Sons of Norway celebrate 100 years — Uff da

By MICHELLE MCLEAN

“I’m 75 percent Norwegian!”  exclaimed the boy.

The youngster’s enthusiasm and ethnic pride made Aagot Nysveen smile.

Nysveen and her sisters-in-law — Shirley Nysveen and Pat Woods — are proud to be Norwegian, too, and Monday they let it show. 

The three ladies visited Hillsboro Elementary School earlier this week to share their enthusiasm for all things Norway. The Hillsboro women are on a mission for the local Sons of Norway Solheim 461. The group is marking its 100th birthday this year. Educating young people about the homeland of many of the students’ forefathers remains the focus of their community-spirited work.

While on their Norwegian education campaign, the trio’s first stop at the school was in Jill Anderson’s 6th grade classroom. Pat Woods, a former teacher, introduced a Norwegian book to the students — “Samuel Blink and the Forbidden Forest” by Matt Haig. Ever the teacher, Pat encouraged the students to read about the imaginary “trolls,” a favorite fanciful character in Norwegian folklore.

Aagot and Shirley offered students a taste of old Norway — gjetost cheese. The light brown slices — strangely sweet and unusually creamy — were nestled on crisp homemade flat bread, another Norwegian delicacy.  A glass platter was passed and the students eagerly tasted the treat — and smiled — most agreeing it was not like anything they’d tasted before.

With their platter now empty, the ladies headed down the hall to the library with more books in hand — and a pot of rømmegrøt warming.

All of the second graders and their teachers had settled in for story time with librarian Kay Rotvold. She shared a whimsical children’s story  by Norwegian Princess Martha Louise, “Why Kings and Queens Don’t Wear Crowns”  — a gift from the Sons of Norway.

Another taste of Norway was dished up for the younger students — rømmegrøt — a rich cream pudding sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. It took a little coaxing for some of the students but before long they’d licked their pudding cups empty.

Rotvold opened the Princess’ book to show the vivid illustrations of Norway’s royal family (circa 1905). A CD played the author’s voice reading her storybook.

A stack of books by Norwegian authors or simply about the European country were donated by the Sons of Norway as a lasting gift to the elementary library.

Celebrating the customs and heritage of Norwegian-Americans is the purpose of the Sons of Norway, the women say.

Solheim 461 dates back to March 31, 1908 when 25 Hillsboro men became charter members of the Dolen Lodge No. 76.  At the time, the Sons of Norway organization was only five years old in  North Dakota.

A separate Daughters of Norway group, Solheim No. 49 of Hillsboro,  formed February 1, 1913 with 17 charter members. Women had only been allowed as social members in the group for a year prior to the Hillsboro lodge forming.

In 1951, the two Hillsboro lodges merged as Solheim No. 461. Until that time, all meetings were conducted in Norwegian, as a way of preserving the language among the younger generations.

A milestone in the local group’s history was 1939. At that time, they participated in an extensive relief effort for Norway following the Nazi invasion of the country. That same year, Crown Prince Olav and his wife Crown Princess Martha visited Hillsboro. An enormous crowd gathered on the Traill County courthouse lawn to welcome the visiting royalty. Many in the crowd could claim family ties to Norway and the couple were greeted with great fanfare.

In the 1980s the Hillsboro group forged a cultural exchange with the residents of Al, Norway, welcoming folk dancers and musicians to the community to perform and share the Norwegian culture. Hillsboro and Al officially became “sister cities.”

Solheim No. 461 will mark its centennial with a special dinner Friday, May 9. No doubt it will be a preamble to Syttende Mi, the 17th of May, Norwegian Constitution Day. Traditionally, the Hillsboro group dishes up  Scandinavian goodies and coffee to mark the day.

The group’s 2008 calendar contains some of the same social meetings of years past — a Valentine’s Day party, cards and games in April and a chapel service in August. Ten meetings a year are held, most at the Hillsboro Senior Center.

In 2008, the group’s  officers are Duane Nysveen, president (position he’s held for more years than anyone can remember); Blenda Gilbertson, vice president; Pat Woods, secretary; Aagot Nysveen, treasurer and historian; Charles Hanson, financial secretary; Mavis Hettervig and Sandy Bertsch, cultural directors; Shirley Nysveen, social director; Pat Woods and Mary Hanson, musicians; Alphield and Kathy Lyng, marshalls; Daphne Porter and Eunice Ydstie, guards; Paula Tronson, Barbara Hettervig, Jerry Nysveen and Ruth Siegert, trustees and Margaret Christianson, counselor.