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Officer Corner
It is the beginning of a brand new year and this is always exciting. As the National Trustee in charge of Scholarships, this is especially exciting because it is once again time for Scholarship applications. The National Danish Sisterhood of America (that is YOU) awards up to six Betty Hansen Scholarships of $2,500 each to students in four-year colleges or post graduate studies, two $1,000 Scholarships (Olga Christensen and Mildred Sorensen) to students in 2 year or vocational schools and one $750 scholarship (Elizabeth Garde) to a student pursuing a medical career. Wow – that is a lot of scholarships. I have had the pleasure of notifying the recipients of these scholarships for two years – and let me say, those kids are GRATEFUL!!! You/we are doing important work in helping these young people achieve their goals. Thank you all!! So if you or your child is in college or going to be in 2022-2023, look at the requirements for the scholarship. The information can be found on the website www.danishsisterhood.org under the pull down menu “What we do” or contact Nealna Gylling at trustee2@ danishsisterhood.com or 612-390-1374. Applications must be postmarked by March 1, 2021, so get yours in soon.
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Nealna Gylling, National Trustee, Scholarship
P.S. A little bit about me. I live in central Minnesota where we will be driving on the lakes and ice fishing and snowmobiling when you get this newsletter. I know it sounds cold, but we dress warm and looking out across the lake is beautiful and pristine. I belong to a small lodge (just 20 members) but we try to stay active with community events and programs. We are a new lodge (just 16 years old) and the only lodge in Minnesota. I love being a national officer and I am sure my officer position is the best one – I get to give out the money!!!
Membership Expansion
Welcome New Members!
LODGE
177 300 300 300
NEW MEMBER
Karen Haugse Laura Ann Abbene Rosalie Bradanese Karin Roberts
SPONSOR
Marie Jaeger Linda Brooks Linda Brooks Kelsey Roberts
In Memoriam
NAME Cert # Lodge # Location Birth Date Birth Place Initiated Died Benefit Marlene J. Colbert 24622 3 Davenport, IA 6.1.32 New Liberty, IA 2.8.90 11.9.21 1000. Rene Lastreto 8009 149 Fresno, CA 11.20.23 San Francisco, CA 1.17.12 11.19.21 0 Esther Buus 890 165 Santa Barbara, CA 9.29.18 12.5.73 11.11.21 0 Annamae McKane 21798 16 Bridgeport, CT 10.23.35 Bridgeport, CT 4.11.61 11.21.21 250. Carole Hodges 23838 22 Muskegon, MI 6.7.38 Ludington, MI 11.11.80 10.10.21 125.
Updates from Amber Lodge, #186, Brainerd, MN
Above: Mandi Bisted, Lenne Holland, LeAnn Plinski, Nealna Gylling, Judith Andersen, Jane Matthies-Holtan, Soren Thusholt, Amber Thusholt, Bard Wenschlag, Emma Thusholt, Dottie Bisted. Not pictured: Josiah Thusholt. Above: Margaret Hill, Judith Andersen, Dottie Bisted, Barb Wenschlag, Nealna Gylling, Mandi Bisted, Jane Matthies-Holtan, LeAnn Plinske, Sandra Solom, Linda Buck
NOVEMBER MEETING: The Amber Lodge's November meeting was held at Trinity Lutheran Church in Brainerd. We kicked off our Christmas season early, baking cookies. This has become an annual event for our chapter with a brief interruption last fall. Once again, Nealna Gylling, organized this day and we are all thankful for the shared fun and knowledge. We were joined by guests, Lenne Holland (Nealna’s sister) and Josiah, Soren and Emma Thusholt (Amber’s children). Spritz, Swedish Chocolate Balls, and Molasses Crinkles rounded out the day’s assortment of cookies. We concluded the morning with a shared potluck lunch and a brief business meeting. Our next gathering will be the December Christmas party hosted by Barb Wenschlag at her home. Merry Christmas! The Amber Lodge celebrated the holidays and Christmas together at the home of Barb Wenschlag in early December. It was a fun to share Christmas memories and traditions, along with a gift exchange, silent auction of various items and a wonderful lunch.
Happy New Year!
Jane Matthies-Holtan, Correspondant
Northstar Lodge #100 met at Hope Lutheran Church on Dec. 15th, 2021, for our annual Christmas dinner. Only six members and 2 husbands were present, because of illnesses. We purchased our main dinner items from a caterer and other items were brought by members. Following the dinner, we had a short business meeting, to decide when we would have our first meeting in 2022. We decided on May 18th, at Kelly Joy's Restaurant in Fort Gratiot, at 11:30am. Treasurer's report showed that some have paid their dues to the lodge and she has paid all the dues, etc. to National. The little Heart Calendars were passed out to those in attendance. The hats and mittens we brought will be divided between Eve's Place and the Dept. of Human Services. We also decided to donate $50 worth of pillows to Eve's Place, because when people leave there, they are given their pillows to take with them. This is a Woman's Shelter in Sanilac County.
Update from Lodge #102
Updates from Haabets Fremtid Lodge #78, Troy, NY
Our gatherings have been well attended and we have been busy making plans for the future. After our business meeting in November we made Danish Christmas tree decorations for a tree that was sold at the Christkindle Market in DesMoines. Some of us also volunteered to work at this festive event. We also enjoyed going to the Brotherhood ableskiver brunch and their Danske Kolde Bord in November. Many of our sisters also belong to the BH, so are involved in helping with these activities. We plan to have our Sisterhood May Brunch in May and our meeting in January during the daytime so more of our out of town people can attend during this winter month. Carol Rudisill has developed a website for our Lodge #102. The Sisterhood Heartland District Board have been making plans for the district convention to be held April 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Carol Rudisill, Rudy Rudisill, Carol Christiansen, Janelle Willis, and Sara Bengston from the Davenport Lodge are on this board. They have been meeting in Iowa City and via zoom to plan for this event. We hope everyone will put this on their calendar. In December, we held our Julefrokost(Christmas luncheon). This was held in Luther Memorial’s beautiful community room. Many delicious courses were consumed along with singing, and raising our glasses with a Skol! This was not held last year so it was a very special occasion. We also celebrated Julefest with our families. This happy time included storytelling, dancing around the tree, Santa Claus, and treats. What a wonderful season to be together!
Carol Christiansen
Our Lodge gathered together for a luncheon to celebrate the Christmas Season. There were eight of us plus one from the Schenectady Lodge. It was a lovely day and it was wonderful to meet with each other after a couple of months. We are so few local people to meet, so we are aiming for a meeting every other month, or until we get past COVID. We were at MAX 410 in Cohoes. They allow us to being in our own rice pudding and desserts. So after enjoying our sandwiches, we enjoyed Danish Rice Pudding with cherry sauce. The almond was found by Art Hansen. Several ladies brought homemade cookies to enjoy as well. In September the officers met for lunch. There were a few people who were not able to come due to ill health. We wish to continue meeting as much as possible even if we are few in number. It is wonderful to meet with each other for fellowship as much as possible COVID is still a little scary in our area of the country so we hope everyone stays well and are able to enjoy time with their families during this holiday season. The Sisters of Lodge 78 wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Marjorie Wheeler, Treasurer and Correspondent
I Didn't See that Coming!: What's in a name?
by Donna Christensen Thomas, National DSS Historian
A few weeks ago, as my husband and I were watching the evening national news, the story was about the manned space launches that have been accomplished this fall. I asked my husband, “What ethnic background do suppose BEZOS comes from?” He looked at me rather incredulously (not the first time) and replied, “I have no idea.” Thanks to Wikipedia, I found out. In fact, I was very surprised at what I found, much more than I anticipated. Of course, I had to dig a little further to boot! I found that Mr. Bezos was actually named Jeffrey Preston Jorgensen at birth! As I researched the family, I found commonalities Jeff shares with several of his paternal ancestors. Jeff’s parents, Theodore John Jorgensen and Jacklyn Gise, married, but divorced after a brief marriage. His mother remarried Miguel Bezos and Jeff was adopted along with a name change. (Bezos has Cuban origins). Theodore was the owner of a bicycle shop in Glendale, Arizona for 35 years. He died there in 2015 at the age of 70. Jeff’s grandfather, Theodore “Ted” John Jorgensen (1917-1996) was born in Chicago, but relocated to the Albuquerque, New Mexico area. He worked 35 years in the Operations Of Sandia National Laboratories After Which He Spent Five Years As The Senior Purchasing Director For Various Projects For National Radio Astronomy Observatory. So the recent success with space launches has roots with his grandfather. Ted’s parents, Johannes “John” Jorgensen (1872-1965) was born at Tranebjerg, Holbæk county, Denmark and married Ida Vilhelmine Petrine Kristine Birn, also a Danish immigrant. She was born at Viborg, Viborg county, Ted had an older brother Morton, who died at age 22, in Chicago in 1933. Johannes (aka John) had immigrated about 1892, the only one of his family to emigrate. His parents were Jørgen Søren Mortensen (18331926) and Mette Marie Pedersen (1835-1924). John worked for the post office and became supervisor over the postal clerks. He also served in the Spanish -American War for just under a year in 1898-1899. John and Minnie both died in Albuquerque. So Jeff Bezos also has familial background in mail and packages thourgh his great grandfather.. John’s wife “Minnie” Birn’s parents were also immigrants. Her father Frederik Theodor August BIRN (1859-1937) immigrated to Chicago in 1887 with four children and had at least six more in Chicago. They were married in 1881 in Viborg, Viborg county, Denmark. Minnie’s mother, Ida Christine Anderson (1860-1913) was Swedish. Theodore was a moulder is a skilled tradesperson who fabricates moulds for use in casting metal products. Mold makers are generally employed in foundries, where molds are used to cast products from metals such as aluminum and cast iron. In 1900, The engineering required to complete the space shuttle could also be connected to his great great grandfather. Jeff and his biological father separated when Jeff was a baby. Theodore remarried and was stepfather to four boys. Initially, when approached by the press for a story Theodore was not aware of who Jeff had become. Although some effort was made to do so by both parties, he died without them reuniting as his only biological child.
Assessment Notice
Members: Assessment #1394 for the month of January is due and payable to your local Treasurers before January 31, 2022. Lodge Treasurers: Assessment #1394 for the month of January 2022, is due and payable to the Supreme Lodge of the Danish Sisterhood immediately following your January meeting. Assessments for the year 2022 will follow in order with December 2022 assessment # being #1405.
Flora Danica Lodge #177 in Solvang continues to grow, initiating another new member at our November meeting.
While we did not have an official Danish Days in Solvang in 2021, our local lumber yard (Nielsen Building Materials, Inc. “NBM”), set up a “mini” Danish Days in its yard during their annual Makita Tool Sale event. The Sisterhood volunteered to bake æbleskiver and the Brotherhood set up and served their Viking Burgers. Music was provided by The Village Band (sitting next to the Carlsberg Beer Wagon rather than on
top of it), and the Solvang Dancers entertained the crowd with their folk dancing. NBM and the Andersen family put together a great day and everyone had a wonderful time. NBM contributed the proceeds of the food booths to scholarship funds of both the Sisterhood and Brotherhood. Thank you to the Andersen family and NBM! Member Kate Nielsen received her 70year membership certificate in 2021. A special kringle was prepared by Olsen’s Bakery and presented to Kate along with her Certificate. Kate has been a resident at Atterdag Village of Solvang for many years and has a lot of friends there, both residents and staff, who were delighted to share her special kringle and applaud her years of membership. Member Lucille Wulff celebrated her 100th birthday in December. Olsen’s Bakery provided another special kringle for this momentous occasion for a wonderful lady and member of the Solvang Community.
The City of Solvang is holding its Julefest for the entire month of December. The town looks even more stunning that usual with all the extra lights and Christmas decorations. Julefest kicked off with a tree lighting ceremony in Solvang Park on December 3rd. There is also a Nisse Adventure activity all month long which involves finding hidden Nisse in various locations throughout town. Some of our Sisterhood members gathered together to stroll through town one evening in search of as many Nisse as we could find. Clues are provided at stop to help you find the next one. While we only found six or seven of them, we enjoyed the challenge and the comradery. We wish all of our fellow Sisterhood Lodges all the best in 2022.
Lisa Larsen Pedersen, Secretary
