Nordstjernan 1803

The Swedish North Star, continuously published since 1872. Volume 146 No. 3, March 01, 2018. Price per copy $3.50.

Heritage Travel

THE VASA STAR pages 25-40

NOLA celebrates with Swedes

The Big Easy has a big birthday this year – New Orleans is celebrating its tricentennial in 2018. It’s been 300 years since the port city in Louisiana was founded, and there’s nothing small about their pride or the special celebrations planned for the year, not the least of which is Mardi Gras. Also known as Carnival, it’s already a big deal in the Big Easy, made so by a Swedish immigrant. Though he didn’t ever intend to live outside Sweden, Bror Anders Wikstrom settled in New Orleans and is today celebrated as the artist who for 40 years led the grandiose design and creation of the floats and decorations of the Golden Age of Carnival, a vanguard of the iconic parade’s legacy. / P7

Heritage travel here & there

Photo: Andreas Nordström/Imagebank Sweden

The journey of researching branches of your family tree, visting the homeland and maybe even meeting living relatives is a dream for many Americans. It is also a dream for Swedes to travel to the United States to learn more about their ancestors who emigrated.

Ancestry travel is booming – on both sides of the immigration story. / P14

California Swedes A negative remark about Sweden has positive effects for American tourists/ p4 The onomatopoeia of “knäcke” makes it a very appetizing word to review /p11 Kamprad’s legacy lives on far beyond his blue and yellow stores/ p17

Page 6

If you missed Day of the Mazarin on Jan 10, don’t worry, there’s another on Mar 13 (and Oct 7) / p21

More than 200,000 people were evacuated from San Francisco to Oakland after the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906, among them not a few Swedes and Swedish Americans. All the ferry services were mobilized to transport homeless victims of the disaster across the Bay. They were crowded into small boats. Any vessel that could transport men, women and children was mobilized for that purpose. Many people had only the clothes on their backs. / P12

dashboard | march 01, 2018 SCANDINAVIAN QUIZ

B)Greta Garbo C) Ann-Margret D) Ingrid Bergman

2 The first university in Scandinavia was established They came from Halmstad and Norsholm, Burträsk and Östersund, Umeå and Visby, seeking stardom in Hollywood. They had already been coming for more than a hundred years, from the days of the first hand-cranked reel.

The history of the capital of movie making involves hundreds of Swedes from “bit players” to mega stars, from camera men to musicians and directors. Some became bigger than others and some even came to dominate the screen during their peak years, like Anna Q. Nilsson and Gloria Swanson during the first quarter-century of the silent movies.

After the arrival of Greta Garbo, Mauritz Stiller, and Victor Sjöström, Hollywood was never the same. They created a new school of movie making for Hollywood’s aspiring crop of directors-to-be.

A modern era began with Ingrid Bergman as the symbol of a new generation of stars. Oscar, the world’s most prestigious movie award, was never given to Greta Garbo, the greatest screen legend of them all. But Sweden’s second great star, Ingrid Bergman, on the other hand received a record three, one short of Katherine Hepburn. She scored for Gaslight in 1944, Anastasia in 1954, and as supporting actress in Murder on the Orient Express. (No, she never received one for Casablanca.)

Name’s Days of the Swedish Calendar Namnsdagar i mars

March 1 March 2 March 3 March 4 March 5 March 6 March 7 March 8 March 9 March 10 March 11 March 12 March 13 March 14 March 15 March 1

New York Chicago Stockholm Kiruna Lund Los Angeles 2 NORDSTJERNAN

Albin/Elvira Ernst/Erna Gunborg/Gunvor Adrian/Adriana Tora/Tove Ebba/Ebbe Camilla Siv Torbjörn/Torleif Edla/Ada Edvin/Egon Viktoria Greger Matilda/Maud Kristoffer/Christel |

Sunrise & Sunset

6.29 am 6.25 am 6.45 am 6.58 am 6.58 am 6.21 am

5.47 pm 5.40 pm 5.15 pm 4.45 pm 5.41 pm 5.49 pm

in 1477 in what city? A) Lund B) Roskilde C) Uppsala D) Copenhagen

3 Which Nordic members of the European Union do not use the Euro? A) Sweden and Norway B) Denmark and Finland C) Sweden and Denmark

4 Who wrote the lyrics for the Norwegian National anthem “Ja, vi elsker…”? A) Björn Ulvaeus B) Liv Ullmann C) Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson D) Edvard Grieg

5 Who was the first Christian king in Scandinavia?

A)Harald Bluetooth B) Eric the Saint C) Harald Fairhair D) Sweyn Forkbeard

CULTURE

Namnsdagar

6 What is the name of the Danish flag (and is the

oldest state flag still in use)? A) Dannebrog

B) Ampera Danica C) Margretelund D) Ambrosius Bogbinder

7 On what Swedish holiday do witches traditionally fly around the neighborhood? A) Halloween B) All Saints’ Day C)Easter D) Valborg

8 What is Hans Christian Andersen known for?

A) reversing Danish immigration politics B) sculpting C)writing fairy tales D) crossing the Atlantic in a 20-foot boat

9 When did the Öresund Bridge open to traffic between Sweden and Denmark? A)July 2000 B) July 2001 C) July 2002 D) July 2003

10 From which country is pop singer-songwriter

Robyn? A) Denmark B) Greenland C) Sweden D) Finland Answers: 1:B, 2:C, 3:C, 4:C, 5:A, 6:A, 7:C, 8:C, 9:A, 10:C

Swedish actress became 1 Which known as “The Face”? A) Lena Olin

Mars

March 3 Gunvor is an Old Norse female name with an unclear meaning. “Gun” means “fight,” but what “vor” means is up for debate. Gunver is a Danish version of the name. Gunvar can be found on runestones and was rediscovered in the 19th century and reached a popularity peak during the 1920s and 1930s. It is still one of the 100 most common female names in Sweden.

March 6 Ebba is a female name that is really a short form of the name Eberhard or any other name beginning with Eber-. Ebba was a fairly common name among the Swedish nobility in the 18th century, it then disappeared but reappeared when Prince Oscar Bernadotte married Ebba Munck af Fulkila in 1888. In the 1990s, Ebba was once again one of the most popular names.

founded in new york city in september 1872 Nordstjernan (ISSN 1059-7670), founded in New York City in September 1872, is published by Swedish News, Inc., 570 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10022 • Readers services and editorial submissions: P.O. Box 1710, New Canaan, CT 06840 Periodicals Postage paid at New York, NY, and additional mailing offices. www.nordstjernan.com, Nordstjernan is published semimonthly, except for the months of January, February, July when it is monthly and Augustwith no issue.

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this week…

March TO DO 3.08 CELEBRATE WOMEN: “Internationella Kvinnodagen” / International Women’s Day

3.22 CONSERVE WATER: “Internationella Vattendagen” / International Water Day

3.12 HATS OFF TO THE PROVINCE OF JÄMTLAND: “Republiken Jämtlands Dag” / Day of the Republic of Jämtland

3.25 EAT WAFFLES: “Våffeldagen” / Not to be confused with National Waffle Day in the U.S., which commemorates the first patent for a waffle iron (Aug. 24, 1869)

3.13 EAT SWEDISH PASTRIES* “Mazarindagen” / Day of the Mazarin pastry 3.16 SLEEP IN: “Internationella Sömndagen” / World Sleep Day 3.17 DON SOMETHING GREEN and join the Irish for Saint Patrick’s Day

3.29 DON’T EXPECT TO MAKE BUSINESS CALLS TO SWEDEN: “Skärtorsdag” / Maundy Thursday is a vacation day for most Swedes 3.31 PREPARE FOR EASTER: “Påskafton” / Easter Eve is when most Swedes are celebrating “Påsk” (Easter)

*Dating back to the 16th or 17th centuries, and still popular in Sweden today, this small pie-like pastry with a puff pastry crust, almond filling and glaze topping may or may not be connected to the Italian-French cardinal and statesman of the day. See our suggested recipe on page 21.

In search of roots

Being able to find your Swedish relatives and visit the homeland is a dream for many Americans of Swedish descent. Just like it is also a dream for Swedes to travel to the United States to learn more about what happened to their family members that left the homeland. The surging appetite for revisiting your roots is not least evidenced by the popularity of TV series such as “The Great Swedish Adventure” (Allt för Sverige).

They say that after gardening, genealogy is now the second most popular hobby in the United States.

It turns out there are 75 million daily searches on ancestry.com and six million people have so far DNAtested through the services of the company (and there are currently four other popular ancestry companies

testing DNA). For those with a specific interest in Swedish heritage there’s also Arkiv Digital (www. arkivdigital.net) and Sveriges Släktforskarförbund (www.genealogi.se) or Släktforskarnas Hus (www. slaktforskarhuset.se) in Sweden.

If you’re traveling to Sweden for the first time and have made no research or preparations beforehand, there are now smaller operators that offer tailor-made trips to experience Sweden beyond the stereotypical. And some that offer regionally based genealogy research. We reached out to a few of our advertisers to find out a bit more - but, please note, we haven’t gone on these trips and can only inform you of their content not vouch for them.

The Editors

WHAT TO EXPECT COMING UP IN OUR NEXT ISSUE

Florida produces more oranges than any other region of the world, except Brazil. They’re a symbol of the Sunshine State; when you think oranges in the United States, you think Florida. You certainly don’t think Sweden.

Next issue will feature Swedish pioneers in the Florida citrus industry; order it now by calling

800.827.9333 Ext. 10 (order coupon page 24)

Stockholm born Greta Garbo was an extremely private person. The Swede shined in Hollywood and acted to great acclaim in 28 films before she retired from public life at age 35. / p2&20

Dashboard, p4-5

Sweden still at the top / Also at the top for Americans / The Square selected for the Oscars / A new official portrait / Swedish Heritage Night at the Shark Tank / Ikea and Apple / Best hotels in Sweden.

Events calendar, p6-9

What’s going on in Swedish America.

Inbox, p10

Swedish America celebrates Viking style and a twist on Tjugondag Knut.

Our Swedish Honorary Consuls, who are they really? We decided to find out. /p18

Swedish News, p22

Proposal to ban smoking / Electric trucks on the road / Downward trend raises demands / Banning mobile phones / Sweden’s new CDO / Anti-depression helmet / Royals are back in town / Green light for driverless buses.

Made by Sweden? p16

“Created” by a Swede and inspired by the west Sweden countryside.

Your next issu e will be dated March 15, 20 18

The Exchange Rate:

$1.00 = SEK 8.05 (02.14.2018)

MARCH 01, 2018 3

dashboard | march 01, 2018

Sweden still at the top

Also at the top for Americans

As for visiting Sweden, Americans definitely thought it among the best countries to visit. In 2017, Swedish hotels, hostels and AirBnB hosts took in 790,000 overnight bookings from U.S. tourists— that’s a 44 percent increase of U.S. tourists, up from 550,000 in 2016. Some analysts believe the increase could easily be a direct response to President Trump’s notorious “Last Night in Sweden” speech, which was a crime-related remark. Sofi Sjöberg, an analyst for the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth, said it was possible that Trump’s frequent references to Sweden in speeches and tweets had actually boosted Sweden’s profile, drawing attention to Sweden as a country that people might want to go and visit.

The stories, the traditions, the people behind the news. founded in new york city in september 1872 executive editor

& publisher:

Ulf Barslund Mårtensson (editor@nordstjernan.com) editor:

Amanda Olson Robison (editor@nordstjernan.com) managing editor & production: Everett Martin graphic design: Nadia Wojcik (design@nordstjernan.com) contributors:

Chipp Reid - Lisa Mikulski - Ted Olsson - Leif Rosqvist Ulf Kirchdorfer - Valorie Arrowsmith - Olle Wijkström Bo Zaunders - Göran Rygert - James Kaplan - Gunilla Blixt publications director:

Mette Barslund Mårtensson (mette@nordstjernan.com; 800.827.9333, ext 12)

nordstjernan p.o. box 1710 new canaan ct 06840 contact us at 1.800.827.9333 ext 10 for reader services, email: subs@nordstjernan.com; ext 12 for advertising, email: ads@nordstjernan.com www.nordstjernan.com Covering three worlds: Sweden, America and Swedish America.

Order your own copy, $55.00 for a year (18 issues) Choose ‘subscribe’ at www.nordstjernan.com or call 1.800.827.9333, ext 10 4 NORDSTJERNAN

This, according to the US News & World Report, presented in conjunction with the World Economic Forum in Davos. The Davos week is a mecca for ranking. Biggest opportunities, most dangerous risks, best countries in terms of economy or environment— the lists are endless. The US News & World Report publishes news, opinion, consumer advice, rankings, and analysis, and Sweden again ranks in sixth place. First place is Switzerland followed by Canada, Germany, Great Britain and Japan. The U.S. slipped one spot, ranking 8th after Australia.

Sweden’s neighbor Denmark is in 11th place followed by Norway and with Finland in 14th. At the very bottom of the 80 analyzed countries is Algeria

HOLLYWOOD

in tight competition with Angola, Serbia and Iran.

What makes Sweden a great place to live? “... heavily capitalistic with a large percent of spending going toward public service. Once well above the global average, tax rates have decreased, and an advanced infrastructure and transportation network assist with equal wealth distribution. Health care, as well as a college education, are free, and its people boast one of the longest life expectancies in the world,” are among the superlatives mentioned in the report.

Sweden gets the absolute highest ranking when it comes to the opportunity to live a green life. See the full list at www.usnews.com/news/best-countries

The Square selected for the Oscars

Ruben Östlund’s latest movie is among the five selected to compete about Best Foreign Film at the Oscars. Since winning the Golden Palm in Cannes The Square has won numerous prizes around the world, including six European Film Awards in December. It recently became the Golden Globe nominee and several of the film’s nominations and prizes come from just American film critics organizations. Ruben Östlund’s latest movie is now among the five selected to compete about Best Foreign Film at the Oscars.

This is Ruben Östlund’s first Oscars nomination.

He recently won a Golden Beetle (Guldbagge = Sweden’s Oscar equivalent) for Best Direction and Fredrik Wenzel who filmedThe Square won for Best Cinematography.

This is the second consecutive year a Swedish movie has been elected. Last year’s blockbuster, A

ROYAL FAMILY

A new official portrait out of the Royal House of Bernadotte, which celebrates 200 years of the monarchy this year, shows HM King Carl XVI Gustaf posed with the next two heirs in line for the throne—his daughter HKH Crown Princess Victoria, and her daughter, HKH Princess Estelle—in a new official portrait released by the royal family.

The photo was taken in Stockholm on December 10, the day of the Nobel ceremonies, but was released on Feb. 5 in recognition of the anniversary of the Bernadotte family’s 200 years on the throne.

The King and Crown Princess are wearing family order pins and ceremonial sashes. The Crown Princess is wearing the Swedish aquamarine kokoshnik tiara, which her aunt, Princess Margaretha, wore to her wedding in 2010; according to Bernadotte tradition, Princess Estelle, who turned 6 on Feb. 23, will have to wait until she's 18 to wear a tiara.

Photo by Thron Ullberg / Kungahuset.se

Man Called Ove, directed by Hannes Holm and based on the bestselling book with the same name was last year’s contender.

The 2018 Oscars, the 90th Academy Awards are presented on Sunday, March 4.

Ruben Östlund with actors Claes Bang, Terry Notary and Elisabeth Moss from The Square (left to right). Photo: Anna Serner, SFI.

dashboard | march 01, 2018

Swedish Heritage Night at the Shark Tank

The second Swedish Heritage Night at the SAP Center on Dec. 21, 2017 was another huge success with over 200 attendees. Once again, this incredible Swedish social event was organized by Vasa Order of America District Lodge #12 Past District Master Michael Bray and Chris Jensen of the San Jose Sharks. Tack så mycket to Michael and Chris!

After the San Jose Sharks beat the Vancouver Canucks 5 to 4 in overtime in hockey, we all went out onto the ice rink for some group photos with current San Jose Sharks Swedish players Melker Karlsson from Lycksele, Tim Heed from Göteborg and Marcus Sörensen from Södertälje.

Melker, Tim and Marcus were extremely hospitable in spending a lot of time with us, including signing many autographs. It was once again a spectacular Swedish social event that has instantly become a new annual tradition. I look forward to seeing everyone again next year with more proud Swedish loyalists.

Jim Melin

Ikea and Apple

Furniture giant Ikea has started a collaboration with Apple. No, not about building Apple furniture ...

In a new collaboration between Ikea and Apple, the plan is to let Ikea customers use augmented reality (AR) to see how different products would look and fit in order to ease buying decisions without having to go to a department store.

“It is only part of our commitment to make our products available to as many people as possible. And here we see great opportunities by fully utilizing future digital technologies,” says an Ikea spokesperson. But digital advances aren’t the only things coming: A new click technique for assembling furniture without traditional fittings or glue is gradually being introduced throughout Ikea’s range of products.

Ikea describes it as the biggest innovation since the flat package. It’s expected to generate a variety of benefits, including lower environmental impact, easier and cheaper products, and ease of disassembly when moving or recycling. And the time for assembly can be cut radically. Assembling a wardrobe cabinet can be shortened from one and a half hours to three minutes for the average customer, according to Ikea.

Swedish Heritage Night at SAP Center, AKA the Shark Tank on Dec. 21, 2017. Photo: San Jose Sharks.

TRAVEL

Best hotels in Sweden

The online booking service Trivago recently rated the best hotels in Sweden under the name “Trivago Awards 2018.” The list is based on reviews that guests have given after staying at various facilities that have at least 20 reviews written on the page. The hotels that receive the highest ratings and most rave reviews do so because they excel at every aspect of the guest experience. A good breakfast buffet or a comfortable hotel bed won’t make it, other aspects range from the location of the property to the amenability of the staff, the value for money, and everything in between. Only 3-, 4- and 5-star hotels are evaluated. There were no major surprises among the 5-stars: 1. Upper House – Göteborg 2. Grand Hôtel Stockholm – Stockholm 3. Dorsia Hotel & Restaurant – Göteborg 4. Hotel Diplomat – Stockholm 5. Sigtuna Stadshotell – Sigtuna The 4-stars offered a few new names: 1. PM & Vänner – Växjö 2. Hotel Rival – Stockholm 3. Nääs Fabriker Hotell & Restaurang – Tollered 4. Avalon Hotel – Göteborg 5. MJ’s – Malmö And the 3-star hotels even more so. First among the 3-star hotels is a small hotel in the southern town Kristianstad, Annas Hotel at Fröknagården, followed by a boutique historic hotel located in an alley in Stockholm’s Old Town, Gamla Stan we hadn’t heard about before. The list: 1. Annas Hotell – Kristianstad 2. Sven Vintappare – Stockholm

A favorite, Hotel Diplomat in Stockholm ranked high among the five-star facilities, and among the three-star hotels is a true find for the seasoned Stockholm traveler—Sven Vintappare, above, a seven-room facility in the heart of Gamla Stan, Stockholm’s Old Town. The image at the top left on page 4 is from one of the boutique hotel’s suites; not your typical chain hotel experience—this is living like a patrician in the Swedish Gustavian era.

3. Sankt Clemens – Visby 4. Almedalens Hotell – Visby 5. Havanna – Varberg MARCH 01, 2018 5

local events

Local Events Arizona

Tempe 03.09, 1:30-8 PM Swedish Easter Påskbord (Smörgåsbord): IKEA Tempe invites everyone to share in celebrating spring and the Easter holiday at the annual Swedish Easter Smörgåsbord buffet known as Påskbord. Choose your reservation time, $2.99-$16.99. www.ikea. com/us/en/store/tempe/activities

Colorado

Centennial 03.11 First Sunday at IKEA Centennial: Make a fun craft or participate in an educational outreach programs from the Denver Zoo or The Children’s Museum.

Free; kids taking part in activity receive a free yogurt voucher. http://www.ikea. com/us/en/store/centennial/activities

Florida

Clearwater 03.02, 12-3 PM Suncoast Scandinavian Club: Learn more about our club and enjoy the March entertainment program, New Century Opera Company with Maestro Constantine Graham. RSVP to 732.546.7756, dinner is $17 at Banquet Masters. blekinge93usa@ gmail.com

Orlando 03.14, 11 AM-Noon Mommy & Me: Meet other moms in the community and create a Swedish Easter Tree. Free. Ikea restaurant. www.ikea.com/ us/en/store/orlando/activities

Illinois

Chicago “Available Light” is an exhibit of still and moving images of life on a Swedish farm by Swedish-American artist Erika Råberg, created over several years on her family’s farm in rural Värmland.

At the Swedish American Museum through March 29. 773.728.8111 / www. swedishamericanmuseum.org 03.03, 9-11 AM Pa n c a ke s w i t h P i p p i : J o i n P i p p i Longstocking for Swedish pancakes, crafts, singing and dancing. This is a unique opportunity to meet Pippi and learn how to make pancakes Pippi-style! All ages welcome, make your reservation early: $15/members (child 2-12 years) $20/ non-members (child 2-12 years) $5/toddler (12-24 months) free/infants. Swedish American Museum, 773.728.8111 / www. swedishamericanmuseum.org 03.04, Noon-2 PM Herring Brunch: Traditional Swedish meal includes fried herring, meatballs, potato sausage, and much more, catered by Tre Kronor Restaurant. $30/members, $40/ non-members. Make your reservation at the museum or online. Swedish American Museum, 773.728.8111 / www. swedishamericanmuseum.org

03.25, 10 AM - 5 PM Vå f f e l d a g e n : T h e f e a s t o f M a r i e Bebådelsedagen, or Annunciation Day, was the day the Archangel Gabriel announced to the Virgin Mary that she had been chosen to be the mother of Jesus. Swedes have found a great way to celebrate this day – by eating waffles! Come join in the waffle eating at the Swedish American Museum, 773.728.8111 / www. swedishamericanmuseum.org 03.26-03.29, 10 AM - 4 PM Spring Crafts Camp for Kids: Easter-themed activities all week with Swedish Easter traditions such as creating Easter trees with feathers and dressing up as witches!

Each day is a little different. Swedish American Museum, 773.728.8111/ www. swedishamericanmuseum.org 03.27, 6-8 PM Easter crafts for teens+adults: Learn some Swedish traditions and create beautiful decorations. For adults and children ages 12+. Swedish American M u s e u m , 7 7 3 . 7 2 8 . 8 1 1 1 / w w w. swedishamericanmuseum.org Schaumburg 03.09, 5:30-9:30 PM Swedish Easter Smörgåsbord: Menu includes assorted herring, salmon, Swedish cucumber salad, Swedish meatballs with lingonberry jam and deviled eggs with shrimp. $2.99-$16.99, ask a co-worker for more details and to purchase your tickets. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/store/ schaumburg/activities

DID YOU KNOW? Emigrant is used to describe departing from one's country: "She emigrated from Sweden."

Immigrant is used to describe coming to a new country: "He immigrated to the United States."

The Dream of America: Swedish immigration in Chicago The Swedish American Museum’s main permanent exhibit, The Dream of America: Swedish Immigration to Chicago, explores the struggles and triumphs of the Swedish immigrant experience in America in general and Chicago in particular. Meet Stina Olofsdotter, who is helping her son prepare for his journey to America in 1868, Karl Karlson, whose family arrives in New York in 1893, and Elin Hedman and her daughter Birgitta who pass through Ellis Island in 1924.

Through historic artifacts and vignettes the exhibit takes a chronological journey through the experiences many Swedish immigrants had back in

6 NORDSTJERNAN

Kansas

03.24, 10 AM - 5 PM Våffeldagen: Spend the day in Lindsborg eating waffles for breakfast, lunch and dinner. De smakar mycket goda!

(They taste very good!) 785.227.8687 / travelinfo@lindsborgcity.com /www. visitlindsborg.com

Minnesota

Minneapolis 03.07, 6:30-8:30 PM Nordic Table – Semla: Have you ever eaten a cardamom bun stuffed with almond paste and whipped cream? Historically, the semla was served only on Fettisdagen (Fat Tuesday) but nowadays it is enjoyed all around Eastertime and is known as one of Sweden’s extra-indulgent fika treats. Join Eva Sabet of the Swedish Crown Bakery and discover her version of the classic semla. American Swedish Institute, 612871-4907 / www.asimn.org 03.17, 9-10 AM Kids at the Castle - Mighty Moose: It’s fun for kids and their grown-ups during this morning playdate an hour before the general public can enter the museum.

Come for creative activities including games, stories, crafts, music and movement inspired by the season and current exhibitions. Ages 2–5. American Swedish Institute, 612-871-4907 / www. asimn.org 03.25, 1-3 PM Youth Nordic Craft Workshop - Intro to Embroidery: beginners will doodle a design for their piece, learn the basics of embroidery, they stitch their doodles to life with needle and thread. Each student will create one wall hanging or addition for clothing and household fabrics. $20-$25.

American Swedish Institute, 612-871-4907 / www.asimn.org

Sweden, during their journey to the new world, finding their way to Chicago and building a new life there. It examines why so many Swedes left their homeland and what they packed for their voyage, as well as careers they chose in the Chicago area and the social lives within their immigrant communities.

The exhibit is open during regular museum hours, includes a written guide in Swedish or English for self-guided tours, or visitors can enjoy a guided tour on given dates such as March 17 at 11 a.m. or with advance notice. 5211 N. Clark St, Chicago / 773.728.8111 / www.swedishamericanmuseum.org

local events

The Big Easy: 300 years of diversity

New Orleans is celebrating its tricentennial this year. For the past 300 years, this U.S. port city has received people from around the world seeking new lives and prospects. It’s not surprising that the city is recognizing and celebrating its diverse heritage in its unique culture, jazz, history and festivals with many special events throughout the year. For more info, see www.2018nola.com

Exhibit extravaganza: Bringing fantasy to Carnival

Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans may be even more festive than usual this year as the city celebrates its 300th birthday. It’s thus an appropriate time to be celebrating a highly regarded Swede’s influence in the city as well: Artist Bror Anders Wikstrom made a name for himself as a prominent artist who took charge of creating the floats and decorations during the early decades of Carnival.

Born in Sweden in 1854, Wikstrom initially pursued a maritime career before becoming an artist. Against his wishes, he immigrated to Florida but moved to New Orleans in 1883, and it wasn’t long before Wikstrom was elevating the extravaganza of Mardi Gras through his fantastical designs for early krewes; he served as the chief designer behind 20 floats and hundreds of costumes. He also founded the New Orleans Artists Association in 1885, one of the civic groups that sparked the Delgado Museum of Art (NOMA) in 1910, and was a popular landscape and marine painter and sculptor.

An exhibit of Wikstrom’s work, The Artistry of Carnival | Bror Anders Wikstrom: Bringing Fantasy to Carnival, is on view now through April 1. The exhibition showcases the Swedish artist’s watercolor sketches for the elaborate floats and costumes that allowed otherworldly stories to come to life on the streets of New Orleans. Accompanying photographs show how the creations looked rolling through the streets on Mardi Gras day. New Orleans Museum of Art, 504.658.4100 / www. noma.org/exhibitions.

Bror Anders Wikstrom, Design for “D – Dragon” float in “The Alphabet” parade, Krewe of Proteus, 1904, Carnival Collection, Louisiana Research Collection, Tulane University

SAN FRANCISCO Torsdag 1 mars kl 19.00 Student- och aupairmiddag i Norska Sjömanskyrkan på Hyde St. Hemlagad middag, quiz och gemenskap. Anmälan på Norska sjömanskyrkans fb-sida.

Lördag 10 mars Fundraiser för Svenska kyrkan SF. Generalkonsul Barbro S. Osher och Mr. Bernard Osher bjuder in till middag i deras residens. Anmälan krävs. $150.

Söndag 11 mars kl 11.00

Carnival costume by Wikstrom with an obvious Nordic touch.

GUDSTJÄNST

och årsmöte i Norska Sjömanskyrkan på Hyde St. Präst Louise Linder predikar och kyrkokören medverkar. Organist Ragnar Bohlin Kyrkkaffe och saft.

Alla medlemmar välkomna till årsmötet efter gudstjänsten.

Torsdag 15 mars kl 18.30 Meningen med livet. Kom till Norska sjömanskyrkan för samtal och soppa.

Malin Sävstam talar kring temat “Kärleken är starkare än Döden”.

Lördag 17 mars kl 15.00 (barnsamling kl 14)

FAMILJEGUDSTJÄNST

i Los Altos. Präst Louise Linder predikar. Kyrkkaffe och saft. Barn välkomna redan kl 14.00 för sång och pyssel.

Fredag 2, 9, 16, 23 och 30 mars kl 10:30

SVENSKA KYRKANS BARNGRUPP träffas på fredagar i Norska sjömanskyrkan för sång, lek och gemenskap.

Smörgås, kaffe och saft serveras.

Onsdag 7 och 21 mars kl 18.30 Övning med kyrkokören. Kom till Norska sjömanskyrkan för sång och gemenskap.

Alla välkomna!

Se Facebook för mer info!

SVENSKA KYRKAN SAN FRANCISCO Norska Sjömanskyrkan, 2454 Hyde Street, San Francisco Tel: 415-632-8504 Epost: sanfrancisco@svenskakyrkan.se Hemsida: www.svenskakyrkan.se/sanfrancisco MARCH 01, 2018 7

local events

Through

NORDSTJERNAN 1.800.827.9333 Ext 10

Augusta’s Daughter

03.31, 9- 10:30 AM Easter in the Castle: The whole family can hunt high and low for colorful eggs hidden throughout the nooks and crannies of the 33-room Turnblad Mansion. All across campus, ASI will celebrate other favorite holiday traditions including storytime with the Easter Witch (påskkäring), adding feathers to the brightly decorated Easter tree (påskris), making a craft to decorate your table on Easter morning, and creating traditional Swedish-style Easter greeting cards to share with friends. This intergenerational family program is recommended for children under 10 years of age and their special adults. $10 ASI members / $13 nonmembers. Free/ under age 2. Register by March 23 612-871-4907 / www.asimn.org

Park Rapids 03.20, 1-3 PM Scandinavian Crime Thrillers Today: Dr. Jim Kaplan will discuss Scandinavian crime novels, which enable readers to learn about the real lives of Scandinavians today and are a fun and exciting introduction to literature and the humanities. Featured will be “Jar City”

by Icelandic author Arnaldur Indridason, “The Snowman” by Norwegian author Jo Nesbø, and “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” by Swedish author Stieg Larsson.

Crime thrillers enable readers to learn about the real lives of Scandinavian people today and are a fun and exciting introduction to literature and the humanities. Park Theatre, 218.237.8950 / kaplan@mnstate.edu

See Sweden Anew

Ever wonder what made so many emigrate from Sweden in the nineteenth century?

Judit Martin’s novel, “Augusta’s Daughter,” about 19th century Swedish peasant life made such an impression on us, we decided to offer it to the Nordstjernan readership. call 1.800.827.9333 for your own copy ($24.90 incl. S&H to continental U.S.).

Celebrate Midsummer in Rättvik, Dalarna, Sweden, 2018. See UNESCO World Heritage Farm “castles” in Hälsingland and unforgettable Stockholm, capital of Sweden.

Trip and itinerary prepared by Margareta Claesson. Deadline for reservations: April 1

Benjamin Schulze Phone: +1 (800) 884-1721 ext 102 Web: www.firebirdtours.com

LOS ANGELES Söndag 4 februari kl 11.00

GUDSTJÄNST

Kyrkoherde Hans Bratt Hernberg predikar, kören medverkar och lunch serveras.

Onsdag 14 februari kl 19.00

ASKONSDAGSMÄSSA under ledning av kyrkoherde Sverre Tofte.

National archives and library for Swedish-American historical research Publishers of Swedish American Genealogist 639 38th Street Rock Island, IL | 61201-2296 309-794-7204

www.augustana.edu/ swenson 8 NORDSTJERNAN

Tisdagar kl 18.30

SVENSKAFTON med film, lärjungaskola, sång och gemenskap.

Onsdagar kl 19.00 Kyrkans kör övar. Välkommen du också!

Fredagar kl 9.30

New York

New York 03.03-03.30 Mixed media on paper, exhibit by Stig Knutsson. Born in Sweden, Stig Knutsson works to capture the ethereal, supernatural relation between woman and man in his art. Through paper collage with pen, ink, pencils and crayon, Knutsson approaches a transcendent world, “the fragile side of the erotic relation between woman and man, here expressed in an abstract manner.” His work has been exhibited in solo and group shows in Sweden since 1972. Opening Reception on March 3 at 12-4 p.m. At Church of Sweden in New York through March 30, stig.e.knutsson@gmail. com / www.stigknutsson.se and www. svenskakyrkan.se/newyork Through 03.06 The Experimental Self: Edvard Munch’s Photography. Internationally celebrated for his paintings, prints and watercolors, Norwegian artist Edvard Munch (1863– 1944) also took photographs. This exhibition of photographs and films by Edvard Munch emphasizes the artist’s experimentalism, examining his exploration of the camera as an expressive medium. Scandinavia House, 212.779.3587 / www.scandinaviahouse.org 03.06, 6-8 PM Book Talk with Lars Kepler: The Sandman, a #1 internationally best-selling thriller from Joona Linna, tells the chilling story of a manipulative serial killer and the two police agents who must try to beat him at his own game. Following the discussion, copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing. Scandinavia House, 212.779.3587 / www.scandinaviahouse.org

North Carolina

Charlotte 03.09 Annual Swedish Easter Påskbord: Enjoy a traditional Easter smorgasbord and music by singers from the Swedish School of Charlotte, prizes and games. Tickets for IKEA FAMILY members are $12.99/person and $2.99/kids and can be purchased in the IKEA Restaurant. www.ikea.com/us/ en/store/charlotte/activities

Oregon

Portland 03.02, 7:30 PM Trolls: Reality, Myth or Cultural Icon?

Join storyteller Barbara Fankhauser in a lighthearted look at a very dark topic: Trolls.

Are they all they all tall , stupid and evil as the stories would have us believe? Explore the lore of trolls in Scandinavian myths and culture. Free, Cramer Hall room 171, Portland State University, 503.977.0275 / laila@ scanheritage.org. www.scanheritage.org 3.24, 6:30-8:30 PM Armchair Adventurer Series: Polar Opposites: Amundsen, Scott, and the Race for the Pole. Lawrence Howard of Portland Story Theater tells this story that

MORGONANDAKT För aktuell information om våra evenemang, se vår facebook- och hemsida.

SVENSKA KYRKAN LOS ANGELES 1035 South Beacon Street, San Pedro, CA 90731 Tel. (310) 292-7080 • Epost: losangeles@svenskakyrkan.se Hemsida: www.svenskakyrkan.se/losangeles

Do you know about an upcoming event in Swedish America? Submit it any time to our online calendar at www.nordstjernan.com/ calendar

local events

The Year of Bergman 2018 celebrates the rich legacy of Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, who would have celebrated his 100th birthday on July 14, 2018.

Centennial Retrospective

A 47-feature film festival celebrating Ingmar Bergman’s 100th birthday is running at Film Forum, 209 West Houston St., New York, now through March 15. The global tribute, described by the Swedish Film Institute as “the largest jubilee of a single filmmaker” brings the most comprehensive Bergman festival ever presented in New York. This festival, which started Feb. 7, includes nearly every feature he directed, DCPs and 35mm prints imported from Sweden with 40 new restorations created by the Swedish Film Institute especially for the 2018 celebration.

Bergman’s work with actors Max von Sydow, Erland Josephson, Eva Dahlbeck, Ulla Jacobsson, Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann, among others, made him arguably the greatest director of actors in the history of the medium, and his overall technical mastery, his brutal honesty and relentless search for truth have made him, as well, one of the greatest artists of the 20th century.

To try to encapsulate his brilliant cinema career is impossible, but an overview would encompass his progression: from tormented, sensitive male protagonists; to strong female leads; to a series of God-haunted works; to island-location “chamber” works; to powerful, scathing examinations of intimate relationships, with romantic comedies, warmth and charm interspersed throughout.

Presented in association with the Swedish Film Institute and the Ingmar Bergman Foundation. Contact Film Forum for tickets at 212.727.8110 / www.filmforum.org/series/ingmar-bergman-centennial-retrospective-series Left: The iconic image of the knight (Max von Sydow) playing chess with death (Bengt Ekerot) in The Seventh Seal (Sjunde Inseglet).

recounts a tale of agony and ecstasy, of accomplishment and failure, of a glorious victory overshadowed by an even more glorious defeat in Antarctica 100 years ago. $15/members , $20/non-members.

Nordic Northwest, 503.977.0275 /www. scanheritage.org

Ohio

West Chester 03.09, 5-8:30 PM Swedish Easter Påskbord: All-you-can-eat buffet with traditional Swedish meatballs, smoked salmon, assorted cheeses and many other savory favorites and desserts. $2.99-$16.99, ask a restaurant co-worker for details and to purchase tickets. Seating is limited. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/ store/west_chester/activities

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia 03.20, 10:30-11:30 AM Toddler Time: Build language and math skills by learning the alphabet and how to count in Swedish - we’ll read D is for Dala Horse: A Nordic Countries Alphabet by Kathy-jo Wargin and reinforce letter and number practice through museum exploration, letter matching, Swedish counting games, and a stamp craft. $5/child, free/members and accompanying caregivers. American Swedish Historical Museum, 215.389.1776 / info@americanswedish.org / www. americanswedish.org 03.25, 2-4 PM Easter Family Fun Day: Introduce your little ones to Swedish Easter traditions with Easter crafts, face painting, Easter witch dress up and an egg hunt! Free/members and children 2 years and under and $10/non-members. American Swedish Historical Museum, 215.389.1776 / www. americanswedish.org

Washington

Seattle 03.01, 1:30 PM Nordic Storytelling: Frances Dean Who Loved to Dance and Dance by Birgitta Sif (Iceland): Held the first Thursday of each month, Nordic Stories features children’s stories from the Nordic countries, along with fun craft projects and is hosted by Secret Garden Books in downtown Ballard (through April while we are moving into our new facility), 2214 NW Market St., 206.789.5707 / www.nordicmuseum. org/events 03.04, 7 AM - 1 PM Swedish Pancake Breakfast: Music and dancing plus authentic Swedish pancakes, ham, lingonberries, coffee and orange juice. Music by Tune Sisters,

Sprida Ut and Nordiska dancers & musicians. Stay afterward for genealogy help. Swedish Swedish Cultural Center, 206.283.1090 / www.swedishclubnw. org/Events/regular.htm

and explore some Swedish Easter customs. Redemption Lutheran Church, 4057 N. Mayfair Rd., 414.352.7890 swedishamericanhistoricalwisc@ gmail.com / www.sahswi.org

Wisconsin

Wauwatosa 03.10,1:30-4 PM Fika - Swedish coffee tradition: Fika is a social phenomenon with a ritual and tradition of setting aside quality t i m e w i t h f r i e n d s , fa m i l y o r c o workers to enjoy social interaction.

Fika can be observed at any time of the day and frequently several times a day with coffee accompanied by delicious sweets. We’ll learn its history, share recipes and have hands-on experience in the preparation of fika

Swedish author visit at the Swedish Club, 1920 Dexter Ave. N, Seattle at 2-3:30 p.m. on March 11. Swedish author duo writing under the pseudonym Lars Kepler will read from their newest book, The Sandman, part of the Joona Linna crime series. The husband and wife team Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril and Alexander Ahndoril were both established writers before they adopted the pen name Lars Kepler.

The Joona Linna crime series has sold over 10 million copies in 40 languages. 206.283.1090 / www. swedishclubnw.org MARCH 01, 2018 9

readers forum

InBox

Tjugondag Knut and white elephant exchange

Scandinavian cold cuts, salmon and cheese. Members of the Swedish Cultural Society of Cleveland enjoy their “white elephants.”

Twenty days after Christmas and Knut’s name day (January 13) will have passed in Sweden and elsewhere, but the Swedish Cultural Society of Cleveland firmly believes another week later really shouldn’t matter, so they held their celebration on January 20 at the home of Gurli and Allan Intermill. And a goodly crowd was present.

Viking Festival in Florida

“Nu är glada julen slut slut slut, Julegranen kastas ut, ut, ut.

Men till nästa år igen kommer han, vår gamle vän, ty det har han lovat.”

After a round or two of glögg, ok, maybe three, the members and guests settled down for the inevitable “business meeting” which our president, Ingemar Svala, endeavoured to dispatch with alacrity so we could get to V.P. Anna Riesch’s evening program. For at least the past 60 years it has been known as the White Elephant.

Each invitee must bring to the meeting a wrapped present. Nothing fancy or expensive, but something you want to trade (get rid of?) in the White Elephant Game. According to the instructions, “You do not need to buy a new gift. Use something you presently own but think someone else will appreciate more than you do.” Oh yeah! All the presents are placed in a pile where all may observe them.

In a container are slips of paper numbered equal to the number of people in attendance. Reminiscent of military days, beginning with any member called upon, “1” is followed by whomever is next to that person, who says “2,” then “3” until everyone has a number. Someone draws a number from the container and the person with the corresponding number may choose any one of the gifts. This procedure is followed until all presents have been taken.

But there’s a catch.

Anyone whose number is called may either take a gift from the pile or expropriate one from another person. Which reminds me ... years ago we had a member with the ugliest vase anyone has ever seen. It was as large as it was ugly, heavy and colored between tan and orange. He had been bringing it to our Tjugondag Knut party year after year trying to rid himself of that repulsive pottery but always ended up with it himself. I think he finally tossed it in the rubbish one dark of night.

This year, as always, with tree — and present — plundering ended, we all joined in an excellent repast provided by our most generous hosts.

Thank you Allan and Gurli.

Art Lustig

10 NORDSTJERNAN

Suncoast Scandinavian Club members Ed Peterson, Jeannie Carlson, Eric Hovland (of STA), Cherstin Peterson, Tim Burns.

Scandinavians from near and far arrived for the day-long festival sponsored by the Scandinavian Trade Association of Tampa.

On a cold, windy and damp January 13, 2018, the third annual Viking Festival was held in Oldsmar, Florida. The Suncoast Scandinavian Club of Clearwater, FL had a booth at the event where Danish blue plates, ceramic Swedish province plaques and other Scandinavian items were sold. At the end of the day, our guest book pages were filled with names of people from all over the area. President Cherstin Peterson, Vice President Jeannie Carlson, Treasurer Tim Burns and Trustee Ed Peterson represented the club and provided an overview to everyone who stopped by our booth.

Vikings were present wherever you looked and all day long Viking reenactments were taking place. There were also weapons demonstrations, wool to woven fiber demonstrations and drop spindle spinning class, just to name a few events. The children, and also the adults, enjoyed kubb (sticks and bricks), Hnefatafl (Viking chess) and other games. An evening with the Vikings concluded the festival with a bonfire and Viking stories. www.scandinaviantrade.org Cherstin Peterson Visit the Suncoast Scandinavian Club on Facebook or call Cherstin Peterson (732-546-7756) for club information and membership.

fiction

w/ord encounters

Knäckebröd, bread to be broken, so much more than crispbread and a wondrous invention indeed.

Lately I have been thinking about knäckebröd. The sound of it breaking, both by the hands that turn the edible wheel into manageable portions and then by the teeth of the consumer; it’s likely one of the few acts of violence condoned in peaceful Sweden.

The edges can be sharp, though they must not be dangerous—I Googled in a mission to find if any aggressive acts with knäckebröd had been committed and found one entry, “Klämde fingrarna på Wasabröd,” but the promising headline by SVT of someone injuring fingers in connection with Wasabröd turned out to be misleading. A woman in a factory in Värmland where knäckebröd was being made got two of her fingers caught in a machine; so until we find out otherwise, the eating of knäckebröd is safe. “Klämde fingrarna på Vasabröd” What a companion knäckebröd has been over the years. Always at convenient reach in the home unless someone has not given notice he or she ate the last piece, knäckebröd has seen butter and margarine applied to its surface, Swedish korv, and just about anything you have available to put on it. At least in my family, knäckebröd had to have something on top, as no one would eat just plain knäckebröd.

I think knäckebröd is truly old-fashioned Swedish, which means you might put sill on top of it — but never products that were not original to Sweden, such as peanut butter or Nutella. If someone in these modern times consumes knäckebröd with unusual toppings, I would like to hear from that person.

The most singular out-of-the-ordinary knäckebröd consumption act I remember from my home was one hot summer night when the sun would not quit and my mother asked if we wanted knäckebröd with Felix lingonberries and milk for dinner. We excitedly said yes and enjoyed the fare tremendously.

I think we enjoyed the novel taste combination of two Swedish staples and also the slight hint of gastronomic rebellion of the slurping of milk with red berries and hard knäckebröd about to go soggy.

This is, of course, a column about words, but by now we have come to appreciate that words live beyond the lexicographical entry and the way a word appears in a book comes from everyday usage. So let us dip into the reliable SAOB* in the fashion of dunking a skorpa into coffee. Knäckebröd makes it first written appearance in 1639: KNÄCKEBRÖD knäk3e~brø2d, n.; best. -et; pl. =.

Ordformer (knek- 1673. knäck- (kneck-) 1741—1795, 1874 (: knäckbrödskant). knäcke- (knecke-) 1639 osv.)

Etymologi [av KNÄCKA, v.2 1, o. BRÖD; eg.: bröd som behandlats med ”knäck” (se KNÄCK, sbst.4) o. därför lätt kan brytas i bitar l. som brukar brytas i bitar] benämning på ett slags hårdt bröd, i allm. av osiktat

rågmjöl, som bakas i tunna kakor. Schroderus Comenius 408 (1639; i uppräkning av olika slags kakor). Warg 676 (1755).Man har både finare och gröfre Knäckebröd; både af hårsiktat och sammanmalit rågmiöl. Fischerström 3: 374 (1787). SDS 1936, nr 174, s.

6. — jfr DELIKATESS-KNÄCKEBRÖD. http://www.saob.se/artikel/?unik=K_1527-0426.57m8

As we continue our word-sleuthing and translate the entry, we learn that knäckebröd is a kind of bread that has been treated with “knäck” and therefore can easily be broken into pieces, which it customarily is. But the word “knäck” is not defined in the entry.

Time to dip into that entry: KNÄCK knäk4, sbst.4, r. l. m.; best. -en; pl. -ar.

Etymologi (mindre br.) värktyg med utstående taggar varmed ränder o. d. åstadkommas i bröd (utefter vilka brödet lättare kan brytas). Swedberg Ordab. (c. 1730). Baketråg med knäck och kafvel samt öfrigt behör. BoupptVäxjö 1767. Fatab. 1911, s. 31. — jfr BRÖD-KNÄCK. http://www.saob.se/artikel/?unik=K_15270417.0eL3&pz=5

“Knäck” originally “knäk” is a special tool to create stripes or perforations in the bread so it can be more easily broken. Of course the word “knäcka” also simply means break.

There is really not too much mystery to the word, but what a wondrous invention knäckebröd is. Its making can take on the status of a revered activity. It does not have to be a machine that produces knäckebröd these days, with the touches of artisans bringing the delightful staple into our lives we have choices how we make the word come alive in our husmanskost.

A delightful piece in Göteborgs-Posten features an atmospheric photo, mysig really, of two men at work making knäckebröd so that one is almost reminded of glassblowers perfecting their art. The caption reads, “Inge Johansson och Mats Jansson gräddar i de vedeldade ugnarna på Skevdi Bröd i Dalarna.” Ovens are heated by wood, the handmade bread is being baked just so, each cake of bröd handled individually by a baker who wears comfortable shoes and looks like a descendant of the Vikings. By the way, there is no exact confirmation, but the Vikings reportedly consumed knäckebröd on their journeys; if this is not the case, wouldn’t it be nice to think so? Our ancestors intuitively knowing the importance of complex carbohydrates fueling the body while rowing away … plus I am sure the high-fiber content of knäckebröd came in handy for Vikings who sat during long stretches of rowing, when they were not busy exploring by foot foreign lands.

Born in Sweden and raised in Europe and the U.S., Ulf Kirchdorfer is as Swedish American as we come. As a contributing writer for Nordstjernan he has shared eloquent and witty essays on how his Swedishness has influenced his life, reflecting on his childhood with his Swedish grandmother and experiences as an adult in America. You might just see a little of yourself in what he writes, in a collection of essays Kirchdorfer calls Swede Among the Rednecks: The Language That Just Won’t Stay Buried, available from Nordstjernan and amazon.com.

Fortunately the tradition of knäckebröd made by smaller businesses will not die, even in this profitsare-everything society. None other than Benny Andersson of ABBA fame came to the rescue of Vikabröd in Stora Skevdi. When Leksandbröd closed down production, Andersson became an investor and so enabled knäckebröd production to start up again. He considers knäckebröd to be an important part of Swedish heritage: “Jag är väldigt förtjust i knäckebröd, jag tycker att det är någon slags kulturgärning, det tillhör vårt kulturarv,” he says. For those of us living in the land that Leif Ericsson discovered and perhaps aren’t speakers of Swedish, the man from ABBA said, “I am really into knäckebröd, I think it is a kind of cultural nourishment, it belongs to our cultural heritage.”

As a huge fan of language, knäckebröd, a harbinger of the childhood memory and excitement I experienced watching ABBA win the Eurovision Song Contest driving over the competition like a tank with “Waterloo,” I am happy to take Benny Andersson at his word.

*Svenska Akademien (the Swedish Academy) was founded in 1786 by King Gustav III. Its primary purpose is to further the “purity, strength, and sublimity of the Swedish language” and publishes two dictionaries: a one-volume dictionary called “Svenska Academies ordlista” and a multi-volume dictionary, edited on principles similar to those of the Oxford English Dictionary and titled “Svenska Academies Ordbok” (SAOB).

Make your own “knäcke” Recipe in our next issue, #18/04 (dated March 15)

MARCH 01, 2018 11

feature

California Swedes reflect on a milestone

continued from page 1 After they arrived across the Bay, they were moved into refugee camps, housed in tents crowded together, and supplied with food and water.

For many, this was a first exposure to diversity, surviving side by side with other ethnic and socioeconomic groups.

Two prominent camps were located in the areas of Adams Point and Fruitvale, where we know Swedish Americans settled. Some camps were better run than others, and keeping the areas clean and well-provisioned was a difficult task, an unexpected demand on the city’s resources. Many

businesses and organizations chipped in to help accommodate the newcomers.

We may forget that many of the new arrivals were suffering from what today we call PTSD, bereft of their homes, neighborhoods and sometimes livelihoods. Many were missing family members.

The Oakland Tribune and the Swedish newspaper Vestkusten carried many notices for people trying to find the whereabouts of loved ones.

The larger Bay Area Swedish community mobilized to provide what services it could after the disaster hit. San Francisco’s Olson Grocery opened a store in Oakland by the next month. The ad announcing the new store appeared in Vestkusten the day after the earthquake.

Vestkusten, displaced from its printing shop in San Francisco, began publishing right away in Oakland. For some time the paper’s masthead read “Oakland.” The perseverance of Vestkusten was of vital importance to the Swedish community, helping people find missing family and locate needed services.

Everyone needed temporary housing before rebuilding. Children had to be placed in schools. Women had to fend for themselves to find groceries and other provisions and set up new households. Men had to find new jobs or figure out how to commute across the Bay or find work in Oakland.

In this environment, many Swedish Americans sought solace in their Swedish churches, like St. Paul’s Lutheran; some sought solace in drink, and the number of bars and breweries swelled. It is probably no surprise that an Oakland woman began to advertise her services in Vestkusten as a psychic reader; answers and guidance were in short supply for the emotionally damaged newcomers.

was up and running on November 6, 1908. It offered much needed socializing and community to the dispersed and distressed Swedish arrivals, as well as sick and death benefits. Men and women were both welcome, and, in fact, women played key roles in running the lodge from the beginning.

It wasn’t long before the Oakland Swedes (including Vasa and other affiliated groups) started planning their own hall, named for Jenny Lind, in downtown Oakland. It is another remarkable feat that the hall was built by 1915, a mere nine years after the homeless Swedish refugees landed in Oakland.

By that year, Tegner was meeting in Blake Hall at 529 12th Street with 125 members. Adds taken out for the 1915 PanPacific Exposition’s singing convention mention the lodge’s sick benefit of $8 a week and a death benefit of $100.

Above the ad, was a notice for buying shares in the new building about to be erected at 23rd and Telegraph, which would be the Jenny Lind Hall, still standing today with a new use at the same location. The ad also appears to be reaching out to fellow San Franciscans to share some of the financial burden.

Consider this historic fact: Tegner Lodge #149 is the only lodge in California that has the distinction of forming in direct response to the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906. Many other lodges were to follow as residents began to move throughout the Bay Area, but Tegner led the way, a noteworthy example of regrouping and thriving after a massive tragedy. Some would say there is something Swedish about that.

Kitty Hughes

Nearly 110 years

During a 2017 dinner at Bjornson Hall in San Francisco, Swedish American Ann Loyola told how her grandparents put down straw mats in their home for people to sleep on in 1906. The Anderson grandparents lived on 7th Street near the West Oakland waterfront. They went down to the arriving ferry boats to pick up the dazed passengers and bring them to their home. Two years later the Andersons were charter members of Tegner Lodge of the Vasa Order of America.

Much has been made about the fast rebuilding of the Swedish American Hall in San Francisco after the 1906 catastrophe. But consider how remarkable it was that the Swedish community regrouped and formed its own Vasa Lodge in Oakland within two years, while coming to grips with so many challenges.

Records indicate that Tegner Lodge #149 first met in a building called California Hall. The lodge 12 NORDSTJERNAN

The Olson’s grocery store ad that appeared in Vestkusten immediately after the earthquake.

Tegner notice in the 1915 PanPacific Exposition program The devastation after the earthquake and fire was enormous. Above, right: The ruined tower of the City Hall, damage due to earthquake alone.

Below: St. Francis Hotel, Fairmount Hotel in distance; the clean sweep of the fire in the business section of all except steel-framed buildings.

Nordstjernan followed the events in California as close as was possible in the day—some illustrations were still carved by hand as mirror images into metal but as you see on this page from Nordstjernan of April 11, 1906, photo engraving had arrived at the soon-to-be 35-year-old newspaper.

A typical bread line in the early stages of the relief distribution.

All the Easter candy, decorations and food for a Happy Easter.

349 Main Ave. | Norwalk, CT 06851 | Phone: 203-529-3244 Email: info@scandinavianbutik.com | www.scandinavianbutik.com

Experience

SWEDEN on one of Brekke’s 2018 Scandinavian Tours: • TASTE OF SWEDEN & NORWAY June 21 - 30 Stockholm with Uppsala and Dalarna as well as Oslo, Bergen and the fjords • CAPTIVATING SCANDINAVIA July 11 - 24 The fjord country, the Swedish Glass District and visits to Bergen, Oslo, Copenhagen, Gothenburg & Stockholm

›

Cont act Brekke Tours

1-800-437-5302 Tours@BrekkeTours.com @BrekkeTours www.BrekkeTours.com MARCH 01, 2018 13

feature

We know some people are not necessarily always hunting for bargain airfares online then seeking resources to create a tailor-made trip to Sweden, so we reached out to a few of the sources for special travel and research in Sweden.

One of the advertisers in this issue, Experience Sweden Anew, takes you on a journey that combines Stockholm and the countryside of the provinces of Dalarna and Hälsingland—offering a view of the capital along with insights into history and lifestyle in the culturally rich regions a bit further north. You’ll see the sights everyone mentions, such as Stockholm’s Old Town (we write about it occasionally, most recently in issue 18/02), the Royal Palace, the Vasa Museum and Skansen, but also the region of Sweden’s famous artists Carl Larsson and Anders Zorn on a trip to Dalarna that also includes the traditional Midsummer celebration in the town of Rättvik. You will travel to the home of the “Farm Castles” in Hälsingland, on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and mansion-like picturesque hotels are equipped with modern amenities and ready for tourists. This trip, prepared by native born Margareta Claesson and Firebird Tours, is for a smaller group of 10-16 people between June 16-27 and will surely give a sense of two very different areas of Sweden.

Then there’s the two-week bus tour organized by an expat Swede in Stillwater, Minnesota under the umbrella of Scandi Experience. This trip takes you through all of southern Sweden with day-trips into both Denmark and Norway and ending in Stockholm.

The fully-guided tour is sure to bring many special moments, and an experienced on-board guide will assist during your entire Swedish experience. Other tour operators such as the well established North Dakota based Brekke Tours offers a full menu of shorter or longer trips to all of Scandinavia.

We also have the trips that incorporate both the regular travel experience and a first sense of your very own genealogical research. Annelie Jonsson, who lives in Skaraborg, works with Adventure Skaraborg to help people make connections through genealogy and tourism in America and Sweden. The database Annelie works with, called Emigrants from Falköping, contains information of area emigrants in the old and new home country; it has almost half the “found” emigrants who died in the U.S. listed in Illinois. Of 1.3 million Swedes who immigrated to and settled in the USA in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, about 70,000 came from the county of Skaraborg 14 NORDSTJERNAN

Hastings, where Sweden’s first church might have been located.

in western Sweden. They did as immigrants do today: They settled down in the neighborhood of other compatriots — in Minnesota and Illinois but also in California, Kansas, Massachusetts, Nebraska and Washington.

Today we find Swedish descendants all over the U.S., but a lot of people from Skaraborg, Sweden first immigrated to the cities and countryside in Illinois. And many supplemental

Photo: Christer Hallgren

Heritage Travel

records in the U.S. can be found in Illinois — at Swenson Center, Augustana College in Rock Island or in Bishop Hill, where in 1846 Erik Jansson led a group of settlers who would build a community in what has become the central location and home of the Vasa National Archives for Americans with Swedish ancestry.

Annelie sent us several names and immigrant stories that are examples of what’s in the database.

First family to arrive

The Freeman family from Skaraborg County may have been among the first — the father and his five sons arrived in New York on July 9, 1838. The father had to return to Sweden a year later with one son, Herman, who was sick.

Herman emigrated again at the age of 14 but the father was unable to follow. The family settled in Salem, WI but Herman joined the troops in the Mexican War (1846-1848) and enlisted under the

name Harmon Strome because he was under age; he received free land in Kentucky after the war and later moved to California. Much is known about the family since they corresponded over the Atlantic between 1841-1862. Letters at the time were published in Swedish newspapers and in 2006 in a book by The Freeman Family Association in Sweden. There’s a memorial in Genoa City, WI for Carl Friman and his sons.

Herman Freeman enlisted in the Mexican War (1846-1848) under the name Harmon Strome

Rockford, Illinois

Sweden’s Cradle Right in the middle of southern Sweden, between Lakes Vänern and Vättern, is the region of Västergötland, Västra Götaland, or West Gothia. The area produced many of Sweden’s early kings, and most of them chose to be buried here. Even Birger Jarl, who founded Stockholm 750 years ago, chose to be buried in Varnhem, close to Lake Vättern. He remained at heart a Goth.

Perhaps it was because the land between the two lakes is also home to an area so different from other places in Sweden, so filled with its own atmosphere that even renowned naturalist Carl Linnaeus named it the most beautiful spot in the country. The area, just 20 minutes north of Skara is called Kinnekulle.

There is no other place in Sweden with as many biospheres in so small an area as at Kinnekulle: flourishing deciduous forests, copses, meadows, pastures and limestone flats, populated by moose and roe deer, even magnificent red deer.

Kinnekulle is full of walls, barns and other buildings of limestone. They are all reminiscent of the stone industry that dominated the area from the 1100s nearly until present day.

The expansive meadows and presence of nearby Lake Vänern create an atmosphere of fairytales and forgotten myths. There is tranquility here, with a decidedly regal quality. After all, the first Christian Viking king once called this place home. King Olof Skötkonung (995-1022 AD) dwelled mostly in West Gothia. It was there in 1013 at the spring at Husaby Church, which still exists, that Olof became the first Viking king ever to be baptized into the Christian faith. To this day, water from Husaby is brought to Uppsala Cathedral to baptize members of Sweden’s royal family.

Where the meadow meets Vänern are the remains of Hastings, probably the first church in all of Sweden, on Kinnekulle. It is believed the church was built by English monks who sailed across Lake Vänern to spread Christianity. A cross was erected to signify the believed location of the church.

UM

A third generation Swede who grew up in Rockford, Illinois, said his four grandparents were all born in Skaraborg. When he was child he thought all Swedish-Americans in Rockford were from Skaraborg, but when he looked closely he found some were also from Småland.

The most known Swedish immigrant in Rockford today is Conrad Johnson. He was born in 1904 in Kymbo parish outside Tidaholm, the fourth of 10 children to parents who had been in Chicago and came back to Sweden in 1898 as the father couldn’t cope with the dampness near Lake Michigan.

Conrad was 19 when he left Sweden in 1923. He worked as a carpenter and contractor in the Rockford area, and was very successful as a real estate investor.

When Conrad Johnson died in 2014, just a month shy of his 111th birthday, he was the oldest man in the United States. He had donated his fortune to various organizations, and the Swedish Historical Society of Rockford received a donation of $1.6 million.

Conrad Johnson of Rockford, Illinois at age 103 in 2007. Photo: Inga-Lill Jonsson Continues on next page

MARCH 01, 2018 15

feature

Above: The cabin in Falköping that inspired the Seven Dwarfs’ cottage (Photo: Annelie Johnsson), right. Undated with Tenggren and children reading Tenggren’s Storybook. (Still available used at amazon.com) Continued from previous page

Hollywood, California

Walt Disney’s Seven Dwarfs lived in a house inspired by a farmhouse in Sweden. An immigrant Swede worked for Disney, and it was memories from Sweden that inspired him.

Gustaf Tenggren (1896-1970) was working as a successful artist in Västra Götaland when he decided to pursue his dream in America. At age 24 he left for the U.S. and made a name for himself in California as an illustrator. He was hired by Walt Disney in 1936, becoming an artistic leader for films such as Pinocchio, Snow White and Bambi. His career spanned 60 years and included illustrating many Golden Books, including The Poky Little Puppy.

Tenggren was said to have the gift of being fresh and inspired but always retaining his own style.

In the story of Pinocchio, for example, an Italian setting is infused with reminders of Tenggren’s grandfather and his workshop at their home in Magra, of Skaraborg, Sweden.

In Snow White, the cabin that the Seven Dwarfs live in was inspired by a neighboring home in Floby parish, Falköping. As a boy, Tenggren visited the house of the Gegerfeldts many times; today that house and its gardens are on view to the public in Alphem Arboretum www.alphem.se.

Tenggren and his Swedish wife always planned to visit Magra again but never did so. They ended up in Dogfish, Maine, where they created a rather Swedish homestead. At his death in 1970, Tengrren’s valuable antiques went a museum in Falun, Sweden and many paintings and drawings were donated to the University of Minnesota — in its department for children’s books, Kerlan Collection of Children’s Literature.

New York, New York

Andrew Hagstrom was born at a farm in Karleby parish, Falköping in 1890. He emigrated in 1909 from Sweden where he had been a butcher, and his first job in the U.S. was to milk cows for a farmer near Coney Island in New York. He took a 16 NORDSTJERNAN

commercial art course at Mechanics Institute and started making maps for friends as they arrived in New York, but they were so good that he was encouraged to sell them.

In 1916 he founded Hagstrom Map Company, specializing in atlases, city street guides and pocket maps. Eventually he had three stores, one in lower Manhattan, one in midtown and the third in Washington, DC. During WWI he worked to illustrate military texts, the first manual on military aviation published by the Army. He also created maps of New York’s subway system that were used during the 1940s until 1958. Hagstrom was a perfectionist and considered one of his outstanding achievements to be “Hagstrom’s Atlas and Official Postal Zone Guide of the City of New York.”

In 1953 Hagstrom was decorated by the King of Sweden with the Order of Vasa First Class. In 1957 he was named the Swedish American “Man of the year” by United Swedish Societies of New York and the Swedish Day Association.

In 1966, he sold Hagstrom Map Company to the Macmillan Company.

It changed hands again before it was sold in 2010 to Kappa Publishing Group. In Hagstrom’s Atlas and Official Postal Zone Guide of the City of New York. 2010 the last

remaining shop — in midtown Manhattan — was closed as digital maps were taking over.

Andrew Hagstrom died in 1977 in New York City.

For more info on the tours and facilities mentioned: www.firebirdtours.com www.scandiexperience.com www.roots2018.emigrant.se www.brekketours.com www.augustana.net/general-information/swensoncenter www.arkivdigital.net www.slaktforskarhuset.se www.genealogi.se

Life made Sweder:

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IKEA founder dies Ingvar Kamprad died in his sleep on January 27, 2018 in his beloved Småland region of Sweden.

Kamprad, born in Pjätteryd in the Älmhult, Småland area in 1926, spent much of his life away from his birthplace, in some ways his first love and simultaneously part and parcel of his lifetime creation, the multinational retail chain IKEA. He first moved to Denmark in the early 1970s to lead the company’s expansion in Europe, then lived in Switzerland, from 1976 and until his return to Sweden in 2014.

The Ikea founder, whom I met several times, was unique in so many ways but first and foremost as a human being. He was grounded in a way that you rarely see in a person with his track record.

He leaves behind an empire worth several billions and annual revenues in excess of $50 billion. And yet, he never let go of his interest in people, his appetite to know more, to be close to everyone at the company, close to the products, to the furniture and store design and to the customers.

At our first meeting on American soil, at the Ikea store in Elizabeth, NJ in 1999, he was hands-on discussing displays and decorations, comparing prices of products and product groups, commenting on the U.S. competition while connecting with everyone and anyone he encountered at the store.

He was on a whirlwind tour through the U.S. with his wife, Margaretha, who sadly passed away in 2011, only 71 years old. They stayed at a small hotel in the Midtown of Manhattan, in a regular room. I know it for sure, since Ingvar contacted me after their return to Switzerland and asked me to go to the hotel to collect a favorite 20-year-old item of Margaretha’s she had forgotten to pack. It was still there, as was the package of snus in the fridge I got as a gift for the favor.

Ikea was founded in 1943, selling replicas of Kamprad’s uncle Ernst’s kitchen table. In 1948, Kamprad diversified his portfolio, adding furniture. His business was to begin with mostly mail order but he opened a small store in the early 1950s. He then opened the first Ikea furniture department store in Älmhult in 1958 and as the first store in Stockholm opened seven years later, the success of the Ikea concept was already well established in the minds of Swedes. A few years later Kamprad moved to Denmark to oversee the European expansion, then, in 1976, to Switzerland.

The first U.S. store opened in 1985 but the concept turned out to be a bit of a hard sell in the U.S. It wasn’t until the late 1990s, at the time of our meeting in the Northeast, that all North American stores were profitable for the first time. Not that the founder was overly concerned—although always a source of inspiration, America was never Kamprad’s favorite place to do business. He left much

of the North American markets to a new generation managers. In an amalgam of social consciousness and common business sense, he also claimed that “we can’t really make a difference here; Americans already have everything.”

As I wrote about our encounter at the time, I said, “He [Kamprad] both created Ikea and IS Ikea - the man identified with the furniture chain’s stores and offices around the world. He is an amazing mix of chief of strategy, bearer of the corporate culture and values and a benevolent father figure for all of his disciples.”

And not just his immediate disciples. Kamprad took an interest in so many different things, Nordstjernan and its readers among them. A couple years after we first met we ran an open letter in the paper, a letter to him from a local store owner—one of the many hard working local Scandinavian stores we all depend upon for our fill of specialty foods. The store keeper was complaining about the competition from Ikea Food Services that he felt took away business from him. Need I say that Ingvar sat down and wrote a hand-written reply we ran in the newspaper a week later where he told of his concern for the many local stores, an important part of the supply chain in Scandinavian America but also of his own ambition to spread the word on Swedish lifestyle, on Swedish traditions and ... Swedish meatballs.

This from a man who was considered by Forbes to be among the five or 10 richest men in the world with a fortune (he didn’t “own”) of well over $30 billion (according to Forbes).

Ingvar Kamprad picks up on what matters to Swedish America for the first time, 1999.

His spirit, his legacy will remain very much alive. To ensure the survival of his creation Kamprad and advisors created a web of Ikea foundations and corporations at the end of the 1970s and early 1980s. These entities, run by trustees, are de facto owners of the retail chain and the concepts behind it. Kamprad’s constant presence on every level of the organization, his curiosity and commitment throughout the years, has likely prepared the employees for this new chapter in the Ikea saga.

Ikea people are still, at over 150,000 employees worldwide, very much a breed of their own.

He will, however, be deeply missed. We are all richer for having known him and we are poorer for his loss.

His creation remains and although the founder has three sons who are all involved in the business today, no one could pick up the mantle of Ingvar Kamprad. Not as a creator, not as a business leader and certainly not as a human being.

Part of Kamprad’s open letter in Nordstjernan.

Ulf Barslund Martensson

MARCH 01, 2018 17

feature

Sweden’s Honorary Consuls in the U.S. Who are they? In an effort to find out more about the Swedish consuls in America, the work they do and the people they represent, contributor Helen Teike interviewed each of them, published here throughout the year.

HAMILTON, BERMUDA

Honorary Consul: Jens Juul, Hamilton How long have you been the Swedish consul?

In Bermuda since 1999.

What is your full-time occupation? I was the CEO of a reinsurance company when appointed.

I am now retired but I serve as commissioner of the Human Rights Commission in Bermuda and am involved in insurance dispute resolutions as an arbitrator and umpire.

How much time do you spend on consular matters? Do you have help? Being a consul in Bermuda is not time consuming as it is a very small place, 21 square miles with a population of around 68,000.

How many Swedish citizens are in your area?

About 60 residents.

Do you eat lutfisk every Thursday? I never eat lutfisk! But it’s interesting that the Bermudians eat dried cod fish every Sunday morning, which I do eat if someone prepares it. And yes, I enjoy sill och nubbe in Sweden every summer.

Most admired Swede: Alfred Nobel has done something extraordinary.

What is Sweden’s biggest achievement in history? Equal rights and social conscience What is the biggest misconception about Sweden? That it is still a high taxed country What do you feel the U.S. could learn or adopt from Sweden? Social conscience and universal health care What does being Swedish mean to you?

Openness, honesty and social conscience 18 NORDSTJERNAN

How many Swedes visit the consulate? For what purpose? The consulate delivers about 5 passports and a couple drivers’ licenses a year. Occasionally, school children choose Sweden as a project, often to research human rights legislation and the ombudsman origin and role, and they seek information from me. The consulate also hands out election material and receives votes during Swedish parliamentary elections and EU elections.

I am requested to give travel advice often and passport holders from non-EU countries often request visa information. I host an annual cocktail party for all Swedes and spouses of Swedes around the 6th of June every year, so all Swedes living here get a chance to know one another. There are no statistics on the number of Swedish tourists visiting Bermuda every year, but it can be said that those who do come here are sophisticated travelers and seldom find themselves in trouble, one way or another.

Are there other local Swedish institutions or organizations you cooperate with? Bermuda’s economy has two pillars, tourism and international business. The international business is dominated by insurance and reinsurance companies. There are only a few Swedish owned companies here, mainly acting as in-house service offices.

Does your district or area differ in any way from the other Swedish honorary consulates? Yes, due to Bermuda’s size, location and complete lack of manufacturing, we cannot assist in promoting Swedish products and production platforms the way U.S.-based consulates do. The location also makes it prohibitively expensive for Swedish cultural exhibitions and initiatives to add Bermuda to the calendar when touring the U.S. The main reason for having an honorary consulate in Bermuda is its remoteness.

How much are you guided by directions from the embassy in Washington DC? In what areas or situations? Although Bermuda is a selfgoverning British Crown Colony, the honorary consulate reports to the embassy in Washington.

I am copied in on all directions and information that the embassy in Washington distributes to the honorary consulates. I, in turn, disseminate this, as required, to the local community.

What is your personal connection with Sweden?

I was born in Sweden and lived there until after university, when I was offered a position in Oslo, which led to five years in Panama, five in Toronto and two in New York before landing in Bermuda in 1986. I’m married to a Canadian, but we have a cottage in the Stockholm archipelago which we visit for about two months a year, and both my daughters are Swedish citizens and speak fluent Swedish.

Bermuda, although a British Overseas Territory in the North Atlantic Ocean, belongs to the Swedish consular operations in the United States. It’s location, 3,500 miles from London but only 600 miles east of the North Carolina coast may be part of why this is the case. The island is a popular destination for American tourists, and with a population of roughly 65,000 its economy is based on tourism and offshore insurance and reinsurance.

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SWEDE AMONG THE REDNECKS

katrin, almost american

A humorous collection of essays about growing up, reaching adulthood and maturity on two continents and in two separate cultures.

Loved by Rednecks, Bluenecks, Swedes and Americans: “… something any Swedish American will enjoy” … “A humorous look at Swedes and Swedishness” … “[written with] the gift of clarity, humor, pathos, and joy” A book from Nordstjernan, also available on Amazon.

Please send me Perfect bound, paperback, the ideal companion on a winter’s night.

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A new novel by Lilly Setterdahl,

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feature

Haymarket makes a grand entrance Modern hotel takes a nostalgic return to the roaring 20s

A grand view of Stockholm’s Concert Hall from a room off Kungsgatan.

Enter this new Stockholm hotel and you immediately get a whiff of an era long gone. From the extravagant Art Deco staircase and the 50 or so black-and-white movie screens to the lobby’s crystal chandelier by Samuel Wilkinson and the brightly lit kitchen on the balcony, everything exudes an aura of Hollywood, the Jazz Age, and the elegance of the Roaring 20s. Meanwhile, the hotel is an ultra-modern, 21st century phenomenon.

In a way it all began with Paul Urbanus Bergström, a successful businessman who was once a dominating force in and around Hötorget, the market square in central Stockholm. In the early 1920s, he built a department store at Hötorget and named it PUB after his initials. As it happened, among his many employees was a young girl named Greta Gustafsson, who worked in the millinery department and posed for him as a hat model, and who was later

to become one of the world’s most glamorous movie stars — better known as Greta Garbo.

Now the store is gone, converted into the Scandic Hotel Haymarket, but PUB’s early days are still vibrantly alive. Not surprisingly, the hotel’s American brasserie is called Paul, and its wellness-oriented café is named — you guessed it — Greta’s.

International appeal

We came here on a snowy afternoon in mid-January, not exactly the recommended time to visit the Swedish capital. Still there was an air of festivity.

The Haymarket is such a lively spot to begin with.

Across from the hotel is the Royal Concert Hall, its tall columns still dressed for Christmas, and to the south we could see Filmstaden Sergel, one of the largest multi-screen cinemas in Stockholm.

And, despite the cold, a few fruit and vegetable

The grand entrance of the new Haymarket.

The entire hotel— from lobby to restaurants and bars and individual rooms—is filled with old movie paraphernalia, and yet offers every modern amenity you could think of.

20 NORDSTJERNAN

vendors had set up their wares in the market square, in brilliantly illuminated stands.

Following our arrival I met with Daniel Hermansson, the food and beverage manager of the hotel. “Why Haymarket,” I wondered. “Why not call it Hötorget?” His answer was short and to the point: “Because, outside Scandinavia, no one knows how to pronounce Hötorget.”

Which led to a chat about the international flavor of the place. Take Paul’s, for instance, a brasserie inspired by New York in the 20s, claiming to serve “decadent food” from both sides of the Atlantic.

I noted that the menu commenced with a listing of martinis such as Queen Elisabeth, Rockefeller, and Tuxedo #2. The list even had a small preface, enquiring whether you were a dilettante who preferred your martini stirred, or the reserved type who took it extra dry, or maybe a lounger who liked it dirty.

Asked about the Rockefeller, Daniel informed me that it contained Tanqueray 10, Noilly Prat, and an oyster — but no hot sauce, so no similarity to oyster shooters in Annapolis, Maryland.

Paul’s is located upstairs near the lobby, and downstairs is Greta’s and Americain, a cocktail bar with a Caribbean touch.

As for Greta’s, apart from its focus on healthy food, it boasted everything from morning coffee to champagne in the evening.

What’s old is new again

Our room did little to detract from this notion. There was Garbo, in a row of black-and-white photos above the bed, one of which featured a René Magritte-style hat suspended in empty space. I particularly liked the bold star-like Art Deco pattern on the wardrobe, a freestanding piece of furniture that also contained the in-room safe, as well as a refrigerator with a minibar.

And then there was an old record player, along with a few records, such as the all-time greatest hits by Roy Orbison, Mozart’s symphony No. 36, and Earl Bostic playing sweet tunes of the roaring 20s.

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Given the prominent role Greta Garbo plays in this remarkable hotel, perhaps its “do-not-disturb” signs ought to be replaced by the quote most associated with her in the public imagination: “I want to be alone.”

I had noticed a small piano near Americain: for “ragtime jazz in the evening,” explained Daniel.

Then, next to the entrance stood a giant movie camera, surely one of the first ever in existence. As Daniel put it, it’s “all the 20s with a modern twist.”

For more information on this modern, old fashioned hotel in central Stockholm see www. scandichotels.se/hotell/sverige/stockholm/haymarket-by-scandic.

Text and photos: Bo Zaunders

Mazariner — a classical Swedish pastry Classic mazarin with almond filling and white glaze on top.

INGREDIENTS Makes about 16 mazariner Puff pastry • Just under a stick (0.9 or 100g) room temperature butter • Just under a 1/4 cup (1/2dl) sugar • 1 egg • 3-1/4 cup (3dl) all-purpose flour Filling • 150 g sweet almonds • 3 bitter almonds • 2/5 cup (1dl) sugar • 1/3 cup (75g) butter, melted • 2 eggs Glaze • 1 cup (2-3dl) icing sugar • About 2 tablespoons of water

INSTRUCTIONS Set the oven to 390˚F degrees (200˚C). Mix together butter and sugar in a bowl. Add eggs and flour. Work everything into a dough. Let it rest for about 30 minutes in the fridge. Pour out the dough on a floured baking table.

Punch out oval pieces that are slightly larger than the shape of the baking molds you’ll use (the typical Swedish mazarin is oval but doesn’t have to be).

Push the dough into the paper or metal baking molds.

Place the mazarin molds on a baking plate.

Peel the sweet almonds by placing them in boiling water. Make sure the almond is completely dry before finely grinding them in an almond grinder.

Grind the bitter almond the same way.

Mix all the ingredients of the filling into a sticky batter.

Distribute the almond filling among the baking

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molds. Bake in the middle of the oven for 15-20 minutes. Allow them to cool completely in the molds.

Stir together the icing and spread it on the cakes. Adjust the amount of water so the glaze is easily spreadable.

Invite anyone dear to you for a delicious Swedish treat, especially if it’s March 13, Mazarindagen.

Store leftovers in a can with a tight lid.

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MARCH 01, 2018 21

news in brief

Swedish News Proposal to ban smoking

As of January 1, 2019, smoking in public places will likely be only a memory. The Swedish government is proposing that outdoor dining establishments, playgrounds, and other outdoor public areas should be smoke-free. According to Social Minister Annika Strandhall (S), 90 percent of the population does not smoke.

and they returned to Sweden in mid-February.

“The Princess is doing well, but the birth may not be entirely straightforward,” a royal spokeswoman said. Prince Nicolas (2) was born in Sweden, but Princess Leonore (4) was born in New York and has Swedish citizenship and American citizenship through her American-British father.

Sweden’s new CDO

Volvo Trucks will start selling electric trucks in 2019 but the first vehicles will be used by select customers already this year. The technology is based on experience from electric buses, which Volvo is already building, and hybrid trucks. “By using electric and quiet trucks for goods transport in cities, we solve a number of challenges at the same time,” said Claes Nilsson, CEO of Volvo Trucks, in the press release. The Tesla Semi, a potential competitor to Volvo Trucks, which was introduced to the press in November last year, is not expected to be on the roads until 2020.

Downward trend raises demands

Swedish home prices dropped to a 10-year low when the property market boom came to an abrupt end late in 2017 after an increase in construction pushed supply too high. Despite falling prices, there continues to be a healthy demand for housing and home loans with mortgage growth remaining strong. “The Swedish economy’s solid growth, robust labor market, low interest rate levels and strong household finances provide very good prospects for this adjustment,” she said Swedbank CEO Birgitte Bonnesen with regard to a normalization of the housing market. “The trend of recent years is not sustainable.”

Banning mobile phones

Party Leader Jan Björklund (L) and others from his party recently suggested making the use of mobile phones in primary and secondary school classrooms illegal. They feel Sweden should follow the example of France, where such a ban has been introduced after a British study examined how mobile-free classrooms affect school results very positively.

Furthermore, they believe school principals should have the right to decide whether to prohibit mobile phones even during breaks. It is important that small children are outside playing instead of focusing on their mobiles, the Op-Ed states.

Royals are back in town

Princess Madeleine and her husband Christopher O’Neill are preparing to welcome their third child this month. The family currently lives in London but has returned to Sweden for the birth of this baby. They went public with the information that the pregnancy hasn’t been without complication, 22 NORDSTJERNAN

Anti-depression helmet

Åsa Zetterberg, Sweden’s CDO.

Photo: Twitter/Rut Fridholm

Electric trucks on the road

the bus company Nobina will let two self-drive buses with capacity for 12 passengers drive between two destinations in Kista. The distance is just under a mile (about 1.5 kilometers) and the speed will be 12 miles per hour (20 km per hour). The buses are powered by electricity and follow a virtual trail. GPS and sensors ensure that the vehicle does not deviate from its course.

A driver will also be present on the bus since today’s legislation requires it. The test will be in progress for six months.

Åsa Zetterberg took office on January 15 as Sweden’s first Chief Digital Officer, following an agreement between Minister of Digital Affairs Peter Eriksson (MP) and Prime Minister Stefan Löfven (S). The CDO has become common in both the business and public sectors in recent years, and after many years of experience in digitalization work in Sweden, Zetterberg is now responsible for the implementation of the government’s digitization strategy; it is based on five different sub-goals, covering everything from infrastructure and broadband to making technology available for people who have not grown up with a smartphone or reading tablet. The strategy also covers issues like online abuse and digital security threats.

Green light for driverless buses

Two self-propelled buses will be tested on a public road in Kista, Stockholm. The attempt is the first to be approved by the Swedish Transport Authority (Transportstyrelsen) to drive on a public road in Sweden. Specifically, it means

Entrepreneurial award to Essity

Essity received the 2017 annual Business Entrepreneurial Award from SACC-Philadelphia. Mike Feenan, Vice President, Health and Medical Solutions, North America, accepted the award on behalf of Essity, a Swedish hygiene and health company, formerly a part of SCA. The award recognizes companies that have made a significant contribution to the exchange of trade and commerce between Scandinavia and the Philadelphia region, as well as important contributions toward corporate social responsibility and sustainable business practices. For more info on SACC Philadelphia, see www.sacc-philadelphia.org.

Pictured (L-R): Mike Feenan, Essity; Erwin Apell, chairman and David Engstrom, president SACCPhiladelphia.

Malmö-based Flow Neuroscience wants to cure depression with a headdress that sends electrical impulses to the brain. One and a quarter million dollars (SEK 9 million) was recently secured in venture capital from Silicon Valley’s Khosla Ventures, among others. Research shows that brain stimulation with weak current can affect brain activity in a way that reduces the symptoms of depression, an effect compared to that of antidepressant drugs — but with fewer and less serious side effects. “Several major clinical studies show it can suppress depression by 30 percent. The app, which you use at the same time, is based on behavioral therapy and helps the user to sleep, eat and exercise in a way that further reduces depression,” Daniel Månsson, the company CEO recently told Swedish media. Now the focus is on getting the product’s medical technology approved in the EU.

sports

You access the Seapilot on your iPad or your smartphone.

Seapilot navigates stormy waters of nautical charts Even though heavy snow continues to bury the waters from Umeå to Upper Michigan, as February turns to March boaters everywhere begin to think of sails and motors. Whether an amateur angler or an America’s Cup hopeful, getting from dock to destination can be a daunting task, especially for newer captains.

That was then.

Now a Sweden-based software company is not only making local waters accessible but waters across the world are also easier to navigate. True Heading, a software developer and leader in navigation software and the use of real-time Automatic Information System data, has created Seapilot, a real-time navigation app for both Android and Apple devices that makes the sometimesconfusing task of plotting a course as simple as touching a screen.

“The whole idea is to keep it simple. We want this available for anyone,” said Seapilot president Johan Hedberg. “This isn’t just for the professional sailor but for the day cruiser and the fishermen — anyone who uses a boat.”

Seapilot is the only navigation application that has access to S52 navigation information, the maritime industry standard for nautical charts.

The information comes directly from hydrographic agencies in 112 different countries, although some data is more complete than others.

“We have complete coverage in Scandinavia and

the Baltic, the Atlantic Coast of the USA and the Mediterranean,” said Erik Raabe, the head of sales and marketing for Seapilot. “We sign contracts with all the countries to receive their data, so we have the U.S., Canada and Europe, and soon Australia.”

The S52 data allows the app to generate accuracy not possible with conventional paper charts or electronic charts or other navigational software.

Seapilot also does what no other navigational app does by including wind, tide and weather data, information Raabe said makes the app one of the best safety aids for boaters.

“That is the primary purpose, to keep people safe and to make boating safe,” Raabe said.

Seapilot users have two methods of using the app: basic and premium. Basic users receive the chart data while premium users are able to plot routes and receive more complex data, including AIS. Premium users can all share data with up to five devices, Raabe said, allowing those on a boat or on land to track a particular vessel. AIS also provides real-time ship information, allowing a boater in distress to receive aid.

“It increases safety,” Raabe said. “If you are cruising in a little day cruiser, you just click on AIS and call up a ship that is nearby if you need help. It does increase safety in areas where we have coverage.”

Raabe said Seapilot is constantly expanding its area of coverage. For boaters on the Atlantic Coast,

from the Gulf of Maine to Biscayne Bay, the coverage is almost 100 percent. Raabe said there are some areas that may not have the same amount of data as others, but Seapilot is working to improve its coverage every day.

“We’re always developing,” Raabe said. “We are the only [app] getting AIS — and getting AIS displayed directly on screen. We’re the only one with Internet AIS. There are millions of islands around Stockholm and Göteborg, and navigation is very difficult. We’re always finding new rocks.

Some areas were surveyed in the 1930s or even earlier. Now today with modern sonar techniques, we’re finding rocks everywhere so auto updates are very important.”

The most complete chart data for Seapilot — and the area with the most users — is in Scandinavia and Germany. Seapilot uses weather stations in the Baltic region to continually update its route information and weather data. Raabe said the data extends to the Mediterranean. It is especially useful for the masters of sailing vessels who depend on current and tide information and real-time wind data, including changes in barometric pressure which usually presage changes in weather. For American boaters, the weather data is not quite as comprehensive but is still more accurate than any other app.

“You could not chart a complete course if you were racing in the Volvo Ocean Race but you could certainly do so for the Annapolis-to-Newport race,” Raabe said, referring to the annual yacht race from Annapolis, MD to Newport, RI. The Chesapeake Bay has particularly good coverage, thanks to the availability of offshore wireless internet. An internet connection allows a Seapilot user to receive real-time weather data. Users only need a GPS connection to receive continually updated navigation data that charts the progress of any trip.

Users can plot waypoints, favorite anchorages, quiet bays or their favorite fishing spots. About the only thing Seapilot can’t do, Raabe said with a laugh, was find the best place to fish. “If you know where to catch the bass, you can save that place, but no, it can’t tell you where to find the bass.”

The developers made Seapilot incredibly easy to use. Subscribers need at least rudimentary knowledge of how to read a chart and navigation, as well as how to use a touchscreen. Beyond that, Seapilot can plot courses, create navigation routes, steer boaters around hazards and warn of potentially dangerous weather. Users get all this and more for just $40 a year.

“I don’t think there is a better value than this,” Raabe said, pointing out competitors charge as much as $50 a month and don’t provide the level of information.

For more information on Seapilot or to receive a 36-hour trial, go to www.seapilot.com Chipp Reid MARCH 01, 2018 23

viewpoints

Ingvar Kamprad som frisör

Olle Wijkströms rikt illustrerade bok - Min Historia - handlar om hans minnen och möten med alla slags folk från tre kontinenter.

Boken kan beställas och betalas via Nordstjernan.

När jag en gång för längesen arbetade i företaget Papyrus i Mölndal fanns också Karl Erik Tollgert där. Karl Erik var född i Småland. Dessutom var han en charmerande och duktig person.

Till yrket var han säkerhetschef på företaget.

Karl Erik berättade en gång för mig om sin uppväxt och sitt leverne. När han som alla andra svenska ungdomar gjorde den då så kallade lumpen – eller militärtjänst som det heter på riktigt - hamnade han, som många andra smålänningar, på ett regemente i Växjö.

Dit kom även den nu världsbekante entreprenören Ingvar Kamprad. Karl Erik och Ingvar råkade hamna i sängarna bredvid varandra på samma lucka på regementet. Av högst naturliga skäl blev de goda vänner. Många livslånga vänskapsförhållanden instiftades under militärtjänstgöring. Lumparkompisar är ett begrepp för många. Ingvar och Karl Erik kom att starta en verksamhet tillsamman medan de låg i lumpen Regementena i landet var ofta belägna en bit utanför städerna. De rekryter, som ville ta sig ner till städerna för att köpa någonting - gå på bio eller bara titta på folk - måste vandra några kilometer eller ta bussen. Sådant kunde vara besvärligt och kosta en del pengar. Framför allt retade Ingvar upp sig på krångligheterna. Han tyckte, att det borde finnas enklare möjligheter att hantera levnadsförhållandena. Bland annat borde det vara helt möjligt för alla rekryter att klippa håret utan att behöva ge sig till stan

och besöka någon frisör. Ingvar anförtrodde Karl Erik, att han hade tänkt ut en enklare metod. Enligt den metoden skulle Ingvar och Karl Erik tillsammans starta en frisörsalong på militärförläggningen.

Ingvar hade redan talat med en fanjunkare på regementet. Fanjunkaren som också var en praktisk smålänning hade gått med på att låta dem jobba i ett litet rum med klippandet … Dessutom hade Ingvar redan inköpt rakdon, saxar och hårvatten.

Karl Erik tvekade. Han hade aldrig tidigare klippt håret på någon människa. Han tände inte omedelbart på projektet. Ingvar stod dock på sig. Efter en del prat kom de överens om att börja träna klippa kalufsen på varandra. Själva ansåg de efter att ha beskådat varandra att deras klippningar gett hyggliga resultat Deras gemensamma frisörbutik på regementet öppnades. Till stor glädje för alla bassar på regementet som slapp kosta på sig busspengar och besväret att åka till stan.

Enligt min uppslagsbok är en entreprenör en person som stimulerar kreativitet, nyfikenhet och självförtroende. De egenskaperna visade Ingvar prov på redan när han gjorde lumpen tillsammans med Karl Erik.

Det är därför ingenting att förundras över, att han under sitt fortsatta 91 år långa liv hann bli en av de främsta entrepenörer världen skådat.

Påhittighet och nyfikenhet i kombination med arbetsamhet ledde till att han på sitt sätt lyckades möblera hela världen.

Olle Wijkström

Order your own subscription to NORDSTJERNAN The Swedish North Star, continuously published since 1872. Volume 146 No. 2, February 01, 2018. Price per copy $3.50.

Photo courtesy Cinematograph AB/Sandrew Film & Teater (1982)

Photo: Arild Vågen/Wikimedia Commons

The ferry Djurgården 4, an inner city ferry route in Stockholm, Sweden. It runs from Slussen, in the old town of Gamla Stan, to the island of Djurgården. /P4

Carl Ekdahl (Börje Ahlstedt) speaking at the Christmas table of the Ekdahl family in a scene from Fanny & Alexander (1982), by Ingmar Bergman.

The Bergman Year

Stockholm’s Old Town

Tuesdays with semla, Thursdays with pea soup and Saturdays with candy. These have become familiar pairings in Swedish culture. And during the winter months they are especially comforting, not the least for those who are passing along the traditions to friends and family members. Those “everyday” recipes as well as the special holiday recipes - the beloved recipes are always wanted. In this case, it’s Ann-Mari’s soup, often made with small pancakes (“plättar”) and sweetened blueberries and, of course, in February, it’s time for a semla. / P16, 22

It was the death of a mermaid that first turned Stockholm into the group of attractive islands where everyone wanted to settle.

When she was killed accidentally, the surrounding water took on a soft sheen, a beauty never seen before. In the words of the Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf, it shimmered like the colorplay on the inside of seashells. As the glittering water lapped the shores, they too were transformed. This story was vividly brought to mind as Bo Zaunders entered the Gamla Stan subway station and confronted a completely nude woman with scales painted on her lower body. It turned out she was a live advertisement for a body painter named Bino, address: Gamla Stan. / P12

Photo: Bengt Wanselius

Swedish comfort foods

The soon expected IPO of Spotify has raised concerns among U.S. banks / p5

Please check if you are a new subscriber or this is a gift VASA members and present subscribers, call 800.827.9333, Ext. 10 New subscriber ❏ Gift ❏

The Swedish North Star, continuously published since 1872. Volume 146 No. 18, January 01, 2018. Price per copy $3.50.

Time magazine’s March 14, 1960 cover featured Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman; an illustration with him in the forefront of a scene from his movie The Magician, released in the U.S. at the peak of his career in August 1959. He was 41 years old and well known around the world for his dark but powerfully creative portrayals of death and mortality, faith, betrayal and insanity. He went on to write and produce film, television, theater and radio until he retired in 2003. He died four years later at the age of 89; and 2018 is dedicated to him: The Year of Bergman 2018 celebrates the rich legacy of the great Ingmar Bergman who would have been 100 years old on July 14, 2018. / P9-13

Sweden cracks down on stealth advertising by influencers in social media / p4

Just trying to pronounce “ sjösjuk” can make a person seasick / p11

Finland and Sweden pave the road for McDonald’s to go vegan / p4

A Nordic twist on a classic Bloody Mary with dill-infused aquavit /p23

Reminiscing on “discovering” Bergman /p10

Big wine on a small scale in Oregon, number four producer of wine in the U.S. / p18

How many other julbocks have met a similar gruesome fate? / p14

Published by Swedish News. Volume 145 No. 7, May 15, 2017. Price per copy $3.50.

Eat for life in the new year

It’s that time of year again—for resolutions. Whether or not we keep our resolutions – whatever they may be – most of us can always improve in keeping a healthier lifestyle. According to a new book out of Sweden, the ability to do what that requires depends on a person’s biology. Whether you’re trying to lose weight or find a routine that keeps you healthy and fit, dietary advice is often similar and includes a variety of things from the food pyramid – with a dose of some of Nordic cuisine’s favorite spices – which, it turns out (no surprise there!), are also among the healthiest. / P20

A ‘Swedish’ oasis

Malta is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea between Italy and northern Africa. Just four hours away by plane, its historic sites and Mediterranean beaches are a haven for Swedish vacationers seeking warmth during the winter.

But it’s not just vacationing Swedes who love Malta; many have made Malta their permanent residence. / P16

Published by Swedish News. Volume 145 No. 8, June 1, 2017. Price per copy $3.50.

THE VASA STAR

Secrets of the Swedish Smörgåsbord

pages 23-38

Travelers visiting the north of Sweden 200 years ago, particularly foreigners with sensitive noses, spoke from time to time of the extraordinary stink that blanketed the countryside.

One 18th-century merchant wrote home complaining that on these journeys, it was necessary to abstain from kissing the otherwise attractive local women on account of the smell of sour fish that enveloped them. He did not realize the odor was simply a by-product of one of Sweden’s oldest culinary traditions: fermented fish.

Once homely survival food, pungent preserved fish dishes such as gravlax and surströmming have evolved into present-day delicacies — for Swedes, anyway, if not foreign guests. / Continued on page 14

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Swedish Ingenuity

tradition reconfiguration and change

It seems as if every week we learn about new advancements in technology, science and ingenuity in Sweden. And this week is no exception with examples of an innovative wrinkle in a new kind of clothing, Volvo’s plan for producing electric vehicles, a supportive resource for helping people promote unique ideas, and a powerful new sports drink that’s got elite athletes hopping. / Pages 20-21

Of the artists working in tapestry today, Swedish born Helena Hernmarck stands without peer. Her work, selected for scores of fine public spaces is seen each year by millions of viewers all over the world. Her specialties are large woven tapestries for display in banks and public buildings with pieces varying from enormous nature pictures, often several feet wide, to reproductions of documents with text as small as a pen stroke. / Page 12

Swedish Blue Zones

There is a formula for aging well that operates in Blue Zones. It includes eating a diet full of vegetables and low in meat, enjoying the ritual of eating with others, exercising as part of daily living, and regular social interactions in your “right tribe” (clubs and faith-based connections work for many). Other factors include putting family first, napping every day and moderate wine drinking.

As I read the National Geographic article, it occurred to me that a Blue Zone doesn’t have to be a town or physical location, per se. Maybe it’s a group drawn together by a common interest — and I’d say that Swedish Americans have created blue zones across the country, defined not so much by place as by affinity. / Continued on page 16 We joined SACC Chicago for a talk on innovation and digitalization at Scandinavian Airliness. Location: One of the world’s most interesting incubators. / p4

Over three hundred locals celebrate Swedish heritage night with the San José Sharks. / p5

Learn about birch trees in Minnesota, discuss how bark can be sustainably harvested. /p7

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Exp: ______/______

Midsummer, Midsommar …

Swedish meatballs

Everyone seems to know about them — and whether they prefer them with or without gravy and served with lingonberry sauce or not. IKEA sells 2.9 million per day of the traditional kind but there are actually many variations of Swedish meatballs. Meatball afficionados will grumble yet, ahead of the time when we absolutely have to have the real thing here’s a variation on the traditional meatball. / Page 39

Photo: Niklas Larsson/Bildbyrån

Swedes take their days off seriously and even have a special word for the one that’s “pinched in between” two holidays. / p4 More than 150 years later the Royal Swedish Academy of Music is making sure Jenny LInd remains a household name, even in the U.S. / p9

Page 11

An athlete from Maryland is helping Sweden build an American football league worth its salt in herring. /p22

MAIL TO: NORDSTJERNAN

No matter how we spell it we love this special weekend celebrated in Sweden on the Friday (and weekend) closest to June 21, the summer solstice.

We spend weeks preparing for it and anticipating it -- is there anything prettier or more Swedish than the Midsommar celebration with all the flowers, the maypole, food and music? In the U.S. we try to mimic the festivities as much as possible (and we’ve heard reports of some American celebrations being even more Swedish than some in Sweden), and they are all here in our comprehensive listing of Midsommar celebrations throughout Swedish America / Page 6

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THE VASA STAR VASASTJÄRNAN

winter 2018 Publication of The Vasa Order of America

Young Easter witches in Sweden photographed at the Skansen Open Air Museum in Stockholm by Marie Andersson/Skansen (Easter is early this year—are you prepared? p31)

GRAND LODGE CONVENTION YEAR 2018

National Archive News

After a busy time before and during the holidays, the Vasa National Archives in Bishop Hill entered its slow season. / p27 archive news » p27

dear vasa members, Happy New Year!

Christmas came and went as quickly as always and so did the better part of a couple months of the new year. A year that is the beginning of the end of my term as Grand Master. By the time you read this, I will have attended the Convention at District Lodge Pacific Southwest #15. As Birgitta and I have done many times before, we will rent a car and drive to the “Southland.”

It’s a nice drive down US 101, going through a number of quaint towns on the Pacific Coast. It takes a little

longer than jumping on Interstate 5 and going down California’s Central Valley, but given the difference in scenery and traffic, the choice is quite simple. This trip will take us through the destruction in Montecito where fire and mudslides have devastated the area.

The Grand Lodge Convention in Sacramento, CA is just a few short months away. Your Lodge should have received a letter or email asking you to consider placing a greeting in the Convention Program Book. I implore you to consider placing a greet-

ing in the book if you haven’t done so already. The cost for a full-page ad is $100, with a ½-page and a ¼-page for $50 and $25 respectively. Please contact Victoria Fedor-Thurman at vfthurman@gmail.com if you don’t have access to the letter. The deadline for placing a greeting is the end of March, but please don’t wait until the last day. All proceeds go to defray the cost of hosting the convention.

In the last issue of Vasa Star you received all information about the convention, including a day-by-day

Grand Lodge News

Youth News

Swedish News

Donors from all over the country are gratefully remembered—Don’t forget, this is Grand Lodge Convention Year / p28

grand lodge news » p28

donors » p28

This year the Nordikids shared their Swedish Christmas joy all around the Chicagoland area. / p38

new members » p29

local lodge news » p32

/ continued on p28

The end of the year is just as festive and warm in the old country as it is here in America. / p39

youth news » p38

swedish news » p39

THE VASA STAR / Winter 2018

EDITOR’S MESSAGE The Swedes call these days between the Christmas holidays and Easter “Oxveckor.” Literally, it means “ox weeks,” because, I guess, we work like oxen during these long, cold weeks of winter.

Many of us may know this time better as “the days for semlor,” though that’s a fairly new concept to me, and my roots are (nearly) 100% Swedish.

Within the last couple years I finally found sources for authentic Swedish semlor, and I instantly fell in love with the sweet rolls. It wasn’t long after I discovered these bakeries, however, that they both sadly closed. So, I decided it was time to bake them for myself. I found a recipe approved by Swedes in America (thanks to Nordstjernan) and have baked my first batch! It turned out well, although next time I’ll add a little more cardamom to the dough and a little more almond paste to the cream.

Where do you find a semla in your district? Maybe your lodge, or the consulate near you offers “soup and semlor” or “fika with semla” some time during these weeks before Easter.

Submit Material to vasaeditor@gmail.com

issue highlights

Of course this issue of Vasa Star doesn’t reflect as much about the oxveckor as it does Christmas, and that’s expected, especially with so much Swedish jul to be proud of and Lucias to show off.

That said, here’s my chance to remind you that all of us reading this want to know even more about what’s coming up, what we can put on our calendars and plan to attend – so please do include the things your lodge has planned in the upcoming months (you’ll see a few good examples of that in this issue), and if your lodge is taking a hiatus or your calendar isn’t flush with details, please include what you do know or what you’re looking forward to when you do meet again, or even a reference to a recipe your lodge members love.

I couldn’t say that without also including a reminder that more large, clear digital photos are wanted. I know a lot of people take photos at various events (especially Lucia and Midsummer, right?) and if you get a good photo, share it with your lodge! Share it with the person who submits information for the Vasa Star; you could even send it directly to us at vasaeditor@gmail.com.

That applies to every event you have. in truth and unity, amanda olson robison

Luncheon at Tippecanoe Place. / p33

Sierra Kronan Chairman Darin Freeland with his award winning cookie at the Julfirande and cookie decorating event. /p37

the vasa star Winter 2018 Vol. 110, No. 1, Serial 850 Published by The Vasa Order of America www.vasaorder.com

News in Swedish from sisters and brothers in Sweden / p39-40

Vasa Star PO Box 13331 Milwaukee WI 53213-0331

Remember the Vasa Archives

Three younger members of Nordikids Lucia 2017: Kenzie Kennedy, Wren Raddatz and Zoey Blue. / p38

For our next issue:

By April 15

Family Tree Släktutredningar

when you are making a memorial donation

I am a member of the Vasa Order in Sweden and an expert in Swedish genealogy. Over the years I have helped many Vasa members to find their roots in Sweden.

Send your donations to: Vasa National Archives PO Box 101, Bishop Hill, IL 61419

If you want my help to find your Swedish ancestors, please email me for further information: swedengen@telia.com

DONATE to the Education & Scholarship Funds Send your donations to: Vasa Order of America, Joan Graham, Grand Secretary 5838 San Jose Ave., Richmond, CA 94804

HEADQUARTERS Grand Secretary / Joan Graham 5838 San Jose Avenue Richmond, CA 94804 (510) 526 5512 vasajlg@aol.com Grand Master / Tore Kellgren 5971 W. Walbrook Drive San Jose, CA 95129 Phone: (408) 996 1970 gmtore@kellgren.org Editor / Amanda Olson Robison

Managing Editor / Liza Ekstrand Send articles, photos & memorials to: The Vasa Star PO Box 13331 Milwaukee WI 53213-0331 vasaeditor@gmail.com Circulation Manager / Joan Graham 5838 San Jose Avenue Richmond, CA 94804 (510) 526 5512 circulationvasastar@gmail.com Send address changes and bottom section of application for new members to Joan Graham.

Membership Chairman / Bruce Elfvin 3231 E. Overlook Road Cleveland Heights, OH 44118-2434 bruce@ekrtlaw.com Advertising Call 1.800.827.9333, ask for Vasa Star rates vasaeditor@gmail.com Layout & production: Nordstjernan, Swedish News, Inc.

page 26

WWW.VASAORDER.COM

Winter 2018 / THE VASA STAR

ARCHIVES NEWS A message from the president of Vasa National Archives Dear Vasa Brothers and Sisters, Thank you for your generous contributions to this year’s successful Julgran Fundraiser. A candlelight reception in celebration of the fundraiser was held at the Archives on December 1. It offered an opportunity to thank those in Bishop Hill who helped support the Archives during the previous year. Representatives from other local historical associations and business owners were invited along with Vasa members who graciously volunteered for festivals and special projects. Several Archives Board members and Board Members of

District 8 hosted the event. The Julgran, decorated with the bulbs you donated, was on display and the Archives was festively decorated.

Bishop Hill’s shops and businesses were open featuring Christmas gifts and crafts. Tomtes were everywhere peeking into windows and making shoppers smile. Thank you to Bishop Hill Local Lodge No. 683 who invited all of us to celebrate with them at their annual Lucia smorgasbord pageant held in the Colony School on December 2.

The Archives is now closed for a couple months, giving Archivist Kathy

Cuff the uninterrupted time she needs to continue organizing and sorting, updating electronic processes, communicating and developing programs and projects for the coming year.

The Vasa National Archives is a necessary and vital branch of the Order.

It is imperative that all members take ownership of it. Please contact Kathy at 309-927-3898 or vasaarchivist@gmail. com regarding donations you may have for the Archives.

Sheila and I look forward to getting together and renewing our friendships with Vasa members at the Grand Lodge

Convention in Sacramento later this year. Thank you for the support you give to the Vasa National Archives. We wish you, your families and loved ones a healthy and prosperous new year! i n tru th a n d u n ity ,

b i ll lu n d q u is t

p r es id en t va s a n atio n a l a rch iv es

Greetings from the Vasa National Archives

This is the slow time for the Vasa National Archives and Bishop Hill, but we’re keeping busy despite being closed for the season (though we will gladly open the archive for visitors and take research requests). Based on a survey last year, visitors said they were most interested in seeing an exhibit on what the Vasa Order did during WWI and WWII; so, we are spending most of the winter reading and researching this topic. We are enjoying and learning more than expected. If you have any stories or information to share, we would love to hear them. The exhibit will open April 3, 2018 with a reception on April 7 and run until December 2019, so make your plans to visit.

Foundation for a free concert series, and I attended Mayflower Vasa Lodge No. 445’s monthly meeting during that visit.

Lucia Nights went well with just over 120 people coming to hear the storytellers – that’s an increase over last year.

Our visitor numbers are up 13 percent, giving us a total of 1,350 visitors. We will continue offering programs and events to reach out to the community.

And due to popular demand, Game Nights returned to the Vasa National Archives again this winter. Every Tuesday at 6 p.m. we gather in the basement with various board and card games, snacks and drinks to help pass the time during the long winter.

We submitted an application to the If you have any questions about the SCA for another grant to pay for an collections or the archives, feel free to intern to organize, scan and enter the contact us at VasaArchivist@gmail. genealogy files that members have been com or 309.927.3898. For more cursubmitting since the 1980s. We should rent information on Bishop Hill or the know the results of the grant application Vasa National Archives, find us on toward the end of April. The Illinois Facebook..

Historic Records Advisory Board has a grant opportunity available as well, i n tr u th a n d u n i ty , k ath y c u f f , m a n a g er - a rc h i v i s t and we plan to submit an application va s a n ati o n a l a rc h i v es for that soon.

In addition to my work as VOAArchivist I serve as secretary of the Galva Arts Council in Galva, IL. I represented the Arts Council to the Levitt Foundation in early February in Los Angeles. The Arts Council won a grant from the Levitt

WWW.VASAORDER.COM

The Horngrens, shown with the Archivist Kathy Cuff (center), visited Bishop Hill and the Archives during the first Bishop Hill Julmarknad.

Sweet reunions Richard Horngren, with wife Lillemor’s help, worked at the Archives for over 15 years before moving to Tennessee in 2006. Sharing our knowledge of the Vasa Order and things Swedish, the Archives became a place for many visitors wanting to know more. During the quiet winter months we held Swedish language lessons and it became a good source for getting new members for Vasa. submitted by lillemor horngren

page 27

THE VASA STAR / Winter 2018

GRAND LODGE NEWS The Grand Master’s Message (continued from page 25) schedule (on page 34) and instructions for signing up for all the events you want to attend (on page 35), including the Thursday golf tournament, the Friday Welcome Reception, the Saturday Opening Banquet and the closing Friday Grand Banquet, as well as all the planned tours. Two of the tours, San Francisco on Sunday and the Gold Country on Wednesday July 4 are open to all. The remaining tours are reserved for visitors only, as all Officers and Delegates will be busy working. I highly recommend that you take the opportunity to attend this special Vasa event that only happens once every four years. You will have the opportunity to meet Vasa mem-

bers from Canada, Sweden and all over the U.S. We are now well into the new year and I want to remind all secretaries to send me names, addresses and ages of members who will be celebrating milestone birthdays in 2018, to allow me to send them birthday greetings.

This should start with 75 years of age and after that every five years including everyone over the age of 100. Thank you to all who already sent me this information. Please do not include birthdays that have already occurred this year, as I cannot send

belated greetings.

In several issues of Vasa Star I have talked about our arrangement with Volvo, giving Vasa members the benefit of purchasing a Volvo automobile at a discount essentially equivalent to the employee discount. It is available to all Vasa members after one year of membership in the United States. This Vasa benefit includes the option of “overseas delivery” and is in addition to any other promotional discounts that are offered from time to time. The “overseas delivery” option includes airfare for two to Sweden for picking up the car. The program is available to you by registering at www.aplanbyvolvo.com. Unfortunately Volvo

is currently not offering any similar programs in either Canada or Sweden.

For the “partner code” needed for registration, contact GS Joan Graham by email vasajlg@aol.com or phone 510526-5512. Your PIN number will be sent to you after you have registered.

MEMBERSHIP CONTINUES TO BE OUR NUMBER ONE CHALLENGE. Make every meeting worth attending!

Be enthusiastic! in truth and unity, tore kellgren,grand master

Archives’ Julgrans Fund — in memory of your loved ones Honor roll of donors 2017 — Thank you for your generosity Anderson, Evert R. IMO Patricia Margurite Anderson Anderson, Karla IMO Ladies of #401 Frihet Anderson, Robert C. IMO Carol Anderson, Roger & Judy IMO Fern & Wally Anonymous Arvidson, Emil IMO Eric & Betty Arvidson Austin Lodge #466 Backstrand, Aino IMO Elis Backstrand IMO Linda Sargent Barkley, Bruce & Jennifer IMO Roy Johnson, Jr. IMO Roy, Sr & Florence Johnson Barrett, Verna Nordlund IMO Hoppet Lodge #361 Bjorkner, Arthur C. IMO Emily Dunbar IMO Sveaborg #446 IMO Mark Super Blakeman, Laura Boyes, Kristin IMO John-Henry Peterson Boyes Bressette, Lennea IMO Judy Maki Broden, Clark E. IMO Edwin & Esther Broden Brown, Cheryl IMO Chris & John Youngberg IMO Craig Brown Carlson, Arline Carlson, Carl H.

page 28

IMO Dawn Carlson IMO Brent Monroe Carlson, Ingvar W. IMO Walter Carlson IMO Elin Carlson Carlson, Joseph IMO Joseph Carlson IMO Ingrid Carlson Carlson, Rita D. IMO Ruben Carlson IMO Cecilia Carlson Carlson, Sharon J. Carlsson, Bo & Glenda Christianson, Victor & Diane Clark, Birgitta IMO Barne & Louise Lundgren IMO Maritta & Hans Eric Hansson Coelho, Joseph R. IMO Helen Lindquist Coelho IMO Jarvis Downs Breland Connolly, Beverly A. Cummings, Genevieve IMO Father Dahlberg, Diedre A. IMO Edward Dahlberg Delfs, Linda IMO Jean Delfs Doty, Lee & Fae IMO Gustav Johnson IMO Helga Johnson Douglass, Bob & Terri IMO Jennie Hokanson Earnshaw, Joan IMO Arthur Anderson Edeen, John IMO John & Elva

Edmark, Harvey IMO Arvid Edmark Ekeroth, John E. IMO Elisabeth Ekstrand, Liza & Rolf IMO Bertil Friberg Elfvin, Bruce Elston, Charles & Marilyn IMO Hjalmar Anderson IMO Myrtle Anderson Emihl, Veronica IMO PDM Walter Emihl Enighet Lodge #178 IMO Past & Present Members Enright, Ingrid IMO Joseph Carlson IMO Ingrid Carlson Erickson, John Erickson, Margaret IMO Edward Erickson Erickson, Richard IMO Albin Erickson IMO Martha Erickson Ericksson, Denise IMO Fabian Ericksson Eskilson, Evald & Barbara IMO Evald Otto Per Eskilson IMO Walter Emihl Facklan Lodge #248 IMO Robert Lindwall Feely, Carol J. IMO The 5 Fhyr Sisters Ferguson, AnnaStina IMO Gustaf & Clara Svahn Folkesson, Lars Fox, Thomas IMO Eleanor Nelson-Fox

Fuller, Fanchon IMO Robert Fuller Gaviola, Roselind IMO Leona Bivins IMO Maya Andersen Gorman, Irma IMO Eleanor Anderson IMO Arlene Malkin Graham, Joan Lindquist IMO Robert Graham IMO Vincent Lindquist Grandin, John IMO Hilding, William, Edward Grandin IMO Charles, Albert Grandin IMO Maria Bernadotte IMO Nilsson Grandin IMO Gustaf Johan Grandin Gruel, Marge IMO Reinhold “Jake” Gruel IMO parents of Jake & Marge Gruel Guidara, June IMO Ruth Ellen Williams IMO Anna Emelia & Victor Williams Haffey, Mildred Hayward, Nancy IMO Elsa Nyquist Merritt Hedman, Ingrid IMO Ruth “Babe” Nelson IMO Baxter Swaffar Holtermann, Kathy IMO Heidi Holtermann IMO Greta Olsson Holtermann Hovland, Margareta IMO Einar Hovland

Huebner, Mary Ann IMO Judith Maki Hughes, Kathryn IMO Holly Louise Weiland Hult, Sten & Nancy IMO Sven, Eda Hult & Susann IMO Algot & Karin Lindmark Hultquist, Everett IMO Alma Hultquist Hurtubise, Lee-Ann Anderson IMO George & Muriel Anderson IMO Joseph Hurtubise Hutchison, Greta IMO Hasse Kvist Iverson, Alice Kienberger IMO Bertha (Johnson) Hogenson IMO Melvin Iverson Jaenson, Linda IMO Steve & Annie Jaenson Jernberg, Inger IMO “Cookie” Johanson, Eva Johnson, Harland & Jeannette IMO Elaine Forsling Johnson, Karl & Cathy IMO Luke Arvid Johnson Johnson, Ronald A. IMO Marian Moline IMO Arlette Kretschmer IMO Marcella Frazier Jones, Grayce E. IMO Calvin Jones Kalwat, Katherine IMO Niles & Linnea Johnson Kane, Karen

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Winter 2018 / THE VASA STAR

IMO Weimar Swanson IMO Sarah Swenson Kasperson, Uno S. IMO Calvin Iverson Kellgren, Tore & Birgitta IMO Harold Carlson LL 494 IMO Rolf Rejbrand LL 348 IMO Barry Smith LL 348 Kiesel, Gene & Dawn IMO Charlene & Art Kiesel IMO Glen & Lorraine Hayden Kilstrom, Christine IMO Carlson/Johnson/Kilstrom Families Klein, Jeff IMO Betty Johnston IMO Bert Taule Klooster, Marilyn IMO Gunnar & Ruth Larson Kopcinski, Anette IMO Barbro Lisbet Carlson Krause, Rollie & Carol IMO Beverly Spets Lake Michigan District #8 IMO Departed District Officers Lambert, David R. IMO Robert & Olga Landegren Larson, Brian & Dana IMO Kenneth Larson IMO Grace Larson Larson, Esther Leopold, Shirley IMO Robert Leopold IMO Carl Lofgren Lesko, Ingrid IMO Howard Rosengren IMO Diane Rosengren Lewis, Sally IMO Ellen & Ed Erikson Lidman, Elna IMO Arthur Lidman IMO Roger Lidman Lindberg, Erik

IMO Birgit Lindberg, Paul IMO Ernst Josef Lindberg IMO Alvira Christina Anderson Lindmark, Alan IMO Grace Lindmark Lowry-Cunningham, Dorothy IMO Augusta Trysberg & Carl Erickson Lundahl, David IMO Stuart Lundahl Lundahl, Dorothy IMO Perry, Sara & Stuart Lundin, Carl IMO Erik Lundin IMO Margaret Lundin Lundquist, William & Sheila IMO Quinten & Alvina Lundquist IMO Edmund & Edna Logerquist Massoth, Betty J. IMO Marie Theroux McKinnon, Jeffrey & Carey IMO Edyth & Jim Powell Mesham, Linnea A. IMO J. Victor Arvidson IMO Helga Arvidson Miller, Shirley IMO Sigurd West IMO Hildur West Moline, Jackie IMO Russ Moline Mosley, Betsy Jane IMO Betsy Grubb Stenger IMO Hardin Stenger Nelson, Charles IMO Heartwin & Myrtle Nelson Nettz, Louise IMO Helga Mansson Nielsen, Kendra IMO Janice Lehman Nielson, D. Nobel Lodge #184

IMO Departed Members Nobel Monitor Lodge #130 IMO Past Members Nordby, Elsie IMO Eva Rae Briscoe Nordic Lodge #611 IMO Alice Carlson IMO Deceased Members Norton, John E. IMO Morris Nelson Nowlan, Juleen IMO Claude & Robert Nowlan IMO Violet Lundquist Noyes, Bob IMO Patricia Noyes IMO Robert A Noyes Nylund, Dr. Shirley A. Oberle, Cindy IMO Betty Birch Olsen, Judi IMO Barry Lee Olsen Olson, John H. IMO Greta Olson IMO John Olson Olson, Richard J. IMO Roger & Lorraine Olson Omaha Lodge #330 IMO Jack Anderson Orlandi, Kristina IMO Ingrid Carlson IMO Julia Betcher Overberg, Dorothy IMO C. Richard Overberg PGT Patzer, Dorothy IMO Sven & Karin Flodstrom Paulson, Nancy A. IMO John Paulson Pearson, Robert IMO Lawrence & Fanny Pearson Peterson, Anita IMO Victor Peterson

Richardson, Edith IMO Hilding Anderson IMO Eleanor Anderson Rudberg, Jenny & Ted IMO Phoenix #677 Departed

Swedberg, Ethel IMO Richard Swedberg Swenson, Geraldine IMO Carlotta Strandberg Swenson, Geraldine IMO Maureen Sundstrom

Salk, Bob & Carolyn IMO Paul Older Thelin, Gunilla IMO Verna Larson Older IMO Sigvard & Edith Thelin Schneider, Ingo & Rigmor IMO Christen Thelin IMO Ingo B. Schneider Thomas, David W. IMO Ingo Schneider IMO Jeff Thomas Seberger, Cheryl IMO Jim Thomas IMO Max Seberger Thompson, Carol J. Sernus, Debra IMO Grace Thompson IMO Helen Petersen Rahn IMO Tommy Thompson Shipley, Monica Thompson, Linnea IMO George Shipley IMO Swen & Betty Thompson Shoberg, Raymond Touve, Leslie IMO Anne Shoberg IMO Janice (Jan) Touve Siljan Mora Tuna Lodge #134 IMO Departed Members Veis, Arlie Skandia Lodge #549 IMO Ruth Veis IMO Erland Markstrom Viking Lodge #730 IMO Jim Mickelsen IMO Departed Members IMO Allan Wahlstrom Vitalis, Cheryl S. IMO Violet Watson IMO Robert Spalin IMO Keith Lindberg Smith, Lynda & Herb Wahbeh, George IMO Ruth Elin Swanson Mertes Wahlmark, John Solomonson, Rosemarie Wallin, Charles IMO Harry Solomonson IMO Wife and Grandmother Star Lodge #56 Wieselquist, Erik S., Jr. IMO Members of Star #56 IMO Erik Wieselquist, Sr Strandberg, Peter IMO Erik Wieselquist III IMO Oskar J. Strandberg IMO Oscar W. Strandberg Strom, Alan P. IMO Albert Strom IMO Thelma Strom Swanson, Carl R. IMO Carl Albert Swanson Swanson, Elna C. Be sure to send address changes to: IMO Ronald Swanson circulationvasastar@gmail.com

Moving?

NEW MEMBERS IN SWEDEN 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, 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. ~ Bruce Elfvin, Grand Lodge Membership Chairman, 3231 E. Overlook Road, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118 / elf4law@aol.com LL Skåne Nr 570 Marianne Andersson Ewa Johnsson Gertrud Öhman Margareta Tellberg Tore Tellberg LL Kärnan Nr 608 Birgitta Engström Ingrid Olsson LL Christian Nr 617 Johan Berglund Kristina Berglund

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Monica Damerau Birgitta Uttke Inga-Britt Andersson Rosa Mattiasson Gudrun Modin Nordmark Kate Björk Gunilla Kärrdahl LL Småland Nr 618 Bo Börjesson Anders Rosén Thompson Viktoria Kofoid Almgren Erik Brasch

Agneta Brasch Ola Isacson LL Calmare Nyckel Nr 628 Ulla Hägg Flygare Anders Hägg Bo Beckeström Ewa Lindén Lisbeth Karlsson Sven-Erik Karlsson Britt-Marie Kullin Jan-Peter Kullin Lena Wernersson

Göran Karlsson Birgitta Bernhardsson Hardy Bernhardsson Monica Hultqvist Ylva Thinnert Gelebo Michael Gelebo Anita Johansson Kent Johansson Rose-Marie Broström Åke Boj Christina Granberg Erhold Granberg Barbro Gärdå Sune Hansson Nettie Börjesson Göran Börjesson Jessica Landegren Patrik Olsen

LL Ronneby Nr 630 Birgit Asp Kent Asp Eva Kinning Leif Kinning LL Tomelilla Nr 631 Anne-Maj Råberg Ingemar Strutzenblad Inga Tillander Gull-Britt Persson LL Höganäs Nr 634 Bo Ingvar Olsson Katarina Ljungkvist John-Olof Ljungkvist LL Westervik Nr 679 Anja Rosdahl Anne-Cathrine Forsberg Jan Forsberg

LL Nybyggarna Nr 698 Ingabirgith Persson Anders Persson Karin Wittsell Stig-Arne Wittsell LL Klockan Nr 747 Marianne Fransson Bengt Knöös Kerstin Långberg Rolf Långberg Jan Håkansson Chris Armstrong LL Blå Jungfrun Nr 749 Christer Kjellin Odyle Kjellin

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THE VASA STAR / Winter 2018

Grand Lodge Education and Scholarship Fund

Honor Roll of Donors, January 1 to December 31, 2017 — thank you for your generosity Ahlberg, Kenneth Alexis, May Britt Allen, Aurora Allison, Ingrid Anderson, David Gustav Anderson, Karla Anderson, Keith & Nancy Anderson, Ken & Ann Anderson, Westen Andrews, Bea Antonson, Jane & David Arnall, Doug & Terry Arvidson, Carl Atherton, Jane Austin Lodge #466 Badger, Laura Barkley, Jennifer & Bruce Barrett, Verna Beal, Elizabeth Beck, Ralph and Ruth Benacci, Berit Berggren, Dennis Bergman, Rolf & Marty Bergstrom, Albion Bertolucci, Estelle Birtwistle, David & Debbie Bjorkner, Art & Nancy Bjorkner, Kurt & Cheryl Black, Norman Blakeman, Laura Blaufarb, Ross Bloomquist, Lorraine Blumer, Susan Boor, Suzanne Borsuk, Linda Boyes, Kristin & Kim Brace, Kimber Brainard, Jannelle Brand, Gail Lundeen Brandon, Phyllis Lindquist Bressette, Lennea Brolander, Elaine Brown, Cheryl Bush, Grace Butler, Ingrid Calleja, Karin Carlson, Eric & Margery Carlson, George & Arline Carlson, Ingrid Carlson, Ingvar Carlson, Virginia Carlsson, Bo & Glenda Carter, Evelyn Clark, Birgitta Coelho, Joseph Connelly, Marguerite Cosmen, Ingrid

page 30

Crawford, Keith Crummey, Gunnel Cunningham, Dorothy Curtis, Mim Dahlberg, Deidre Dahlgren, Lowell Danielson, Joyce Davis, Leena Delfs, Linda Derrien, Sonja Dinon, Derek & Lisa Dixon, Kency Donnelly, Dennis & Dee Dorner, Eleanor Doty, Fae and Lee Duffy, Ruth Dugan, Jean Earnshaw, Joan (Anderson) Ekstrand, Liza & Rolf Elander, Lorraine (Lori) Elfvin, Bruce Elston, Charles & Marilyn Emihl, Veronica Engquist Kihlberg, Elisabeth Engstrom, Bob & Ila Enright, Ingrid Erickson, Brent Erickson, Richard Ericsson, Sven Eriksson, Lloyd Erling, Anne Eskilson, Mr. & Mrs. Evald Facklan Lodge #248 Fassl, Rosemary & Ron Feely, Carol & Arnold Festin, Ray Fisher, Don & Bonnie Fiske, Carla Flink, Margareta Folkesson, Lars Ford, Melin Forsblad, Karin Forsman, Hatsie & Allen Frank, Stephen Frank, Stephen Freedlund, Carl Freitas, Barbro Froemming, Barbara Fuller, Fanchon Fulton, Laurie & Steve Gaethe, Joachim Gaviola, Roselind Gellella, Anita Gibson, Barbara Golden, Carol

Gorman, Irma Graham, Joan Lindquist Grandin, John Green, Dawn Gruel, Margaret Guidara, June Gustafson, Ruth

Kiesel, Gene & Dawn Klein, Jeff Klooster, Marilyn Larson Knutson, Jack Koenig, Susan Krastins, Liesma Krummrey, Sonia

Haderle, Ronni Haire, Siv Hammarstrom, Margareta Hart, Kerstin Hayward, Nancy Heater, Stephanie Hedman, Ingrid Hendrickson, June Herron, Birgitta Hersh, William & Sandie Hiryak, Audren (Hjelmgren) Holtermann, Kathy Holtermann, Mimi Holtmeier, Harriet & Ron Hubbard, Beth Hughes, Kathryn & Richard Orlando Hultquist, Everett Hurtubise, Lee-Ann Anderson Hutchison, Greta

Lambert, David Landin, Robert Lantz, Malle Larkin, Donna Larsen, Charlotte Larson, Jack & Linda Leafdale, Keith & Delinda Leopold, Shirley Lewis, Sally Lidman, Elna Linaweaver, Raymond & Carol Lindberg, Stanley Linzmaier, Joe & Lois Ljunggren, Harriet Lofgren, Gustav Longer, Eleanor Lowell, Marla Luce, Louise Lundahl, Pat Lundeen, Lynne Lundin, Carl Lundquist, Bill & Sheila

Iverson, Alice Kienberger Jackson, John, Raini & Vanessa Jacobs, Maria Jansson, Kyle Jerfsten, Arne Johnson, Beda Johnson, Carol Johnson, Corinne & Grant Johnson, Donald Johnson, Elsie Johnson, Janice Johnson, Jeannette & Harland Johnson, Karin Johnson, Karl Johnson, Ken Johnson, Lavone Johnson, Millie Johnson, Mr. & Mrs. Sigurd Johnson, Ron Johnson, Tom & Carol Johnson-Ponczek, Evelyn, Linnea & Eric Kalwat, Katherine Karling, Maidie Kellgren, Birgitta & Tore

Magneheim, Yvonne Mante, Elva Mayette, Merlene Mayrhofer, Franz McCoy, Julie McElroy, Sandra McGrath Family McKillip, Karen McKinnon, Nora & Cecilia Mendenhall, Elisabeth Messmer, Mike & Julie Mihelich, Josephine Moline, Jacqueline Morgan, Kerstin Morn, Johan Mortimer, Eva Mueller, Roberta Muniz, Ramona Nelson, Janet Nelson, Jean Nelson, Robert Nemcik, Lillian Nettz, Roger & Louise Nielsen, Joyce Nielson, Dolores Nordic Lodge #611

Nordin, Jan & Kiki Nowlan, Juleen Noyes, Robert & Cathy IMO Patricia Noyes Nyamweru, Celia Nyborg, Marie Nylund, Shirley O’Grady, Britt Oldson, Irene Olsen, Magda Olson, Lee Olson, Valerie Onopchenko, Judy Orlandi, Kristina Pace, Eivor Pantaleo, Vito & Louise Patzer, Dorothy Pearson, June Pearson, Robert Pelzman, James & Patricia Peterson, Craig Plano, Margit & Odd Post, Janice & Arthur Prasso, Nina Prasso, Nina Puttner, Asta Radel, John & Kerstin Rasmussen, Robert & Beatrice Renne, Dawna Reynolds, Liana Richardson, Edith Richmond, Blanche Riston, Karen Roberson, Susan Roerkoll, Lars Rompala, Bob & Linda Rosenquist, Beth Runke, Kay & Larry Russo, Rebecka Grahn Sack, Norm Sales, Twyla Salk, Bob & Carolyn Sandberg, Don Sandberg, Mildred Santora, Dorothy Baldwin Scheirer, Bill & Anne Schueman, Margaret Seberger, Cheryl Seberger, Cheryl & Dave Seipp, Caroline Sherry, Joan Lofgren Sipos, John & Susan Sivertsen, Anny

Smith, Edward Smith, Gail Smith, Herb & Lynda Smith, Robert & Jeanette Soderberg Gomez, Karen Spaberg, Gary & Gunlog Spinale, Mary Ellen Sten, Douglas Stere, Bonnie Stites, Del & Ingrid Strandberg, Peter Svenson, Sven & Bonnie Svensson, John Swaffar, Marlene Swanson, Carl Swanson, Donald Swanson, Erik Swanson, Louise Swanson, Sarah Swanson, Wes & Sonja Swenhall, W. Swenson, Gerry Swenson, Gerry & Bob Swenson, Russell Tafvelin, Nils Taylor, Christine Taylor, Gunilla Tennis, Ann Thofson, Suzanne & David Thompson, Carol Thoreen, JoAnn Thornquist, Lennart Törnblom, Inez Tornquist, John Touve, Leslie Turner, William Wahlmark, John Wallin, Chuck Wastholm-McCuen, Gun Weissenborn, Ken Wennerstrand, Erik Whittecar, Sandra Lind Wiebke, Ingrid Wieselquist, Erik Jr. Wilkening, Ruth Williams, Marissa Wilson, Kristi Wilson, Steve Winther, Bertil

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Winter 2018 / THE VASA STAR

Easter in Sweden The average Swede celebrates Easter with the family, eats four eggs, gives away and eats Easter candy and decorates with Easter twigs. According to a survey in Sweden, the most important and most common dish on the Swedes’ easter table is eggs.

More than half of the respondents stated that eggs were most important on the Easter table, followed by herring (16%), salmon (7%) and Jansson’s temptation (6%).

Only 6% eat lamb for Easter.

See our next issue, Nordstjernan 1804 for more Easter traditions and recipes.

2018 Grand Lodge Convention Souvenir Program Book Send a greeting from your lodge or an advertisement for your business Full page: $100 • Half page: $50 • Quarter page: $25 Page Size: 8.5 x 11 Send greeting or ad by email to: Victoria Fedor-Thurman: vfthurman@gmail.com Mail check payable to DL Golden Gate #12 to: Victoria Fedor-Thurman 7692 Princevalle St. Gilroy, CA 95020 Deadline: March 31, 2018

Archives Heritage Fund Honor Roll of Donors

January 1 to December 31, 2017 — Thank you for your generosity Visionary Level Brahe Lodge #245 Alden, John Alfredson, Gerald Allen, Aurora Anderson, Bob Anderson, Carol M. Anderson, Edythe L. Anderson, Evert R. Anderson, Jeannie Anderson, Kristina Arneson, Karin Asplund, Ray Atherton, Jane Badger, Laura Baricelli, Maureen Barkley, Bruce Barrett, Verna Nordlund Berggren, C. Otto Bergh, Marianne Bergh, Stig Bergman, Rolf & Martha Bertoldi, Barbara Bessemer Lodge #203 Binks, Janice R. Birka Lodge #732 Black, Norman Blakeman, Laura Blaufarb, Ross & Gerard Blumer, Susan Borg, Daniel Buchman, Jean Bush, Grace Campbell, Virginia Carlson, Carl H. Carlson, Ernest Carlson, Ingvar W. Carlson, Kenneth E. Carlson, Norman Carlson, Ronald

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Carlson, Virginia L. Carlsson, Bo & Glenda Carter, Evelyn Clark, Birgitta Clarke, Christine S. Connelly, Marguerite Cook, Hazel Cook, Sandra L. Cosmen, Ingrid Dahlberg, Diedre A. Delfs, Linda DeMent, J. Payton Dobres, Donald E. Dorner, Eleanor Doty, Lee & Fae Doughty, Linda Drott Lodge #168 Ebbersten, Robert Eklund, John Ekstrand, Liza & Rolf Elfvin, Bruce Engstrom, Audrey Enright, Ingrid Erickson, Carolyn IMO Anna & Karl Erickson Erickson, Delores Erickson, John Erickson, Richard Erickson, Yvonne Ericsson, Gail Eskilson, Evald & Barbara Fedor-Thurman, Victoria Ferguson, AnnaStina Fisher, Bonnie Folkesson, Lars Frihet Lodge #401 Froemming, Barbara Gaethe, Joachim Gaviola, Roselind

Gorman, Irma Graham, Joan Lindquist Grosz, Kirsten Guidara, June Gundersen, John Gustafson, Alice M. Hammarstrom, Margareta Hanson, Nellie Harmoni Lodge #472 Hayward, Nancy Hirsch, Carolyn Hiryak, Audrey Hofmann, Kristina Holtermann-Henning, Heidi Hopkirk, John & Junarden Hoskinson, Beatrice Hoskinson, Patricia Huebner, Mary Ann Hult, Sten & Nancy Hultquist, Everett Hurtubise, Lee-Ann Anderson Iverson, Alice Kienberger

Klein, Jeff Klintmalm, Goran Klooster, Marilyn Knoell, Sandra Kronan Lodge #433 Lambert, David R. Larkin, Donna M. Larsen, Charlotte Larson, Ingrid Larson, L.D. Leopold, Shirley Lindgren, Sven Ljunggren, Harriet Lowell, Marla R. Lundahl, Patricia Lundeen, Lynne Lundin, Carl Lundquist, William & Sheila Magnuson, Mel W. Martin, Judith S. Massoth, Betty J. Mayette, Merlene McCuen, Gun Wastholm Melin, Tracy Mihelich, Josephine Moberg, Alden Montelius, Richard & Ina

Jerfsten, Arne I. Johnson, Donald A. Johnson, Edwin B. Johnson, Ethel V. Johnson, Harland & Jeannette Johnson, Karl & Cathy Johnson, Kenneth Johnson, Lavone I. Johnson, Ronald A. Johnson, Stardust K.

Nemcik, Lillian Nettz, Louise Nobel Monitor Lodge #130 Nordholm, Catherine Nordic Lodge #611 Nordic Lodge #708 Nowlan, Juleen Noyes, Bob

Kellgren, Tore & Birgitta Kern River Lodge #763 Kessel, Ann & Richard Kiesel, Gene & Dawn

Oliveira, Mary Ellen Olsen, Marianne Olson, Florence R. Onopchenko, Judy

Orlandi, Kristina A.C. Pace, Eivor Paulson, Nancy A. Pearson, June M. Pearson, Robert Pennsylvania District #9 Perretta, Anne Marie Peterson, Craig R. Peterson, James A. Post, Arthur & Janice Potter, Brittmarie Proffitt, Janice Radel, John & Kerstin Rapp, Virginia Rasmussen, Robert Renne, Dawna Richardson, Edith Rush, Betty A. Sack, Norman Sales, Robert & Twyla Sandler, Jane Santora, Dorothy Scheirer, Bevin Scheirer, William Schueman, Margaret Seberger, Cheryl Seest, John A. Sherry, Joan Lofgren Sipos, John and Susan Skogsblomman Lodge #378 Smith, Edward S. Smith, Lynda Soderberg-Gomez, Karen Sonntag, Theodora Steinmiller, Linda Sten, Dr. Douglas Stites, Del and Ingrid Strand, Gwendolyn Strandberg, Peter

Strasburg, Gunn Stubb, Mary Ellen Sundblad, Colleen Svea Lodge #296 Svea Lodge #348 Svensson, John Swaffar, Marlene Swanson, Carl R. Swenson, Charlotte Swenson, Russell Swenson, Susan E. Sylvander, Roy & Joan Tafvelin, Nils A. Taylor, John C. Tennis, Ann IMO Robert Graham Thielman, Karen & Christopher Thompson, Carol J. Thordarson, Dora Tornquist, John Touve, Leslie Turner, William Vågen Lodge #588 Van Dine, Carol Van Horn, Ann Marie Veis, Arlie Wahbeh, George Wahlmark, John Walkup, Janet P. Wallin, Charles Weissenborn, Ken Welsh, Katarina Westberg, Rose-Marie Westrup, Rose Marie Wilkening, Ruth Wilson, Barbro Wilson, Richard

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THE VASA STAR / Winter 2018

LOCAL LODGE NEWS were voted into Fylgia. A quick count shows Fylgia has accepted 17 new or dual members in the past three years! san francisco, ca / In October we Swedish cooking classes resumed at celebrated our lodge’s 110th anniversaNordic House, Berkeley in January and ry, in November several members gathFebruary, and the First Fika event of ered to make and eat potatiskorv (potato/ 2018 was Feb. 10 at Swedish American pork sausage), and in December Fylgia Hall. Mark your calendar for April 10: represented Vasa at SWEA’s Christmas Fylgia’s Annual Aquavit Infusion. InBazaar. Numerous inquiries resulted terested in these or other Fylgia Lodge in referrals to District 12 lodges and events? Contact FylgiaLodge@gmail. applications to join Fylgia. Applicants com or 415.758.0580. attended our julbord at Pläj Restaurant, and in January seven new members submitted by scott schulkin

Fylgia No. 119

Thule No. 127 jamestown/bemus point, ny / The lodge held its 110th anniversary dinner this fall with many members and friends. Lodge historian John Sipos had a display of lodge artifacts including some of the annual history books and officers were elected to serve for 2018. Winter has begun with severe snowfall and Thule Lodge took a winter break but resumes the regular schedule in March.

submitted by john sipos

Tom Eckberg who will begin his fourth term as chairman of Thule Lodge No. 127 in its 111th year.

Korvmaking and eating: I’ll see your Ericksons and Olssons and raise you a Dahlberg!

Left: Fylgia Board at SWEA Fair

Tegner No. 149

oakland, ca / In September, memnea Decker, Evie Decker, Natane bers enjoyed David Wilson’s pre- Chambers Wright, Jane Loewinsohn, sentation of the trading companies Emily, Serraon, and Joacim Zamora. established in various European Music was provided by TC Brewitz countries in the 1600s. He designed and the Tegner Singers. The Lucia and sewed replicas of the flags Story was told by Carol Madigan and flown on the sailing ships, showed the Tomte Story by Diane Eatherly. samples of spices and explained that The smörgåsbord was delicious and cardamom, used by many Swedish the jul-ring-dances sent us home bakers, was procured in western In- smiling. dia. In October Marie Ann Hill gave Installation of 2018 officers were in a review of Ingrid Carlberg’s book, January at Framåt Lodge in Albany.

Raoul Wallenberg. submitted by ann tennis In November we celebrated our 109th anniversary with a dinner. We draped the charter in memory of Honorary Life Member Irma Strand, who joined Tegner in 1984. In December Ella Signe Nichelini (12) was honored to be Lucia, especially since her great-grandmother, Ruby Evaline Nichelini, was a member of Tegner Lodge for over 50 years. Ella is proud of her Swedish heritage and thanked Tegner Lodge for the honor of being Lucia. Her attendants were Annika Zamora, Kyra Decker, Lin-

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Ella Nichelini was thrilled to be Lucia.

Left: Bonnie LaFeoer and David Wilson are holding a replica of the Danish East India Company Flag that David made.

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Winter 2018 / THE VASA STAR

Linné No. 153 south bend, in / We enjoyed our December Christmas Luncheon at Tippecanoe Place. Our next scheduled meeting is March 4, 2018. We are pleased that Matt Baumgartner will be back to give one of his fabulous presentations.

submitted by lorraine cooper Vasa Group Christmas Luncheon at Tippecanoe Place. Back Row (L-R): Gordon Westergren, Harvey Holmes, Ken Huggett and Ron Wood. Front Row (L-R): Marlene Westergren, Chris Miller, Elinor Huggett, Judi Parmley and Beth Kemble.

Twin City Lodges minneapolis, mn

Lucia Allison Holtz

/ The Christmas party of the Twin Cities Lodges was held on December 3 at Mindekirken in Minneapolis. The program featured the Lucia pageant with Allison Holtz as St. Lucia 2017, whose Swedish heritage comes through her maternal grandmother who emigrated from Västergötland. Allison has been a member of the Vasa Junior Folk Dancers since she was 3 and is

now in 10th grade in St. Cloud, MN. Her favorite subject is drawing and she has a website where her drawings and digital art are displayed. Another special interest is climate change; Allison hopes to be involved in the solution to this worldwide problem.

The day continued with dancing, awarding membership pins and a visit from Santa Claus. A special part of the program was honoring JoAnn

Thoreen, youth leader of Vasa Kornet No. 16 for over 60 years. The day concluded with a delicious Swedish meatball dinner including anniversary cake commemorating the 90th year of the Vasa Junior Folk Dancers. submitted by eunice dietrich

Norden No. 233

tacoma, wa / In November and January, we watched “Allt for Sverige” which was very delightful and funny.

Our January meeting also focused on our 2018 election. We are looking forward to planning our activities for 2018, i.e. cooking classes, Swedish language classes, crafts and our potluck game days. The Nordic Museum in Ballard, WA will be having their Grand Opening on May 5, which we look forward to enjoying for field trips and various activities.

submitted by marilyn mahnke

2018 Norden No. 233 Officers (L-R): Marilyn Mahnke Vice Chairman, Jeanette Wiggins - Cultural Director, Sarah Callow - Secretary, Lenore Bailey - Inner Guard, Tori Creighton - Master of Ceremonies, Marcia Aagaard Chairman, Sissel Barrett - Chaplain, Donald Barrett Treasurer and Past Chairman

we enjoyed a Christmas potluck followed by bingo at the home of Gary Johnson. The weather held off rockford, il / We met in October with dinner at the Olive Garden this year and we had 16 members in followed by a short meeting dis- attendance. cussing plans for 2018 and election submitted by gary johnson of officers for 2018. In December

Brahe No. 245

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Vasa members enjoying dinner at the Olive Garden Members sharing the spirit of Christmas

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LOCAL LODGE NEWS

THE VASA STAR / Winter 2018

Svea No. 253

indianapolis , in / In November, Brenda Miller showed off her preindustrial spinning wheel. In December we held our annual Luciafest.

In January Glenn Sweitzer gave a presentation on Norway’s prisoner rehabilitation system and in February Dr. Robert (Chris) Baas presented “Jens Jensen: Maker of Midwestern Landscapes.” Next up: Dr. Paul Mullins, “Photographing Finland’s War: Memory, Heritage and World War II in the Finnish Wartime Photograph Archives” on March 4 and Dr. Alan Winquist, “Swedish-American Landmarks in the U.S.” on April 8.

submitted by james hook

Brenda Miller showed off her pre-industrial spinning wheel.

Lucia and Lucia court.

Glenn Sweitzer gave a presentation on Norway’s prisoner rehabilitation system.

Svea No. 296

erie, pa / Members of SVEA and Luther Memorial Church gathered for another St. Lucia festival in December. Lynette Donnelly, who has participated in 48 pageants, was in charge for her 22nd year. Her granddaughter Rebecca Brown was Lucia.

Proceeds from the offering will support scholarships for 20 youth at the national gathering in 2018 in Houston, Texas.

Plans for a summer trip to Scandinavia are coming together under the leadership of member Pat Bellingham. The group will leave Cleveland on July 31 and return August 14. At this point we have 15 heading for Sweden, Denmark and Norway.

submitted by gary larson

Lynette Donnelly directs her 22nd Lucia event with Rebecca Brown.

Ken Kalie’s 30th St. Lucia, holding his niece.

Svea No. 348

san jose , ca / In November we met at the San Jose Odd Fellows Hall where Scandinavian Studies doctorate student Sara Ann Knutson made an enlightening presentation on Viking women. Svea Lodge hosted Lindbergh Lodge No. 494 in January for the annual Joint Installation of New Officers. VOA Grand Lodge Grand Master Tore Kellgren – who with his wife Birgitta are members of both Svea Lodge and Lindbergh Lodge – installed all of the 2018 new officers that included Svea Lodge Chairman Jack Knutson and Lindbergh Lodge Chairman David Jansson. The evening included a lasagna

page 34

Sara Ann Knutson.

meal before the formal ceremony and dessert afterward. submitted by jim melin

(L-R): David Jansson, Jack Knutson and Tore Kellgren at the installation.

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LOCAL LODGE NEWS

Winter 2018 / THE VASA STAR

Svea No. 469

Becky Graham made the beautiful smörgåstårta.

Framåt No. 405

el cerrito, ca / Each December we gather to celebrate the most treasured Swedish traditions – Lucia and smörgåsbord. The tables were decorated, including placemats featuring different Swedish provinces made

longview, wa / Callie Johnson had the distinction of being the youngest member of Svea Lodge No. 469 and the member who traveled the furthest - 500 miles (from Boise, ID to Kelso, WA) - to accept the honor of being her lodge’s St. Lucia. It was a true family affair with her cousin Keira McGinley being her tärna (attendant). Grandpa Jim McGinley, PDM of District 13 and Chairman of Svea Lodge, pitched in by making the Lucia buns and the Lucia bookmarks for the girls to hand out during the program. The girls researched St. Lucia and made a display board of pictures and St. Lucia facts for the enjoyment of the members and guests. Callie hoped to Lucia Lily Rosen and her sister Audrey as attendant. inspire her younger cousin to become a

by Co-Cultural Leader Mimi Holtermann. Lily Rosen member of Svea by encouraging Keira was our beautiful Lucia and her sister Audrey the at- to participate in the traditional Lucia tendant. Co-Cultural Leader Marilyn Jackson coordi- program. After a delicious Julbord, nated the evening’s program and led the group singing Callie introduced a fun gift ball game favorite Christmas songs. In January, Framåt hosted the that was enjoyed by all members, both Tri-Lodge Installation of Officers for Tegner No. 149, young and old, further stirring-up more Framåt No. 405, and Sveaborg No. 449. The open-faced interest in Vasa as a fun, family event. sandwich table featured a fantastic smörgåstårta made by our member Becky Graham. Long-time friendships submitted by shirley raney/carole are renewed at our Tri-Lodge events – the Installation of mcginley Officers in January and the annual picnic in July.

submitted by joanie graham

Lindbergh No. 494 palo alto, ca / Our annual Lucia Procession, with Renee Risberg as Lucia, began with a hush in the room, dimming of lights, and the beautiful sound of singing, accompanied by Bengt Blendulf on guitar. The singers treated us to a wonderful concert of songs. Tusen tack to Margit Forsberg for all her effort in making the Lucia Procession such a success, with costuming, rehearsals, selection of songs and more. January 12 we threw a Convention

Lucia Renee Risberg with her court.

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Fundraiser; for the bargain price of $25 we enjoyed the East Baytles reenactment band performing music of the Beatles and delicious hors d’oeuvres. The February 9 meeting had a Valentine’s Day theme and, as always, a delicious supper. We have our regular meeting on the second Friday of every month.

It always includes dinner and an engaging program. submitted by lois johansson

Not even 500 miles could keep Callie (McGinley) Johnson from participating in Svea Lodge No. 469 St. Lucia Program. (L-R): Keira McGinley, Jim McGinley, and Callie Johnson.

Pioneer No. 506

cranston, ri / Pioneer Lodge kept with the Vasa member should be.

Christmas spirit and the motto of our order, submitted by kris onsrud Generosity, Truth and Unity by sponsoring our annual toy drive for Vasa in Rhode Island. The program was started many years ago by our late member Beverly Cianfarani and our Children’s Club. After the children’s club folded and Beverly passed away, Robyn and Jim Ladouceur took over the tradition. This year they started the collection of toys with a party at their house in September. We collected over 12 garbage bags of toys to be distributed to three different groups in need. Thank you to the Ladouceurs for their generosity—true examples of what a Pioneer Lodge Toy Drive.

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LOCAL LODGE NEWS

THE VASA STAR / Winter 2018

Linde No. 492

milwaukee, wi / 2017 ended with a wonderful Christmas luncheon at a local restaurant with 26 members and guests in great spirits, then the Lucia and Christmas program together with the Historical Society. Thank you Sonia Hummel for putting it together, again!

You wouldn’t think our Children’s Club is dormant, as we had 22 children in the program. This event resulted in a new Linde member - young Ben Kramer who is heading up a Swedish Club at his high school, where he is a junior. His interest in Sweden does not come from Swedish roots, just a genuine interest and curiosity for Sweden, its language and traditions. Welcome on board Ben. We had an early Jul-Otta on Christmas

Day together with the Historical Society, in January we installed the 2018 officers, then on March 10 and April 14 we will enjoy entertaining programs (TBA).

As always, everyone is welcome to our lodge. submitted by liza ekstrand

Clock wise, from above: Alice Schroeder (left) receiving her 40year membership pin from VC Jan Kamholtz / Lucia’s Jul Program with dancers and a record crowd / New Linde member Ben Kramer - welcome! / 2017 Lucia Kirsten Cutler with her court.

of founding members Anna and Folke Anderson presented us with a group photo taken at a 1934 lodge picnic, Birpetaluma, ca / We celebrated our 90th anniversary in November. We gitta Appleton was recognized for her were honored to have Grand Master 25-year membership, we had a short Tore Kellgren and his wife Birgitta, presentation on “Linnéa Lodge – Back District Master Jim Melin and his to the Future” and the festivities ended wife Dolores, Grand Secretary Joan with the singing of Du Gamla, Du Fria.

Graham and District Executive Board Our thoughts were with those who were Member Mimi Holtermann join us for too ill to attend and the victims of the the celebration. GM Tore presented us North Bay fires. See www.linnealodge. with a telegram congratulating Lin- wix.com/linnealodge or www.facenéa Lodge on this milestone and we book.com/LinneaLodgePetaluma for received a proclamation issued by the upcoming events! mayor of Petaluma to recognize our 90th. The daughter and granddaughters submitted by mary wahlberg

Linnea No. 504

Linnea 90th Anniversary Dinner 2017.

Norden No. 684

(L-R) DM Jim Melin, Chair Rick Wahlberg and Grand Master Tore Kellgren with a telegram for Linnea’s 90th Anniversary.

page 36

fresno, ca / Norden Lodge’s Annual Lucia Celebration and Lutfisk Dinner was held in December.

Traditional glögg and Swedish dishes were served. Our Lucia was Anya Hess. Anya, 15, plays the piano as well as the harp, and she is a member of the Fresno Youth Symphony Orchestra. She has studied ballet for nine years, speaks fluent Russian and is learning to speak Swedish. She won a two-week scholarship to Sjölunden Language Camp in Minnesota last August. We are very proud of our Anya.

submitted by clyda dehn

Nordstjärnan No. 575

wetaskiwin, ab canada / Nordstjär- ols with the help of some adults. Also, nan celebrated Christmas by enjoying Edwin Ericsson provided the music a catered luncheon, the Lucia Pageant by playing the accordion. To round off and Talent Show in December. Avery the afternoon good “Ole Santa” made Allnutt as Lucia, and her attendants, led a visit with his candy bags. the audience in singing Christmas car- submitted by lois brown

we’ll hear about Ireland and the phoenix, az / With great pleasure we Vikings; April 28 introduce Astrid Sulia Westberg who marks our 54th was our 2017 Lucia. She studies IB anniversary with theater, voice and participates in the music and dancPoetry Club. Astrid received a Silver ing, and our fiMedal in classical singing this spring at nal meeting on the Cal-West regional NATS (National May 19 includes Phoenix Lodge’s Lucia Association Teachers of Singing). In 2017 Astrid Westberg. music from the January we installed new officers and Swedish Sweet enjoyed Fika with Friends, and in Feb- Adelines plus stories from the past. Visiruary we learned about the Göta Canal, tors are always welcome! which was presented by Errol Roy submitted by romy solomonson of Vasa Solstad Lodge. On March 24

Phoenix No. 677

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LOCAL LODGE NEWS

Winter 2018 / THE VASA STAR

Bishop Hill No. 683

bishop hill, il / Lars Eric Sundin from Gävle, Sweden and Johan Johansson from Tärnsjö gave the programs for the September meeting. Lars is a preacher whose greatgrandmother came to the U.S.; he has several cousins in Bishop Hill. Johan is a doctor in the Nora Parish, and has written several songs about immigrants who came to Bishop Hill; he sang them for us. We had a Crazy Hat Night in October and in December was our Christmas smorgasbord and the Lucia program, which is always a highlight. Alivia Anderson, 9, was Lucia. Alivia enjoys playing piano, tumbling and dance, spending time with her twin sister, and bike riding. Many guests from the Archives joined us that night, Christmas songs were sung accompanied by pianist Debbie Miles, and the great evening

Above: Members of the lodge sporting crazy hats.

ended with a raffle - it’s always fun to win prizes. submitted by jeff anderson

Right: (L-R) Lars Eric Sundin, Johan Johansson both from Sweden Left: Bishop Hill 2017 Lucia Alivia Anderson

Tuscon No. 691

The Nordic Aurora Borealis Band providing entertainment.

Vinland No. 703 cape cod, ma / Over

50 people attended our Luciafest with 11 children in the Lucia Procession led by our Lucia Bride, Nicole Peterson. Svea Peterson, singing Swedish folk songs, has serenaded some residents of a local assisted living facility. It is wonderful to remember people who are unable to at- Lucia Procession participants led by Nicole Peterson. tend our meetings and functions. The and Mar. 17 meetings. Celebrating Installation of Officers was conducted our culture and tradition is important. on Jan. 20. We shared books recently Learning about Scandinavian culture purchased or read as we embark our today is our focus for 2018. study of Scandinavian films and submitted by dorothy ann literature. We are viewing “The 100 ellner kean Year Old Man” during our Feb. 17 WWW.VASAORDER.COM

been a recipient of the Grand Lodge Sjölunden Swedish Camp Scholartuscon, az / Sophie Martinez and ship. Live music was provided by her charming court members en- the Nordic Aurora Borealis Folk tertained at the 2017 Tucson Lucia Band throughout the event including Festival. Sophie and her mother the lively after dinner dances. The Jennifer Berkley sang a beautiful Tucson Swedish Dancers and Aurora duet directed by grandmother Dusty Borealis Band will be featured at the Johnson. Dusty has been a Tucson Arizona District No. 21 Convention member and active participant over in Tucson April 7, 2018.

40 years. Sophie is a member of neighboring Phoenix Lodge and has submitted by gayle andersen

Sierra Kronan No. 737

roseville, ca / We are proud of Sierra Kronan’s accomplishments in the last year: hosting cultural presentations, participating in the Sacramento Scandinavian Festival (where our Swedish meatballs are still a top seller), and enjoying our shared heritage. In 2018, we celebrated our 32nd anniversary in February and have our annual corned beef and cabbage dinner in March; on April 21 we’ll again be a part of the Sacramento Scandinavian Festival. Our craft team meets monthly to work on projects together, both for our own enjoyment and for sale at the festival. In addition, we look forward to the opportunity to participate with both the District No. 12 and Grand Lodge Conventions this

Members Loie Rhodes and Joan LofgrenSherry at Sierra Kronan’s 31st anniversary.

year, which will be hosted in “our own backyard” – what wonderful occasions to meet more of our Vasa brothers and sisters! Please connect with us online at www.facebook.com/ SierraKronan737 submitted by elissa silveira

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LOCAL LODGE NEWS

THE VASA STAR / Winter 2018

Nordik Folk No. 761

Herb Smith and Fred Raddatz enjoying the decorated hall while the raffle table is prepared.

Inset: Aubrey Chelich trimming the tree before Juldans.

munster, in / Our big holiday event was our Luciafest at Wicker Park. The weather was too warm for snow but it was good for travelers. Members offered craft sales, glögg and two raffles. The highlight was the beautiful performance by the Nordikids. They work very hard all year, and the performance was magical! Aubrey Chelich was our Lucia. After a Swedish dinner, we danced around the tree, doing a traditional långdans (compliments of a CD from Smörgåsbandet in New York DL 4) led by dance instructor Annalisa Blue. Each month, Nordik Folk offers two genealogy discussions for lodge members and the community: every first Tuesday at Munster Library, 6:30 p.m.; and every second Monday at Ridge United Methodist Church. Mark April 14 on your calendar for our 4th annual Nordic Faire at 12-4 p.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church, just minutes off I-80/94. Bring your friends, Nordik Folk Lodge is always trying to find new ways to engage the community and discover the “Scandinavians among us!”

submitted by lynda ann smith

YOUTH NEWS Nordikids No. 208 munster, in / Nordikids shared their Swedish Christmas joy all around the Chicagoland area. This year’s Lucia was Aubrey Chelich, a freshman in high school. She sang “Tomten,” the song made famous by the Swedish poem by Viktor Rydberg. Nordikids also performed at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago and other holiday festivals. Thanks to our leaders Lynnea Sinwelski/musical director and Annelise Nelson/language teacher.

Our group is most grateful for the continued financial support from District Lodge No. 8, and the Grand Lodge too. In addition to our Vasa supporters, Nordikids has been honored to receive generous donations from a local Svithoid Lodge. Tusen tack to everyone who helps us keep our wonderful Swedish traditions alive!

IN MEMORIAM Memorial Notices should be mailed with check or money order to The Vasa Star, PO Box 13331, Milwaukee, WI 53213-0331.

Email: vasaeditor@gmail.com. The fee is $10 - max. 40-45 words, and $25 for longer obituaries - 50-120 words. All notices must be typed and in a format similar to what you see here. NO newspaper clippings If you submitted an Obituary and it is not listed here, please resubmit to be included in the following issue.

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On Lucia Day, December 13, the City of Chicago selected a Lucia Queen at a celebration held downtown at the Daley Center. This year’s Queen was Jennifer Pearson, 21 (and a Nordikid since 4). She represented our group along with Sofia Nelson, Melissa Pearson and Aubrey Chelich, and was so very proud to receive this honor. submitted by lynda ann smith

Nordikids Lucia 2017, Aubrey Chelich, with her maidens, star boys and tomtar.

Left: Jennifer Pearson, the Chicago Lucia was crowned on Lucia Day, Dec. 13, 2017.

CALIFORNIA

was a founder of Sveadal, so Herb carried his mantle at this cultural heritage site and founded the Sveadal Club with friends, uniting all in this heartland.

HERB STROM (8/28/14-12/31/17) died at age 103 in Ohio, where he lived near his OREGON son, Robert. He was an honorary life member of Fylgia No. 119, San Francisco, and attended Fylgia’s centennial, receiving his Bert Taule died Aug. 7, 2017 in Happy membership pin for many decades. While Valley at the age of 89. A member of he had not been active in his retirement, he Nobel Lodge No. 184 for 42 years. He had participated in Fylgia and other Swed- always came to meetings with a big smile ish organizations in the Bay Area. He was a and a helping hand. kind and humble man, always fit and active with a smile and wit. He married his childhood sweetheart Vera Nelson, uniting two important families. His father, Erik Strom,

WASHINGTON

Diana Christina Nelson, Tacoma, was born on December 5, 1956 and died on July 17, 2017. She became a member of Norden 233 on March 7, 1998. Her grandparents Nanny and Carl Nelson from Stockholm were members when VASA started in 1912 in Tacoma.

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SWEDISH NEWS

Winter 2018 / THE VASA STAR

SWEDISH NEWS Skåne No. 570 malmö, sweden / December och årets sista logemöte och vi balloterade in två trevliga damer som ansökte om medlemskap. Alla ordinarie tjänstemän för den kommande terminen är klara. Det finns vakanser på en del biträdande tjänster, men vi har framtidstro.

Vi serverades varm glögg och pepparkakor så julstämningen infann sig snabbt. Flera gäster kom lagom till julfesten.

Bland annat hade var vår logesyster Elisabeth med sig två av sina fyra barn, Alexander 11 år och Nathalie 9 månader.

Medlemslotteriet hade årsavslutning. Det var både vanlig dragning samt högvinsten, som denna gången utföll med 1600 kronor till Christa. Därefter hade gruppen ett stort varulotteri som gladde många vinnare.

Besök gärna Logen Skånes hemsida www. sites.google.com/site/vasaordenll570.

submitted by bo västerstjärna Alexander 11 år kunde inte motstå att prova flygeln. Hemma i Lomma går han på pianolektioner i kommunala musikskolan.

Vår Hedersmedlem Birgit Ekelund tackades med blommor av Marie för att hon är en så flitig besökare i logen.

Calmare Nyckel No. 628 kalmar , sweden / Under våren 2017 gjorde logemedlemmarna, efter en uppmaning från styrelsen, en kraftansträngning för sin medlemsutveckling. Till logemötet i april 2017 bjöds vänner och bekanta in till information om Vasaorden av Amerika och då främst logen Calmare Nyckel nr 628. Efter informationen bjöds de 20-talet inbjudna till efterkapitlets middag. Detta blev upptakten till fler besök och att intresse hade väckts för logens arbete.

Detta har visat sig vara en lyckad satsning och till Högtidsmötet i oktober 2017 kunde nitton nya medlemmar invigas. Decembermöte med luciatåg hade så många som 85 logemedlemmar, mycket glädjande, anmält sig.

Samlingssalen, som både fungerar som logelokal och matsal, möblerades efter

logemötet snabbt om för att rymma det stora antalet deltagande. Det blev en lyckad logekväll med alla ingående parametrar som glöggbränning, logemöte, luciatåg och jultallrik. Tomtar och lotterier avslutade den julinspirerade kvällen. submitted by marianne westman

Hans-Erik Lindeblad stod som vanligt som ansvarig för glöggbränningen.

De nyinvigda syskonen i centrum.

Kall jultallrik och småvarmt avnjöts innan tomtarna rusade in.

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Till höger: Efterkapitlet avnjöts i Loungen i trevlig anda bland nya och tidigare logemedlemmar.

Paret Siv och Mats Hurtig försåg glatt hugade gäster i baren.

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THE VASA STAR / Winter 2018

SWEDISH NEWS Höganäs No. 634

höganäs, sweden / 49 Vasasyskon samlades på Vikens Hemgård till Julfest, som började med glögg och pepparkakor. Julstämningen infann sig! Ordförande Inger Bengtsson hälsade DD Rolf Hansson, Britt-Marie Elvirsson och Jan Wahlström, gäster från LL Nybyggarna nr 698, och logens medlemmar välkomna. Tre gäster hade inbjudits och blev presenterade för vår loge av CM. Gästerna fick höra hur Vasa Orden av Amerika fungerar. Sen berättade BKL Ola Sandberg, om Erik Ragnar Benso som gifte sig med en höganäsflicka och så småningom hamnade i Chicago. LH Bodil Larsson berättade om Julmötet i Rekekroken 1987 där priset för maten var 150 kr. Efter Ordens väl utförde CM-paret en vacker ljussläckning och mötet avslutades.

Medan salen dukades för julbord blev det mingel och lotteriförsäljning. Ytterligare 5 gäster hälsades välkomna till efterkapitlet. Våra medlemmar Kjell och Gertrud Green samt Inger Bengtsson sjöng vackra julsånger. Det knackade på dörren och två tomtar kom in med julklappar till oss alla. 8 logemedlemmar som varit närvarande vid alla möten under 2017 belönades med en ros och en trisslott. Magdalini läste Julevangeliet och därefter avslutades kvällen enligt tradition med att alla tände ljus och sjöng ” Nu tändas tusen juleljus” och önskade varandra en God Jul. Första mötet 2018 (27 januari) är årsmötet och installation av nya tjänstemän, följt av Systrarnas afton den 10 mars.

Kön till julmaten var lång.

Kvällens värdar hälsar välkomna.

Medlemmar som deltagit i alla möten under 2017.

submitted by ingrid berg och hans bogren

STORMÄSTARENS MEDDELANDE kära vasasyskon,

Gott Nytt År!

Julen kom och gick lika fort som vanligt och det gjorde också snart två månader på det nya året. Ett år som för mig är början på slutet av min tjänst som stormästare.

När du läser detta kommer jag att ha deltagit i Distriktsmötet för DL Pacific Southwest No. 15.

Som Birgitta och jag har gjort många gånger tidigare, ska vi hyra en bil och köra till “the Southland”. Det är en trevlig tur längs US 101 genom ett antal pittoreska städer på Stillahavskusten. Det tar lite längre tid än att hoppa på Interstate 5 och köra genom Kaliforniens Central Valley, men med tanke på skillnaden i landskap och trafik är valet ganska enkelt. Den här resan kommer att ta oss genom den stora förstörelsen i Montecito där både eld och ras har förstört området.

Det är nu bara några korta månader till Storlogemötet i Sacramento CA. page 40

Din loge borde ha fått ett brev eller e-post som ber dig överväga att sätta in en hälsning i mötets Programbok.

Jag ber dig att sätta in en hälsning i boken om du inte redan har gjort det.

Kostnaden för en helsida är $100, en halvsida och en kvartssida $50 respektive $25. Kontakta gärna Victoria Fedor-Thurman på vfthurman@gmail. com om du inte har tillgång till brevet.

Deadline för att sätta in hälsningar är i slutet av mars, men vänta helst inte till sista dagen. Alla intäkter går till hjälp för att täcka kostnaderna för mötet. I den förra utgåvan av Vasastjärnan fick du all information om mötet, inklusive ett dagligt schema och hur man registrerar sig för alla evenemang som du vill vara med på, inklusive torsdagens golfturnering, fredagens ​​välkomstmottagning, lördagens öppningsfest och fredagens a​ vslutningsbankett, samt alla planerade turer. Två av turerna, San Francisco på söndag och Gold Country på onsdag den 4 juli är öppna för alla.

Resterande turer är endast för besökare, eftersom alla tjänstemän och delegater

kommer att vara upptagna med arbete. Den här Vasa-förmånen som inkluderar Jag rekommenderar starkt att du tar alternativet “Overseas Delivery” är tillfället i akt att deltaga i detta speci- utöver andra rabatter som kan erbjuella Vasa-evenemang som bara händer das av Volvo. Alternativet “Overseas en gång vart fjärde år. Du får möjlighet Delivery” inkluderar flygbiljett för att träffa många Vasa-medlemmar från två till Sverige för att hämta upp bilen.

Kanada, Sverige och från hela USA. Programmet är tillgängligt för dig Vi är nu väl inne på det nya året och genom att registrera dig på www.aplanjag vill påminna alla sekreterare om byvolvo.com. Tyvärr erbjuder Volvo att skicka mig namn, adress och ålder för närvarande inte några liknande på medlemmar som fyller ”jämna” år program i varken Kanada eller Sverige. under 2018, så att jag kan skicka dem För den “Partner Code” som behövs för en födelsedagshälsning. Detta är från registrering, kontakta GS Joan Graham 75 års ålder och därefter vart femte år via e-post vasajlg@aol.com eller ring inklusive alla över 100 år. Tack alla ni 510-526-5512. Ditt PIN-nummer komsom redan har skickat mig den infor- mer att skickas till dig efter att du har mationen. Inkludera inte födelsedagar registrerat dig. som redan har inträffat i år, eftersom jag inte kan skicka hälsningar i eftMEDLEMSKAP FORTSÄTTER erhand.

ATT VARA VÅR STÖRSTA UTI flera utgåvor av Vasastjärnan har jag MANING. skrivit om vårt avtal med Volvo, vilket Gör det värt att delta i varje möte! ger Vasa-medlemmar en förmån vid Var entusiastisk! köp av en Volvo-bil med en rabatt som i princip motsvarar arbetstagarerabatten. i sanning och enighet, Den är tillgänglig för alla medlemmar tore kellgren, grand master i Vasa efter ett års medlemskap i USA. WWW.VASAORDER.COM