1953 and in 1961 they moved to Anacortes. She is survived by
her daughter Suzanne, son Lonnie, stepson Dennis, daughter-inlaw Pam and others. She was a 50-year member of Vasa.
RUBY A. SUNDBERG passed away peacefully at home on
May 11, 2011. She was born on May 20, 1913, in St. Paul, MN.
Ruby is survived by niece Susan Holms, nephew Roger
Krogstad and many special friends and great and great-great
nieces and nephews.
CAROL ELAINE THOMPSON DAVIS passed away on May
30, 2011. She was born on April 3, 1923. After her husband’s
death and her retirement she returned to Washington state and
became active in Vasa. She is survived by 2 brothers and
numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.
WISCONSIN
ROY KENNETH JERNBERG passed away on March 10,
2011, in Phoenix, AZ, after a short illness. Roy was born in
Chicago on April 22, 1928, to Hugo and Emma (need Lindahl)
Jernberg. He was a proud veteran of the U.S. Army. Roy graduated from Carthage College in 1952 where he met and married
his college sweetheart, Marlene Wendell. He is survived by his
wife of 58 years, Marlene, 3 children, 9 grandchildren, 1 brother, niece and nephew.
CANADA
MARGARET YVONNE LUNDGREN (nee Eliasson) passed
away in Edmonton, AB, on February 24, 2011, at the age of 96.
Margaret was born on October 27, 1914, in Meeting Creek,
Alberta, Canada, to the parents of Karl (Charlie) and Gerda
(Svenson) Melin. She had 2 sisters, Sylvia Elvira who passed
away in infancy before Margaret was born, and younger sister,
Stella. Margaret was 4 when she returned to Sweden where she
lived with her grandparents until her return to Meeting Creek in
1925 where she lived with a number of families. At the age of
14 she moved to Edmonton to support herself. She worked for
various families doing housekeeping duties which had to be
done just so. They were very particular. One task was ironing
the newspaper before her employers read it to prevent the ink
from rubbing off on their hands or clothes. Her salary was less
than $10 a month. She married Mons Eliasson, a railroader,
when she was 19. They had 2 sons, Leonard and Glen. Margaret
joined the Vasa Order of America in Meeting Creek on May 1,
1931, transferring her membership to Skandia Lodge #549 in
Alberta, in 1944. Her heritage was very important to her and she
shared her knowledge and musical ability teaching Swedish
songs and folk dancing to children and adults. She held variosu
positions in Skandia Lodge #549 and was the first lady chairman of Skandia. She went on to the District Lodge #18 where
she was elected to the executive board as vice secretary in 1951.
She served on the executive board for 10 years and in 1961 she
was elected District Master, the first lady to head the Alberta
District Lodge #18. She was DM for 4 years, was a Grand
Lodge Delegate and she was appointed to the position of Grand
Lodge Children’s Club Supervisor. Margaret, as DM of District
#18, along with the District Masters from Districts 12, 13, and
15, were involved in the early stages of planning the 1964
Western Vasa Youth Tour to Sweden. About 60 children participated in this memorable trip.In 1965 she was presented with a
Jewel from the Swedish District Lodges #19 and #20 recognizing her work with the Vasa Children’s Clubs. She organzed
Skandia’s first Drill Team and first Initiation Team. Margaret
and her husband Mons were founding directors of the
Scandinavian Cenre Co-operative Association, holding the positions of secretary and treasurer, respectively. Positions they held
unti Mons retired in 1968, when they moved to Vernon, B.C.
Mons drowned in the Shuswap River in September 1968 and a
year later Margaret moved back to Edmonton. Margaret married
Bert Lundgren from Pemberton, B.C. on February 4, 1972.
Shortly after their marriage they moved to White Rock, B.C.,
where they were active in Nornan Lodge #413. They enjoyed
music, dancing and traveling, camping throughout B.C. and
Alberta. They spent many evenings with Margaret playign the
paino and singing, and Bert playing the accordion. And there
was always time for a game or two of Crib. Margaret loved to
entertain and was a fabulous cook. Her pastries were second to
none. To have thirty or more over for a meal was not unheard of
and when they sat down to eat the food was hot. Margaret was a
wonderful, brilliant, talented and self-taught lady whose hands
were never idle. Margaret was a compassionate and caring individual. Her caring for the less fortunate was demonstrated in
many ways: 1) her support of the E4C, the Edmonton City
Church Corporation. Margaret, along with Pastor Lindquist and
other members of Augustana Lutheran Church, were instrumental in the formation of the E4C. Some of the E4C projects are:
Kids in the Hall, School Lunch Program, and WEAC to name a
few. 2) Since she had breast cance in 2001 she logged in 1,500
hours of volunteer time for the Cross Cancer Institute. Margaret
participated in many hobbies and activities, social dancing, curling, bowling, knitting, crocheting, copper tooling, square dancing, round dancing, and always enjoyed playing a game of
cards. She was predeceased by her husbands Mons N. Eliasson
and Bertil Lundgren, 2 sisters, her son Leonard A. Eliasson,
daughter-in-law Matt Eliasson and step-son, Tom Lewis.
Margaret is survived by son Glen and Audrey Eliasson, stepdaughter Alma Lewis, 9 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
MEMORIAL NOTICES
should be mailed with check or money
order to: Joan Graham, 5838 San Jose
Avenue, Richmond, CA 94804. Phone
510-526-5512. E-mail: vasajlg@aol.com. The
fee is $8.00 for 1 column inch. Longer
obituaries will be charged a flat rate
of $25.00. All notices MUST be typed and
WRITTEN in a format similar to those in
this column. NO newspaper clippings.
THE SWEDISH
CLOCK MAKER
Traditional Swedish design
handcrafted in Oregon.
Custom painted to order
in any color or folk art style.
For details see website:
swedishclockmaker.com
Walt Schullstrom
Phone 541-461-0329
Email: suwalschul@aol.com
EUROPE’S MOST
PUNCTUAL AIRLINE
PRESENTS:
A free app for everyone not flying with SAS.
The TimeKiller app contains a few simple
games, perfect when waiting for a delayed flight.
Go to flysas.com/timekiller or download at
AppStore (or, if you prefer to be on time, book your
next flight at flysas.com/us)
Europe’s
E
urope’ss most
most punctual
punctual aairline
irline 2009 and 2010 according to Flightstats.com
flysas.com/us