The Best * Is Spending Time Together

INDIANAPO LIS ’ C STAY CONNECTED TO SON IR C L C E Sons of Norway - Circle City Lodge C I T Y

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If you would like to receive a printed version of the newsletter, please send your contact info to: [email protected] BURT BITTNER

IT’S A NEW YEAR, SO WE’RE TRYING OUT A NEW LOOK FOR THE LUREN! It may evolve a bit over the next few issues, so stay tuned. V.25 ISSUE 1 JAN/FEB 2016

JULEFEST 2015 Jean Bitner, Linda Sorensen and Dagrun Bennett prepare hors d’oeuvres for the December 5 Julefest. More photos from the festive event can be found on page 4.

THE BEST * IS SPENDING TIME TOGETHER. There’s no time like the holidays for spending time with friends—the ones you see every day, and the ones you may only see once a year but feel like you just talked to yesterday. There are so many stories to hear, so many family photos to see, so many grandkids’ names to remember. We’re grateful for such a wonderful gathering in December, we’re looking forward to seeing you on the 8th.

*Julegave is Norgwegian for Christmas Gift. Please, Member join us! snaps WE’D LOVE TO from the SEE YOU. Dear membersPresident and friends of Circle City Lodge, I hope you had a blessed Christmas season and New Year’s celebration, Sammenkomst is the SECOND FRIDAY and were able to enjoy plenty of time with family and friends around a of the month. table full of good food! This time really recharges our emotional batteries and prepares us to be ready for the next year’s many events. Member lunch is the THIRD WEDNESDAY th 2016 should be a busy and interesting year for our lodge: our 25 Anniversary, interesting of the month. programs, a district convention in Wisconsin, some new officers, and (hopefully) some new members. Stay tuned for event details in the future issues of the Luren. At our January 8 Board Meetings sammenkomst we will play the always-fun Crazy Bingo, have installation of officers are the FOURTH SATURDAY and award anniversary membership pins. Please remember to bring a wrapped gift. On every month. February 12 we are having our annual soup night and watching a DVD about the making of Mt. Rushmore. Did you know that a Dane and a Norwegian were responsible for completing SAMMENKOMST this? You will know all the details after you see this documentary with amazing video January 8 - 6:30 pm MEAL Pot luck footage of the various stages of rock removal. Hope you can attend. Please mark these two PROGRAM Crazy Bingo, dates on your calendar. installation of officers I would like to take this opportunity to thank past President Tim Lisko for adding a fresh and awarding perspective to the role of lodge president. Some of his ideas were the interesting program anniversary by Evan Finch on Wierd Indiana Landmarks and to have a lutefisk dinner. He and Lindsay membership pins Hadley also invited local food editors to the lutefisk dinner and had lutefisk t-shirts printed February 12 - 6:30 pm to promote awareness of lutefisk and our event.We hope to build on this first step with MEAL Soup night DECEMBER 2015 additional lutefisk dinners and invite curious non-lodge members. If you hang around PROGRAM The making these two for very long you quickly realize that they collaborate on everything, and the of Mt. Rushmore creativity is bubbling and ready to boil over at all times. Have fun doing the newsletter. Cecilie & Linnea In addition to Tim and Lindsay other officers, members, and friends also helped make Cecilie Sogn Nergård and her daughter, Linnea, enjoy some MEMBER LUNCHES January 20 - Noon our lodge year successfull. Burt, Jean, and Doug Bittner; Dagrun and Bob Bennett; Nancy cross-country skiing. If you’re interested in trying the sport KING CHEF Andersen; Kathy Krueger; Karen, Bob, and Chelsea Courtney; Bob and Linda Sorenesen; for the first time, we have expert advice at the ready! Eija and Ola Vesterquist; Jean Tygum; Birger Seland; Ted Danielson; Gary Prehm; Rhoda 8664 East 6th Street Fishers IN 46380 Warren; Gretchen Weigel and many more worked hard to make our gatherings and the kingchefindy.com International Festival most memorable!! We applaud you all!! (And any others who I may have omitted.) The willingness of members and friends to help us really lightens the work NEWSLETTER PHOTOS February 17 - Noon

PAGE 2 / PAGE ONE ISSUE / V25 LUREN THE load for those who do the heavy lifting. SANTORINI GREEK REST. We offer our prayers and thoughts to the family of Richard Halvorson who passed away Do you have great photos from 1417 Prospect Street our meetings or from your travels? just before Christmas. Richard had been a member since 1995. Indianapolis IN 46203 Your images could be the art And with that I am ready to embrace 2016. Hope you have a fulfilling year. we need for our next newsletter. We’d love to feature you. BOARD MEETING Le Peeps Restaurant Hilsen, Please send those photos to: 2258 W. 86th Street [email protected] or Indianapolis Jerry Rud [email protected] 317-334-9690 KRANSEKAKE RECIPE This cake takes up to two days to make as the dough needs to rest and freeze.

DOUGH 500g of almonds 500g of icing sugar 4 egg-whites

ICING 1 egg-white 12.05.15 3 decilitres of icing sugar

HIGHLIGHTS FROM LAST MEETING STEP 1 Skinning the almonds: Add only half the almonds to a pot of boiling water. Turn off the heat and leave Photos by lodge them for 2-3 minutes. Pour the Julefest!member, Tim Lisko. almonds into a strainer and rinse View more photos on them under cold water. Take a fistful the Circle City Lodge of the almonds at a time and rub them in a towel to make the skin Facebook page. loose. Pop the almonds out of their We’d love to hear your skin and leave to dry for a few hours memories of the event. or over night.

STEP 2 Making the dough: Grind the skinned and unskinned almonds in an almond grinder or food processor. Add the icing sugar and mix. Add egg-whites until the mixture becomes stretchy and firm. Cover the bowl with plastic and put in the fridge for a couple of hours.

STEP 3 Baking the cake: Grease kransekaker moulds and sprinkle with semolina or fine bread crumbs. Note: You can also make free-form rings by rolling them by hand. No need for semolina or bread crumbs, instead use baking paper so the dough doesn’t stick to the baking tray. Heat oven to 200oC (390oF). Take a lump of dough at a time and roll into finger thick lengths that fit the moulds and join by squishing them together. If making free-form rings, make the smallest first to guide ring size progression. Make sure the rings overlap in size so they can rest on each other creating a pyramid shape. Cook the rings in the centre of the oven for about 10mins or until golden. Cool them before putting them in an air-tight box. Leave the box in the freezer for at least 24 hours. This will make the kransekaker nice and chewy.

PAGE 4 / PAGE ONE ISSUE / V25 LUREN THE STEP 4 KRANSEKAKE Constructing the cake: Defrost the or “Ring Cake,” is the rings for 30mins minimum. Make icing by beating one egg white with signature cake of Norway, 3dl of icing sugar. Fill the icing in earning pride of place an icing-bag. Assemble the cake on wedding, birthday, from biggest ring to smallest using graduation, and holiday the icing as glue by zig-zagging the banquet tables. The icing across the rings. Kransekake pictured here was baked by lodge STEP 5 member, Dagrun Bennett. Decorate with tinsel, flags, party poppers, sparklers and wrapped lollies. ONSO S FNO RW A Y 5 .C O M OFFICERS OF THE CIRCLE CITY LODGE

from President JEROME RUD 765-653-3636 IN THE NEWS District V [email protected] FOUNDATION INFORMATION Sons of Norway Foundation Grant Funds available for Vice President lodges and members. What is your lodge or community NANCY ANDERSEN NorwayPhoto by lodge member, Tim Lisko. planning where extra funding could enhance the 317-626-5237 Captured in Vigeland Park, Oslo. In the experience? All grant applications are done online at [email protected] world’s best country to live, Norway. www.sonsofnorway.com/foundation. vigeland.museum.no/en/vigeland-park Secretary LOCAL LODGE PARTNERSHIP GRANTS - DUE JANUARY 15, 2016 KATHLEEN KRUEGER For lodge events and Norwegian programming at the lodge 317-490-9140 level. Matching funds grants up to $1,000. [email protected]

GENERAL HERITAGE & CULTURE GRANTS - DUE FEBRUARY 1, 2016 Treasurer For community-wide Norwegian themed events, musical BURT BITTNER & theatrical performances, Cross-cultural exchange groups, 317-842-4042 Nordic cultural fairs, etc. Funds up to $1,500 for events [email protected] happening within the 2016 calendar year. Newsletter Editors TIM LISKO HELPING HANDS TO CHILDREN GRANTS - DUE FEBRUARY 15, 2016 304-444-6454 For lodges helping in local schools with student mentoring, [email protected] school supplies or Norwegian themed presentations, lodge events for children. Matching funds up to $500. LINDSAY HADLEY 317-341-2897 SONS OF NORWAY FOUNDATION POST HIGH SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS [email protected] DEADLINES BEGIN MARCH 1, 2016

Did you know that the Sons of Norway Foundation offers CULTURAL DIRECTOR: Chelsea Courtney 219-218-9615 [email protected] college scholarships starting at $1,000 for current members, STILL NORWAY, ACCORDING TO THE U.N. children or grandchildren of current members? This is a FOUNDATION DIRECTOR: Jean Tygum 317-664-6045 [email protected] BEST (CNN) When it comes to health and prosperity, there’s no great member benefit. Have the college students in your topping Norway. family check out www.sonsofnorway.com/foundation. SPORTS/REC DIRECTOR: Susan Alden th 317-769-0236 [email protected] For the 12 year in a row, the land of lefse and lutefisk has We currently offer seven categories of scholarships for earned the number one spot on the United Nations’ 2015 different areas of study. All scholarship applications are NATIONAL CONVENTION REP: Dagrun Bennett COUNTRY 317-736-5025 [email protected] Human Development Index (HDI), released as part of its done online.

PAGE 6 / PAGE ONE ISSUE / V25 LUREN THE annual Human Development Report. IN THE The HDI measures countries in three basic areas—life The Sons of Norway Foundation awards approximately expectancy, education and income/standard of living. $100,000 in grants and scholarship annually. Norway earned high marks in all areas to get an overall WORLD score of 0.944. Its life expectancy at birth is 81.6 years, while its gross national income (GNI) per capita is $64,992. MISSION STATEMENT Rounding out the top five are: Australia (0.935), Switzerland The mission of Sons of Norway is to promote and to preserve the TO LIVE? (0.930), Denmark (0.923) and the Netherlands (0.922). heritage and culture of Norway, to celebrate our relationship with other Nordic Countries, and provide quality insurance and financial products to our members. STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE LATEST FROM THE LODGE Connect!We’re hoping that the new year brings an even more connected lodge. We will do our best to update the Sons of Norway - Circle City Lodge with the most current information, imagery and topical articles. We invite you to share and post as often as you like. During November’s Lutefisk event, we enjoyed a nice social media bump, and we’re hoping to build on that success. If you feel more comfortable passing along information and photography, please feel free to connect with Jerry Rud, Tim Lisko or Lindsay Hadley. Tusen takk!

YONDER CLOTHING Designed limited-edition shirts for the Lutefisk event. All proceeds benefitted the lodge.

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