SOLVANG LODGE 457 WESTBY, WISCONSIN NEWSLETTER Sons of Norway Sandhetter

Volume 48 Issue #4 Westby, WI December 29, 2015

(The answer to the Newsletter quiz above is on Page 8.)

PRESIDENTS MESSAGE

During this busy time I want to say thank you for all the help this past year while I have been trying to learn a new role as president. Thank you for good officers and committee folks and thank you to those who are willing to take new offices for next year. We are preparing for a busy year again with our 100th anniversary celebration in April and our annual Frokost for Syttende Mai. There will also be another Leif Erickson day and our Rommegrot went over very well last year so more to think about. We have a wonderful group of workers who always come through when needed. I also want to welcome all new members that have joined us in 2015 and hope they will become an active part of our lodge. Let’s all make them feel welcome. There are some good programs already arranged and more in the works, more ideas are always welcome. Also please remember our members who are in nursing homes and those suffering from health issues with cards or visits. Ron and I want to wish you all a very God and a wonderful 2016. Sandy

President Sandy Iverson also sent the below list of new members in 2015

Earl Anderson, Lavonne Barlow, Jerry Burke, Kay Burke, Marlene Dahl, Fred Jefson, Jim Knutson, Nancy Lovstad, Courtney Moser, Joy Moser, Sue Ostrem, Michael Sletten, Carol Steneman, Betty Bolton, Larry Leland, Kay Root

Two Norwegian Jokes submitted by Editor Hazel Cornell

Coach Hjamer was having a bad football game and was not happy with his players!!! Finally he rushed over to the reserve tackle who was seated on the bench. “Iverson get in dere and get feocious!!” he yelled. “Vell, ya, sure, ya betcha, coach,” replied Iverson. “Vat’s his number?”

Sven and Ole were out deer hunting in the woods!! All of a sudden they realized they were hopelessly lost! “Vell vat in da vorld shall ve do, Sven,” asked the excited Ole. “Ve are really lost dis time!! “Vell, don’t’ get so shook up, Ole!” said Sven. “Ve will yust shoot an extra deer and da game varden vill find us in thirty seconds!!”

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Solvang Lodge 457 September 29, 2015 meeting

Our monthly meeting was called to order by President Sandy Iverson, we had 45 people in attendance at the Bekkum Library Community Room. Guests tonight were Ilene Gustafson, Jess Reed and a new member Susan Ostrem. Vicki Brueggen won the “Pot of Gold” and donated it back to the Foundation Fund. We sang Happy Birthday to Dianne Hanson and Lou Ann Jelinek. We keep several members in our thoughts as they deal with health issues. Our Secretary Margaret Veum and Treasurer Roger Hanson gave their reports. Our Sons of Norway “Library” has a more permanent home now. We have been given the use of a cabinet in the Community Room. We are encouraged to enjoy the many interesting books available to our members. Just sign when you take one and then return when finished reading it. We thank Karen Hankee for the years of toting these books back and forth from her home each month. A recruitment award was presented to Deb Olson for 2 new members and Gary Daines for 1 new member. We will be selling cookies and rommegraut at the VFW during Leif Erikson Days and our Viking Ship will be in the Oktoberfest Parade as entry number 49. David Torgerson entertained us with a movie about Leif Erikson. Servers for the lunch were Karen Hankee, Vicki Brueggen, Larry and Geri Leum and Buddy Rundhaugen. We as members need to do a better job of filling out the paperwork to report our volunteer hours each month.

Solvang Lodge 457 October 27th, 2015 meeting

The meeting was held in the Community Room at the Bekkum Library, and called to order by our President Sandy Iverson at 7:00 P.M. We had 52 members and guests in attendance. Guests were Earl and Glory Mikkelson from Tacoma Washington, Arnston Hjelde from Halden Norway, Marilyn Dahl, Fred Solverson, Faith Call, Alice Thorson, Hirum Lund, Josephine, Christina Reeiser-Jaynes. Josephine presented our program for the evening. As an eight grader at Kickapoo Schools she traveled to Norway for a 3 week “Norge Summer School.” The theme for this year was “Nobel Peace Prize.” Josephine had many pictures and gave an entertaining talk about the school, learning the language, trips, and the many interesting students she met. Our member Arlene Hall was recognized by Vernon County at the Fair as a “Senior of Distinction.” Leif Erickson Day was a success and will be held again next year. Photo above is of Left to Right – Josephine and Christina Reeiser-Jaynes.

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Arnston Hjelde spoke to us about his visit to the area. He is doing research about the Norwegian Language still being spoken in the Coon Valley, Westby area. He is recording conversation with area residents and will present this information to the University in Oslo.

Photo is Left to Right Arnston Hjelde, Ron Iverson, and Christina and Josephine.

Lunch was served by John and Sharon Evenstad and Verda Lund.

Solvang Lodge 457 November 24th, 2015 meeting

Forty two members and guests of Solvang Lodge 457 met at the Westby Community Room November 24th 2015 for the monthly meeting. Guests for the evening were: Joy and Cortney Mosher, Larry Leland, La Von Barlow, Earl Anderson, Kris (Jefson) Erickson, Lee Grippen, and Jill Storlie.

Jill presented our program with an interesting talk and pictures of her “Summers in Norway.” She lives and works on Litle Fae Roy Island, located off the South West Coast of Norway. She teaches along with Roar Moe, cooks and paints while living on this small island. Jill displayed many samples of tanned hides of the beautiful sheep that inhabit the island. The Lodge will be making donations to the “Ski for Light” event at Camp Rosholt, Bethal Boutique, and our Foundation. Lee Grippen won the “Pot ‘O Gold”. Servers of our lunch were: Inga Gerber, Brian Rude, Fred Jefson, Nancy Lovstad, and Dick Iverson. Our party will be December 15th.

OPPSKRIFT (Recipe) Preheat oven 375*

*LILLIHAMAR CREAM MELTS*

3 3/4 Cups Flour 1/2 Cup Plus 2 Tablespoons Sour Cream 2 Cups Butter In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together and chill. Roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness and cut with a doughnut cutter. Bake until light brown, about 12 minutes. Cool and frost with powdered sugar frosting if desired.

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WE WISH OUR SPONSERS A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS, AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

Old Norwegian Sheep

Also Known By: Gammelnorsk, Utegangarsau, Vildsau

The Old Norwegian is of the old Northern short-tailed breed. It is found in Selbjorn, Austevoll and Horda (Sunnhordland) in western Norway. Adult males weigh on average 43 kg and females 32 kg. This breed is thought to be the origin of the Icelandic, Faeroes and Spælsau breeds.

One of the most spectacular animals on the Western coast of Norway, also present on the island of Froya, is the old Norwegian breed of sheep which are called "gammel norsk spælsau" or in English translated to: Old Norwegian Sheep, (ovis brachyura borealis). This breed represents one of the most primitive kinds of domestic sheep still present in Europe, probably only the feral Soay Sheep at St. Kilda are more primitive. How is it possible that a relic population of such an old breed of sheep should have survived on the Norwegian West coast? 1. First it was represented by the rest of the old Atlantic type of agricultural tradition, still surviving on the islands of the Western coast of Norway, like many other of the remote islands in Northern Europe. 2. The inaccessibility of the region itself prevented import of other breeds. 3. The people living on the coast themselves, valued the animals very much and used the unique mutton and the wool as well for production of high quality craft products. 4. But most of all the sheep itself because of their ability to survive in extreme winter conditions. 5. The Old Norwegian Sheep is better adjusted to the climate and the poor vegetation on the coast than many wild animals like deer and roe-deer. 6. The animals graze the whole year and even in the winter they find food outside and have a minimum of artificial shelter and feeding.

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The Old Norwegian Sheep is the small primitive type of sheep which inhabited Norway and the rest of Scandinavia as well, including Iceland and Faeroes, and was probably present on the Western islands too. Remains of similar type of sheep discovered near Bergen, are dated to be 3000 years old. Today the largest number of the sheep is found in the region around Bergen and along the coastline and on the islands outside Trondheim. The population of Old Norwegian Sheep numbers around 10,000 animals. This number is in great contrast to the situation around 1955, when the breed had almost disappeared. Other breeds and new agricultural methods as well as misunderstanding from the society for the prevention of cruelty to animals led by high society ladies in Bergen, almost set the rest of the breed on the road to destruction because of what they believed to be mismanagement of domestic animals.

The sheep are small framed, with good legs and a fleece varying in color from almost white to greyish, dark brown, badger face, muflon pattern and black. Normally the sheep shed their fleece naturally in early July. All the males of this breed are horned and approximately 10 % of the ewes are horned and the rest are polled. The horns on the females are short and goatish. The males have normally well-developed mouflonlike horns.

The fleece is remarkably fine and in contrast to the mouflon, the inner fleece is highly developed. The outer coat has long fibers, up to 30 cm around the neck on the males. The wool is highly valued for making high quality craft products like hand knitting yarns and for felt-making and many other purposes.

In contrast to the Soay Sheep on St. Kilda who lack the flocking instinct, the Old Norwegian Sheep has developed a very strong flocking instinct. Normally a flock of less than 5 to 7 animals will not be able to establish the social structure needed in a flock. Because of this very strong flock instinct the breed is now tested for use in grazing areas with predators like bear, wolf, lynx and wolverine.

This breed of sheep has a unique pattern of flight (escaping an enemy). This also makes it suitable for use in grazing areas with predators. This flight behavior makes it difficult to handle them with normally trained sheep dogs. The dog will only come back with a few animals because the weak ones escape the flock and hide till the animals in best condition are left with the dog. The same flight pattern will occur on the grazing land where a small group of the best animals will end with the predator and exhaust it. There is normally little, if any loss at all of Old Norwegian Sheep to predators compared to other breeds in the same area. More research is needed to prove it.

The maternal instinct of the Old Norwegian Sheep is very strong. Their behavior is similar to that of the American Bighorn sheep. The mother leaves the flock to give birth from 12 hours to 3 days before the lamb is born and stays alone with the lamb for another 3 to 6 days before returning to the flock. The lambs are strongly defended against enemies if necessary. At the age of 14 days the lambs are developed enough to follow their mothers and to join play-groups of lambs as well. By this time the lambs begin to graze too.

Keeping Old Norwegian Sheep was rather unprofitable until the owners organized themselves in "Norsk Villsaulag". This is an organization working for distribution and trading with meat and other products from the sheep and they are able to pay the members a good price. Unlike the meat from other breeds the Old Norwegian Sheep has the fat located to the kidney region and around the gut. Since the taste is located to the fat, and the meat from the Old Norwegian Sheep has very little fat in the meat, the taste is more reminiscent of roe-deer and reindeer than mutton. The production is also ecological since the animals usually graze outside on land with no surplus of fertilizer all the year through. The animals normally get very little surplus feeding, if any feeding at all. The veterinary directions of Norway instruct the farmers to feed in periods with hard weather. At the moment, the market is just insatiable for the meat. Today just a part of the restaurant market is supplied. A group is working with the market for wool and other products from the sheep.

The careful grazing habit of the Old Norwegian Sheep makes it suitable to keep vegetation away from monuments and ruins and cultural heritage formed by agriculture and other cultivation. Heather, (calluna-heath) is important for winter feeding and the heath needs to be cultivated and the best maintenance of the heath is careful grazing with the Old Norwegian Sheep.

PAGE 5 Having a “Gledelig Jul” in Norway

Feel Norway at its warmest this Christmas; a season steeped in unique traditions and magical experiences. As the weather cools down, the festive spirit heats up and Norway glows with Christmas markets and traditional Norwegian celebrations, both indoors and out. is very special. Lit up by the streets come to life with markets, foods, and ice skating. You can feel the special joy and excitement of the season in every big or small city, where Norwegians celebrate with Christmas trees and caroling and endless eating.

In the end of November, Oslo is decorated and prepared for Christmas, and the city is buzzing with people doing their Christmas shopping. Christmas trees are lit and streets decorated in the city centre during the first weekend of . During these weeks you have plenty of opportunities to catch a Christmas concert or .

Julebord for catching festive spirit

During Advent it is common for companies, organisations and groups of friends to have pre-Christmas parties, in Norwegian called julebord. The julebord crowd fills up the city’s restaurants and clubs, making the weekend nightlife quite busy in this period.

Here the people eat a typical Norwegian lunch, which on this occasion should preferably consist of special Norwegian dishes some of which derive from old regional dishes. The Christmas lunch is accompanied by beer and schnapps or wine. At these Christmas lunches, where alcohol is usually consumed, people traditionally let their hair down and without risk suspend some of everyday boundaries, both in relation to the social hierarchy and generally accepted social conventions.

Most Norwegians will attend one or more Christmas lunches in December. Christmas lunches are a traditional way to extend Christmas celebrations out beyond the close family, to friends and colleagues, and to get Norwegians in the festive mood nice and early!

Mixture of Pagan Traditions with Christian Christmas

Christmas wasn’t celebrated in Norway until about 1000 or 1100, when Christianity first came to the area. Before this people celebrated jul or jòl in the middle of winter. It was a celebration of the harvest gone and a way of looking forward to the spring. Lots of beer (juleol) was brewed and drunk in honour of the old pagan Scandinavian gods.

Taking these old traditions, Norwegians adopted some unique Christmas customs. In this special mixture, Norway’s traditional Christmas customs include , a gnome or an elf guarding animals. It is said in Norway that Nisse can have goat- like features (Christmas Buck, or Julebukk in Norwegian). Nisse often lives in old farmhouses and wears gray woolen clothes, red bonnet and stockings and white clogs. As a good elf, Nisse generally helps people on the farms and is good with children but plays jokes during the holiday season. On in Norway, many families leave a bowl of or porridge for him so that he is friendly to them and keeps his jokes within limits.

The idea of Julebukk is a very old one and was most likely known by the Vikings. In earlier times during Christmas in Norway, one person dressed in goatskin (carrying a goat’s head!) would come to the Christmas celebration unannounced and act as if they were dying shortly afterwards.

It did not take long for Christians in Norway (and the rest of Scandinavia) to associate the goat with the devil. They then used it only during celebrations and were later forbidden these customs by the church and government. A much tamed-down form of the tradition remains to this day.

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Good Food is Traditional Many different types of cakes and biscuits are eaten over the Christmas period in Norway. One of the most popular is special bread called “Julekake” that has raisins, candied peel and cardamom in it. Rice Porridge is eaten on Christmas Eve either as a meal at lunchtime (served with butter, sugar and cinnamon) or as a dessert to the main evening email (with whipped cream mixed in!). If you find an almond in your portion you’re traditionally given a pink or white marzipan pig.

The last two weeks before Christmas the great baking period begins and many families are busy baking their favourite cakes and biscuits, using traditional recipes handed down from generation to generation. Some of the most popular Norwegian Christmas biscuits are: ginger snaps, vanilla biscuits or hearts.

The most popular Christmas Eve dinner is the ribbe (pork ribs or pork belly, bone in), but lutefisk (cod cured in lye), pinnekjøtt (dry-cured ribs of lamb), boiled cod, ham roast and turkey are also common dishes. Most fish restaurants and restaurants with Norwegian food have Christmas specialities on the menu in November and December.

A drink Norwegian often serve during Advent and Christmas is gløgg - a warm, spicy drink similar to German Glühwein. It can be made with red wine, but the non-alcoholic version is often preferred. You can taste it in most Christmas markets in Oslo. Gløgg is usually served with pepperkake. A pepperkake is a Norwegian gingerbread cookie, and tons of them are sold, made and consumed during the Christmas season. Many parents bake them with their children, and the most patient ones also make a . The house is first used as a decoration, and then eaten at the end of the holidays.

You will also see bowls of chocolate and nuts in most homes. Traditional Christmas candy such as burnt almonds and glazed apples are rarely made at home, but you will find them in the major Christmas markets if you would like to taste.

Singing and Watching in Christmas Mood

A very popular song at Christmas time in Norway is the Musevisa (The Mouse Song). The words were written in 1946 by Alf Prøysen. The tune is a traditional Norwegian folk tune. It tells the story of some mice getting ready for Christmas and the Mother and Father mice warning their children to stay away from mouse traps! It became popular very quickly and is now as popular as ever in Norway. Besides, other traditional songs are also sung by all family members around the .

For a lot of Norwegians, especially families, television is an important part of the earlier hours of Christmas Eve. Many Norwegians do not feel the Christmas spirit until they have watched the Czech-German fairy tale Three Nuts for Cinderella (Norwegian title: Tre nøtter til Askepott), the Disney Christmas cavalcade From All of Us to All of You[citation needed], the Norwegian fairytale movie Reisen til Julestjernen ("The ") or the comedy sketch Dinner for One.

Christmas Tree in London: A National Pride

Another interesting fact about Norwegian Christmas is the big Christmas Tree that Norway gives to the UK every year. The tree is given as a present to say ’thank you’ for the help that the people of the UK gave to Norway during World War II. The tree stands in Trafalgar Square in the middle of London and often hundreds of people come to watch when the lights are turned on.

When it comes to a traditional Norwegian Christmas Tree decoration, it is usually decorated with a star at the top and garlands, and small paper baskets made in the shape of a heart

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(Answer to this weeks quiz is 87. (Look at it from the car drivers view – turn upside down)

Norwegian Elf: Nisse

The Barn Elf (Fjøsnissen) is a creature from Scandinavian folklore. He was often described as a short man, “no bigger than a horse’s head”, wearing grey clothes, knickerbockers and a red hat similar to what Norwegian farmers would wear. As the name suggests, the Fjøsnisse lived in the barn. Of course, he was so shy that he was hardly ever seen, but he was a good little helper on the farm as long as the farmers treated him well. Especially at Christmas he would expect to get a large bowl of porridge and homebrewed beer, in return for looking after the livestock. Often the farmers would also leave the leftovers from on the table so the Nisse could help himself. But if farmers failed to keep him fed and happy, the Nisse would do mischief or harm to both animals and people.

One story tells that the Nisse, upon finding that the farmer had failed to put a speck of butter in his porridge, got angry and killed the farm’s best milking cow. Later he found out that the farmer had simply put the butter in the bottom of the bowl and the porridge on top. Regretting his mischief, the Nisse then went and stole the milking cow from the neighbour’s farm to replace the one he killed!

Fjøsnissen was thought to have supernatural powers. His red hat was grey on the inside, and if he wore it inside out he would become so grey that he turned invisible. The Nisse was also the one responsible when anything strange or unexplainable happened on the farm. In folklore and literature he has been described as the guardian saint of the farm. Even today it is a custom to leave a bowl of porridge and a jug of beer in the barn for the Fjøsnisse.

Today, Norway also has the tradition of the Julenisse, which is a combined tradition of the fjøsnisse and the American . The Julenisse looks a lot like the Barn Elf with grey woollen clothes, knickerbockers and the signature red hat. He visits the home on Christmas Eve with presents and the greeting “are there any good children here?”. Often he demands the children sing to him before they get their presents, and so everyone sings “På Låven Sitter Nissen” (In the Barn Sits the Elf).

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL HAPPY NEW YEAR IN 2016 PAGE 8