ELVESUND SONS OF NORWAY LODGE #5-593 PRESIDENT: Nancy Robinson, 835 Circle Avenue, Forest Park, IL 60130, , 708-366-1538 EDITOR: Thomas Maxson, 715 Laurel Avenue, Des Plaines, IL 60016, 847-297-1656 M e e t i n g s : 3 : 0 0 — 6 : 0 0 PM OUR UPCOMING MEETINGS 4th Sunday of t h e M o n t h September 28 October 26 Stabbur Perry Straw Norwegian Knifemaker Sept.-Oct.. 2014 Perry Straw won two Blue Ribbons in Vester- heim’s annual National Ex- hibition of Folk Art. He earned enough points with Inside This Issue these ribbons to become a Vesterheim Gold Medalist. Member Page 2 Gratulerer Med Dagen 2 He won one Blue Ribbon with a dress carving knife and the other Blue Ribbon Congratulations! 3 This stabbur is a replica Foundation Month 3 with a Sami-style knife. 3 of a storehouse from a Leif Erikson Day 4 farm near Telemark, Nor- Perry will bring his way. The original was knives and demonstrate Calendar of Events 5 his craft. built about 1775. This rep- Nancy’s Notes 6 lica was constructed in Elections 6 Norway. It was then dis- assembled and shipped to In Memoriam 7 Minot where it was recon- Thor Heyerdahl 8 structed in 1990. Come hear John and Diana Myhre explain more about stabburs and show the replica they won at the Sangerfest in the spring. Page 2 MEET A MEMBER: JACK LUND ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Congratulations to Jack Lund who was Memorial Day Committee for 18 years, the first recipient of the Burr Ridge Patriot usually as chairman or co-chairman, and Award that was presented to him on for being Poppy Day Committee Chair- Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 18, man for 18 years. Jack was presented 2013. Jack was honored for spending over with a bronze plaque and a second bronze 900 hours playing bingo with spinal injury plaque was mounted on the wall at Burr patients at Hines Hospital, being on the Ridge City Hall. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ MEET OUR NEW MEMBER — Elizabeth W. Maloney Be sure to add Elizabeth to your Directory. 1128 Schneider Ave. Oak Park, IL 60302 708-948-7176 ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ MEET OUR NEW GOLDEN MEMBERS To qualify as a Golden Charles R. Blomster Elaine L. Ostrem Member, you must be at Thomas J. Maxson Ruth B. Peck least 65 years old and a John D. Myhre Mary Ramsland Sordel member of Sons of Norway for 30 years. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ GRATULERER MED DAGEN September October 2 Gardis Dahle 10 Judy Arnold 22 Jerry Amen 21 Linda Courtice 25 Solveig Pedersen 22 John Myhre 30 Ernie Halverson Page 3 CONGRATULATIONS ELVESUND! There are eight districts in Sons of But the best prize of all, for 2012, Norway. We are District 5 and our con- Elvesund was presented with a plaque vention is in June every two years. The announcing we were recognized as convention covers resolutions suggested by various lodges and are voted on by LODGE OF THE YEAR the attending delegates. Elections of the Board of Directors is also held. Congratulations to all of you! Eve- ry member of our Lodge, take a bow! And merit awards for the previous two years are presented. At the previous two conventions, 2012 and 2010, Elvesund was awarded Merit Awards at the Bronze level. CONGRATULATIONS! Dinner’s on us at For both 2012 and 2013, Elvesund The September 28 was awarded at the Silver level; for the meeting 2012 year, we were 1 point shy of GOLD! _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ OCTOBER IS FOUNDATION MONTH The Foundation is a If each member attending If you do not live in the very important segment of the October meeting would area or are unable to attend our international organiza- bring a contribution of your the meeting, send a “mail in tion through its scholar- age times 5 cents, this gift” marked “Foundation” ship programs and human- should generate a little ex- to: itarian aid. We would like tra contribution for this Margaret Bisberg to continue our support year, in additional to the this year of the Foundation contribution our lodge will 1506 Courtland Avenue as we have in the past. make. Park Ridge, IL 60068-5333 Page 4 LEIF ERIKSON DAY — OCTOBER 9 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ An official .U.S. holiday, Leif Erikson Day a sign of an ill-fated trip, Erik stayed behind. commemorates the achievement of famous Where in North America is Vinland? The Norse explorer, Leif Erikson. Credited with Groenlendinga saga suggests Erikson made being the first European to reach the North three landfalls: the first at Helluland, now American continent, Erikson arrived almost widely believed to be Baffin Island in the pre- four centuries before Columbus. In honor of sent-day Nunsvut, Canada; the second in this special date, let’s take a closer look at a Markland or what we would now know as few facts about the holiday and the man who Labrador, Canada; and Vinland. inspired it. Although it is believed that Vinland is lo- cated somewhere in Newfoundland, perhaps at the excavated site of an 11th-century Vi- king base camp found at L’Anse aux Meadows in the 1960’s, the definitive site of the settle- ment remains heavily debated. In fact, the etymology of the Norse word itself has yielded at least two possible meanings, “wine-land” or Erikson or Eiriksson or Ericson? The “pasture-land” depending on translation and spelling of Leif Erikson’s name varies in rela- interpretation of the descriptions provided in tion to the language it is being translated to. the saga. While it is predominantly believed In his own languae, Old Norse, his name that the correct translation is “wine-land,” would have been Leifr Eirksson. theories point out that the wild grapes de- scribed in the sagas cannot be found today as Leif was the second son of legendary Norse far north as Newfoundland. Explanations for explorer, Erik the Red, who is believed to have this are varied, offering that perhaps Erik- established the first European settlements in son’s men mistook wild berries for grapes, Greenland around A.D. 980. Erik the Red that the climate was warmer and more hospi- was supposed to join his son’s expedition to table during that time, or that the saga writ- North America but a fall from horseback prior ers simply embellished the abundance of the to the ship’s boarding left Erik with misgiv- land to make it more appealing. ings about the voyage. Believing his fall to be ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Why October 9? The official date of Leif Erikson Day doesn’t directly corre- late to Erikson’s arrival in North America. Instead, in a nod to the same explor- ative spirit that fueled Erikson’s journey, the date marks the arrival of the very first immigrant ship from Norway, the Restauration, to New York in 1895. Ex- actly 100 years later, President Coolidge declared Erikson the first European to discover America during a commemorative address in Minnesota. In the years that followed, several US. States adopted the date as a state holiday and in Sep- tember of 1964, Congress approved a public resolution authorizing President Johnson to declare October 9 as Leif Erikson Day nationwide. Page 5 CALENDAR OF EVENTS September September 7 Annual Scandinavian Day, Vasa Park, South Elgin, IL 10:00 AM—6:00 PM. $10.00 adults, children under 12 free. 847-695-6720. www.scandinaviandayil. com September 20 Viking Ship Visitors’ Day, 1:00 PM—4:00 PM, Good Templar Park, Geneva, IL. Adults $5.00, teens $3.00, children 12 and under free. www.vikingship.us. The Viking is a replica of the Gokstad ship. In 1893 she sailed across the Atlantic from Bergen, Norway to New York and on to the World’s Colum- bian Exposition in Chicago. Docent-led tours begin every 30 minutes. Last tour begins at 3:30 PM. September 21 Skjold News Benefit, 3:00 PM, AUYA Ukrainian Center, Palatine, IL. $11:00 buffet. Donate a nice gift for the auction. www.skjoldlodge.com September 26 Gospel Hymn Sing, Fox River Lutheran Church, Sheridan (Norway), IL, 6:00 PM. Refreshments and snacks following. Part of a weekend celebrating the 175th Anniversary of the first Norwegian Lutheran Church in America. September 27 Dinner and Drama, 5:00 PM, Fox River Lutheran Church, Sheridan (Norway), IL. The drama depicts the trials and troubles of finding a good church back in the 1800s. Catered dinner requires reservations in advance. 815-695-9926. September 28 Rededication Service, 3:00 PM, Fox River Lutheran Church, Sheridan (Norway), IL September 28 Stabbur, Elvesund Lodge meeting, St. Michael’s Church, 500 E. 31st St., LaGrange Park, IL, 3:00-6:00 PM. Elvesund will provide a celebratory meal. ———————————————————————————————————————————————————— ———- October October 4 Scandinavian Park 14th Annual Fish Boil and Harvest Festival Vasa Park, South Elgin, IL. www.vasaparkil. October 12 Leif Erikson Day Celebration / Wreath Laying Ceremony, Norwegian National League, Humboldt Park, 1440 N. Sacramento Drive, Chicago, IL. 1:00 PM. www.nnleague.org October 18 Viking Ship Visitors’ Day, 1:00 PM—4:00 PM, Good Templar Park, Geneva, IL. Adults $5:00, teens $3.00, children 12 and under free. (See September 20 above for details). October 25 Normenneness Singing Society 144th Anniversary Banquet, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Northbrook, IL. www.norwaysings.com October 26 Perry Straw, Norwegian Knifemaker, Elvesund Lodge meeting. St. Michael’s Church, 500 E. 31st St., LaGrange Park, IL, 3:00-6:00 PM. Page 6 NANCY’S NOTES . _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ What a fabulous year we’ve had so far! A few highlights: wonderful weather for Syttende Mai along with PLEASE RSVP TO our enthusiastic marchers! The Bjorn- son Male Chorus bringing some won- MARY VANN derful song to our 30th anniversary par- IF YOU’RE COMING ty .