Lodge Updates

Hi, my name is Michael Master. Over the Summer I was able to attend the Hume Lake Christian camp in Hume Lake, California with the help of the National Camp Grant, and it was really fun! During camp we learned all about Moses and what he did. Moses led his people out of Egypt and it was great to learn about all that he had to go through to make that happen. Some days I played disc golf with my friend and I lost a lot, but it was still fun. At night we would play UNO and watch some shows on Netflix. We also had night chapel in a really nice outdoor area where we would sing worship songs and have life groups. One night someone threw a bug-spray can with tape on the button into our room and it smelled really bad but was really funny. On Thursday we found out someone in our cabin had COVID so we had to go home early on Friday but all in all it was a great trip that I will always remember and I'm looking forward to going back again next summer. My name is David Keough. I joined BSA Troop 8 in Monument, CO earlier this year. This was my first summer camp. We went to San Isabel Scout Ranch in Rye, CO for 6 nights in June and slept in canvas tents. I took and earned 4 merit badges at camp: Metalwork, Fishing, Pioneering, and Indian Lore. My favorite part of camp was Wednesday when we went whitewater rafting. On Thursday we woke up at 4:30 for a sunrise hike and the sunrise was amazing. Thank you for the summer camp grant to help me pay for this experience. I can't wait to go to camp again next year! David Keough

Hello Danish Sisterhood! I would just like to say I am so thankful for the opportunity I had to go to Camp this past summer. I had so much fun and met a lot of great people and made some awesome new friends. Thank you so much for the scholarship you provided so I was able to attend Camp Geneva, it was an absolute blast. My favorite part was probably playing volleyball and nukom in the water as well as pretty much all of the water activities. I also loved swinging in the hammocks and being able to talk to my cabin and get to know them. Ziplining was also so fun, even though it was a little scary at first. Below I attached a picture of me paddle boarding (before I stood up). Learning to paddleboard was super fun even when I had to give my paddle to friends because their boat was sinking. Once again I am so grateful for the scholarship you provided so I was able to attend this awesome camp for the final time before I aged out. Thank you so much! Esmeralda Gugino

Also attending camp in the summer of 2021 and receiving a camp grant were: Hannah Kelsey (Lodge #78), Chloe Myers (Lodge #78), and Joslynne Christiansson (Lodge #165). The Sisterhood is happy to help these kids get to attend camp. We hope they all had a GREAT time.

Dronning Margrethe Lodge #15 of Milwaukee Wisconsin held the first in-person meeting since February 2020. We got together for our annual summer picnic in August, meeting at the home of our member Pamela Hansen Ruben. Everyone enjoyed seeing Pamela’s beautiful garden. In our Fall Quarterly Newsletter Pamela wrote an article about her beautiful garden and the history of how it came to be. Seventy-five nisse/gnomes live in Pamela’s garden—no doubt one of the largest nisse communities outside of Denmark. Her garden was featured in the Menomonee Falls garden walk this year. We had twenty-two people come to the picnic to share Danish hot dogs, veggies, chips and Danish cookies. No program was held. We were all just so happy to catch up with each other.

At the picnic Pamela was awarded her 25 year pin, and we initiated our newest member, Kay Kiemel. We were back on zoom again for the September meeting as the Delta variant numbers continued to climb. Our meeting program was presented by an old friend of Lodge #15, Michael Koehler from Danes Hall in Waupaca Wisconsin. Those of you who regularly read the Sisterhood News may remember previous articles from our Lodge about Danes Hall and about other programs resented by Mr Koehler. This time in addition to an update on the further restoration of Danes Hall and the land surrounding the building, Mr. Koehler gave a fascinating presentation on Danish-American poets from the late 1800’s. His program mainly centered on two Danish immigrants, Fredrick Lange Grundtvig (son of Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig with whom most of us are familiar) and Reverend Adam Dan a pastor in Racine, Wisconsin who eventually ended up living in Solvang. Michael Koehler pointed out the importance of reading the poems written by these men in the context of the historical times in which they wrote. He began with a brief review of what was happening in Denmark during the 1800’s and what was happening in the United States. Denmark was going through some difficult times. So bad that at times there were concerns over whether the country could survive. The United States, on the other hand, was a new country, without a sovereign. Nobility did not own the lands. A new large territory had opened up and Horace Mann was leading the way to free public education. It was a time of major immigration to the United States. The poetry written by these men and many others was to inspire a love of what “America” had to offer to the immigrants who had taken the big risk and left what they knew behind for a new beginning and to inspire the immigrants to be proud of their Danish heritage. Koehler talked about finding books of poetry by these men still held in libraries even though they had not been checked out for a long time. He feels strongly the poems need to be translated so they will not one day be lost. What they wrote about is important to the history of Danes in the United States. While Michael Koehler does not speak Danish, he worked to translate four of the poems which he read to us. A brief business meeting followed the program. Our October meeting will again be a zoom with our program presented by Eric Olesen of O&H Bakery. Too bad we won’t be able to smell the delicious bakery over the inter-

On November 18 we will have a zoom book discussion on The Copenhagen Trilogy by Tove Ditlevsen. We will be joined in the discussion by a special guest, Michael Favala Goldman. He translated the third book in the trilogy. It promises to be a educational and interesting evening. The November meeting will be a craft event. We plan to follow in the footsteps of HC Andersen and do some great Christmas paper cutting. December we will hold a virtual Christmas Party as we did last year. While the rest of our gatherings in 2021 will be virtual, we are hoping for in-person meetings to begin again in 2022. We have, however, been discussing continuing a virtual option for the meetings. We hope by doing both we will allow our members an option in how they will attend, and hopefully allow all of our members to participate

Resolution: Alma K. Miller

The sisters of Amber Lodge #186 were saddened with the passing of Alma K. Miller on May 4, 2021. Alma was born on April 29, 1925 to Lars and Henrietta Bollesen in Tyler, Minnesota. She grew up in that small Danish community where she attended grade school taught in both Danish (mornings) and English (afternoon). While growing up in that small rural community, she learned many Danish traditions which she carried on through out her life. After graduating from Tyler High School, she attended Grand View College and then the University of Minnesota, St. Paul with a degree in Home Economics Education. She was hired to teach in Brainerd, Minnesota where she met her husband, Bob Miller. They made Brainerd their home and became active members of the community and raised their three children there. Alma’s history demonstrates hard work, commitment to family, church/civic activities, pleasure in relationships, life long learning and pride in her Danish heritage. Alma was a founding member of Amber Lodge and happily shared her Danish heritage with all members and the community. She demonstrated aebleskiver making many times at community events and did a public TV show about Danish traditions. She made kransekage for church bake sales and other events. She was always willing to help with lodge events and was a valued member of our lodge. Alma will be missed by her family and all who knew her.

Membership Expansion

Welcome New Members!

LODGE

102

NEW MEMBER

Linda L. Tomlinson

SPONSOR

Joan Tomlinson White

The 2020 tour of Denmark and Germany, cancelled because of COVID, is on again for 2022! Europe has again opened its doors for tourists after the COVID pandemic has mostly has been reined in, and we have had word from Benedikte Ehlers, our tour guide, that she has been able to reschedule the entire trip in 2022 exactly as it had been planned been for 2020. It will take place from August 11 – August 22, 2022, and again the accommodations will be the same, and even the price will remain the same, as long as the exchange rate doesn’t change significally.

It will be a 12 day, 11 night tour of Southern Denmark and a part of Northern Germany that at one time belonged to Denmark – with the first three days spent visiting Copenhagen and surrounding area. We’ll be staying in lovely hotels – 2 beach hotels, 2 city hotels, and one castle – Hvedholm Castle, the beautiful place pictured below, where we also stayed in 2016. The tour price includes transportation in a 4-star bus, serving refreshments during rest stops, 11 nights’ accommodations in 3 and 4-star hotels, 11 breakfasts and 11 dinners, as well as all entry fees to museums, castles, ferry crossings, etc., but does not include the airfare part of the trip. With a minimum of 40 participants (maximum 50) the price will be $2,975.00 for Sisterhood members in good standing. Additional charges for non-members will apply, just as there will be an added fee for a single room. More information regarding the tour will follow in up-coming issues of DSSNews, or if you keep your old issues of DSS you will find detailed descriptions of all aspects of the tour in the 2019 October issue – or you may contact me by mail at

Connie Schell 246 Foster Road Fort Covington, NY 12937 518 651 1789 Or by e-mail at cschell4dss@aol.com