Lodge Updates

According to Kirsten, she is the most senior member of Danish Brotherhood Lodge #15, also the first female member and the first female President. Kirsten is also a longtime member of Sisterhood Lodge #102.

She was born in a Copenhagen apartment with a midwife assisting her mother on September 13, 1932. She likes to say she was born and raised on the sidewalks of Copenhagen. There was no lawn to play upon, only sidewalks and a courtyard. They always lived in an apartment, never a house. She remembers clothes hanging on the line, roller skating and wonderful trips to the beautiful parks of Copenhagen. Two and a half years after her birth, her brother was born. She states she had a pleasant childhood. She had a 'stay at home mother'. She started attending an all-girl school at age 7. Schools were divided by sex, one for girls and a different one for boys. Kirsten's grandmother and father were German. She had many German cousins. When Germany occupied Denmark during WW II they used the schools as their headquarters. The displaced students used the churches for schoolrooms. Kirsten was eight years old at the time. The Germans confiscated what food they wanted, so the Danes had no meat or fruit. Horse meat became the staple. A tragic accident on March 21, 1945 caused the deaths of 100 students and teachers when a French Catholic School was accidentally bombed. A nearby house full of Danish prisoners was also bombed, allowing many prisoners to escape. The survivors of the bombing were told to get up, walk home and never look back. The houses were flaming all around. The scared children hid in their bedrooms. When the war was over on May 5, there was a party all night long. They got to have bananas again. An aunt who had married a Jew and escaped to Sweden came home. She brought margarine. The World's Friendship Association was started. The Exchange Student program began. Kirsten spent 3 weeks in England. They had a student from Holland live with them for a while. Danish students started learning English in 5th grade. Kirsten worked for a bank in Copenhagen and always received yearly passes to Tivoli Gardens. On one of the Tivoli trips she bought cigarettes and met an American soldier. They went to have ice cream and had a nice visit. The next day he came to the bank to see Kirsten and also met her parents. He went back to the war. He had a Danish heritage and came back to visit. He proposed marriage and a Visa was arranged for Kirsten to go to America in 1952. They traveled on the Royal Viking to America. She arrived in America on November 24, 1953 and they were soon married. In those days, everybody wanted to come to America. It was a great surprise to live on East Broadway in Des Moines. She had expected something like the streets of Broadway in New York. Instead she saw cornfields and gravel roads. Her father wrote and asked if she wanted to come home. She wrote, no. Her brother came in the summer of 1955. Then her parents came. Her father had been a tailor in Denmark and continued working in Des Moines. He worked for Gov. Robert Ray. Some of the jobs Kirsten held include: Inventory clerk at an auto parts store, title work at Cars Incorporated. She later took classes at Grand View and Iowa State. She eventually taught third grade in Saylorville. In 1961 she joined the Danish sisterhood. After a foreign food festival in downtown Des Moines, she joined the Brotherhood, which was a small group of only men at the time. Many of her Danish 'things' were destroyed in moves. One of the special Christmas traditions was always having an Advent Wreath where a candle was lit each week before Christmas. Another tradition involved her parents secretly setting up a 'tree' in a separate room on Christmas Eve. After supper they were allowed to light the candles on the tree and then see the decorations of baskets of fruits and goodies that they were now allowed to eat. The piano was played and carols were sung, and they danced around the 'tree'. 'Santa', played by her Grandfather, rang the doorbell, and then joined in celebrating. The tree stayed up until Epiphany. Another tradition was the special almond to be found in the Christmas pudding.

Submitted by Claudia Holcomb

Greetings from Bluewater Mermaids Lodge #184 Sarnia, ON/Port Huron, MI

Spring is finally coming to our area, we still get frost at night but the grass is green and the trees are thinking about coming out. The border between Ontario and Michigan is again fully open and the “snowbirds” are returning to Ontario from wintering in Florida etc. Families are beginning to get together , restaurants and theaters are again open but masking is still required in many indoor facilities. After meeting in person in Sept., October and November we had to return to Zoom meetings until this March where 6 sisters from the Ontario side met, the Michigan sisters are not crossing the border yet. On April 23rd 7 of us met again and it was great to be together to catch up and exchange stories. A few sisters have had Covid but have recovered. Most have had at least 3 vaccinations., Our Lodge do not have any plans for an annual Convention this year. Being a cross border Lodge do have some unique problems. We are hoping for some more normal times. We are thinking about you and look forward to the next Newsletter. Wishing you all a happy Spring and Summer and an end to Covid.

Sincerely,

Gitte Monteith, Lodge #184 Correspondent

Lodge #75 Enumclaw, WA - BINGO Fundraiser for Ukrainian Humanitarian Aid

Greetings sisters,

The members of the Enumclaw Danish Sisterhood Unity Lodge #75 held a family BINGO event at the Danish Hall in Enumclaw on 4/29/2022. The event was to help raise funds for

Save the Date. Danish Festival Returns

June 12, 2022 @ 12 noon Seneca Lake State Park Routes 5 & 20 Geneva, New York

The park Entrance Fee is $7 Please bring a dish for the smorgasbord table and your own table ware. Musical instruments are welcome and music is available. Come and enjoy Hygge. Any questions contact: Meredith Sorensen (585) 586-9237 or David Seymour (585) 410-5080 the Ukrainian Humanitarian Aid. The community came out and gave us great support for our cause and even had some fun. We had BINGO with prizes, great food and fantastic raffle prizes. The City of Enumclaw businesses and sisterhood members donated a number of great raffle prizes. The Enumclaw community were very happy to support the Ukrainian Humanitarian Aid and they gave generously. A check for $2,000 was sent to the World Central Kitchen to support the Ukrainian Humanitarian Aid.

Heidi Althauser, Enumclaw Danish Sisterhood Unity Lodge #75 - Treasure www.enumclawdanishsisterhood.com

In April, we attended a very successful Heartland District Convention in DesMoines, Iowa hosted by the Sisterhood District Board. The theme was “Keeping the Danish Spirit Alive”. Our programs were folk dancing, singing, and a presentation by a H.C.Andersen storyteller. We were fortunate to have three National board members with us. Our special guest was Glenda Madrid from Solvang, CA. The other members were from our district, Nealna Gylling , Brainerd. MN and Linda Holz. DesMoines,IA. Carol Rudisill from our lodge received a much deserved Outstanding Sisterhood award. Our biggest news is that we have received six new members. After introducing ourselves, we found that we have wonderful Danish connections and a new enthusiastic group! We continue to plan for upcoming business and events with our May Brunch, bake sale in connection with a church garage sale, and a picnic in June. We will also get our items from the past ready for the Museum of Danish America SH archive project. “Life itself is the most important fairy tale” by H.C. Andersen

Carol Christiansen, Lodge #102°

Resolution: Marilyn Jensen Wadsworth

Marilyn Jensen Wadsworth March 25,1944 – March 11, 2022

Dansk Familie Lodge in Rochester, NY is saddened to lose Sister Marilyn Wadsworth, who died suddenly in March. She is survived by her husband John, her mother Esther K. Jensen, sisters Karen Baylis and Frances Anne Jung, sisterin-law Marsha Young, and several nieces and nephews. Marilyn was a longtime member of The Baptist Temple, where her funeral was held March 19. Marilyn’s paternal grandparents, Hans Jensen and Sophie Bengsten, emigrated to the U.S. in 1894 from the town of Toksvaerd on the island of Sjaelland. They married in Wisconsin. Marilyn was born in Wellsville, NY to Frank E. and Esther K. Jensen. John and Marilyn made their home in the Rochester area. She owned and ran a fabric shop, Sew Chic, for 18 years on Schoen Place in the suburb of Pittsford. She was an excellent seamstress with a good eye for design. She had to give up the shop due to injuries in a car accident. Marilyn joined our lodge in January 2010. She eagerly shared her love of all things Danish. Hosting a lodge meeting, she would use her Danish Lace china. While spending many winters with her mother in Florida, she would visit a Scandinavian shop there and often brought back gifts for other sisters as well as items to contribute to Danish Day festivities. Marilyn was a tireless volunteer for years with the Asbury First Storehouse at a large Methodist church in the city, which provides household goods and clothing for folks in need. She contributed many linens she found by searching for them at estate sales. Always thoughtful, our sister brightened many lives, sending flowers, bringing meals, and sharing her love of books and reading. Our lodge charter was draped in her honor. Marilyn will be missed by all of us.

Membership Expansion

Welcome New Members!

LODGE

81 300

NEW MEMBER

Kari Isaksen Linda Bakke

SPONSOR

Sharon Wellsandt

The Amber Lodge #186 met at Good Shepard Lutheran Church in Brainerd to celebrate Fastelavan. We skipped our normal business meeting to focus on food, games and breaking the cat out of the barrel. Joining us for the day were; Barb Wenshlag’s daughter Julie and her grandchildren, Nathan and Annelise, Nealna Gylling’s husband Don, niece Robin and husband Jason, along with their children Sawyer and Lucas, and Amber Thusholt’s children Soren, Emma and Josiah. After several games of BINGO, we shared a potluck of hotdogs and treats, then the kids took turns hitting the barrel to free the candy and cat. Josiah was crowned the Fastelavn king.

March

Along with our usual business meeting and shared potluck lunch, we finished out the March meeting with some crafting time. Several felted red hearts were adapted and decorated as ornaments in preparation for sale.

April

In April, we welcomed guest speaker, Sonja Merrild from Grand Rapids, MN. Sonja shared her experiences as a Danish immigrant to the United States and how those experiences have been impacted by the various parts of the country she has lived in. A large part of her conversation focused on what defines Danish culture and how it is expressed in values, food, tradition, design and lifestyle. It was an enjoyable and thoughtful discussion. I think, as a group, we could easily have continued the conversation for a much longer period. Sonja joined us for lunch then we concluded the day with our business meeting.

Thank you Sonja!

Jane Matthies-Holtan, Correspondent