Editor’s Welcome

Lauren C. Nielsen, Editor

Dear Sisters,

I can't believe it's already August! This summer has flown by, at least for me. My summer has been filled with many wonderful happenings as well as some challenges. I'm several months into a new job, which I enjoy immensely. I've also gotten to visit friends and family both near and far, and have even had a couple opportunities to eat delicious Danish food at Minneapolis' Danish American Center. While it's nice to go out and about, sometimes it's been nice to just take a night off and stay in. On those days, I've had the pleasure of watching shows, going through old photos, and even discovering some new Danish social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram. By the way, be sure to follow the Danish Sisterhood on both! I thought it would be fun to share this amusing little anecdote with you all—One evening the other week, I was talking with friends at a cookout and someone mentioned they hated ice in their beverages. Another person said they loved ice! And a third person said, "Well, the Germans don't use ice in their beverages...do the Danes?" That friend turned to me with the question and I honestly didn't know...however, I pulled out my phone and sent a message right to my cousin in Denmark. Within minutes, I had an answer—the Danes don't usually put ice in their beverages! It only goes to show that there are so many things we can learn through our connections and heritage. A reminder, please send cover photo submissions for future issues of the DSN! We are in need of high quality photos of events, places in Denmark, historical pieces, holiday displays and anything else related to being Danish or Danish-American that you can think of! Wishing you all a wonderful end to the summer! President’s Corner.........................................................p 2 Editor’s Welcome...........................................................p 3 Lodge Updates...................................................p 4-6, 11 Historian's Corner.........................................................p 7 Scholarship Recipients.........................................p 8-10 Butikken..................................................................p 13-14

Until next time,

Lauren C. Nielsen, Editor editor@danishsisterhood.com

Youth Birthdays

Happy August Birthday to:

Names Lynae Faugh Emma Fisher Dane Miller Lodge 90 102 126 Age 13 4 12

On the Cover

Title: Denmark's Walking Streets Location: Copenhagen, 2007 Photo by: James M. Nielsen

If you've ever been to Copenhagen, it's likely that you've walked down Strøget. Strøget is a collection of streets in Copenhagen that are designated for pedestrians. No cars are allowed on these streets, and people from all over can be seen strolling along, visiting restaurants and shops. Strøget has been in existence since 1728. Next time you're in Danmark, be sure to go!

Submit A Cover Photo

Do you have a photo that you’d like to see on the cover of the Danish Sisterhood News? Send in your submissions and yours could be featured next! Photographs must be high resolution and should be accompanied by a short description of the photo’s content. Photos from Danish events, Sisterhood meetings, travels around Denmark, Danish culture and more are all great topics. Send photos to: editor@danishsisterhood.com

Mary Voss Mommer was born on October 23, 1953 in Cedar Falls, Iowa, the daughter of Floyd and Marvel Voss. She married John Mommer in 1973. Their marriage was blessed with 8 children. The family enjoyed many ski trips to Utah as well as water skiing competitions. Her husband passed away after their 40th anniversary. Mary was active in the nearby Fredsville Lutheran Church in Dike, Iowa where she played bells, sang in the choir, helped teach Danish dances at summer Bible School, and often made aebleskiver for the annual church spring fundraisers. Mary had a very strong zest for life and enjoyed being with people, often keeping them laughing with her bubbling personality. She was a long time member of Dike Lodge #176 of the Danish Sisterhood and transferred her membership to Des Moines Lodge #104 three years ago when the Dike Lodge disbanded. Attending District and National Conventions were something she really looked forward to. Many will remember her wearing her Viking hat or Danish costume at the conventions. She was the Dike delegate at the Denver, CO convention. She battled several serious health conditions throughout the years, but always said, "Every day I wake up with a heart beat is a good day." She passed away at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota on June 29, 2021 surrounded by her loving family. She will be missed by all who knew and loved her.

Tivoli Lodge Updates

Tivoli Lodge #300 will hold our second lodge elections at our August meeting on the 12th. We look forward to another year of growth and online fellowship. Our new leadership board will be announced in the September DSS News in addition to monthly lodge emails.

Four New Members:

Welcome to new members Evelyn Lanka of Salinas, CA, Julie Staples of Coeur d’Alene, ID, Justyn Anne Baxley of Virginia Beach, VA and Lisa Toftemark of Seattle, WA. We look forward to seeing you soon at an online gathering!

July Discussion Topic:

We started what we hope will be an ongoing tradition of learning from and about our members. In July we were honored to hear the immigration story of our own Bente Ellis, who currently lives in San Jose, CA. We look forward to hearing from other members in the future, as part of our monthly topics.

Future topics:

Our August topic will be the state of our lodge (our bylaws require us to provide such a presentation annually) in addition to the formal lodge election count. Stay tuned for more information on lodge topics and presentations for September and beyond!

Sunrise – Saturday, July 10 – This is IT! Time to put into motion the highly anticipated day of liberation for Portland Oregon's Mt. Hood Lodge #81 of the Danish Sisterhood of America! That may sound a little over-dramatic, but what with not being able to have our muchloved meetings since March of 2020, to finally feel sufficiently empowered with vaccines, to come together in a back-yard, outdoor setting is truly liberating.

Thanks to modern technology, some of our Sisters have maintained social and business contacts via frequent Zoom meetings throughout the long pandemic isolation period, and their faithfulness has been affirmed with the promise of a return to “life as usual” with the lifting of social restrictions. We are thrilled with our first “in person”, “face to face”, “honest to goodness” get-together meeting, as 14 members plus one guest gather together at a member's home. The hugs, the snacks and the chatter fill the perfect summer air with excitement such as this large backyard has not seen in a long time. Remarkably, one of our Sisters, that most of us have only known by mail throughout her long-time membership, was in attendance with a guest all the way from her home in Phoenix AZ, adding even more to our festive air. All in all, it was a beautiful kick-off that we wish for all our Sister-lodges to enjoy, as we hopefully put behind us the nightmare of COVID-19.

Membership ExpansionLODGE

4 188 113 300 300

Welcome New Members! NEW MEMBER Karen Peterson Kirsten Hayley Bonnie Larsen Justyn Ann Baxley Julie Staples

SPONSOR

Debbie Logan Karin Plagens Carolyn Andersen National National

Lodge #3 Anniversary Celebration

Lodge #3 Davenport, Iowa will celebrate the 137th anniversary of the beginning of our Lodge on September 14. We were organized on September 14, 1884. We have 24 members and we will meet on the 14th and celebrate together with a luncheon and remembrances of earlier years of Sisterhood.

Paulette Fisher, Secretary

God sommer fra Chicago. Dagmar Lodge #4 in Chicago is wishing everyone a great summer. We are slowly getting out of the Covid-19 pandemic with people being vaccinated and able to gather safely. We started out participating in the yearly Norwegian Independence Parade in mid-May together with the Danish Home of Chicago. It was a beautiful day with people lining the streets enjoying to be able to gather again. Afterwards, we had our Virtual meeting with a great presentation about the Danish Royalty and their relation to Prince Phillip and the English Monarchy presented by Jean Jackson and supported by Bente Vinci with her great knowledge of the Danish Royal family. Later in May, we had the annually Paint Day at the Scandinavian Park in South Elgin, where many of our Sisters are highly involved. We all love the park, and it is amazing what new paint can do to old buildings. Lunch with Akvavit and Carlsberg is a must. Also, our Sister Karen

Frink moved into the Danish Home, and she donated a lot of her larger kitchen and bar items plus gardening tools to the park. Last Saturday in June, The Danish Home of Chicago was able to have their annual Summerfest, but smaller. Many of our Sisters are helping in different capacities. The openfaced sandwiches – smørrebrød – were a big hit this year and sold out in almost an hour. The bakery booth with pumpernickel bread, Danish kringle, almond tarts, cardamom braid and baked goods from our Sisters could satisfy the sweet tooth. With a little delay due to heavy rain and a tornado warning, everyone was able to enjoy the food and the beautiful garden with their family and friends. We are all looking forward to be able to get together again on a regular basis. Mange hilsner fra Dagmar Lodge #4

Bente Rasmussen, Event Coordinator